The Warrior’s Broken Mate novel Chapter 92

Just as I was trying to regain my composure from being slammed onto the cold stone patio, I growled low in my chest and jumped to my feet, ready to tear into whoever had stopped me from finally escaping this prison I’d been living in.

But when I turned, the words froze in my throat.

There was a figure lying on her side a few feet away, her long blonde hair falling across her face as she faced away from me.

“Lyra,” I breathed, almost disbelieving my own voice.

She slowly turned her face toward me, her piercing blue eyes catching the moonlight and locking on mine.

I dropped to my knees beside her and pulled her into my arms, holding her so tightly I was afraid I might hurt her. My hands roamed frantically over her back, her hair, the side of her face–desperate to convince myself she was real.

“Is it really you?” My voice cracked.

“Of course it’s me,” she whispered.

She started to get up, but I noticed she was struggling. And that’s when I saw it–her swollen stomach.

“Oh my god,” I muttered.

“How long have I been gone?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You… you don’t know?” I said, shocked.

“Time moved a lot slower in that world,” she explained. “This stomach got this big in a matter of days.”

“Holy shit,” I whispered. “You’ve been gone for two and a half months.”

I reached up and gently cupped her face again, needing to touch her one more time to make sure she wasn’t a cruel hallucination. I had convinced myself she was dead. I had believed it so fully that this moment felt unreal.

Then I couldn’t hold back. I pulled her against me and kissed her–hard. Passionate, desperate, almost feral. I poured every ounce of pain and longing from the past two and a half months into that kiss, gripping her like I’d never let go again.

She was here. She was really here.

The distant sound of wolves howling carried through the trees, but I wasn’t ready to share her with anyone else yet. I grabbed her hand and led her quickly off the patio and back inside the house.

We went upstairs to our room, and Lyra stopped, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the sight.

“Everything’s here,” she murmured.

“Of course it is,” I said quietly.

I hadn’t changed a thing. Our room looked exactly the same as the day she’d left. I couldn’t bear to throw away even the smallest piece of her.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, and I immediately sat beside her, taking her hand in mine and holding it like a lifeline. I couldn’t let go. I was terrified she’d vanish again.

“I really don’t know what to say right now,” I admitted, my voice low.

“Neither do I,” she said softly. “I was just so focused on getting back here.”

“I know what you mean,” I said, squeezing her hand.

Her eyes drifted around the room, and I saw the flicker of realization as she took in the empty alcohol bottles littering the floor and nightstands.

“You have to tell me everything that happened over there,” I said against her lips.

“I will,” she whispered. “But not right now.”

I lay back on the bed, pulling her down with me so her head rested on my chest. My hand moved slowly up and down her back, trying to soothe her, though I could tell there was more she wasn’t saying.

I had a sinking feeling that whatever she’d been through had been unbearable. She said she’d only been there for about a week, but with time moving slower, I knew it had been far longer for me.

The alcohol was wearing off, and for the first time in months, I could feel her through our bond. It was the most incredible feeling in the world… except for the strange undercurrent in her emotions. Something about her stomach.

I could sense it, and I could also feel her power now–it was so much stronger than before she left.

“Lyra…” I began carefully,

“Don’t,” she interrupted quickly. “Please… I just want to forget about it.”

“Was it that bad?” I asked softly.

“You really have no idea,” she said, her voice breaking just a little. “I’m home now, Elias. Can we just… enjoy this? We’re going to have a baby. We’re going to be a family.”

I kissed the top of her head gently. “Alright,” I said. “It’s forgotten about.”

She looked up at me and kissed me, and I held her as tightly as I could, silently promising myself that nothing would ever take her from me again.