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Wind limped into his room and headed straight for the bathroom, dropping his clothes on the way. He headed for the shower and leaned against the wall as the water poured over him, letting the heat wash away the memories.

He knew he should have used the tub to soak away the pain but he wasn't ready to deal with it yet. He wanted to feel the pain. He wanted...

He tried to stand on his bad leg, to feel the pain in the bone and muscle. It didn't last long, of course, and he switched to his good leg. But it was enough to trigger the memory of when it had been shattered...

They'd already tortured him for two days... Then they brought in Desha and tied him to a chair in front of him. They used the hot plates of metal to burn the back of his thighs, the pain was horrible. Desha was struggling to get free and Wind could see the pain in his eyes from not being able to heal him or stop the injuries. When he got his breath back and was trying to tell Desha that it was alright...

Then they shattered his leg... Repeatedly... The pain... Oh, the pain...

Then another priest came in and stood behind Desha. He couldn't see what he was doing but he saw the result of it... The pain on Desha's face... Then...


Wind hit his knees panting, blindly reaching up to turn the water off as he pulled out of the flashback. He sat down and looked at his leg, his hand hovering over the main break.

A little bit later, he was wearing a pair of shorts with his hair braided down his back again. He was sitting in the front room staring at the fire in the fireplace with his good leg tucked under him. He was keeping his mind very blank right now. He didn't want to remember any more....

Wind wrapped his arms around Egan and kept his head against his chest so that he could hear his heartbeat. He stayed silent for a long time, simply letting the sound of that heartbeat and Egan's scent help him calm down the rest of the way. When he did speak, it was in a whisper that shook with barely restrained emotions.

"Thank you for coming for me... I wasn't sure if anyone would... I wasn't trying to run away or anything like that. I promise. I just wanted to go to the village. I don't really remember why I wanted to go. I just had to go there. Then they started chasing me and I tried to run. My leg gave out," the words just seemed to spill out of him but he never spoke above that whisper. It was still easy to hear his fear, though.

Wind had truly feared that no one would go after him, that he'd be lost...

"I hid in my mind. It was the only thing I could think of to do. I hoped I wouldn't be lost but," he hesitated there, not sure about saying what he'd thought when they'd taken him. But he knew he'd have to tell someone and he felt safe with Egan.

"When I was taken two years ago... I know Dev escaped to get help... But I'm pretty sure that they only came after us all to rescue the others... Dancer is a soul healer, Desha was the island's Healer, and Blade is a phenomenal fighter. I'm still not sure why they rescued me beyond Blade insisting on it. I don't really have a purpose on the island," he voiced his fear still in that soft whisper, not sure how Egan would react.

To be honest, Wind's self-esteem had taken a massive beating from the time he'd hit puberty and the clans had found out that he couldn't react with a female. They'd publicly flogged him until Blade rescued him.

Yes, he was amazing with his magic. He didn't just do parlor tricks like he'd done in the garden for Samirra. He was deadly in combat as well.

He was also very good with children, as Egan had witnessed before in the village. He wasn't a healer, but he had one of the biggest hearts on the island. And Desha had made certain that Egan knew just how big Wind's heart was as well as the fact that the sweet male often felt overshadowed by his sister and friends.

This part of Wind's personality had been hidden, kept from everyone for so very long that it had become a festering wound to his soul. He'd been foundering, almost drowning with it for most of his life.

While Egan had only seen Wind as a confident and slightly sassy man that seemed untouched by anything, what Egan was seeing now was the Wind hidden from everyone. No one had seen this part of him. Not even his twin sister. But he was letting Egan in, letting him see the side of him that had been so carefully hidden for so very long.

And he'd told the truth: he truly had never expected anyone to go after him if he was taken...

Wind shivered from time to time as Egan held him and spoke to him. He wanted to believe everything he said but it sounded too good to be true.

Then he felt Egan's strong arms holding him a bit tighter and he felt something loosen up inside of him and pulled a shaky sigh from him. He felt Egan raising his chin and opened his eyes, seeing only the truth in Egan's earnest gaze. He struggled internally for a moment but simply gave in to his own feelings as well.

"I think I fell for you that day in the village... You were talking to Desha at the village square. I was playing with Dancer and Dev. I remember that I stumbled into you," he paused there and took in another shaky breath, "You laughed and rubbed my head then gave me a playful shove back towards the others. I remember being shocked at your strength and I remember a hint of brimstone to your scent ," he paused again because he blushed this time as he remembered that day and the crush he'd developed that day.

"Then Dev tackled me into the fountain and when I turned back to you, you were gone. Every time I went back to the village, I never saw you, never smelled you. I thought you'd left," he finished as he tucked his arms between them, cuddling into his side like a cat settling in to nap. But his brown eyes weren't closing any time soon. It was simply a mark of how content he became in Egan's presence.

"Today... All I could think of was how much I wanted to see you again, that I didn't want you to disappear again. When my wolf saw you, it just knew that you were there to save me. I know people keep having to save me but I was never more glad to see someone in my life than when you walked into that room," his voice started to shake at the end and he paused so that he wouldn't break down before he continued.

"I know I'm broken right now. But as long as you don't give up on me I'll try to be the person you see in me," he promised in a soft whisper.

He hadn't used the word love, but he'd said it just the same. He'd also said that he wanted to stay with Egan while trying not to beg for the same in return.

Then he probably surprised the larger man...

"I've loved you for years, Egan... But I never thought I was good enough for you... Then I didn't see you and I thought you'd left because of me, because I'd bumped into you that day... I know it's not right, but I still thought that..." he swallowed and closed his eyes to say the rest, not sure if he could get it all out while looking into those beautiful eyes.

"And now they've broken me... Twice... I don't know if I can be whole again... I don't know if I can be what you need... But -" his voice broke there and tears started moving down his face.

He truly thought that he was too broken to be a good enough mate or partner to any man at this point. He was too damaged, too emotionally compromised. And Egan hadn't even noticed the way he had nightmares yet...

He was still in shock from the capture and torture, the physical pain wasn't helping with that. But Egan's presence next to him, his arms around him, and his scent were all keeping Wind grounded. If Egan hadn't been here, Wind would have dropped right back into the state he'd been right after Aten had died: nearly catatonic. He'd only shifted to the bitter and angry person Egan had seen after the first year.

So, while part of him wanted Egan to kiss him senseless and Claim him as Mate, he didn't think that he was worthy of the man, that he was too broken for him. Honestly, he just felt lucky that Egan cared for him. He didn't feel worthy of Egan loving him...

Wind was not expecting Egan to Claim him. He went down under the Alpha's seductive spell all too easily and more than willingly.

By the time Egan finally let them rest, he was sore in the best ways, panting for breath, and feeling nothing but how much they loved each other. As for the Marks on his shoulders, he could feel what they were and knew what they meant.

Unlike the Were's, the Demonicus only found their Fated Mates after they Marked them. It was one of the few downsides of their mixed genetics. The first Mark told him that they were Fated and his heart soared with that knowledge. He'd found the one person that was destined to love him totally and completely, the one person that would mean more to him than anyone else in all the worlds.

The second Mark was something even more rare. He knew it from legends and old stories. His bloodline knew that Mark better than his own face. He and his sister had been taught that one from the time they were still babies.

When he finally got his breath back, he turned over to look at Egan then simply said, "Alpha..." his voice was hoarse but understandable. And Egan would get the knowledge of what he meant through the Marks on Wind's shoulders.

Unfortunately, he had no energy left and passed out at that point. Between the attack, the torture, the rescue, the healing, and getting Claimed... Wind's body simply demanded sleep. There was just no choice. He'd been through too much in one day.

But he had given Egan access to a lot of information that very few knew about. At this point, only he and his sister knew all of it, though some in the clans knew enough to be a problem. Plus, there was the prophecy about a new king taking the Demonicus to the Demon Realm. Although, the details were sketchy and unclear on how and what the end result was.

Still, Wind had named Egan as Alpha of Alpha's. Basically, Alpha King of the Demonicus Race...

What Egan did with it was up to him. But he would have to be prepared for his wolf side to change...

Wind snuggled into Egan when he got back into the bed and slept without nightmares for once, which surprised him when he woke up. Especially since he woke up before Egan did. He had to smile at the sight of the Alpha next to him.

He'd never imagined finding his Fated. He'd never even dreamed about it. He'd always assumed that it was something out of his reach.

And for him to be The Alpha? The one from the legends?

He and his sister had been raised on the stories and trained to protect him when he was found. It was the position for the Ghosts to protect the Alpha. They were bred to be his guards and assassins. Which would fit Blade perfectly, now that he thought about it. As for himself? That was more complicated. I wasn't the best fighter. He was mediocre at best. His talent was his magic.

And speaking of that one...

He looked at the door to the bedroom and knew he needed to finish repairing his rooms. He'd only gotten the bedroom done before.

He turned over and sat up, letting the sheet poolin his lap as he closed his eyes and let his magic move through the suite, repairing the furniture, walls, and floors that he'd damaged. This time, there was no issue, he managed it without any pain or interruptions.

When he opened his eyes again, everything was repaired. Perfect.

He eased himself from the bed and limped over his bookshelf, searching until he found a couple of very old books. He pulled them and gently caressed the cover of one with a small sad smile before taking them into the bedroom.

There, he had to pause at the sight of Egan in his bed, his brown eyes moving over his body and blushing hard at the thought that being his Mate. He wondered what he'd done right to find him.

He finally shook his head to refocus and placed the books on the nightstand next to Egan then moved into the bathroom to start a bath. While he loved what Egan did to his body, he was sticky since they hadn't taken a bath to clean up. Nope. Egan had loved him to the point that he'd passed out. That hadn't happened to him since his first lover.

Still, he couldn't stop smiling as he thought about Egan claiming him. Even now, he shivered when he felt something move through the Mark on his right shoulder, letting him know that Egan was thinking about him.

The running water would tell his Alpha where he was, so he wasn't worried. He knew Egan would join him in his own time. So he simply set out towels and bathing oils before easing himself down into the tub and wetting his hair so he could get clean. As he came up for air, he gave a soft gasp and a shiver as he felt fingers move over the Marks on his shoulders, knowing it was Egan but not expecting the feeling of raw desire as the alpha touched the marks he'd given to him.

Wind could feel his desire rising with what Egan was planning to do to him and freely admitted that he was okay with the plan. But Egan was also right that he needed to be seen to assure everyone that he was alright. Admittedly, he wasn't completely whole yet. He was mostly healed. But he'd carry some new scars and his leg would never fully recover. He'd limp for the rest of his life. But he was okay with that on a level that he didn't fully understand yet.

While he'd never be the same as he was, he had Egan now. Again. He was fine with that.

He reached for the bathing oils and started cleaning Egan up first, unable to resist teasing him a little bit in the process, "The books I left beside the bed are for you. They'll give you the history of the Ghost Wolves as well as the different prophecies the Clans have on The Alpha. You can decide what you want to do with it all after you read them," he offered softly, knowing that Egan would appreciate being able to decide his own fate with the information he would now have available.

He couldn't help a soft chuckle as Egan gave a soft growl as Wind teased him but he didn't apologize for it. Instead, he kept the tease up when he moved to cleaning himself up so that Egan could watch it.

By the time they were out of the tub and drying off, Wind was fairly certain that he was trying his Mate's control and he had to give a soft giggle over it. Oh, he'd be paying for it later. He knew that. But he thought it would be worth it.

As he limped towards the closet to put some clothes on, he caught his sister's message and frowned. All playfulness was gone in an instant and he winced hard. He wasn't sure how much he'd be able to help. But he knew that he had to do it anyway.

He tossed Egan a pair of shorts and slid on a pair as well, using a touch of magic to get his hair brushed and braided as they both headed for the door.

But Wind paused at the door and looked at Egan a bit nervously, "Help me out there? I don't want them to know how..." he started but paused, not wanting to say it out loud again. He didn't want everyone to know how broken he was now. He wasn't sure how steady he could be outside these rooms but he didn't want anyone to know how bad he was...

He knew that Egan could shield him from some of it. As The Alpha, Egan had the ability to control some aspects of the Demonicus' he came across. He could make them kneel to him with a flex of power or he could help Wind appear stronger than he was.

But if Egan wanted him to be honest about it... Well, he'd do it. If he needed to be honest about his state of mind he'd do it if Egan wanted him to...

But they needed to hurry... From the image he'd gotten from Blade, the girl was in the worst stage of silver poisoning. Wind knew from his own experience that it was a nightmare by itself and it would take a miracle for the girl to survive it.

Yes, he was hesitating and he knew it. But... He could feel that he wasn't sure about handling the crowd or anyone yelling or... He knew how broken he was and that terrified him by itself...

Wind gave a nod, easily accepting the conditions. After all, Egan was right. He wouldn't be able to hide much from his sister and Sebastet. Both of them knew him too well for that.

But he was grateful for the strength Egan was giving him. He knew he wouldn't be able to do this without that help.

Egan did have to offer a hand a few times on the trip to the courtyard to keep Wind steady. He wasn't fast but he did make.it there on his own feet.