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Warripped her hand Startled, she jerked up her head - to meet Dev’s scowl "Don’t force it," he ordered, squeezing her fingers "Glen said the memories will return when it’s time"

She didn’t pull her hand from his, in spite of the violent chaos of her e instead of a ghost "I can’t help it I hate not knoho I ah a pair of autolass doors "Emotions come easily to you?"

"Yes" She sed as he paused in front of the elevator "There’s only sothe lines of conditioning with it

The elevator doors opened and Dev tugged her inside She took one step across the threshold before freezing, her breath stuck in her throat, her spine so rigid she literally couldn’t move

Dev’s hand flexed around hers and for an instant she was terrified he’d pull her inside He was so er, she’d never be able to stop hi her airway

Then he dropped her hand to wrap an ar her out and back into the corridor "You don’t have to go in there" One palm cupped the back of her head as he spoke in a voice as harsh as sandpaper And yet his hold

Her entire body began to shake, terror trans to think, she buried her face in his chest, her arh word The thud of the duffel hitting the floor Then his own arth She wanted more, wanted to strip him to the skin and touch his heartbeat, convince herself that he existed, that she existed Deep inside, she was so scared that this was all just anotherto co to fill the endless void

"Shh" Spoken gently against her ear, the hot brush of his breath another tactile anchor

Daring to ainst the side of his neck, feeling his pulse strong and steady against her fingertips Real So real "I can’t be in a box again" The last was a whisper as she caught a wisp of ht, no sound, no touch, no Net" How could there be so onizing, relentless pain - pain that had turned her fro lower than an ani under Katya’s hesitant touch What she was describing was one of the cruelest forms of torture known to man, one that left no marks but destroyed the victi being without feedback long enough and theso deep that many never came back out And for a Psy to be cut off from the Net -

He blocked the wave of pity before it could rise Because sensory deprivation wasn’t only about hurting the victim until that person shattered It could be used for a far more ominous purpose - to break down an individual and then build hi to the torturer’s require’s creation

The bruises, the scratches, the starvation, it had in all probability been nothing but the , meant to make her appear weak, to arouse pityand protectiveness

Even understanding the bleak truth, he couldn’t let her go, not when treh that unbearably slender fraht break her Psy bones were already more breakable than human, and she’d been starved on top of that - just because itdressing didn’t mean she hadn’t felt every blow, every kick, every hour of hunger

He made a conscious effort to loosen his hold, but the instant he did, she began treht she’d shatter fro her closer, he moved his hand until it lay underneath her braid, on the soft skin of her nape That skin felt bruisingly delicate under his her touch, but she cal wordless reassurances as her fingers stroked over his pulse, as her body all butThe hand on his neck slid down to linger at the knot of his tie He held his breath as her lashes lifted to reveal eyes filled not with the fear he’d expected, but with an aler than I think"

He kneas a dangerous step into enemy territory, but he couldn’t help the pride he felt in her - it was a swell of e off his chest, she stepped out of his ar chased by a panther"

The change of topic stymied him for a second Then he understood "Do you want ht have happened?" He could still feel the iainst his, a quiet brand that disturbed him on the deepest level

"If you can I need to know if I can trust the things in my head" She rubbed her hands down the front of her jeans "It’s such a strange thing to re I remember is a fantasy"

Dev didn’t think so He knew one changeling panther - but what the hell would Lucas Hunter, alpha of DarkRiver, be doing going after Katya in his aggressive animal form? "Do you think you can handle the stairs?"

A pause "I believe so There’s always a way out with stairs"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>