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"Can you stand?" She asked hiet out of here We only have a li to find the others," he asked her as he let her help hiht here," she pointed to the otherattended to by their mates

Costin’s eyes widened as he sa close he had been to Decebel, Adam, Fane, Vasile, Gavril, Sorin, and Drake It had only been ?" He looked on as the other an to stand to their feet and the same realization hit thehting it, but he didn’t think he could watch hiswhen he felt a warm hand caress his neck

"Dec," the voice was s from her He looked up and his eyesin pain She wasn’t swollen with their baby, and she wasn’t bleeding in childbirth She hole, healthy, and beautiful, standing before him She knelt down in front of hirowl rumbled up from his chest as he saw his bite ly went into his ar her jaw line and down behind her ear

"Mine," he told her as he pulled her closer

"Yes, I’ the moment when she would be ripped froain as their baby died, or his hter, praying that it would be over, that he wouldn’t have to live through any of it any longer

"Baby," Jen groaned, "kind of squeezing too tight"

Decebel loosened his hold a little and when she started to squirrowl

"Not yet," he snarled "I’ain Please just one more minute, let me hold you, please Jennifer"

Jen stilled her movements as she heard the pain in his voice She realized that he didn’t know she was really here He thought she was still just his i to have to watch those horrible things she had seen in his mind

"Decebel, it’s really me" She put both her hands on his face and held hioing to be tortured or raped I’et you out of this hellhole"

He continued to stare at her and Jen could see that he was trying to decide what to believe She could see that he wanted to have hope, to believe that it was her But, he was so scared that it was an illusion, a cruel trick by Desdemona

She leaned forward slowly so as not to startle him and pressed her lips to his Jen meant for it to be a s and he s the searoaned she smiled victoriously as his lips parted and he deepened the kiss Jen wrapped her arainst him She didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to put even an inch of space between them, but they needed to hurry She pulled back and looked at him She patted his face and smiled "You with me?"

"It’s really you? You’re really here?" Decebel asked, as he gripped her hair in one hand and pulled her closer to him with the other

"Look around babe," Jen told him

Decebel slowly turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw the others He stood abruptly, still holding Jen in his arms She was really here with him