Prodigy's gaze narrowed in a way that made me think Tybalt would pay for that attitude later. I smiled to myself as I got to my feet and headed out into the hall, stretching my arms to work out the kinks. It felt like we'd been in church for hours. Hell, maybe we had.
"Hey," Guardian said, waiting in the corridor—for me, apparently. There was a kind but stern look in his eye that made me nervous. "How are you doing?"
I blinked. "Me?"
"Yes, you."
"I'm … fine. Why?"
He gave me a very pointed look. "It's not hurting you to ignore your bond?"
Not hurting as such, but I felt every single ache and flinch in Luna's soul and it was beginning to take a toll.
"I'm fine," I repeated. "Don't be such a worrywort."
"Worrywort," Cobra snorted, giving me a sharp grin as he passed. "You're showing your age, old man."
I rolled my eyes. "I could still kick your ass, kid."
Cobra laughed, derisive as always. "Asif."
I used the distraction to sneak away from Guardian. I didn’t know why he was so worried about me; Luna was the one suffering. Sure, I wanted to hold her and growl away all her enemies and keep her safe and—
Okay, so maybe I was suffering alittle.
I needed to be close to her; if I was by her side, I knew she was safe. Logic didn't come into it. I knew nothing would happen to her inside the compound. But protective instincts blurred that logic. I needed to be her shield—it was a basic, vital need.
What kind of alpha was I if my mate was terrified and I couldn't soothe her? That was my damn job.
I pushed open the heavy door to my chapel and ducked inside, sinking onto a pew and ducking my head. I needed guidance, and my brothers' advice would only carry me so far. They meant well, but they'd tell me to talk to Luna, spend time with her.
If I did that, it would be increasingly harder to fight my instincts to comfort her. So I sought God's guidance.
His response came far sooner than I'd expected.
The door to the chapel creaked open behind me, soft footsteps padding across the wooden floor, and I lifted my head to see Luna slump into the church, her eyes haunted and her braids gathered into a severe knot on her head.
"Oh," she breathed when she spotted me, freezing a few feet from my pew. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you in prayer. I'll just—"
"Stay," I breathed, invited,pleaded.
My heart skipped a beat when she swallowed and slid onto the pew beside me.
10
Luna
Icouldn't explain why I didn't turn and bolt from the church, except an unexpected blanket was thrown over my jagged anxiety, muffling it until my stress was easier to bear.
I slid onto the wooden pew beside Priest, unable to think of anything but the room he'd found me in, naked and bruised and collared. But that blanket still muffled my pain, and I was so damn glad for it.
"I can leave you to pray in peace if you'd prefer," Priest offered quietly, running his hand over his salt-and-pepper beard.
I shook my head. "It's fine."
Back in the training room, I'd felt weak and seen. Not judged, butseen, and that was almost as bad.
Here, with the hush of the chapel around us, and only Priest who'd witnessed me in the worst moments of my life … I didn'tknow why it was better. It should have been worse. But with the victims—survivors they called themselves—in the class, I'd only remembered being chained to the bed and rutted until pain was all I could feel. With Priest, I remembered the aftermath too. I remembered him unbuckling the collar with careful fingers, remembered him dressing me and telling me I was safe.