However, after a few more moments, Arctic stood beside me with a frown. “You are on the edge of overdoing it, Angel,” he warned with sad eyes. Matty sobered, as did I, and we sighed while staring at the fox shifter who radiated sorrow. “I wish you could continue to romp, as your laughter is the balm this place needs, but we cannot risk your health. Ryker is not here to save you if you go too far.”
Still, it was fun while it lasted. I believe Arc feared we would be angry or disappointed. Hence, his eyes widened comically when Matty and I stood to hug him. Then, I took Matty’s offered hand, and we swung our arms with smiles and giggles while returning to the manor. When I glanced over my shoulder, Arctic looked shocked, albeit his expression softened into a radiant smile that took my breath away. For the rest of our day, Matty and I watched movies and shows on the large screen Ryker spoiled us with.
Dinner was that delicious soup which warmed me to my soul, and I smiled gratefully at Arctic, who ate it too. Then it was time to rest, and Arc held me as tightly as the night before. Another night with no haunting dreams left me feeling almost human. I hadn’t noticed how weak or off I felt until I was nearly recovered. Odd, but not terribly surprising.
Another day of lazing around with Matty lay before me, and I enjoyed it until I needed to relieve my bladder. Kissing the top of Matty’s head, I walked down the hall without looking at the paintings I knew were there. Each was gorgeous, and I hoped to one day make something as beautiful as the art that graced Ryker’s walls. Everything was fine until I was on my way back from the bathroom.
A door that was previously closed fell open in the few minutes I was indisposed. Shaking my head, I ignored it in favor of not sticking my nose into any trouble like Ryker asked, and cautioned I must. However, a familiar name made me pause, and I trembled while fighting looking over my shoulder into the gap between the door and wall. Without realizing it, I looked, and my cheeks turned cold because of the blood abandoning my face. My breath left my lungs as a harsh gasp while I tried to force my gaze away, but I lacked the strength.
Inside the room, with its mockingly cheerful light-yellow walls, Tammy sat in a chair with restraints. The chair itself looked like a torture device because of the straps and trays of painful-looking tools that hung from it. But what I could not look away from was what the vampire sitting next to Tammy did. Her wrist was on the broader metal arm of the chair, strapped in several places, with metal pins keeping it open. He had a tool on suction, he had to of, or else there’d be blood everywhere. Instead, I could see the inners of Tammy’s wrist, and the nerve he tormented with a spiky tool that made my skin crawl. “Does that hurt, Tammy?” He asked in a mock sympathetic voice, and I choked on the air my body tried to pull into my lungs.
Arctic was suddenly there, slamming the door closed, but I still saw that scene in perfect detail in my mind. He pulled my numb body close to his warmth, and I stumbled because I couldn’t make my feet work. No, all I knew was what I saw. God, how Tammy screamed. The sound echoed in my ears incessantly while I could only see that tool fraying the sensitive nerve in her wrist.
As soon as I understood what I saw, bile rose in my throat, and I stumbled. Thankfully, Arctic guessed what would happen once the shock wore off. He pressed on my shoulders a second later to encourage me to kneel in front of a toilet. I hurled everything I ate into it, followed by bile until I only dry heaved because there was nothing left in my stomach to expel. Still, tears continued to pour down my cheeks while I sobbed and tried to hurl something, anything, hoping it would take those images away.
Eventually, Tyger stood beside us with a needle in his hand. Arctic, who held my hair and rubbed my back while I tried to expel that horror, nodded and offered my wrist to the wary shifter. I didn’t have a chance to protest or struggle, and the needle was underneath my skin while Tyger pushed its contents into my bloodstream. Then it was darkness, blessed darkness where no images plagued my mind.
Sitting with a gasp, I shuddered while what the vampire did to Tammy filled my mind once more. Gagging, I ran for the bathroom, hurling as soon as I made it to the toilet. Once I expelled the bile in my stomach, I sobbed while dry heaving. “Easy, Angel,” Arctic murmured, and I flinched, not having realized he knelt beside me. Now that I knew he was there, I became aware that he held my hair and rubbed my back. Not that anything could soothe the horror I saw. Speaking of, my body found something to bring up, and I sobbed afterward. “Angel, I need to do something, and you might not like it. But, first,” Arctic murmured, and through my tears, I saw a hazy shape that somewhat resembled a bottle of mouthwash.
With another soft sob, I took the proffered bottle, using it to rinse my mouth. Afterward, I gagged again, but Arctic gently grabbed my chin, turning it so we faced each other. I blinked to dispel the tears gathered in my eyes so I could see Arc, who gave me a weak smile. Then, without warning, the fox shifter ducked his head
