Every time he stopped to stare at her, Bethany wanted to fidget under his intense gaze but she refused to be intimidated. She'd spent eleven years of her life afraid; she wouldn't live like that anymore.

"You never have to fear me. I would never hurt you. I only want to keep you safe, and if it's in my power to do so, keep you happy."

Her breath froze in her lungs. Okay, so now she was afraid. The voice was in her head again. And the wolf had been looking right at her when she heard it.

"Are you talking to me in my mind?" she asked him as she pressed herself back against the wall as if it could absorb her body.

"Yes. All true mates can speak through their bond. You can speak to me mentally, if you want."

"I think I'll just…keep talking to you like this," she pointed to her mouth as if he wouldn't understand without the motion.

He sat down on his haunches—okay that's a weird way to think of it if he really was a man—and stared straight at her. He was a beautiful animal. His fur was soft and was shiny; his eyes were like liquid silver, bright, if not a tad wild looking.

"How old are you?" he asked as he continued to study her just as closely as she was studying him.

"Eighteen. How old are you?" Was she really doing this? Was she really going to sit here and have a conversation with a wolf?

"Would you prefer I take my human form?"

The question took her off guard. Would she? She didn't know. She'd never been around a human man before—at least not as a grown woman. She'd been with the vampires so long she didn't even know how to feel about men.

"About me?"

"What?"

"You don't know how to feel about me, not just any man."

"Do you have to do that? Read my thoughts? It's kind of unnerving."

"I've been waiting for you for so long. I want to give you the space you need, but you are all that is keeping me sane. Either I touch your skin or I touch you mentally through our bond."

Bethany didn't know what to say to that. She was talking to a wolf who could speak to her through her thoughts, and he'd just told her that she was the key to his sanity. Her? As if she was sane herself. She stood suddenly and the wolf stood as well. She felt as though the walls were closing in on her. The room was getting smaller and the air was being sucked out and she was going to suffocate.

"Bethany, listen to me."

His voice filled her mind but all she could think about was trying to get air into her lungs. She leaned over, placing her hands on her knees as she tried to keep her balance. The world was beginning to break apart into little squares and she could feel herself falling forward. Then the world went black.

Drake phased faster than he ever had before. He flung his arm out through the space in the bars and caught Bethany's head before it could hit the ground. He lowered her gently down and brushed the hair from her face. She was exquisite. Her hair was as black as pitch and her skin as fair and creamy as milk. It was striking in its contrast. Her eyes were a startling color of aquamarine. She had long eyelashes and full pink lips. Her nose was small and cute and her cheeks were high, hinting at an aristocratic appearance. She looked like a fairy queen. She was small—at least a foot shorter than his 6'2" frame. His hands easily encircled her wrists and he felt as though the slightest amount of pressure could snap her bones. She seemed so fragile and yet she'd survived living with vampires. She’d been fed on for years. She wasn't fragile, she was strong—resilient—and she was his.

Drake ran a finger across her cheekbone and down her jaw. He couldn't stop touching her. Just this small touch pushed the maddening darkness back enough that he could think a little more clearly.

Several minutes passed before she started to come to. Her eyes fluttered several times before finally opening. They met his and Drake felt as though he'd been punched in the gut.

It took her a moment to realize that she was looking at a man and not a wolf. He saw the moment she realized this as she pushed herself up and scampered back away from him. Drake was mindful of the fact that he was completely unclothed and kept himself in a position that would not give her an eyeful.

When he spoke, he did so softly, not wanting to startle her any further. "Would you throw me a pair of those pants?" He pointed to the far left of the room where a shelf stood in the corner containing stacks of folded sweat pants.

Bethany's eyes didn’t leave him as she slid sideways until her hands hit the shelf. She grabbed a pair and stepped to the part of the cell furthest from him and pushed them through the bars. Drake waited until she was back in her spot, pressed tightly to the wall, before moving.

"I'm going to stand now, so unless you want a quick anatomy lesson, you might want to turn your head or close your eyes."

He waited for her to comply but she just sat there staring at him. "Bethany," he said her name softly. "Are you okay?"

Still she didn't speak. Drake didn't know what to do, but he knew he couldn't just sit there naked. So he stood and turned to grab the sweatpants. He pulled them on quickly, his back turned to her. When he turned back around, he nearly smiled because her once fair skinned face was now as red as a ripe cherry.

"I warned you," he told her with a small amount of laughter in his voice. He sat down less than a foot from the bars, directly across from where she sat. Drake met her gaze and then waited. It didn't bother him to just sit and stare at her. She was here, his true mate, finally. He could wait for as long as she needed, just so long as she would stay close to him.

Drake could feel the confusion, disbelief, and uncertainty running through her mind. He was trying very hard not to just read her thoughts. He didn't want to violate her privacy but he needed to keep the bond open. If he was going to keep the darkness from completely taking over again, he needed her light.

"There is no light in me," she said suddenly. Her voice was soft and her lips had barely moved.

"What?"

"You think you need my light. I don’t know what that means but I do know that there is no light in me. I've lived in the dark for too long."

Her words twisted his heart. Her childhood had been ripped from her, her innocence taken away in an instant. He hadn't been there to protect her.

"It wasn't your job to protect me," she said. A frown creased her brow.