Chapter One - Austin
A MOTOR revving. A sudden thump. The seat belt tightened abruptly across his chest as Austin was thrown forward then slammed back in his seat.
A sharp squeal of tires then the stench of brakes locking up on pavement. Then the screech of metal shredding under force. Somewhere there was a roar, like fans at a football game.
One moment the road was there, wide open and safe. The day was beautiful. A few fluffy white clouds meandered across the sky, and the ocean sparkled in the sunlight.
Which was all lost in the screeching noises and acrid smells.
Fear came—mind-numbing and body-paralyzing as he watched as the guard rail peeled apart. One long terrified scream sounded as the pretty blue water crashing against the rocks drew ever closer.
They were going to die—die in a fiery blaze of twisted metal.
Suddenly the screams were silenced. No more revving, no more squeal of brakes—only darkness that starved out the light. There was no peace, though. Only anger and fear.
And a never-ending scream as death came to claim him.
“Austin? Babe?”
Fuck death. And fuck anything else that tried to take his mate from him! No! He wasn’t having it. Kage was his, and he wanted a life with his mate. No! No, no, no! He would not lose his mate. Not when he’d just found him.
“Austin! Wake up!”
The urgency in that beloved voice finally pierced the nightmarish darkness that held Austin captive. Jackknifing up in bed, a lone wail of desperation and fear echoed around him.
Sucking in a breath, he frantically looked around. Water. Where was the ocean? How close were they to those damn rocks? How many seconds were left before they hit the bottom of the cliff and exploded?
“Babe. You’re okay. It’s okay. I’m here. We’re safe. We’re in bed. Babe?”
Austin latched on to that voice. “Kage?”
“Yes.”
Austin blinked as a soft light flooded the room. “What… what…?”
“You had a nightmare.”
“Nightmare?” Austin’s frantic gaze bounced all around.
There was no sunny sky, rocky shore, or ocean rushing up to take them. He focused on the soft light from the lamp on Kage’s side of the bed. Bed. He was in bed. With Kage. Not in the car the hunters had shoved over the cliff with them in it.
“Aw, shit.” Austin’s throat hurt, he was sweaty, and the sheets were wrapped around him. He kicked listlessly at them.
“Hold on.” Kage gently unwrapped Austin from the clinging sheets. Then he settled back next to Austin. “Babe.”
“I know, I know.”
“Can I touch you? Is that okay?”
What? Why was Kage even asking that? “Jeez, of course!”
Kage slid his arm around Austin’s shoulders. “There’s no ‘of course’ about it. You’re foggy from the nightmare, and your heart is still racing. I didn’t want to startle you and add to that.”
Jesus. It hurt to the hear the pain and concern in Kage’s voice.
