MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

55. DAVID: FOUR YEARS LATER

Valeria was struggling to breathe.

Carl had sliced up her right arm, leaving it hanging immobile at her side. Her leg was broken so she couldn't put any weight on it. I had heard the crack the moment he stepped on her leg when she was down.

She was struggling to stay upright.

She was going to get herself killed. He was older and stronger than her.

Carl slowly circled her. He hadn't fully shifted but he still had an advantage over her. He paused behind her. My lips parted to yell out a warning, but it was too late.

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Val slowly glanced down at the knife sticking out of her chest. She raised her hand and touched the blood-coated blade before looking at me.

Needed to save her, but I couldn't move. My body was frozen in place. All I could do was watch as she dropped to her knees and then to the ground.

No!

***

I jerked up and glanced around the room.

The last remains of the nightmare slowly faded. Sweat coated my skin, making the sheets cling to my body. I instantly pushed it away and then stood. The house was too silent, and with the memories lingering in the back of my mind, the unease inside me grew. The wooden floorboards creaked as I walked down the hall.

Val's laughter suddenly filled the silence. It came from the kitchen.

When I entered, she was sitting at the counter, watching Devon standing behind the stove. I paused and leaned back against the wall to watch them.

We all had gone a long way since the night Carl came with the hunters and rogues.

Val had fought Carl and won.

He was too big-headed and allowed his confidence to get him killed. He had thrown Val to the ground after removing the blade from her chest. He thought that she was done for, that she wouldn't get up. And honestly so had I. I thought that we were going to lose her forever, but in the end, she had surprised us all.

Val had gotten up and stabbed him in the heart with one of the knives I had given her.

It was the scariest thing I had to face. I couldn't help her.

In the end, Val did the right thing by demanding to fight Carl. If she hadn't, things would've turned out worse. Carl would've killed every one of us before taking Val away.

We all had killed. We had lost family members and friends. We had to rebuild everything up from the ground, but in the end, we all survived. We walked out stronger and with a better understanding. We were wiser too.

My eyes darted over to Devon when he uttered a curse and dropped the pan onto the stove. Val's laughter started up again. It felt amazing waking up each morning to this. It was even better when I woke to find both of them still fast asleep in bed with me. Things between Devon and I had progressed. We were more open with our touches and kisses at home, but things hadn't gone any further than kisses and a few blowjobs. We haven't taken the next step just yet.

"Sleepyhead is awake!"

I was jolted back to reality by Val's loud exclamation. A smile slipped onto my face as I straightened and entered the kitchen. Walking over to her, I slipped my arms around her waist and buried my face against her neck. She giggled but pressed herself back against me.

"Morning, doll," I muttered, pressing a kiss to her shoulder before straightening. "How did you sleep?"

"Good thank you, how about you?"

"Okay."

I stepped around the island and made my way over to Devon. Wrapping an arm around his waist, I pressed my lips against his for a second before turning to the stove. My lips twitched as I stared down at his failed attempts. Devon hadn't quite mastered the art of cooking. Val was the master in this house—it was something she had to learn from a young age. It still pissed me off when I heard about the way her aunt had raised her.

"I was trying to make you breakfast in bed," Devon muttered. "Instead of helping me, Val has been giving out instructions and laughing her ass off."

I turned towards her with a raised eyebrow. She held up her hands but the smile still stayed in place. Humour danced in her bright eyes as she glanced between the two of us.

"I told him exactly what he needed to do. It's not my fault if he can't follow simple instructions."

I smirked. "Then I guess we need to teach him how to follow instructions."

She jumped up and clasped her hands in front of her body. Val tilted her face to the side slightly, pouted and blinked her eyes at me. "Can he be my slave for the day?"

"No," Devon growled.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why not?"

"Because she'll make me clean again!"

So this has happened before.

Sometimes I got the feeling that Devon did things on purpose to get that reaction out of her. Deep down he enjoyed doing whatever Val ordered him to do. He was a big old softy, but only for our mate.

"That's not true," Val said softly. "I have other things on my mind."

I caught the glint in her eyes before she turned away from us. Devon muttered something under his breath, making me look at him. He was busy cleaning up the mess he had made. He threw away the flopped pancakes and then the mix before pilling the dishes into the sink. How different things could've turned out four years ago.

"Did you have that nightmare again?" Val asked softly, moving closer.

"What makes you think that?"

Val paused and then walked up to me. Stopping in front of me, she reached up to grip the back of my neck. I raised an eyebrow when she tugged me down until our faces were inches apart. I reached out to grip her hips.

"You might smile and act like you're fine, but I can see right through that. Tell me, David."

My eyes darted over to Devon when he turned towards us. He wiped his hands on a dishcloth, dropped in onto the counter, and paused next to us. His eyes locked with mine. I instantly looked away from him. Closing my eyes, I pressed my forehead against hers. A sigh fell past my lips.

"I try not to," I muttered. "It just sneaks up on me."

"You know nothing like that would ever happen again," Devon said softly.

"You can't say that."

"No, we can't. But we will be prepared if something like that happens. You know that. Stop worrying about things like this."

"I'll try," I whispered.

Val pressed her lips against mine. "Good."