Soul Mate Service (boyxboy)

Chapter 31

THADDEUS

I saw nothing, and felt even less as the world morphed along the outskirts of my vision. The only shred of clarity I had to hold onto was him, the barely-there weight cradled protectively in my shaking arms, his terrified breaths grazing my pounding jugular with each labored step that I took.

My skull was filled with lead, weighing down the rest of my exhausted form as I trudged on. And as my eyes, unfocused, watery, and vacant, remained fixed ahead, my soul craved only one thing.

Safety.

Was it even possible to find that anywhere within these stark, white walls? Or – even more likely – had it ever even truly existed in the first place?

Either way, all that I knew was that within our Housing Pod, where Aria and I's scents intermingled and filled the place with a bone-deep kind of peace, was likely the closest I was ever gonna get.

So, even though I was barely able to comprehend one second to the next, I held him tightly against my chest, unwilling to let go, my instincts alone carrying us both through the labyrinth of interconnected corridors that made up this fucked up prison of a Society.

After we'd fulfilled our side of the agreement and consummated our Mateship for all to see, I'd hoped that that would be it, that The Elders would thank us for our 'service' and get their heads out of our asses from here on out.

But of course, even as I lay panting above Aria, still intertwined in a tangled mess of sweaty flesh and unable to disconnect myself from the depths of his body, it immediately became clear that my wish was far from any reality we would soon face.

As I replayed the memory over and over in my faraway mind, somewhere in the background I felt yet another drop of moisture gather along the firm line of my clenched jaw.

Far too soon, the one-sided door creaked open, and in an instant I was lowering my body down, shielding Aria's vulnerable form from any and everyone's view. I bared my teeth with a grunt, letting whoever dared disturb my Mate and I's moment of sacred connection that I was not afraid to protect him with everything that I had in me.

I probably looked fucking insane right then, half-clothed with wild eyes and muscles primed for battle despite the fact that my cock was still – my some odd twist of nature – buried balls deep within my Soul Mate.

But right now, protecting Aria was infinitely more important than any logic, so when a small figure finally began to emerge from the darkness, flanked by a ridiculous number of dumb ass Enforcers, my hackles rose, the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck raising to insurmountable heights.

"You dare not make that sound at me, number 6081," A familiar voice sounded, although, in my heightened state of vicious arousal, I hardly had enough sanity left to fully recognize it. It was only then that I realized that I'd been emitting a low, violent growl that had boiled over, frothing and festering somewhere deep within in my chest.

Although I still had no fucking clue who this tiny, elderly woman with claw-like nails was, and even though I wanted to launch myself across the damn room and tear her into shreds of old-woman jerky, there was still a tiny part of my half-working brain that told me that she was not someone to be messed with.

Reluctantly, my growls quieted.

"Hm. So you do still have some semblance of sense rattling around in there. Perhaps there is hope for you yet," her tone was sarcastic, one that I would typically appreciate seeing as to how I was the reigning king of sarcasm myself. But this time, hearing it spewing like bile out of her wrinkly ass lips only made me want to tear 'em right off of her smug fucking face.