MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

18. ARIANA: UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Things always looked better in the morning, but there was nothing good about it. I'd gone back to bed after what happened. I wasn't planning on going back to sleep but somehow I had fallen asleep only to be jerked awake by the pain of a needle sliding into my skin.

Lucas had given me an apologetic smile as he injected me for the second time since I woke up. The first time had been when I...practically jumped him in the bathroom.

When I woke up, I was dying from thirst. My mind was hazy but I wasn't too out of it to notice the fact that I was strapped in on the back seat of a moving car. A glance to the front of the car was enough to inform me that Lucas was behind the wheel.

I must've fallen asleep again.

The second time I woke up I was sitting in the front of a different car with Lucas still behind the wheel.

I watched him from beneath my lashes as I silently took inventory of my body. Apart from a mild headache and a bit of shakiness, I was fine. No body aches or anything that made me feel alarmed.

Raising my head, I glanced out of the front window and then the window to my side.

We were on what looked to be a highway with only a few cars. The sun was starting to set which filled the sky with a million shades of pink and orange. If I wasn't so pissed at Lucas, I might have appreciated the beauty of it.

"Y-you injected me," I croaked.

Lucas glanced at me. "If you didn't see anything—"

"With what did you inject me?"

His hands clenched around the steering wheel. "I told you before that it's something to help you heal."

My mouth dropped open but before I could utter a word, there was a loud bang and the car jerked sharply to the left. Fear hit me hard.

Lucas cursed but he managed to keep the car steady, long enough for him to park the car at the side of the road. No more bangs followed and all the other cars drove past as if nothing had happened.

We are not under attack.

"Just a blown tyre," Lucas said softly.

I nodded but my hold on the seat didn't loosen. My stomach clenched as another wave of fear flashed through me. I could feel the panic attack hovering on the edge. One little nudge and it would tumble over, enfolding me with its dark clutches.

"Ariana."

I sucked in a breath but Lucas wasn't close enough.

My hands shook so badly that I couldn't even unclip my seatbelt. Gentle hands brushed mine aside and freed me from the restriction of the seatbelt. The moment I was free, I scrambled across the console and into his lap.

A grunt fell from his lips and his body completely froze.

I straddled his lap and pressed my face to the crook of his neck. Deep breaths had his scent filling my nostrils. Slowly the fear faded, enough for me to pay attention to Lucas. I raised my head and stared down at his face.

"Lucas?"

His eyes were shut and his bottom lip caught between his teeth with his hands clenched tightly on top of my thighs.

I sucked in another breath.

"I'm sorry."

The sweet scent of his fear filled the car. I had no idea what the hell happened but somehow I knew that I fucked up.

I gently cupped his cheeks and pressed my lips to his forehead.

"It's okay," I whispered. "You're okay."