Page 54 of Their Scarred Mate
“Why are you saying this to me?What do you want?”asked Freya, warily.She was tired, she just wanted to close her eyes and forget everything that had happened.She wanted ...oblivion.
“I was afraid of Dane when I woke up in a hospital bed.But then...”she sighed, almost dreamily.“I felt a pull to him I couldn’t explain.I feared him, but I wanted him by my side.At the same time, I wanted to be the same oblivious woman I was before the abduction.”
Although she didn't show it, she felt strangely drawn to what the woman was telling her.It was as if, in a way, their stories were identical.Ignorance had been a blessing, knowledge a painful curse.But the young woman showed that it was possible to overcome pain.When she spoke of her husband—mate?—it was with longing and love.
She surprised herself when she heard herself whispering, “Is it possible, then?”
“What?”
“To forget it?”
Lily shuddered.
“I’ll never forget.I still have nightmares.There are nights in which Dane has a hard time waking me up, because ...I’mthere.Reliving the assault, the fear ...everything.But then I open my eyes, and the love of my life is there for me.And I put it to rest again.”
She caressed her belly with love in her eyes.
“And now we’re having a little one that is constantly kicking my bladder, and that I already love.Wealready love.”
She stroked her belly again and looked at Freya, understanding lighting up her hazel eyes.
“And yes ...it is possible to love them.There’s love at the end of the road.Just not right afterward.”
Lily grimaced and awkwardly stood up.
“And speaking of kicking my bladder, I really need to find a bathroom.I hope we’ll meet again, Freya.”
Looking up, Freya saw her walking away with the unsteady gait typical of pregnant women.
“It wasn’t an accident you being here,” she whispered, more to herself, but Lily heard, stopped, looked back, and smiled.
“Of course not.But it would happen sooner or later.I felt I needed to know you since the first time I saw you in that cage.You’re one of the strongest women I have ever met.”
Lily didn’t wait for an answer before turning and entering the building, leaving Freya to her thoughts.
Dane and Connor were hidden behind a tree.Their keen hearing hadn’t missed a single word of what had been said, and both men had swallowed hard.The two young women were survivors.All that remained was for Freya to find the inner strength that Lily had found with Dane.
