Page 74 of His Bullied Fated Mate

“I just ordered sandwiches for dinner. Shit. I didn’t get you one, though. Janella didn't say that you were going to be here.”

“That’s okay, I’m just here to change, and then I’m heading out to a town meeting. I'll grab something while I'm out.”

“There’s a town meeting?”

He nodded. “Yeah, it was put together because everyone is starting to get worried about everything that’s going on, so the Council said I should have a meeting and remind them that everything is okay and that we have everything under control.”

I frowned. “Is everything okay?” Because last I checked, we hadn't gotten anywhere. We still hadn't found the Cauldron. People were still losing their minds, and the bonds were still failing.

Riley paused and clicked his tongue. “Have you had enough water today? Sherry said that you need to be drinking your water. We don't want you to have to get another IV because you got dehydrated.”

Kyla smirked. “Nice diversion there.”

I frowned, wondering if he was hiding something from me. “Riley, is there something I don’t know?”

“No.”

“We promised no secrets. What are you hiding?”

“I’m not hiding anything. Things have just been tense the past couple of days. Everything is fine.” He walked over, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead, before he headed up the stairs.

“No secrets?” Kyla asked, giving me a confused look.

I groaned. “I didn’t tell him about the baby right away.”

Kyla’s eyebrows went up. “Wow, really? Why?”

“Because of everything that’s going on. I didn’t want to add another thing onto his plate. He’s already running aroundenough as it is, and now this. I just didn't want to make him worry more.”

She smiled. “It’s a baby, and he loves you.”

I tried not to react to her words. We’d never said them to each other. Sure, we were sharing the same bed and planned to turn his old room into the nursery since we never bought him any new furniture for that space. And sure, he held me at night, and I felt safe. But we’d never said those words.

We were married, but it wasn’t entirely real. We slept together, but it was only a couple of times. We were standing in a gray area. We weren’t together, but we weren’t seeing other people.

“So, when is the food arriving?”

Kyla left half an hour later, and I got bored. I stared at the ceiling as the time seemed to tick by. I twirled my fingers and knocked my toes together. I looked down at my stomach, not seeing a bump. I knew it was early still.

I groaned. “I’m bored.”

I turned the TV and tried to focus on it. I felt my eyes growing heavy as I watched, deciding not to fight it.

I opened my eyes and found I was standing in a room. There were sconces lighting the room in a dim hue. I looked around, seeing that I was standing in a dirty space. It was cold, and the walls were brick. It reminds me of a dungeon.

I stepped forward, feeling the cold underneath my socks. I was still wearing what I had on while lying on the couch, but I was somewhere else.

I swallowed and turned around. I froze as I spotted the Cauldron sitting across the space. It was bubbling and chained down to the ground.

I could smell the dark magic and the way it seemed to circle around the room, looking for an exit.

I stared at the Cauldron. I knew I hadn’t been insane and that it was real. But where the hell was I? It wasn’t in the woods but rather underground. There were no windows. I turned, looking at the door, trying to think if I’d ever seen it before. But it didn’t refresh any memories for me.

“Where am I?”

“Janella.”

I jerked awake to find Riley shaking me. He sighed, looking relieved. “You’re awake. Jesus, you were scaring me. You were mumbling in your sleep.”