Screw My Childhood Sweetheart His Alpha Brother Marked Me First novel Chapter 160

Chapter 160

I rolled to my side, writhing in pain. White dots danced in front of my eyes. Wake up!I ordered myself over and over. But I couldn’t seem to climb out of this hell.

“I will cause you more pain than you can fathom. I will destroy your mind one piece at a time until there’s nothing left of you for your bond to recognize. I will-”

His words cut off as I gasped into consciousness again. Five pairs of hands held me, and Caspian was yelling my

name.

My entire body shook. My chest burned as if I’d been branded. I struggled to undo the buttons on my pajama top.

“What the hell was that?” Anson barked.

I had to see. To know if it was real.

River moved in closer, covering my hands with his. “What do you need?”

“M–my shirt.”

He carefully undid the top three buttons.

An audible gasp sounded around the room. Because right there on my chest was a black spiderweb burn. I had thought I was safe. I wasn’t safe at all.

“Walk us through it again,“Knox said as he paced back and forth across the kitchen.

I rubbed at the spot on my chest. It still ached, but the mark from the blast was fading. “It seemed like a normal dream at first-”

“You mean nightmare,” Anson muttered as he leaned against the island.

Knox sent him a quelling look and nodded at me to continue

“I was back there. Only I was alone this time.” That had been what first set my panic in motion. Being so completely isolated. “I heard footsteps and Kaleb appeared. It was weird. Some parts of the dream were so realistic and others seemed to be magic. He made that baton appear out of thin air.”

I shivered and River wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close. “You’re safe now.”

Caspian pushed my mug of tea closer. “Have some more of this.”

I wrapped my hands around the mug but didn’t drink. “He pulled me into the dream somehow,”

Chapter 160

Knox and Vaughn shared a look.

“What?”

Knox ran a hand through his hair. “There is a gift that can control dreams. It’s rare and to manipulate someone without their permission is against our laws. But I’ve never heard of someone being physically harmed in a dream.”

I swallowed, my throat sticking on the movement. “He said he could break me. Destroy my mind.”

A muscle in Vaughn’s cheek fluttered wildly. “He’s not going to get the chance to do that.”

“I can’t stay awake forever.” That would break my mind just as quickly.

Caspian traced circles on my knee. “You woke up as soon as we were all touching you. I have a feeling that gives you some sort of protection.”

My gaze lifted to Vaughn. Shadows danced in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed closer.”

“Don’t you dare apologize for him. Kaleb is the one responsible, no one else.”

Vaughn’s jaw worked back and forth. “There are other protections we can put in place too.”

“Like the crystal you gave me?”

I hadn’t had a bad dream in so long, I’d hung it on my vanity instead. But it clearly needed to go back under my

pillow.

He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s strong enough.”

“Caspian’s right,” Knox said. “Our best line of defense is being together. There’s something about our bond that shields Senna.”

River’s fingers tangled in my hair. “We need to look over the old histories, see if we can find anything about this.”

“Kaleb could be mixing gifts with dark magic,” Vaughn suggested.

His words had a memory flashing in my mind. “There was a man with Kaleb the day you rescued me. I think he was a witch. They were going to forcibly break the bond because I’d been so sick.”

Anson let out a low growl. “I thought witches and warlocks stayed far away from shifters.”

Knox scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Usually, they do. There have been tensions between our groups for centuries, but money can be a powerful motivator.”

“The man said something about being paid even if he didn’t break the bond.”

More low growls sounded at my words.

Chapter 160

“If we could find evidence of Kaleb trying to strengthen gifts with dark magic, the Quad would have to act,” Caspian

said.

Anson pushed off the island and began to pace. “And just how are you going to find that? I doubt the warlock is going to come before the Quad and council out of the goodness of his heart.”

I pressed myself closer to Caspian’s side. “We’re just throwing out ideas. Let’s all take a breath.”

Some of the tension bled from Anson and he glanced at Caspian. “Sorry, man. I just—”

Caspian raised his hand, cutting him off. “I know. We’re all worried. And you’re right, finding that kind of proof is probably impossible.”

“What we need to focus on right now is keeping Senna safe,” Vaughn said.

Another shiver slid through me at the thought of trying to sleep. At knowing Kaleb could be lurking just on the other side of unconsciousness. I rubbed at the spot on my chest again.

River’s hand covered mine. “Does it still hurt?”

Any hint of discomfort was pulled from me, replaced by warmth. I leaned into him. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do.” His hand tightened around mine a fraction. “You were in so much pain. But I couldn’t break into the dream. It was like when you were taken. The shields were too strong.”

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