Chapter Eight

Perched in a worn booth, Nate glanced around, stunned at how the world had changed since he’d been trapped in the motel. Sure, he’d caught glimpses of modern life through grainy TV commercials but they’d been limited and hadn’t prepared him for the staggering reality that surrounded him.

Almost everyone in the diner had a cell phone in their hands, their attention fixated on the screen as if it held some kind of mesmerizing power over them.

When the server took their order, Nate watched in astonishment as the guy used some sort of gadget to instantly send their choices to the cook.

The cars passing by on the street outside were nothing like the ones from Nate’s era. They had sleek, futuristic designs and moved with an efficiency he couldn’t comprehend. And what really blew his mind was the music blaring from one car as it drove by, a cacophony of sound that made his ears hurt.

It was almost like being on a different planet where everything seemed familiar yet somehow advanced beyond his understanding.

The noise level was what really agitated Nate and drove his anxiety even higher. After living in quiet solitude for so long, he found himself struggling to adjust to the constant bombardment of sounds from all directions.

Never would he have dreamt of longing for the simplicity of the motel. But now, surrounded by the chaos of this new world, Nate found himself missing its confining walls. He wanted the peace and quiet where his mind wasn’t struggling to cope with sensory overload.

Ryker’s strong, comforting arm slid around Nate’s shoulders, pulling him in close to his warm, solid body. The bustling din of the busy diner faded away as Ryker’s deep voice murmured reassuringly in his ear. “I can see taking you to a busy diner was the wrong choice. I should have taken you to my house first, where you could slowly acclimate back into the world.”

“It’s just…so much to take in.”

Pressing himself even closer into Ryker’s side, Nate swallowed back his increasing panic. For one hundred years, the world had evolved without him, leaving him feeling lost and out of place, like a relic that didn’t belong here.

“Close your eyes, honey bear,”

Ryker whispered against Nate’s ear. “Block out one sense so the others can better adjust.”

Doing as he was told, Nate closed his eyes and took a deep breath to center himself.

“Keep in mind that if you want to leave, we can go.”

Ryker trailed his fingers down Nate’s arm, leaving a tingling sensation in their wake. “Whatever you need to cope, it’s yours.”

“You.”

Nate rested a hand on Ryker’s muscular thigh, grateful for his comforting presence. “All I need is you.”

“Mmm. You have me, sweetheart.”

The deep timbre of his voice rolled over Nate, smooth and slow, like whiskey poured over ice—heady, intoxicating, and impossible to resist. “But tell me what you smell.”

Taking another deep breath, Nate let the noise fade into the background, allowing the smells to fill his senses and trigger memories of foods he used to love. They flooded his mind, reminding him of how they tasted on his tongue, how the texture felt in his mouth, and the intense flavors he once took for granted but now craved more than anything.

“A strong, bold scent of roasted coffee beans. The sticky sweetness of maple syrup. Ooh, and the smokiness of hardwood bacon sizzling on the grill.”

He inhaled deeper. “I also smell toasted bread with real butter melting into its warmth.”

Ryker rubbed gentle circles on his back as Nate continued to focus, relaxing as his breathing slowed and his racing heart began to settle. Then a smile tugged at his lips. “I also hear a child’s joyful laughter and faint Christmas music playing in the background.”

He sighed in contentment, the laughter curling around him like a warm hug. “It’s distant, like it’s coming from somewhere down the street.”

“What else, honey bear?”

Opening his eyes, Nate looked up at him. “I want you to tell me what you hear,”

he replied hoarsely. “Your voice…is soothing to me.”

Warm lips touched his temple, enveloping him in a dark, woodsy scent. “Your steady breathing, the way it hitches when your anxiety rises,”

Ryker murmured. “And the beat of your heart that quickens every time I touch you.” His beard grazed Nate’s jaw, the soft scratch a contrast to the warmth of his breath. “And the naughty memories racing through your mind as you think about how good it felt when your cock slid into my mouth.”

Nate sucked in a sharp breath, his gaze darting to the scuffed tabletop. “You can’t hear thoughts.”

Ryker chuckled against his ear before continuing in a velvety tone, “Even if what I’m saying is true?”

Now that his mate put those thoughts in his head, Nate imagined those strong, hard muscles pressed against him, sweaty and flexing as Ryker made love to him. He thought back to their amazing kisses, full of passion and need, and those lips that had brought him so much pleasure.

“I love the way your body responds to my touch.”

Ryker glided his tongue over the skin behind Nate’s ear. “So amazing.”

Any lingering anxiety Nate felt was obliterated. “And what naughty thoughts are racing through your mind?”

His brows furrowed when his mate didn’t answer him. Glancing up, he saw Ryker was frowning. Nate followed his gaze and spotted the man’s father standing at the entrance to the diner, wearing a shocked expression.

The guy moved swiftly toward them then hauled Ryker from the booth, hugging his son tightly as a sob escaped. Nate glanced away, a tiny spark of jealousy igniting inside of him, hurt that his own family would never react that way to seeing him. His mother and siblings were nowhere near as cruel as Diobno, but they weren’t exactly caring either.

“Dad, why are you hugging me so hard?”

Ryker grunted. “ I’ve only been gone a day. You act like you haven’t seen me in a year.”

Nate’s heart stalled as a chill crawled over him.

Finally, Ryker’s dad pulled back but kept his hands on his son’s upper arms. His gray eyes shimmered with tears, ready to fall as he stared in wonderment at Ryker. “Son, you…you’ve been missing for ten years.”

Ryker staggered back, his eyes wide. Sitting stock-still, Nate glanced around, paying even closer attention to everything than he had before. So busy dealing with his anxiety, with smelling the different aromas, he hadn’t noticed the noise of the diner, the conversations, the clink of coffee cups… It all seemed a little…off.

“That can’t be right.”

Ryker stared slack-jawed at his father. “It’s only been a day!” He scrubbed his fingers through his hair, letting out a disbelieving huff.

Nate closed his eyes, only this time for a different reason. He exhaled a soft, slow breath then concentrated on the hidden notes beneath the sounds he was only meant to hear. A layer of static was buried underneath, a low hum embedded in the wavelength of noise surrounding him. It was an unnatural buzzing that vibrated around them, the kind that shouldn’t exist.

As Ryker questioned his father, anguish making his deep voice crack, Nate slowly stood, moving closer to his mate. He took Ryker’s hand and tugged him down, whispering in his ear, “We have to open our eyes.”

The temperature inside the diner dropped a few degrees, the air growing colder. It was the kind of chill that seeped into your lungs when you inhaled, and yet Ryker didn’t seem to notice. He stood there frowning at Nate, his lips slightly parted.

“What’re you talking about, honey bear?”

How could Nate have forgotten something so important? Even though his focus had been on Ryker, the battle, and their freedom, he’d allowed an extremely dangerous detail to slip his mind.

A detail that would be far worse than eternal imprisonment in a rundown motel if he didn’t get Ryker to open his eyes.

Nate glanced around the room to see if anyone was paying him too close attention. His gaze darted to the counter, where a waiter stood with a coffee pot, the man’s stare blank and vacant. The diner’s patrons now seemed blurred at the edges, like static-filled images on an old TV screen. He turned his head toward Ryker’s father, who was no longer focused on his allegedly long-lost son.

Instead, those gray eyes were locked on Nate, a smile curling at his lips, but it wasn’t a smile that spoke of warmth or reunion. It made Nate’s skin crawl, the kind of smile that held secrets and malice, a darkness that churned under the surface.

“Nate?”

Ryker’s frown deepened, his gaze shifting between Nate and his supposed father.

“Open your eyes, Ryker,”

he urged, staring at Diobno—who was disguised as his mate’s father—right in the eye. “My uncle is a master at illusion. We’re not free, Ryker. He caught us in the shadows. None of what you see is real.”

The smile faded as Diobno’s expression morphed into something more sinister, his eyes glinting, calculating. “What gave it away?”

“I’ve been in limbo long enough to know how time works,”

Nate sneered, his heart pounding wildly. “Time might run differently than in the real world, but a day doesn’t equal a decade.”

He was almost sure of it.

“I don’t get it.”

Ryker’s gaze kept flicking between Nate and Diobno.

“My uncle’s spell.”

How could Nate have fallen for this? “He cast it on me, not you, Ryker. Which means, when I left the motel through the closet, I might as well have been wearing a beacon. His spell homed in on me, and he was able to easily track me and trap us in this illusion.” He looked up at Ryker. “We’re frozen in the shadows, our minds here but our bodies still there.”

“Clever boy.”

Diobno’s tone held a barely-contained smile, as if this was all a sick game to him. Then again, everything was a sick game to his uncle.

“Are you saying he isn’t my dad?”

Ryker’s eyes searched Nate’s.

Nate didn’t break eye contact with his uncle. “No. It’s Diobno.”

Ryker took a menacing step forward, his jaw clenched. “You son of a bitch! Take off my father’s goddamn body. You’ll never be worthy enough to wear him.”

Diobno’s smile deepened and became more condescending, as if he were amused by Ryker’s demand.

“He’s not actually wearing your dad,”

Nate whispered. “It’s just an illusion.”

“Take. Him. Off.”

Ryker’s voice was sharp, cold fury vibrating through each word.

Stunned, Nate watched as Diobno complied. His uncle never backed down from anyone, least of all someone he considered beneath him. The image of Ryker’s father shimmered, faded, then melted away, revealing Diobno’s true form, his eyes as cold and cunning as a predator’s, his expression filled with smug disdain.

Nate’s pulse quickened. No. This wasn’t his uncle, at least, not fully. It was another deception, layered over an illusion. Diobno was still playing games. “Open your eyes, Ryker,”

Nate pleaded. “Break the hold he has over your mind. The longer he ensnares it, the harder it becomes to break free.”

“How?”

Ryker stared at him, his eyes wide. “Tell me how to open them, honey bear.”

“Disgusting.”

Diobno curled his lip.

Ryker’s eyes blazed with anger. “Just because you’re too rotten to love doesn’t mean your nephew is.”

Nate caught the gasp that wanted to escape, stuffing it back down, refusing to let Diobno sully a beautiful, and shocking, declaration. Whether it was a slip-up or intentional, it was Nate’s to cherish.

“You know nothing about me.”

Diobno’s voice was dripping with so much hatred that Nate felt it along his skin like tiny, razor-sharp cuts.

Ryker lifted his chin defiantly. “What’s there to figure out?”

He made a dismissive gesture, as if brushing Diobno away. “Fragile ego, obsessed with revenge over some perceived slight. Cruel, weak—”

“I am not weak!”

Diobno’s bellow echoed in the diner, causing the windows to rattle.

Ryker smirked. “A run-of-the-mill narcissist. You’ve spent the last century punishing your nephew over a joke that clearly embarrassed you. I wish Nate could remember it so I could rub it right back into your—”

“No!”

Nate’s heart raced, dread pooling in his stomach. He stood there frozen, wishing Ryker hadn’t revealed that.

Diobno slowly turned to look at Nate, his face a mask of fury. “Is that so?”

“Open your goddamn eyes, Ryker!”

* * * *

The world had turned pitch-black, enveloped in a deep, all-consuming darkness. The silence was deafening except for the harsh, labored breathing that sounded like a dog left outside on a hot summer’s day.

Ryker strained to pinpoint the source of the noise, but it was impossible when he couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face. He was no longer in the diner, so he must have somehow opened his eyes, only now he couldn’t see a damn thing.

“Nate?”

His voice sounded small and insignificant in the vast emptiness surrounding him.

The labored breathing morphed into a high-pitched whine, a pitiful sound that Ryker tried to follow. As he crawled forward on hands and knees, the ground beneath him felt like smooth glass, but it was as cold as ice, sending shivers through his body.

“Nate!”

His heart raced as panic set in. He couldn’t hear an echo of his own voice. Aside from the whine, it felt as though every decibel in the world had been silenced. It was eerie and unsettling, like the universe was holding its breath.

Where was his mate? Why wasn’t he answering?

“Nate, honey bear, please, answer me!”

Ryker kept feeling around, but he had to push to his feet, his hands and knees freezing from the biting-cold ground. Yet, there was also an inexplicable warmth surrounding him. What was this place? Nate had said it was a shadow used to travel from one place to the next, but everything about it felt sinister.

This wasn’t how it had felt when he’d entered it the first time through the closet.

In his blind search, Ryker kicked something solid with his foot and froze, unsure he wanted to know what it was. He wasn’t one of those dumbass people who got themselves killed in horror movies. He was the one who refused to go to the campgrounds in the first place. “This is what you think about when you’re in total darkness?”

Too bad his mate hadn’t given him instructions beyond opening his eyes, because Ryker wanted the hell out of wherever he was.

The high-pitched whine made him look down, even though he couldn’t see anything. Only…it hadn’t sounded like an animal this time. He braced himself, hoping he wasn’t making the worst mistake of his life, then lowered to a crouch. Reaching out, his fingers brushed against soft skin. With the touch came the familiar scent of peppermint.

Nate.

He was violently shaking, his teeth chattering so hard that Ryker could hear the clacking sound. Carefully, he reached out and found Nate’s head, and then he lifted his mate into his arms.

“You’re freezing, baby.”

Ryker wrapped his arms tightly around him. “Talk to me, honey bear. Why aren’t your eyes open?”

Nate arched his body, emitting another high-pitched whine that made Ryker’s heart clench. He needed to get Nate out of here, to find some help for him.

“Focus on where you want to go,”

he murmured to himself, recalling Nate’s earlier instructions. Ryker wasn’t the one who’d had a spell cast on him, which meant Diobno shouldn’t be able to track him. But if he did, he would have a houseful of bears ready to rip him to shreds.

That was if he could find his way out of this place.

With each step, he visualized his bedroom at home, his massive bed covered in thick blankets and the carpet adorned with pounds of Christmas tinsel.

As the only unmated member of his family, Ryker had been feeling less than festive this holiday season. It was his nephew, Ethan, who had burst into his room with endless energy and enthusiasm, tossing tinsel around like confetti and singing "may-ye kiss-me" at the top of his lungs, turning Ryker’s carpet into a winter wonderland.

Only a heartless bastard would stop a three-year-old from wrecking their bedroom.

A bark of laughter, mingled with a sob, escaped Ryker as he thought of how Ethan had forced him to join in the merriment. They’d stomped in wide circles around the room together, throwing tinsel like snowflakes.

It was going to take until spring for Ryker to get every last piece out of his carpet, but seeing the joy on Ethan’s face, hearing his laughter, was worth it.

“I can’t wait for you to meet him, honey bear.”

Ryker chuckled, his throat burning. “He’s going to get a kick out of having a demon for an uncle. Just be prepared for a new nickname. He calls me Uncuh Dyke,” he said proudly, though it had taken some getting used to having his name mutilated by a toddler.

Nate had stopped shivering, his whines falling silent. Now, he just lay peacefully in Ryker’s arms, his breathing slow and even.

“Baby, you have to tell me how to get your eyes open.”

Ryker’s voice trembled with emotion as he fought back tears. “I don’t even know how I managed to do it myself, so how can I possibly help you?”

Fear gripped him as he thought about Nate still being trapped in the diner, his uncle inflicting cruel punishments on him. Diobno had to be torturing him, or Nate wouldn’t have made all those pitiful sounds.

Ryker desperately wanted to find a way back to Nate and somehow get him to open his eyes. He couldn’t bear the thought of being free while his mate suffered at the hands of his sadistic uncle.

They were a team and would face the danger together. Just like they had in the motel. But unlike before, Ryker had no idea how to save Nate, and that terrified him.

How did you fight when the battlefield was in someone’s mind?

Nate had said the longer the mind was ensnared, the harder it became to break free.

Time was now their enemy.

If Ryker couldn’t get Nate to open his eyes soon, his honey bear may never open them again.