Chapter 482: Episode 480: Don’t you care about us?

Roxy ran.

She ran as fast as her legs could possibly carry her. Her bare feet slapped hard against the dirty, cold concrete of the city sidewalk. She didn’t feel the sharp little rocks or the rough bumps on the ground. She didn’t even feel the cold night wind blowing against her face.

She only saw the tall bridge up ahead.

It was a giant overpass. Below it, hundreds of cars were driving super fast on a massive, deep highway. The drop from the edge of the bridge to the road below was huge. It was a scary, dizzying height.

To anyone else, it looked like a terrible danger. But to Roxy’s broken, sad mind, it looked like a giant door. It looked like the very last chance to force her way back to the magical world where her babies were waiting.

People on the street were still shouting behind her. She heard shoes running on the pavement. But she didn’t look back. She kept her green eyes locked right on the thick concrete wall at the edge of the bridge.

She was only ten steps away.

Then five steps.

She reached her hands out, ready to grab the top of the wall and pull herself over.

Suddenly, a massive, dark shadow stepped right into her path.

Roxy didn’t even have time to stop. She slammed chest-first into a wall of solid muscle covered in a black leather jacket.

Strong, thick arms wrapped tightly around her waist, catching her right before she could reach the edge of the bridge. The impact knocked the breath completely out of her lungs.

It was Zarek.

The Dragon King had run faster than any normal human could ever run. He had taken a shortcut through the busy cars and jumped over the guardrails just to cut her off. He was breathing hard, his chest heaving up and down.

"Let me go!" Roxy screamed at the very top of her lungs.

She didn’t just push him. She fought him like a wildcat. She threw her hands up and scratched at his chest. She kicked his legs with her bare feet. She twisted her body side to side, fighting with every single ounce of strength she had left in her tired bones.

"Let me jump! Let me go back!" Roxy yelled, her voice cracking and breaking. She hit his broad shoulders with her closed fists. "I have to get back to them! Move! Move!"

She was completely out of her mind. The sadness had taken over her brain so much that she couldn’t see the real world anymore. She was lost in a dark, dangerous dream, and she was willing to do anything to wake up.

But Zarek did not let go.

He took her hits. He let her scratch his leather jacket. He let her kick his legs. He didn’t fight back, but he wrapped his big arms around her even tighter, trapping her against his warm body so she couldn’t hurt herself.

"Roxy, stop!" Zarek shouted over the loud noise of the cars below them.

"No! No! I have to go!" she cried, throwing her head back and trying to wiggle out of his tight hug.

She was screaming so loud she was starting to choke. Her green eyes were completely wild and empty. Zarek looked down at her face, and his heart broke into a million pieces. Words were not working. Yelling at her was not working. She was too far gone into her panic, and he had to do something big to snap her out of it right now.

Zarek let go of her waist. He quickly moved his big, calloused hands up and grabbed her face. He held her cheeks firmly, keeping her head perfectly still so she couldn’t look away from him.

Before Roxy could yell another word, Zarek leaned down and crashed his lips directly onto hers.

It wasn’t a sweet, soft kiss. It was hard, deep, and totally desperate. He kissed her like the world was ending. He poured all of his fear, all of his love, and all of his terror into that single kiss.

But Roxy was still trying to fight him. She pushed her hands against his chest, trying to break free.

So, Zarek did the only thing he could think of to wake her up. While he was kissing her, he bit down on her bottom lip.

He didn’t bite hard enough to make her bleed, but he bit hard enough to give her a sharp, sudden pinch of pain.

The sudden, stinging pinch worked like pure magic. It shocked her brain. The sharp feeling completely chased away the dark, crazy fog that had been filling up her head. It pulled her out of her dangerous dream and dropped her right back into the real world.

The wild fight left her body instantly.

Roxy stopped kicking. She stopped scratching. Her hands, which had been pushing so hard against his chest, slowly uncurled. Her fingers softly grabbed the front of his leather jacket.

She melted.

All the angry, frantic energy totally drained out of her. She completely melted against him, her knees getting weak. The kiss turned from something scary into something incredibly warm and grounding. Zarek’s lips softened against hers, letting go of her bottom lip and just holding her close for one long, deep second.

Then, Zarek pulled his face back.

He didn’t let her go. He moved his hands down from her cheeks and gripped her shoulders very firmly. He didn’t squeeze too hard, but he held her tight enough to make sure she was standing still.

He shook her. Just once, firmly, to make sure she was fully awake and looking right at him.

"What do I do to bring you back to your senses?!" Zarek roars.

His deep voice was loud, echoing over the noise of the busy bridge. But it wasn’t a mean roar. It was a roar of a man who was totally broken and terrified.

Roxy looked up at him. She really saw him this time.

Zarek’s beautiful, golden eyes were completely filled with grief. Big, shiny tears were welling up in his eyes, ready to fall down his scarred cheeks. The strongest man she had ever known looked like a scared little boy who had almost lost his whole world.

"Don’t you care about the fact that we are right here in front of you?!" Zarek asked, his voice cracking and shaking. "We gave up everything! We gave up our magic, our homes, our whole lives just to be with you! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?!"

The heavy, painful words hit Roxy right in the heart.

The crazy fog was completely gone now. The real world came rushing back in. She felt the cold wind. She heard the cars. And she felt the solid, warm chest of the man who loved her more than life itself.

She looked past Zarek’s shoulder.

Running up the bridge toward them were the other five men.

Syris arrived first. His nice clothes were dirty from when he pushed her out of the way of the truck. The bright red mark from where Roxy had slapped him was still glowing on his pale cheek. He was breathing hard, looking completely exhausted.

Then came Torian. Who looked hurt and lost.

Kaelen, Caspian, and Ren ran up right behind them. They all stopped in a circle around her. Their faces were totally devastated. They looked tired, sick, and completely broken by fear. They looked like men who had nothing left in the world except for her.

Roxy looked at all six of their faces. She looked at the red slap mark on Syris’s cheek. She looked at the tears in Torian’s eyes. She looked at Zarek, who was still holding her shoulders like she might blow away in the wind.

A giant, crushing wave of guilt crashed over her.

She had been so focused on her own pain that she hadn’t thought about theirs. They really had given up everything to save her. And she had just tried to throw her life away right in front of them. She had hurt them so badly.

Her legs finally gave out completely.

Roxy sagged forward, her body going totally weak. Zarek caught her instantly, wrapping his arms around her back and letting her lean all her weight against his strong chest.

She buried her face in his jacket. She didn’t want to die anymore, but the pain of losing her family was still sitting like a giant rock on her chest. She loved these six men so much, but her heart was still split in two.

She closed her eyes, crying soft, tired tears into his shirt.

"I care," Roxy whimpered, her voice sounding tiny and totally broken. She clutched his jacket in her fists. "I care about you so much. But... what about my children?"