My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 120

Sera

"Get up. Both of you."

I took a deep breath, planted my feet on the floor, and tried to stand up. I moved entirely too fast. The room violently spun. My center of gravity vanished, and my knees simply buckled. I pitched forward, falling directly toward the hard wooden floor.

I didn't hit the ground.

Fenris caught me easily. His large hands clamped firmly around my waist, stopping my fall instantly. He pulled me flush against his chest, supporting my entire body weight. The contact sent a massive wave of goosebumps rushing over my skin. Every single nerve ending in my body suddenly felt hyper-sensitive.

"I got you," he murmured, his voice rumbling directly against my ear.

I froze.

That short, simple sentence opened something deep inside me. It broke a lock I didn't even know was there. In a split second, every single moment I had been used flashed before my eyes. Every time Aldric had manipulated me. Every time Kane had gaslighted me, feeding me pretty lies just to keep me compliant so he could use me again. It all funneled down to the agonizing moment Kane stood on that platform in Blackwater and humiliated me before his entire pack.

And now, here, in the freezing North, another Alpha was holding me up. He was telling me he had me.

I got you. It was such an incredibly expensive promise. But standing there, held tightly against his chest, it felt completely real. I could almost taste the truth of it on my tongue.

It tasted exactly like biting into a cold, perfectly ripe plum on a blistering hot day. The sweet, heavy juice just exploded in my mouth, completely washing away a terrible, dry, bitter ash that had been sitting in my throat for three years. It felt incredibly good. I had someone backing me up. He wasn't letting me fall.

I didn't even realize I had spoken until the words were already out of my mouth.

"Thank you," I whispered against his shirt.

Fenris went completely rigid. He stood there, not moving a single muscle. When he had first caught me, I felt him shift his weight, clearly trying to reach out and grab Mina too. But now, he just stopped. He held me against him, his breathing suddenly shallow.

I heard him exhale a long, shaky breath. Then, the spell broke. He started moving again.

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