Page 149 of Stormhold

The thought didn’t even leave my head when another loud rumble raked through the house. This time, it was so close and intense that we almost lost our balance.

My arms circled Bella’s waist, pulling her to my chest as we both lowered to our knees. She quickly lifted her palms in a firm grip on the walls on either side of my head.

“Is it Invictus?” she asked as the floor continued to grumble underneath us.

I shook my head.

Except for the sharpness in her eyes, she remained composed and collected as she braced the tremor. After all, she did train almost half her life for this. I did too, but I didn’t feel the same. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt a lick of fear muddying my judgment. So much so that I couldn’t think straight.

Not fear for me. But her.

This woman, who somehow came into my life and turned it upside down. Breaking my rules, turning my duty into dust. And now I couldn’t imagine a world where there was no Bella Stormhold.

Even the thought of it felt like someone was ripping my heart out of my chest with nothing but their bare nails.

My heart stilled.

I loved her.

I more than fucking loved her.

Have I loved her all along?

Not sure when, but she simply became the air I breathed.

Without her, I was nothing.

A cloud of dust blurred the air as the shaking finally stalled, and then complete silence swallowed the room.

Bella’s brown eyes collided with mine, and something soft flickered in them. Like they only did for me. And at that moment, I felt it deep in my bones, the love she spoke about. The love I was feeling right this second.

I wanted to tell her that I loved her. That I’d been in love with her all along and stupidly couldn’t see it. But it wasn’t the fucking time.

"What the fuck was that?” Jon let out a low curse as he slowly got back to his feet.

“I think it came from the outside,” Karl coughed, eyeing the windows. “I see movement.” His frantic gaze fell on me. “A lot and a lot of movement.”

“What?” I jumped to my feet, my wild eyes taking in the scene outside.

Surmans.

About a hundred of them were crowding my front yard as they ran toward the house.

“Gigi,” I shouted to Mikhail. “Put Gigi on lockdown. Fast.”

Fuck, this was bad.

We were wrong. The Surmans weren’t coming from the basement. They were coming right through my front fucking door. Our men wouldn’t stand a chance. “Tell Simon and Eric not to engage and get our men out, and get help fast.”

Mikhail furiously worked on the tab. His jaw fixed in a hard line.

White Hand was fucking locking me inside my own home. He was a lot smarter than I gave him credit for.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Jon mumbled, a tense glint in his eyes. “They’re here for you, Arkane.”

I nodded grimly.

“Maybe you should go,” Bella whispered, her shoulder brushing mine. “Leave for just two days and then all this will be over.”