Aeron Hale groaned, finally stirring back to consciousness. Goddess above, his head hurt like a bitch.

"You’re finally awake," a very annoyingly familiar voice shattered whatever remnants of sleep remained.

With effort, Aeron turned his head only to find Roman Draven staring at him with a toothy grin.

The boy looked relieved.

"I mean, thank the goddess you’re alive. I had no idea what I’d write on your eulogy if you died considering we haven’t spent enough time together." Roman shook his head solemnly. "Would’ve been awkward. I can’t exactly write, Here lies Aeron Hale. We bonded briefly through mutual kidnapping."

Aeron stared at him blankly.

Roman continued anyway.

"But if we survive this, I swear we’re making memories together, Aeron. Real ones. Griffin would probably cry knowing I was there for his old man during his darkest hour. We’d write books about this. Go on tours. Retell the story over expensive champagne while people applaud our bravery." He paused suddenly, his expression turning thoughtful. "Although, that might be difficult."

Aeron immediately regretted asking, "Why?"

Roman sighed deeply. "Because I can’t really afford to be away from Violet for long periods of time. Or Griffin." He winked at him. "Mostly because of the matebond, and sex."

Aeron’s face twitched.

Roman noticed instantly.

"Oh, goddess, I’m sorry." He winced. "I forgot how weird this must be for you considering your son and I share the same woman."

Aeron closed his eyes.

Too late. Roman was already going again.

"You’re probably wondering if Griffin and I do all that adult stuff with her at the same time." Roman lowered his voice confidentially. "Which, for the record, yes. Absolutely yes."

"Roman," Aeron warned him.

"But if it makes you feel any better," Roman pressed on, "I’m definitely better in bed than your son."

Aeron looked genuinely offended on Griffin’s behalf.

"I mean, Griffin’s thing is raw power." Roman gestured vaguely. "Very aggressive. Very throw-you-against-the-wall-and-ruin-your-life energy. Women apparently love that. But there’s an art to pleasing someone, Aeron. Precision. Technique. Emotional delivery—"

"Goddess help me," Aeron groaned, dragging a hand down his face. What fresh version of hell had he woken into?

Honestly, he would rather pass out again than spend another hour listening to this boy. How Griffin tolerated Roman on a daily basis remained one of life’s greatest mysteries.

"But the point is..." Roman thankfully drifted away from the topic of sex. "We’d be together. And in case you’re scared, I can hold your hand—" he actually started reaching toward him.

Aeron’s response came instantly.

"Touch me and you’re dead."

Roman immediately pulled back. "Okay. No holding hands then."

At least the boy respected boundaries.

Annoyed, Aeron forced himself to properly take in their surroundings. They were trapped in some sort of underground dungeon. Honestly, it was not surprising. This was exactly the sort of dramatic nonsense Angus liked.

The place smelled damp and metallic, the stone walls slick with moisture. The electric bulbs glowed weakly, barely illuminating the surroundings. Somewhere farther down the corridor came muffled screams, low groans, and the occasional sound of chains dragging against stone.

They weren’t the only prisoners. Wonderful. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As Aeron tried to sit up properly, something cold shifted against his throat. His hand immediately flew upward and traced a collar.

"What the—"

"I’d suggest not—" Roman started, but it was too late.

Aeron grabbed the collar and tried ripping it off only for pain to explode through him immediately.

Electricity ripped violently across his body, slamming through his nerves hard enough to lock his muscles. A sharp groan tore from his throat as he crashed onto the floor, his entire body jerking from the shock. For one horrible moment, he could smell something burning.

Possibly himself.

"Well," Roman winced sympathetically, "that was the part where I was going to warn you."

Aeron lay there breathing hard, his vision swimming slightly as the aftershocks continued to twitch through his muscles. Slowly, he forced himself upright again, his chest rising unevenly. That was when he noticed Roman wore the exact same collar around his own neck.

"What the hell is that thing?" Aeron managed in a rough, breathless voice.

Roman lifted a hand and flicked the metal around his throat lightly. "A suppressor cuff. Witch version. Honestly, witches are committed, thinking up psychological torture with extra voltage."

Aeron glared at him.

Roman shrugged. "I’m trying to appreciate the craftsmanship here."

"You’re insane."

"Violet says that too." Roman beamed. "Usually right before kissing me."

Aeron closed his eyes slowly. No. Forget dying. At this point, surviving Roman Draven might genuinely be the harder challenge. The witches knew the fine definition of torture when they kept them together.

Roman apparently was not done. He said, "I mean, it probably has something to do with all the dark romances girls consume these days. After all, who actually wants to date someone crazy?"

His eyes gleamed. "Although my purple love is the perfect amount of crazy for me, and she doesn’t even read those romance books." There was an unmistakable note of pride in his voice when he spoke about Violet.

Having heard enough, Aeron was seconds away from telling the boy to never speak again when he took a proper look at him.

The dungeon lighting was poor, but not poor enough to hide the fading bruises scattered across Roman’s face. There was dried blood near the corner of his mouth, and exhaustion sat beneath his usual bright expression no matter how much he tried to bury it beneath the humor.

And suddenly, it clicked. This was his coping mechanism. Roman kept talking because silence would force him to think about where they were, what had happened, and what might happen next.

As long as Aeron had known the boy, Roman had always been sunlight trapped in human form. Loud, reckless and impossible to ignore. The kind of person who could walk into a room full of tension and somehow force laughter out of people against their will.

But Aeron also knew people like that usually carried the deepest wounds.

A slow breath left him.

Fine.

If enduring Roman’s endless rambling was the price he had to pay to keep the boy from drowning in his own thoughts, then so be it.

Besides, they were family now, weren’t they?

Strange goddess-damned family, but family nonetheless. Perhaps getting to know him better wasn’t the worst idea.

Though deep down, Aeron already knew he was going to regret this immensely.

"How are you doing?" Aeron asked suddenly.

Roman blinked at him in surprise. "What?"

Aeron scowled immediately. "Do I need to repeat myself twice?"

Talking about feelings was already exhausting enough. Had it been Arion his brother trapped here instead with Roman, Aeron was certain the both of them would have become drinking buddies within few minutes. This was simply not his thing and yet here he was.

"Splendid!" Roman answered brightly. "And let me tell you why. Because my baby girl is eventually going to storm in here and kick all their asses—" The excitement died midway through the sentence. Roman’s grin faltered.

"What if Violet gets hurt in the process?" he muttered more to himself than Aeron. "I wouldn’t want that on my conscience."

And there it was. The crack beneath the smile.

Roman lowered his head, the earlier humor draining from him with surprising speed. "I caused this," he admitted suddenly.

Aeron’s brows furrowed. Where the hell was that coming from?

Roman laughed, though there was nothing remotely amused about the sound. "I’m the weakness in the bond. And like always, I dragged everyone down with me."

"Is that what you think?" Aeron asked, studying him carefully.

Roman gestured bitterly toward the dungeon around them. "Isn’t it obvious? Look where I ended up."

"Isn’t that because you rescued Elijah and got captured in the process?"

Roman opened his mouth to speak. "Yes, but—"

"No." Aeron cut him off. "A weak person would’ve looked at that situation and deemed it impossible. Elijah was not worth it but you choose to save him knowing what it meant."

Roman fell silent.

"A weak person would also be curled up in a corner losing his damn mind right now," Aeron continued gruffly. "Instead, you’re in here annoying me with sex stories like this is another average day in your life."

Roman stared at him.

Aeron held his gaze steadily. "So if you’re going to blame yourself, at least do it for actual stupidity. Not for something you couldn’t control."

Then, after a pause, he muttered under his breath, "Besides turning into animals other than wolves is actually pretty damn impressive."

Roman’s mouth dropped open. His eyes lit up instantly, all wounded sadness forgotten with alarming speed.

"You really think so?"

Aeron looked away immediately. "Don’t make me regret speaking."

Roman gasped dramatically. "Oh my goddess. We’re bonding."

"We are not bonding."

"We absolutely are."

"We are prisoners in a dungeon."

"Together," Roman emphasized emotionally.

Aeron cursed under his breath. He had this coming when he tried being nice to him.

"Can I hug you?"

"Do it and I’ll kill you."

Roman immediately froze halfway through leaning toward him.

"...Your family is very emotionally confusing," he informed him seriously.

"And yet somehow my son still tolerates you."

Roman beamed proudly. "That’s because Griffin recognizes greatness when he sees it."

Aeron scoffed and shook his head at Roman’s nonsense.

But the lighter mood disappeared immediately when a heavy thud echoed through the dungeon, followed by the slow groan of iron scraping against stone as a gate somewhere farther down the corridor opened.

Then came footsteps.

Aeron straightened up instantly. "Someone’s coming."