The Mate I Never Chose
He was alone with the man who had been his tormentor, his protector, and now, his only anchor.
He leaned back, his head hitting the cold stone wall, and stared up into the impenetrable dark of the ceiling. He felt the mountain around him—not as a threat, but as a presence. It was sleeping now, its pulse steady, its temper mollified by the sealing of the breach. He was a part of it, and he knew, with a certainty that chilled him to the marrow, that he would never be able to leave it entirely.