Serix couldn’t believe it. He had only spent a matter of minutes with Cassie, and now Ryan wanted to take her away from him. He held onto Cassie defiantly when Ryan stepped into the cell. Monty came through behind him, so when Serix started to get up from the floor to stop Ryan from grabbing his mate, the human blocked him from doing so, grabbing his shoulders and pinning him against the wall. He could only watch helplessly as Ryan threw Cassie over his shoulder and turned to take her away. He wrestled against Monty’s grip, managing to break free just long enough to reach for Cassie’s outstretched hand. In the next instant, he let out a gasp of pain as Ryan kicked him hard in the ribs. He caught himself before he fell, but the blow gave Ryan and Monty enough time to leave the cell and lock it behind them. As he caught his breath, the humans moved Cassie to the cell next to his. Ryan made a point of telling her that she would thank him later, as if he was doing something to help her, and then turned to leave them alone again.

Once the three males had gone, Cassie moved to the side of her cell and peered through the bars at him, [b]“I should have known he would do something like this.”[/b] She reached between the metal rods, but they were far enough away that she couldn’t even reach the edge of his cell. [b]“Did he hurt you?”[/b]

“I’ll be fine,” Serix murmured. He sat back on his heels and lifted his shirt, gingerly touching the spot where Ryan’s boot had made contact to inspecting the damage. His skin was already faintly discolored, and he winced when the injury sent another wave of pain through his side. It would definitely leave a bruise tomorrow. He let his shirt fall back down and moved to sit by the side bars of his cell, reaching across the gap to hold Cassie’s hand. Even though they were close enough to touch each other, the barrier between them was uncomfortably tangible. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms after the way Ryan had treated her just a few minutes ago.

“I’m sorry,” Serix said quietly, lowering his gaze to the floor. “I keep causing you so many problems here. You shouldn’t be locked up with me; you should be up there with your own people.” He withdrew his hand back into his own cell, dropping it into his lap. Even though it was Cassie’s choice to join him in the hold, and it was Hunter who had landed them there in the first place, he still felt guilty. She didn’t have to be part of everything that was happening to him. He felt like he was just dragging her around while he ran into one trouble after another. He went on without looking up, “You don’t have to stay here for my sake, Cassie. I wouldn’t blame you if you want to go back to our room. It’s much nicer than anything down here. There aren’t even any beds.” He sighed and finally glanced up to meet her eyes. “The next time a guard comes through you should ask to be let out. Ryan probably gave them instructions to do it if you say so.”