Page 30 of Reign of the Beast

6

~Mia~

The moment I opened my eyes, I wished I hadn’t.

To say I felt like hell would be a major understatement.

I was feverish, sweating, but shuddering from the cold at the same time.

Every muscle in my body was aching awfully.

I felt weaker than I ever had.

I looked down to find myself tucked up tightly in an unfamiliar bed with cheap, scratchy sheets.

As I tried to shuffle myself up into a sitting position, it became clear that I was also suffering from some intense dizziness.

My head smacked back down on the pillow.

“Dammit!” I yelled, thumping my fist down and instantly regretting it as my body burned.

“Calm down. You’ll make it worse.”

My eyes shot to the source of the familiar voice and I found Ryker leaning against the wall opposite, his arms folded, glaring my way.

Once again, he looked pissed at me.

“Where are we?” I asked, glancing around at the shabby surroundings.

Ugly paneling covered the room. Cheesy, motel-type artwork hung on the walls. And there were very few furnishings, all of which looked as though they were on their last legs.

“Sorry it’s not up to your snobby standards, sweetness, but our options are limited right now. This is one of your father’s safehouses.”

“What? Why here? Why not my place, for one?”

“This is one of the only places warded to block the scent of Immortal blood to outsiders.” He gestured at me. “Given the situation, I had no choice.”

“Situation?” I asked, looking down at myself. The covers had come loose during my struggle when I’d first woken up, and I saw my lacy blue bra was visible. I shifted and realized my underwear was all that I was wearing.

“Your clothes were covered in blood, ash, and dirt,” Ryker explained, the defensiveness in his tone clear.

But I didn’t care that one of them had stripped me.

Not in light of what else I was seeing.

My body was wrapped up in bandages, the wounds bleeding through each one of them, burns and blackened skin marring the remainder not covered with gauze.

“I don’t understand. I’m not healing?”

“Youare, but pretty much at the rate of a human. Lucian fed you his blood, but the trace of Draco’s magic is blocking its effects.”

“What about your magic?”

He seemed uncomfortable and shifted his weight uneasily. “I can’t right now.”

“What does that mean?”

“I said I can’t. You know if I could help you and ease your pain in any way, I would’ve already done it.”

---