Page 94 of A Rift in the House of Bruin

He held my gaze as I gave a nervous nod. I clenched my teeth, swallowing back the scream as he tore the arrow from my thigh.

Lucius barreled through the crowd in his bear form. He sniffed the air, catching the sharp tang of my blood. A growl rumbled deep in his chest, dangerous and possessive. His eyes locked onto mine for the briefest moment, a silent vow that nothing would touch me again.

“Focus, Lucius. She’ll live. We’ll take our retribution after she’s safe. Right now, you have to get her out of here. Mic, hold still.”

Nico paused, long enough to raise a pole axe over his head and cleaved my ankle chains. He hoisted me onto Lucius’ back.

From there, I saw the battle raging all around us. My beasts fought side by side with the Raven’s Hand, pushing the guards back.

“Time to go, little bird,” Nico said, a pained look on his face.

“Aren’t you coming with us?”

“I have something I need to finish. I’ll be right behind you.”

He didn’t believe what he was saying, I could see it in his eyes.

“Get her out of here now!” He slapped Lu’s whither, and we were in motion. I grabbed a fistful of his coat to remainseated. He moved through the crowd with surprising speed. Finn, Hunter, and Luca flanked us. Every rock, every jolt of his gait jarred my wound. But the pain was a distant notion. My thoughts were only on Nico.

We stopped when we reached the tree line, the dense forest giving us enough protection to pause and catch our breath. Lucius shifted and pulled me into a crushing embrace.

“Did they touch you?” His voice broke, trembling with barely restrained violence as he scanned me for injuries. “Their scent… it’s all over you.”

“He didn’t—I’ll be fine.”

“They got too close to what’s mine. Tell me what they did?” he growled, fear and anger warring in his eyes.

“I can’t. Not now, Lucius. Give me some time.”

He pulled me back into his arms. “I thought I’d lost you,” he mumbled into my hair, not pressing for answers.

“Lucius, we have to go back for him.” My voice trembled, but my resolve was steel.

The wind howled through the thicket of trees where we’d taken refuge, carrying the scent of blood and fire from the battle. Finn paced like a caged beast, his eyes flicking toward the castle where his brother remained. He shook his coat as if trying to shed the horror of going back to the nightmare he’d just escaped from. Lucius knelt beside me, still catching his breath, his broad chest heaving. Hunter and Luca remained in their bear forms, scanning the horizon like they expected Nico to appear at any second.

“You saw the way he looked at us,” I said, hands clenched at my sides. “He stayed because he didn’t think he’d survive. He was trying to save us. I won’t let him die alone.”

Lucius clenched his jaw. I knew I was asking too much.

“Michaela, if we go back in there?—”

“If we don’t, we lose him,” I cut in, stepping closer. “I won’t lose another mate. Jase—” His name stuck in my throat. Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks. “I tried to save him, but I…”

“Shh, it’s alright, Dove,” he said, brushing away a wayward tear. “None of this is your fault.”

“If we leave him behind, he’ll die. And I can’t live with that. I’m not asking any of you to come with me—but I have to go. He needs me.”

They all stared at me in silence, their beasts eyeing me up and down. Luca shifted, a sharp grin tugging at his mouth.

“You didn’t think we’d let Nico have all the fun, did you? I think we all deserve to spill Johan’s blood. But you can’t go into battle with that leg.”

I felt his power surge into me—blue lines racing across my skin, healing every ache, stitching my skin together. I sighed as his power renewed me.

“Now that’s better,” Luca said. “Lu, where’d you stash those clothes? Or are we charging in with nothing but our tattoos to cover us?”

The castle looked deserted.Smoke billowed from shattered towers, casting an ominous haze over Mathenholm. The crowd was gone. Only a trail of destruction and dead bodies remained.

The few guards left behind, once fanatically loyal to Johan, faltered at our approach. Whispers of the true king echoed through the halls. Some dropped their weapons and fell to their knees. Others fought—half-heartedly. The tide had turned.

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