Page 44 of Frost and Fate
Nova could barely pant out, “I’m yours.”
Darren’s face began to change to that of his wolf. Just as her climax hit, he bit down with full force on the front of her throat. Horror overwhelmed her. She tried to scream but blood filled her throat, mouth, and lungs. Darren sat up, his mouth covered in her blood. Baring his teeth, he plunged forward to finish her off. Nova awoke with a scream. She was covered in sweat.
A dream. It was just a dream.
She wrapped her arms around herself. Loneliness ate away at her hammering heart. It was dark all around her, with only a few small candles to light the space. She sat up and allowed her eyes to adjust. The air felt damp here. She was lying on a small, plain bed. The sheets felt scratchy beneath her sweaty skin. Tentatively, she put one leg over the side of the bed, then the other.
The ground was hard and cool beneath her bare feet. She realized she was still wearing the gunmetal-grey evening dress from dinner. It was torn in several places and coated in grime and blood. One of the satin straps hung limply at her side. Walking across the room, Nova picked up one of the candles from a nearby table and began to look around. The walls and floor were composed of dark brown stone. Small wet moss coated some of the space. Something dripped onto Nova. She lifted the candle to see above her. The ceiling was coated in wet ropes of varying lengths and thickness. Ropes? No wait, those were roots. She must have been in a cave.
They couldn’t be too deep underground, though, or the tree roots wouldn’t have been able to reach. A single door led out of her prison. Moving quickly, she took several steps toward it. Surprise made her jump when the door opened before she could reach it. The hooded figure walked in, alone. Nova instinctively raised her hands in front of her as ice began to form between her palms.
“There’s no need for that,” came a deep, caramelly voice. A large clear knife appeared in her grasp and she lunged for him. But before she could make contact, a hand came up from beneath his robe and hit Nova so hard across the face that she dropped to the ground and slipped again into darkness.
* * *
Gideon made a dash for his sister the moment Creedin and the others had vanished. He grabbed Aria, her small form crumpled on the ground. “Get Dr. Sawyer, now!” Gideon set Aria down a few feet away and began to assess her wounds. The bloody neck gash had already healed and unfortunately so had her broken wrist. Though her arm had begun to heal nearly instantly, the bones remained cracked almost completely in half. Lycans’ impressive ability to heal meant that broken bones needed to be set or splinted immediately in order for them to grow back correctly.
Aria’s lovely face was pale. No doubt she was in excruciating pain. Gideon held her and spoke calming words. “Don’t worry, Dr. Sawyer is on his way.” Aria said nothing. She grimaced in pain as she clutched the mutilated limb. Romani came limping up, a hand pressed to his bloody head.
“Aria, I’m so sorry.” He kneeled down, but when Gideon gave him a sharp growl he quickly stood back up. “I tried to get to you.”
“I know,” Aria said weakly. “Thank you.”
Gideon took a breath to calm himself. “Yes, thank you.”
Romani’s gaze remained fixed on Aria.
A flurry of action caught Gideon’s attention as Dr. Sawyer hurried toward them. Despite the overwhelming chaos and amount of medical issues around him, the older gentleman looked as calm and serene as ever.
“Hello, my dear,” he said warmly. “Let’s take a look, shall we?” With strong but gentle hands, the doctor lifted Aria’s bent wrist toward him. She cried out in pain, which landed a heavy hand around the doctor’s own arm. He looked up at Gideon. The Alpha was holding tightly to his arm. Dr. Sawyer was a lycan himself. He knew how protective they were about the ones they loved. He spoke calmly but firmly. “Alpha, I realize this is hard but you know what we have to do.”
Gideon looked from Dr. Sawyer to Aria. Slowly he removed his hand from the doctor and pulled Aria up to his lap. He wrapped one arm around her waist, pinning her good wrist to her side. He wrapped the second arm around Aria’s chest and shoulders, pressing her close to him. He nodded at Dr. Sawyer. As the doctor raised her bad arm in the air, Aria began to flail. She jerked violently in an attempt to pull her injured arm free from his grasp, but Gideon held her firmly. Even with Aria’s enhanced strength she was nothing against the full strength and grip of an Alpha.
Dr. Sawyer set a hand on either side of the bones and looked up apologetically. “I am sorry, my dear. This will hurt.”
“No no no no—” Aria’s protests were cut off by the scream that tore free from her chest as the bones were purposefully rebroken. She slumped over against Gideon and fell unconscious.
Gideon looked down at her still form. “Work quickly before she wakes up.”
Dr. Sawyer did. He made the additional breaks and adjustments and then splinted the arm with incredible speed and precision. Once he was finished, Gideon laid her gently on the ground. He gathered his supplies and medical kit.
“I’ll go check on the rest.”
Gideon’s head snapped up at the sound of an argument. He had been so caught up in taking care of Aria that he hadn’t noticed the turmoil unfolding around him. His wolf was tense, alerting him that another animal was out of line and losing control. It only took a second to figure out who he was sensing—Darren.
* * *
Darren had been running toward Nova when she, Creedin, their teleporter, and the hooded figure vanished. Gideon reached the mound a few paces before him. Nova wasn’t there. He looked around, searching frantically. He hoped beyond hope they had just moved her somewhere in the crowd. Deep in his heart he knew the notion was foolish. Darren began digging by hand through the mounds of bodies strewn about. His wolf was furious and distraught. It wanted out, but Darren denied it. Rage began to build within him. He was aware that other people were trying to speak to him, trying to calm him down, but he couldn’t hear them. He was living in a red veil of fury. All he could think about was Nova. A hand grasped his shoulder and he whipped his head around. It was Leah, dark eyes full of concern.
“Darren, listen to me. We are going to get Nova back, but right now I need you to calm down.”
He pulled away from her grasp and a low growl escaped his chest. A crowd was gathering now. Darren’s wolf openly challenged Leah in their human forms. Leah’s black eyes began to glow. She was not one to back down from a fight. Her voice was low and controlled.
“You don’t wanna do that, Ridgewell.” Leah planted her feet and tensed her muscles. She looked coiled, ready to strike.
An angry voice cut through their stare-down. “Darren, rein your wolf in!” It was the pack’s Beta, Lance. As he approached the two of them his eyes began to glow. “Darren Ridgewell, rein your goddamn wolf in, now!”
Darren turned toward the Beta then glanced past him at the nervous blonde woman who stood a few steps away. How would Lance feel if something happened to Laurie, if someone took her away from him? As if sensing Darren’s thoughts, Lance’s eyes went wide and he lunged at him. The two wrestled, and as their violence progressed, Darren’s wolf finally broke free. It pinned Lance down, snapping and salivating above his face. Within seconds, Darren’s wolf was lifted high in the air and thrown several feet. He jumped to all fours and turned on his attacker. It was Gideon. He didn’t know where the Alpha had come from, but those cobalt eyes burned with a deadly warning. The Alpha maintained his control but the glowing of his eyes told Darren that his massive wolf was close to the surface.
