Page 26 of Securing the Kingdom

“Amara!” I called out. The room was in disarray. The blanket on the bed was messed up and there were pillows on the ground. The lamp was laying broken on the ground and the dresser was laying on its side, split open. My heart skipped a beat and I swallowed thickly, trying to stop the panic from rising to an unstoppable level. I moved further into the room, my feet crunching broken debris laying on the ground.

“Amara!” I called out again, panic starting to reflect in my voice. Luke and Jake sniffed the ground, moving into the bathroom. I followed behind them, my eyes scrutinized the small bathroom, trying to figure out what had happened. I could smell Amara and Sam’s scent in the area, but Jack’s scent was the most prevalent and it was making me go crazy.

“Where are they?” I growled, my wolf pushing to take control so he could look for Amara. I couldn’t let him take over though. Amara needed me to stay focused and he was notoriously not focused. I stumbled out of the bathroom and made my way to the front door. I gripped the doorframe, squeezing until it creaked to try to get ahold of my anger and panic.

“Dean?” A voice whispered. I looked up, seeing someone laying on the ground. I burst forward, leaping over the staircase and stopping a few feet away. I looked down, realizing it wasn’t Amara - it was Sam.

“Sam?” I asked, my voice breaking a bit. She was covered in blood and could barely lift her head up. She looked exhausted. Her clothes were torn in several places and there were cuts on her feet. Her breaths were coming in sharp and choppy, like she was wheezing. I could hear her heartbeat slowing as she struggled. There was a lot of blood seeping out of her side.

After cataloging all of her injuries and everything wrong with her, I was still frozen where I stood. I couldn’t reconcile the broken Sam in front of me with what Amara might look like when she stood there - make no mistake about it, I would get her back.

“Sam!” Luke called out, pushing past me and dropping to her side. He assessed her injuries and then slide his hands under her legs and back, picking her up effortlessly. I watched, with a lump in my throat, as he carried her to her house, calling out orders to the men who came up to him. The town was immediately put on lock down and every pack member was stationed a few feet from each other in a circle around the main town. I looked around, trying to find Amara in the mess.

A loud sound boomed overhead and I looked up just as the skies opened up and a downpour started. The rain drenched me in minutes, lightning cracking across the skies. It was like mother nature was mad that Amara was gone. I could relate - however, the only emotion I could feel was numb. I thought my wolf would be on edge, ready to take anyone’s head off, but right now, it seemed like he was ignoring me. I turned in a circle, wiping the rain off my face in a useless attempt to clear my vision.

“Dean! Get in here!” Jake called to me, waving me in to Sam’s home. I squinted at him, my mind not able to keep up with what was happening. I shook my head, trying to clear the numbness. I walked up the steps in front of the house, following Jake through the doorway. I stopped just inside the door, staring around the room. Everything felt different with Amara being gone. She was such a big presence and there was no use trying to ignore her.

“Are you okay?” Jake asked, closing the door and turning to me. I blinked at him, shaking my head.

“Amara is gone. No, I’m not okay,” I responded. Jake sighed, then nodded. He moved to the bedroom, gesturing me to follow him. I made my feet move and walked after him. We walked into the bedroom where Luke was kneeling by the bed, gripping Sam’s hand tightly. She was laid on the bed, her hair splayed out around her. She looked incredibly pale and the wound on her side was still actively bleeding.

“Are you going to heal her?” I asked, my voice sounding far away to my own ears. Luke didn’t even look up, his head bowed.

“I can’t heal her without turning her into a wolf. You and I both know even that isn’t a guarantee. All I can do is wait…” Luke replied, sounding completely miserable.

“She’s going to bleed out, if you don’t do something,” I said. Luke growled, finally looking up at me. I rolled my eyes, not able to feel anything more than annoyance. I walked into the bathroom, grabbed a few towels, and walked back out, folding one of them into a tight ball. I kneeled down on the other side of the bed and pressed it to Sam’s side, putting lots of pressure on it.

The crease between Sam’s eyes deepend and she moaned. Luke’s eyes glowed and he growled at me. I sent a blank look his way, then gestured toward the towel with my head. Luke stood up abruptly, stalking over to where I was kneeling and dropped down next to me. He knocked into me with a rough shoulder, taking the towel from my hand and pressing it back onto Sam’s side. She let out a low moan, this one seemingly less full of pain.

“Stay with her. Make sure you keep her warm, staunch the bleeding as much as possible, and do what you can to avoid infection. I’ve got to find Amara,” I said, standing up and backing away from the bed. Jake gave me a sharp look, but I ignored him. I couldn’t just stay in here and wait for her to come back.

I needed to get Amara back by my side.

25

Amara

I clenched my eyes tightly, groaning as I shifted on the hard surface under me. It felt like I had been hit by a truck - which was saying something because I didn’t feel the greatest before. Using all of that magic to speak with the Goddess Leto had drained me and left me exhausted. I had no idea what the word was for what I was feeling now - dead?

No, I wasn’t quite dead.

I knew that I was alive - the Goddess wouldn’t send me back just for me to be killed immediately. Plus, I was pretty sure she would be here, welcoming me or saying something, if I had died. I was alive - I was pretty sure. I blinked open my eyes, taking in my surroundings. The room was dark. I could hear rain pouring outside, with lightning strikes that lit up the area I was in. I shifted again, realizing that I couldn’t do much more than move my arms and legs a bit because I was strapped down. I lifted my head, realizing it was a cold metal table I was strapped on. Panic started to rise, racing through my veins. I had already been in a similar situation before, when I had first been kidnapped by the Wolf Hollow Royal Guard. I didn’t want to go through this again.

“Oh, good. You’re awake. You were getting really boring just lying there.”

I tilted my head up to see Jack standing in a doorway. I swallowed thickly. “Jack?”

“We’ve been over this, Amara. We had that big fight and whatnot?” Jack said, coming into the room. He stood next to the table, staring down at me. I had always thought Jack was dangerous, but the look in his eyes made him seem completely unhinged. I swallowed again, my mouth suddenly dry.

“Why did you take me? What happened to Sam?” I forced myself to ask. Jack’s face broke out into a creepy smile, looking amused and happy to discuss that particular topic. I regretted asking, but I needed to know.

“Sam couldn’t join us. She wasn’t needed for this particular part of my plan,” Jack explained, sighing whistfully and staring at nothing. I frowned at him.

“What do you mean plan? What are you going to do?”

“Oh, dear sweet Amara, it’s not what I’m going to do. It’s whatweare going to do. You need to embrace what I have instore for us. It’s going to be so much worse for you if you don’t,” Jack clapped his hands, looking giddy. I rolled my eyes and lifted my hands as far as I could, the fabric cuffs stopping me from going too far.

“Worse than being tied to a freezing cold table in the middle of some random house while it pours rain outside?” I asked dryly. Jack stopped smiling to look down at me.

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