Page 33 of Tide Touched

‘Okay. I’ll send Ella with an early breakfast. Then you should go back to bed. Get some sleep.’ Carter slips his shirt back on.

I didn’t imagine the concern in his eyes after all.

I don’t bother to watch him leave, to hold on to a sliver of hope that he won’t lock the door behind him. I peel my bloody dress off and dump it on the bathroom floor. I relieve myself, brush my teeth thoroughly, then climb into a hot shower.

When I’m clean and dry, the curdling anger boils, bubbling to the surface. I stare around the room, and finally notice something different. The small things I valued in this prison, the books and the paints.

They’re gone.

The memory of Suit Guy Number Two slipping upstairs when I was making my Totally Well Thought Out Escape Plan clicks into place. Alpha removed the only sliver of joy I had in here because I called him out.

Anger ripples through my body, a live wire of power sending tingles through my blood. ‘This is not fucking fair. I don’t deserve this.’ My crappy home life. Being shunned by my pack. My mate abducting me. Being locked away. Courtney beating the shit out of me. And now this.

My teeth clench so hard I think they might break. Sparks and flames start to lick over my body. The wolf whose howl warmed me every night, it wasn’t Carter. Whatever my bond with the Water wolf is, I don’t want it. Fire blooms at my hands and starts spitting. I won’t do this. No matter how much my wolf wants to belong to someone, I won’t be a captive anymore.

At least, not here. Not in this room. This room, I hate.

I watch as my flames reach out and lick up the bedpost, devouring the linen. I watch with satisfaction as the bed the alpha intends me to get pregnant in burns like a wildfire. I turn and set my flaming hands to the walls, to the dresser, the smoke rises in thick columns.

I will not go down without a fight. Not anymore.

Chapter Nineteen

Killian

Something writhes in my chest, slithering down to my gut. Something is wrong.

My guest quarters with Moira and my four men are on the other side of the estate to Katherine—intentional, no doubt—which is why I have come to favour a hallway just east of her room.

I see the smoke before I smell it, wafting out from under her door. The hallways are clear. Aside from her maid and Carter, no one else comes up this way.

Smoke. I take a step forward as panic surges into me. I run for her door, throwing my shoulder against it. The door rattles, locked and reinforced against shifter strength. ‘Katherine!’

There’s a thud on the other side, in the room. What the hell is she doing? Did she set fire to something by mistake? I pound on the door. It won’t take long for someone to hear the ruckus I’m making, or to smell the smoke.

I quickly weigh my options. Is it worth calling for help, risking our escape? Can I break it down myself before Katherine’s hurt? If she’s not already?

I try the door once more, my shoulder aching. Katherine either cannot hear me, or cannot answer. I turn, deciding on getting help—I cannot risk her immediate safety any longer—just as Moira and the maid come running.

‘What is going on?’ the Water wolf asks, blue eyes wide.

‘Open it!’ Stepping back, I let her at the door.

Moira skids to a halt beside me as the door clicks open. I charge through, past the maidservant. I inhale a cloud of smoke, thick plumes of it obscuring the room. I hack up a brutal cough and squint. It looks as though dark storm clouds have wafted in through her window. ‘Kath—’ I can’t speak, the smoke’s tendrils strangling me. I pause, only a step over the threshold, and crouch down. There.

Her red hair catches my eye. Passed out on the ground. I lift her gently into my arms, cradling her small body to my chest. Her lungs must be filled with smoke. I have to get her out of here. Even though I’m in a hurry, I notice her wounds, and my wolf growls inside me, low and dangerous.

‘Wait, what are you—’ The maid moves to block my path.

‘Get back,’ Moira growls, baring her canines. ‘We’re taking her home.’

The maid pauses, indecision warring in her features. Then she reaches out and clasps Katherine’s hands. ‘Keep her safe.’ She steps back, letting us pass.

‘I won’t forget this.’ I meet her gaze for a long moment. She could have stopped us. Should have, probably.

‘We have to go,’ Moira snaps.

I carry Katherine, finally safe in my arms, down the stairs. I make two quick, consecutive decisions: one, my men cannot be part of this, therefore I can’t rely on their help. Two, Moira is my only backup. I must place my trust in her. If we’re lucky, everyone will go to Katherine’s room, meaning some of the guards will leave their posts. ‘Left,’ I instruct.

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