Caspien’s wolf lunged, clamped down, biting down on the howl that Alpha Jasper emitted until there was just a low guttural sound that faded away to a slight wheeze and then nothing. Was that it?
I looked at Rendell, and his face was hard, but his eyes seemed to be full of worry.
“Is it over?” Cali asked under her breath.
I looked up at Holden and Griffen. Their gazes were focused on Caspien.
“I- I don’t know,” Holden admitted.
“I think so,” Griffen said.
Caspien didn’t get up. Didn’t move.
“We wait for Cas,” Holden said.
“No,” I responded, taking a step forward.
“That could be seen as you interfering,” Griffen said, his dark eyes meeting mine.
“Something isn’t right.” As soon as I said that, I got confirmation from everyone else’s faces.
Griffen looked nervous for the first time outside of being with Nora. His calm facade seemed to crack.
I broke away from everyone and ran towards him. I clutched at his silky fur that was matted with blood. His mouth fell away from his grasp, but he was limp.
No, no, no.
I swallowed the bile that started to rise in my throat.
I opened one of his eyes, and all I could see was white.
I buried my head into his chest; his heartbeat was too slow, far too slow.
But there was a heartbeat.
I might have called out to Rendell. I wasn’t sure. I could barely hear what was left of Caspien’s heartbeat over my erratic one.
His dad knelt next to me; the color drained from his face.
This was bad. Could it get worse?
No, he was my mate, a royal. He would survive.
He had to.
Atlas shifted under my hands, his fur retracted, and Caspien lay in front of me.
His breathing was shallow, his eyes closed, and a layer of sweat sheened his face.
“S,hit,” Someone said, maybe me.
Down his side were three long gashes.
An unearthly red shade and black blood dripped out of it.
It wasn’t natural.
My breath caught in my throat, my entire body seemed to seize, and I couldn’t breathe.
“What did he do? How did he poison my son?” Rendell shouted. His aura was angry, dark, and unrelenting.
“Griffen,” Rendell said, and a blur of activity fluttered around us.
Some grunts and protests met with what sounded like blows, skin against skin.
“What do you want us to do?” Holden knelt next to me. I couldn’t look away from Caspien, and I was worried if I did, his shallow breathing would cease.
“Get him back, now, with the warriors.” I choked out, surprised I could string a sentence together. Adrenaline pumped through me, and I grasped onto that slight bit of clarity.
We had to save him.
I had to save him.
“Rendell and Griffen will deal with it here. I want answers and no one leaving until we figure out who was part of this, who knew.”
I saw Holden nod once from the corner of my eye, “Now,” I said, my voice hard.
That was the last rational thought I had until I slipped back into sheer panic. Caspien was loaded into the back of a car, and I sat next to him with a young warrior trying to bandage him.
The wounds were seeping through the bandages so fast I knew it was no use, but I wouldn’t stop him, and I didn’t want to lose any hope I had to save him.
Cali crawled in next to me, “What can I do?” She asked, her voice breathless and panicked.
“Text Grace, have her meet us with the doctor, and get a room ready.” I realized I didn’t even know where the pack clinic was. The doctor always came to Emmett. It had to be in the packhouse, though; there was still so much of it that I hadn’t seen. Cali fumbled with her phone, and my full attention returned to Caspien. I took his hand in mine, it felt cold, clammy, and I bit down on my lip to fight back the sobs that were trying to get out.
This couldn’t be how it ended.
The minutes crawled by; there was no way this was the same way we had come only an hour ago. Time meant nothing anymore, I couldn’t trust myself.
Cali’s warm fingers entangled my other hand. It was such a contrast to Caspien’s.
“We’re almost there,” She said, stroking the back of her thumb on my hand.
We rolled to a stop, and people started moving before I realized that we were home.
People in white coats came up, and Caspien was lifted from me. His hand fell out of mine and hung limp as he was moved to a stretcher.
Grace was standing at the front, her face tight and pale. She barely noticed me as we followed Caspien into a large elevator. She grasped my hand tight, and I held onto hers for dear life. Neither of us had words.
“You’ll have to wait here,” Someone said as two doors were flung open, and Caspien was wheeled through them.
I couldn’t help but think that this was the last time I might see him alive.
Iris was howling in our head; she didn’t have anything slightly encouraging to say either. Her pain mirrored my own.
I had felt pain, but this was a new depth to it-a new layer.
I felt that the well of pain that I knew and the bottom of that well was cleaved open. I was t,hrust down into a deeper hole where I couldn’t see even see a flickering light of hope.
I don’t know when I fell. I don’t know if it hurt when my knees hit the hard floor. I didn’t know if those sobs were mine or Grace’s.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.