I swallowed more water, coughed, and just ended up swallowing more. Oh shit, oh shit, where was the bottom? I struck out with my legs, but all I felt was reeds and other lake-bottom plants. The more I kicked, the more tangled I got.
I splashed and dipped under the surface, my hair and the goddamned antlers dragging me down. I screamed into the water, but more just went down my throat. Why the hell hadn’t I ever learned to properly swim? Why did I think coming to the lake was a good idea, when I couldn’t…?
What the fuck had I been thinking? I was going to die! I was going to die over a stupid, twisted fucking game.
Panicked, I splashed to the surface and barely sucked in a breath before I was going down again, down, down, down.
Well, he’d finally done it.
My father was going to end up killing us all in the end, wasn’t he?
14
EMMETT
I couldn’t run fast enough.
No matter how much I willed my legs to speed up, I had to instead watch Bellamy’s head plunge beneath the water.
She was going to die if I didn’t get there in time. I could see it all happening from a distance, and I worried I was too far away to reach her in time. But as I dove into the lake, reaching her body beneath the water, I was relieved to see her still struggling with the reeds that held her down below.
She was alive. She was fighting.
Yanking her away from the lake’s hold, I swam us to the surface and then to the shore, both gasping for air as we reached the safety of the lake’s edge.
I took her face into my hands so I could look into her eyes. “Are you okay?” I wiped the wet strands of hair off her face so I could make sure she didn’t bang her head or get cut from being trapped beneath.
She began to cry but nodded. “I thought I was going to die. I would have if you—”
“Shh,” I soothed as I pulled her into my arms. “You’re safe now.” Her body trembled next to mine. “But we need to get you inside and warmed up.”
She was completely naked, her antlers long gone in the lake, and I had nothing of warmth to offer her, since I was just as wet as she was.
“I’ve never been so scared,” she cried, clinging to my body.
“I know.” I kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back as she shook within my arms. “But it’s over now, and I’m going to keep you safe.”
“I still have to hide. The hunt is—”
“It’s over,” I snapped. “This has gone too far when it came this close to claiming your life.”
“Well, well,” a voice from behind me said. “It appears you’ve found our stag.”
I turned to see the Elders standing behind me with smiles of victory painted all over their wrinkled and fucked-up faces.
“She almost drowned,” I said as I pulled both Bellamy and me to a standing position. We were soaked and muddy, and I had zero patience left. “Consider this Trial over.”
“The rules are simple,” an Elder said. “If we hunt her down before dawn, then she is ours to share.”
“She didn’t get hunted down,” I answered through a clenched jaw. “She was rescued. By me. If I hadn’t reached her in time, you all would have a dead body on your hands to deal with tonight.”
Although, the minute I said the words, I realized Bellamy probably wasn’t the first dead body they had to deal with in their time of being in the Order. With how dangerous some of these Trials were, there was no way no deaths occurred. Though the Elders had the power and resources to take care of the situation when it did.
“Rules are meant to be followed,” another Elder said as he scanned Bellamy’s body from head to toe. “Who wants the first taste?”
I felt her body tense next to mine, but she remained quiet, still regaining her breath as she panted for air.
“I’m taking her inside to get warm before she becomes hypothermic.” I turned with her by my side, my arm securely around her, and didn’t stop to hear their rebuttal.
“Emmett—”
“This conversation is over,” I said with my back still to them, walking away. “Bellamy and I have completed each Trial of yours flawlessly. It’s not our fault that this Trial was not conducted properly. You put her life at risk, and rather than making an issue of calling the Order out on their carelessness, I’m choosing to take my Belle inside.”
I seriously doubted that my actions would lead to us failing the Initiation, but even if that were the case, then so be it. A woman nearly died tonight, and the last thing I was going to allow was for her to be sexually assaulted on top of it all.