The cold pool water swallowed Roni, almost making her gasp in shock. For a short moment, she didn’t move, stunned. Then panic set in, and she freed herself from Lyle’s grip and kicked to the surface of the pool. As her head penetrated the surface of the water, relief filled her, and she gulped in huge clumps of air.
She swam for the edge of the pool, but then a hand fisted in her hair and forced her head under the water. Fuck. She fought against the panic that threatened to overwhelm her, but as Lyle’s hold on her tightened and he pushed her deeper and deeper into the water, all Roni could think about was getting to the surface.
She frantically thrashed and kicked her legs, all the while struggling to hold her breath. At that moment, her wolf’s anger was a live thing. It acted as fuel, boosting Roni’s strength . . . but it wasn’t enough. Roni fought and fought, but she couldn’t reach Lyle well enough to hurt him; she couldn’t get free.
The chlorine filled and stung her nose and her airways as she helplessly inhaled the water. It felt like something was tearing and burning her throat, like it was shrinking, as the water filled her lungs. At the same time, she began to feel heavy, tired, and weak.
And she had the fleeting thought that she was going to die, that she would never see her mate again.
It should have increased her panic, but suddenly the fear slipped away. A sense of calm and tranquility began to settle in. She felt strangely at peace. Was confident that Marcus—strong, powerful, and resilient—would be fine without her. Her wolf was still frantic, clawing at Roni, fighting to surface and protect them. But her body didn’t have enough physical strength to shift. And as she succumbed to the need to sleep, her mind distantly registered the sounds of wolves growling and jackals yelping in pure agony.
Marcus felt it the second Roni lost consciousness. He’d just shifted to his human form, having ripped apart the hyenas who were guarding the emergency exit to the basement. The shock of her blacking out made him stumble as he rushed down the steps toward the basement door. Fuck. His wolf howled, terrified for his mate.
Shaking with the need to reach her, Marcus shoved at the door, but it didn’t open. He kicked at it, determined to somehow bash his way through the protective glass. Hearing a series of approaching howls, he knew that the battle at the opposite side of the land was over, that his pack and the Mercury wolves were on their way. But it wouldn’t be fast enough to help Roni.
Racing back up the steps, Marcus grabbed a rock from beside the lodge and launched it at the door. It chipped the glass slightly, leaving spiderweb cracks. Again and again, he did it, until finally there was a big enough hole for him to squeeze his arm through.
Having unlocked the door, he shoved it open, knocking down the blackout blind as he barged into the basement. His brain noted that three wolves—Kathy, Tao, and Dominic—had entered through the other door and were now fighting the jackals, viciously tearing them apart. But all he gave a shit about was his mate; he could feel her organs beginning to shut down, could feel her heartbeat slowing and becoming erratic.
His eyes slammed on Lyle Browne, who was forcing her head beneath the water. And she wasn’t moving. Marcus rushed across the room and dived into the pool. Startled, Lyle twisted slightly, releasing a limp Roni to defend himself. But before he could act, Marcus grabbed the fucker by his hair and slammed his head against the side of the pool. Once. Twice. Three times. Until something cracked and Lyle was out cold. Marcus released him, prepared to let the water do its job. Any other time, Marcus might have taken the time to make his death more agonizing. But right now, all he cared about was getting Roni out of the water.
Holding his breath, he let the water envelope him as he abandoned Lyle’s unmoving body and swam to Roni. She was halfway to the bottom of the pool, motionless. Wrapping an arm around her, he kicked for the surface and found Eli and Derren hovering there. They took her from him, sliding her onto the tiled floor. She was pale, her lips and fingernail beds were blue, and shit, he’d never been more scared in his life. His wolf released a mournful howl.
By the time Marcus was out of the pool, Derren had already started CPR. He immediately took over, shoving Derren out of the way, needing to do something. With the fingers of both hands at her jaw just below the ears, he kept her jaw jutted as he pinched her nose shut and sealed his mouth over hers. He blew hard enough to see her chest rise, then did it again two seconds later. His enhanced hearing picked up that she still wasn’t breathing.
Hands clasped together, he pushed down to compress the chest, repeating it every few seconds while Derren counted. “Baby, you have to breathe for me.” She couldn’t die, she just couldn’t. “Come on, sweetheart, breathe.”
“Please, Roni,” begged Eli, kneeling beside Derren. “You have to wake up.”
Marcus was distantly aware that the fighting had all stopped and that several wolves were now gathered around them, but he was solely focused on Roni.
“I should have known she’d lock herself inside,” sniffled Shaya. “I should have stopped her.” Nick murmured comforting words into her ear, assuring her that it wasn’t her fault.
Again, Marcus blew air into Roni’s mouth. She would live, dammit. Compressing her chest again, he ordered, “Breathe.”
But she wasn’t breathing. She was dying. Both he and his wolf could feel it through their link, could feel her slipping away, could feel that bond weakening right along with her. No, this just wasn’t happening. “You can’t fucking die!”
She couldn’t. He loved her. He needed her. And it was only then that he realized he’d actually been afraid to let himself need her. What’s more, he’d been afraid to let her truly need him. His determination to not be needy like his mother or be mated to anyone like her had held him back from Roni without him even realizing it.
With Roni, it was okay to have her lean on him, because she would never drain him. Just as it was okay for him to lean on her—it didn’t make the relationship codependent in any way. There would always be give and take with them. It was a two-way street.
He sucked in a breath at the sudden sensation of a sledgehammer crashing into his chest and head. But the pain quickly eased, and he realized their mating bond had snapped into place—filling both him and his wolf with relief, triumph, and hope. Instinctively, Marcus pushed strength and energy down the bond, feeding it to Roni. At the same time, he resumed CPR. “Please, baby, please. Brea—”