The wolf’s teeth were abruptly gone and its heavy weight collapsed fully on her. A warm, thick liquid soaked her stomach and ran down her hips and legs. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes.
“Cy? Cy, you alright?”
Was that Jaeden? She felt a tangle of limbs underneath her, and her vision cleared. Jaeden’s blade was lodged deeply into the lykan’s belly as it lay across her. It wasn’t dead. It was whining and trying to move, snarling and snapping at Caia’s face. She thanked the gods it couldn’t reach. Before she could panic at the thought of getting out from under it without being torn into again, its weight was lifted off her.
Reuben. Her eyes widened in awe even as her shoulder flamed with pain. Reuben held the wolf with one hand clamped around its thick neck, his lips drawn back in a matching snarl, his fangs the only thing she could see. And then he squeezed, and the most horrific crunching, squishing sound could be heard as he crushed its neck in his bare hand. The lykan’s body went limp, and Reuben promptly let the dead beast drop to the ground.
Once the initial shock wore off, Caia tried to move so Jae could get out from under her.
“ARRRGGGH!” she screamed. Her shoulder felt like it was about to detach from her body.
“Ssh, ssh, Cy,” Jae whispered in her ear. “Don’t move. Oh Gaia, don’t move. Your shoulder, crap—”
“Jaeden, please refrain from making her panic,” Reuben snapped and moved around to the back of them. “I’m going to slide you gently from under Caia. Before I do so, are you hurt?”
“Like you give a crap.”
“Jaeden!” he warned.
“No! I’m fine, all right, I’m fine. Just … help.”
Tears streamed down Caia’s cheeks as her shoulder throbbed with each movement underneath her, but she was proud of herself for not screaming out loud again. That was until Jaeden’s feet slid out from under her, and Caia hit the ground with a jolt. The blinding, white pain induced an earth-shattering scream.
“CAIA!” The roar of rage came from Lucien.
“Oh gods,” she whimpered. “Someone better go tell him I’m all right.”
Jaeden’s face hovered over her. It was ashen as she glanced from Caia’s face to her wound. “Vanne’s doing that. He fought the magik who runs the center. It wasn’t much of a fight. He’s got her unlocking the Council members and then they’ll get Lucien and Ryder out.”
The thought of Lucien finding her like this sent her heart thudding. “No, no, no. Help me up.” She grabbed hold of Jaeden’s collar, choking the girl down toward her. “He can’t see me like this. I have to change.”
Jae gently unpeeled her fingers and abruptly Caia’s panic took over at the pinched look on her face. “What?”
“Cy, you can’t change.” Jae shook her head. “There’s …” She gestured vaguely to her shoulder with a look of horror. “There’s too much damage—no, don’t look!” She grabbed Caia’s chin and turned it away.
Too much damage. All of a sudden, she was scared. As scared as she was the night the daemon had ripped her belly open. She felt her breathing pick up and was sure she was about to hyperventilate.
“Caia …” Now Jaeden looked panicked. She was knocked out of the way by an irritated Reuben. He grasped Caia’s face in his cold fingers.
“Caia, look at me.” His black eyes took hold of hers, and she felt herself inextricably pulled into them. She actually felt her whole body diving languidly into those black pools and swimming right alongside him somewhere warm and sparkling. “Good, Caia. You’re going to be fine. We just need to get you bandaged up before you can change.”
She felt herself nodding, but the truth was, she didn’t care about her shoulder anymore.
Swimming with Reuben was nice.
10
The Fear That Feeds on Love
An unshakable rage poured out of Lucien’s pores like smoke. A pale-faced Ryder watched him warily as they listened for the next noise from outside their cell. The sound of a faint commotion had been going on for a while—they’d already heard a door crash open and the growl of a lykan. Then a girl screamed, and Lucien and Ryder had looked at each other in horrified surprise. Was that Caia? And then the female magik who guarded them shot past their cell, her face readied for battle. It had barely been two seconds before her body flew past the cell again, followed by a bristling Vanne.
The girl screamed again, and they heard Jaeden’s voice. Ryder forgot himself and rushed toward the Plexiglas. Lucien grabbed him just in time, but he hadn’t let go of his shirt, his fist clenched in anxiety around the material. A howl of agony shook his last vestige of control.
“CAIA!” he roared, and then it was Ryder who was pushing him back, having a difficult time of it too. Lucien didn’t care; he had to get to her, no matter what. He shoved Ryder off and strode to the cell door but the idiot was on him again. They started grappling.