Chapter Twelve
The wolves weren't unkind. The room he was locked in had a bathroom attached and they brought him food every few hours. But they kept their distance and didn't talk to him beyond the bare minimum.
Days passed, and Nix wasn't sure why he was still alive, unless the Alpha wanted more answers. He didn't even have any hope of rescue. Vander's attempt to kill him made it clear he wasn't supposed to return. But why? He'd done everything March had asked. It wasn't his fault the coyotes weren't a match for Orion.
It grew dark and quiet once again and he fell asleep, listening for sounds of the Alpha's return.
He dreamed old dreams, old nightmares. Trapped in the dark and the heat, unable to do anything but listen to the sound of his brother begging for his life. Why? Why had Orion returned to his village? They'd done nothing in the years since his first attack, kept under the radar, eked out their lives in quiet misery. But the bear had returned, his anger burning even brighter than before. He remembered the sound of his brother's pleading sobs and then nothing, a heavy silence that told him it was over. It seemed a long time later before they let him out, his body blistering from the heat of the metal, his mind in a haze of dehydration, fear, and grief. The bear was gone. Half a dozen people were dead. And his mother and sister cradled the body of his brother.
He remembered how his body had failed him, unable to stand, how he crawled across the floor, crying out for his brother.
"Bran, Bran—"
He woke to Orion standing over him, his expression blank. There were tears on his cheeks and a sob caught in his throat.
Phil and her Pack had taken good care of Nix while he was gone, ensuring he was safe and unable to escape. Orion suspected they would need him if they were to survive their venture to the mountain. Entering the Pack house, he could hear Nix's voice.
"He's sleeping," Gem said. "Dreaming from the sounds of it."
Like a few days previous, when Orion had woken him from a nightmare.
"I'll speak to him now. Alone," he added.
"Of course. We'll leave a guard posted outside," Phil said. She hesitated a moment.
"What?" he asked, too tired to feign politeness.
"There may be more to this than a simple betrayal, Orion. Don't be too hard on him."
"He's my destined mate, and he tried to have me killed. I think you were right on target before. About my being an imposition. I didn't think I merited assassination, but it seems I underestimated what a tragedy being my mate would be."
She looked like she wanted to say more, but Orion knew he was in no humor to hear it.
"I'll let you two talk," she said instead, following Gem out of the house.
Orion followed the sounds Nix was making to a room with a heavy metal door, sealed and bolted. It was where they put the occasional new wolf until they gained some control over the change.
Pushing back the bolts, he swung open the door and looked inside. Nix lay on the mattress in the corner, even from the door Orion could see the sheen of sweat across his body, could hear the thumping of his heart. And the soft, pleading words under his breath.
"Bran, Bran!"
He stepped into the room, alert for the danger his mate seemed so terrified of. Who was Bran?
Nix woke with a jerk, sitting up, his eyes finding Orion.
"You killed him. Like you're going to kill me." The words were whispered and filled with horror.
"How can I kill you? You're my mate."
"You killed Bran and he was just a boy. He couldn't have hurt you." There were tears tracking down Nix's cheeks, and each breath was a sob. "I did what I had to do. For Father. For Bran. Our people needed vengeance, absolution. They needed to sleep soundly at night without fearing your return."
Orion took another step towards him and Nix scooted backwards, eyeing him wildly.
"I won't go back. Not like before. With the heat and the screaming. You'll have to kill me first."
Holding out his hands, palms up, Orion took another step closer, trying to comprehend the terror in Nix's eyes.
"Kill me!" Nix screeched. "You have to. You have to."
His body folded, with an absence of grace, sinking like a puddle to the ground as he sobbed.
Orion closed the distance between them and crouched next to him, reaching out one hand to lay it on Nix's shoulder. And pulled away a moment later. Ouch. He wasn't just warm to the touch. He was so hot it hurt to touch him.
"We need to get you cooled down," he said, ignoring Nix's half-hearted protest as he picked him up and carried him through the door to the bathroom. There was a shower in the corner and he turned it on, lifting Nix in and stepping in after him, bracing the shifter against his body while he angled the cool spray across him. Everywhere Nix touched against him, the heat seared. What the hell was this? It was like some kind of overload. Or an engine overheating. And he had no idea how to fix it. It wasn't a shifter thing. You hurt a shifter, they healed. It was rare that a shifter got sick. So, this had to be something to do with the magic part of what Nix was.
He increased the water pressure, turning Nix around so that the water played across the length of his back. The temperature in the room began to drop noticeably and, after it did, Nix began to cool too.
His hands scrabbled against Orion's chest as his green eyes stared ahead unseeing. He looked so young and lost and Orion struggled to pair that with the man who'd tried to lead him to his death.
Placing a hand on the back of Nix's head, he tugged him to rest against his shoulder.
"Nix," he whispered in his ear. "Your name, what does it mean?"
The shifter gave in to his touch, settling against him. "Doesn't mean anything," he mumbled. "'s just a name."
"All names mean something," Orion replied.
"Phoenix. It's just a bird," Nix whispered.
"A mythological bird that bursts into flames and is reborn. You're making a good attempt at self-combustion right now."
Despite the cool water bringing down his temperature, Nix only seemed to be getting weaker. Orion was taking almost all of his weight, with an arm wrapped around his waist holding him up.
"Nix, how do I help you? This fever… is it some kind of sickness?"
"Should just let me die," Nix mumbled.
"You're my mate. I only get one. One chance at true love, one chance at happiness with another person. So, I can't let you die, despite what you may have done."
"Doesn't matter. I'll die anyway."
"Yes, but there must be some way to help you. How, Nix?"
Nix's head lolled against him. "It's all gone. The energy. The magic. Can't survive without it."
One hand came up, tracing Orion's collar bone. "You're full of energy, every cell in your body is singing with it. All that power. I can almost taste it."
Orion's mind sorted desperately through Nix's words.
"Can I give some to you? Can you take some of my energy to replace what you've lost?"
Nix shook his head. "You'll just use me to find my people, to destroy them. Dead would be better."
"That wasn't a no. So you can take energy?"
He thought back to their walk to Briar Hill. Nix's flagging energy revived by what he thought was rest but… he'd been in physical contact. It had felt like pins and needles, like static electricity. He'd thought it was their connection. What if it had been something more?
"Is that what you did when we were walking? You were exhausted, barely able to move, but you kept picking yourself up, you kept going."
Nix rolled his head to the side, frightened eyes finding his. "I shouldn't have. I was afraid of what you'd do if you found out. It was just a little. Just enough to keep walking so you didn't leave me behind."
"So take what you need from me now."
Nix shook his head wordlessly.
"Nix, please."
But the shifter just closed his eyes.
Surely, if Nix wouldn't take it, there must have been some way to give him the energy.
Nix was shivering. Orion turned off the water and lifted Nix into his arms, carrying him out into the room beyond. Phil was there, a towel folded over her arms.
"What's wrong with him?"
"I think he's dying." His heart, which had been racing in his chest, was slowing. His breaths seemed labored.
Phil held out the towel, helping to wrap Nix in it.
"What now?"
"I need to keep him close, try to figure out how to help him."
"Then let's move you both somewhere more comfortable."
Shifting Nix closer, he followed Phil out the door, along the corridor, and up the stairs. The rooms up here were nicer, reflecting the care the Pack took of new wolves once they'd settled into the change.
"I'll leave you to settle in. Would it help if I asked Mark to come and see you?" Mark was their Pack's healer.
"I don't think he's going to be able to help. This is something like Wiccan magic rather than shifter."
"I'll speak to him anyway. We can contact the nearest Coven, see if they can offer some assistance."
"Thank you, Phil." Something occurred to him, but he hesitated.
"What is it, Orion?"
"There's a Wiccan from Sable Coven, her name is Leona. She's at Evenfall right now. She is very knowledgeable. When she heard about Nix, she wanted to come with me to meet him but I asked her to hold off."
"Is she still at Evenfall?"
"I think so."
"We'll find out and see if we can bring her here."
"Thank you."
He carried Nix into the room and set him down on the bed. Despite Nix's shivering, his body was still warm. He untucked the towel and took a seat on the bed next to him.
"Nix, tell me how to help you."
The shifter was pitiful to look at just then, shivering and listless but when Orion cupped his cheek with the palm of his hand, Nix lurched towards him, hands reaching for him. Torn, Orion lay down on the bed next to him, letting Nix's hands find him. Almost as soon as they did, he seemed to become more alert. Alert enough for his eyes to open and recognize Orion. Alert enough for him to pull away, scrambling to put some distance between them. For a moment, Orion had felt it again, that spark of electricity, the lightest of tugs. Despite himself, despite his wishes, Nix had begun to draw energy from him. Perhaps he couldn't resist with such close contact, with his resolve so weakened.
Orion took a few moments to think of the morality of what he was about to do. Nix had made it clear he didn't want Orion's energy to save him but on the false premise that Orion was doing it solely to extract information from him that he would use to kill Nix's people. The coyotes weren't Nix's people but the two groups seemed to be intertwined somehow. That didn't mean they needed to die. Even the coyotes, once the leaders were ousted, might be salvageable.
Nix had rolled onto his back in the center of the bed, open eyes roving around the room, seeing something Orion couldn't. The sight of him, the scent of him, reached down somewhere deep inside Orion. The decision was made for him and he climbed across the bed, laying his body down on top of Nix, giving the shifter no escape from his embrace.
At first, Nix made a weak attempt to push him off using his hands and knees. His energy flagged within seconds and he went still under Orion.
Then he squirmed a little and Orion shifted, giving Nix a chance to get more comfortable.
When he lay down, again, Nix didn't settle, his body kept trying to push up, to get away. Orion slipped an arm under him and rolled them both onto their sides, throwing his knee across Nix's hip to keep him in place.
Nix struggled for another few minutes before sinking into his embrace.
"Take what you need," Orion said. "I'm offering it freely. I promise no harm will come to you and I'll do my best to keep your family safe."
Nix murmured something unintelligible against him but didn't resume his struggling. There was heat where his body touched Orion's but nothing else.
How was he supposed to get Nix to take what he needed?
Cupping Nix's chin, he tipped his head up. Nix's eyes opened and his mouth curved upwards in a smile.
"You are so beautiful. I thought you'd be different. Ugly. Cruel. I never thought I'd want you."
"I'm your mate, those feelings come with the territory."
Nix's eyes were pleading with him but Orion couldn't work out what for. In the end, it didn't matter. He knew what Nix needed and had to find a way to give it to him. He kissed him, hoping against hope that survival instinct would override fear and stubbornness.
He knew it had worked when he felt a tug across his body, pins and needles at every point where his skin touched Nix. He kept kissing him, feeling Nix's body respond, lips pressing with an urgency that hadn't been there before. He hoped it would distract Nix for long enough for the shifter to get what he needed from him.