Chapter Twenty-Five
Donovan’s scent surrounded me, and I relaxed into it. He brushed a kiss on my forehead, and I had a second to enjoy the feeling before reality crashed into me.
I sat up so quickly the room spun.
He put a hand on my shoulder to steady me. “Please, Meredith. You’re hurt. Badly. I can’t tell what’s what. We have to wash you off.” He took a few breaths. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“What do you mean? Where the hell were you! Bhrunyz took me into his lair. Why didn’t you get the brooch?”
“What do you mean he took you? When?”
“I don’t know. It felt like ten hours ago—”
“Ten hours ago I was sitting by your bedside while you slept.”
I swallowed. “No. That doesn’t make any sense. I was following Vivian and Saoirse just before the pack meeting and—”
“What do you mean Vivian and Saoirse?” Donovan’s anger filled the room.
I shook my head. The sight of my crooked forearm turned my stomach, so I tried to not look at it. “We have to go.”
He stopped me. “If you were taken underhill, time can run differently there. I could feel you through the bond until about five minutes ago. You disappeared. I was on the hunt for you, but I’d only started to gather people when I felt you come back. Now you’re here and you’re bleeding and half dead. And you think you’re doing anything but going straight to the medic?” His rage and anger were there boiling under the surface, but he was scared. The fear was taking over.
I must’ve looked worse than I felt. “Saoirse’s responsible. We need her brooch. That nasty rose necklace is what controls Bhrunyz.”
He sat back as his eyes flashed to blue. “What?” It was half a growl.
I took a shaky breath. “Bhrunyz knows I came back to the stronghold. I don’t know how long I was passed out, but he could be here any second. We have to go. I can’t—” My voice sounded a bit frantic, but I was frantic. More than. “I can’t face him again. We have to go. Like right the hell now.”
Donovan put a hand on my shoulder, holding me in place. “You were out maybe a minute. Not long enough to even catch your breath.” He paused for a second as if to be certain I was paying attention. His fear was there, pounding at me. “Meredith. You’re bleeding. The wounds aren’t healing. We need the medic. You can’t go anywhere like this. You’ll die.”
I’d noticed. Every inch of me hurt, but fear and adrenaline helped me push past the pain. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. “I’ll live. I’m too stubborn to die. Not now. We have to find Saoirse.”
“I can do that. You stay here—”
“Did you not hear me? What part of Bhrunyz is coming aren’t you getting? The only reason I’m alive right now is because of Cosette’s stupid coin.” I took a shaky breath. “If you can’t track Saoirse through the pack bond, then we need a car so I can get gone. Then you can get the brooch and I’ll come back when that fucking monster is out of the picture.”
Then the beast’s cry reverberated through the air.
Donovan tore off his clothes as he shifted and raced out the door on four paws.
If he was going after Bhrunyz, then I had one thing to do. Find Saoirse before Donovan got himself killed.
My limbs burned as I forced them to move. I limped, but I was moving. If I survived this, I was going to treat myself to the longest spa day ever. Spa month. Yes. That would make this worth it. Maybe.
I moved through the hallways, away from the snarling of the wolves and Bhrunyz’s cries as he froze them.
Where is she? I asked Donovan. As Alpha, he was tied to each Were in the pack. If he concentrated, he should be able to tell me exactly where Saoirse was. I didn’t have forever to search through this stupid place. If he didn’t answer me, we were both dead.
He shot me a mental picture of the receiving room.
Thanks. I wasn’t sure how to get there exactly, but I had a vague idea. And if I lived through this, someone was going to make me a goddamned map.
Limping, I moved through the halls as fast as my legs could carry me. My broken arm hung practically useless at my side. I tried to make a fist, but my fingers wouldn’t close all the way.
Bitch was going to pay for that, too.
Each step took too much time. I could feel Donovan fighting. Pain lanced through his side. He was hurt. I wanted to reach out to him, but I couldn’t—wouldn’t distract him again.
Saoirse’s scent grew stronger, and I knew I’d almost found her. Then I heard her voice. She was pleading for backup.
“—done, I’ll hand Bhrunyz back over. But only if I have your support as Alpha.”
“The Lunar court cannot and will not back you as Alpha.” Helen’s voice rang clear. “You’ve committed a crime against our court, stealing a fey artifact and risking our peace with the Council of Seven. If you become Alpha of the Irish pack through deceit, your rule cannot last. I’ll gladly support any Were who rises against you.”
“Cousin, please—”
“Ah, yes. Please do play the family card. Let’s see where that gets you. The fact that your second cousin once slept with my great grandaunt and produced a single offspring does not amount to us being family. Let us be quite clear. You’re no relation of mine. If your blood didn’t prove that, your actions have.”
“Please, Helen—” Saoirse whined and Helen didn’t respond.
She’d hung up, however that was done on mirrors. Saoirse was pissed.
I grinned. Ah, karma.
I stepped into the room. “I’ll take that brooch now, Saoirse.”
Fur broke over Saoirse’s body before she could fight it back. “No.” The word was little more than a horrified whisper, but I heard it just the same. “You should be dead.” She was genuinely confused, but I wasn’t sure that anyone had ever made it out of Bhrunyz’s lair alive, so that wasn’t a surprise.
“Oh, I’m a lot tougher to kill than that. Worse people than you have tried and failed.” As annoying and conniving as Saoirse was, she wasn’t the same level of evil that Luciana had been.
She clasped the silver rose. “Bhrunyz. To me.”
Right. Get the brooch first, then antagonize her. Dumb mistake.
I braced to dodge, but nothing happened. We waited, silent and still, but Bhrunyz didn’t show up.
“To me!” Her voice grew a little more frantic.
I grinned. Bhrunyz was all tied up. I wasn’t sure how Donovan was managing it, but I was grateful. It probably wasn’t going to last long. The pack weren’t the best fighters, but even if they threw chairs and tables at him, that could be enough. It had worked before.
“To me!” She yelled again.
“I think Bhrunyz might be a little busy right now,” I said as I limped toward her.
“I can smell your blood.”
I was hurt. I couldn’t hide it, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t give her one hell of a fight. “I’m bleeding and my arm is shit, but you what? I’m at my worst right now, and I’ll still beat you.”
I took a few steps toward her and she sprung into action.
This time, Saoirse was fast. Or maybe I was slow. Her fist hit my side before I could block it and hot blood gushed from my already torn skin.
I didn’t have use of one arm and one of my legs was seriously injured, but I blocked her hits as fast as they came. It took me a second, but I managed to nail her in the stomach with my good hand. She ran for the back of the room as she gasped for air.
Where the hell was she going?
Saoirse threw one of the side chairs at me and I ducked. It shattered against the wall behind me.
She reached behind her for a book and threw that at me, too. I swatted it away with my bad arm and kept going to her. She threw another book at me, and I was done.
“Jesus. Stop throwing shit.” I picked up a floor lamp and swung it at her with everything I had. It caught her in the stomach, and she slammed into the wall. Her head bounced back against one of the portraits. The modern piece was framed with glass, and as it crashed on her head, glass rained down on her. The scent of her blood filled the room.
I quickly limped over to her. I didn’t need to hurt or even kill her. I just needed the stupid brooch.
My hand closed around cool metal, and I ripped the chain from her neck. Fey magic tingled along my skin like a million ants were walking on me. “Bhrunyz. Go back to your lair.”
Everyone okay? I held my breath as I waited for him to answer.
Yes. He said after a moment. We’re fine. He left.
Holy shit. I needed a second. All the air whooshed out of me, and my side…
I’m coming to you now. I’m bringing the pack medic.
That’s good. Because I’m not doing so hot. I sagged down on the floor, finally feeling every bump, scrape, and slash. The hours of running and terror. It was over.
But my fucking arm. I swallowed. Getting that fixed was going to be a total bitch. My brothers had told horror stories about Weres who’d healed broken limbs and lost motor function.
I closed my eyes. I’d deal with that later.
“You.”
My eyes flew open. Blood ran down Saoirse’s head. She stood above me, looking a bit too much like Carrie for my liking.
I tried to lift my arms, but they weren’t listening to me. I couldn’t even roll over. All the adrenaline was gone. I didn’t have anything left.
“You’ve lost,” Saoirse said.
“Maybe. But so have you.”
She tore off her clothes and shifted. In wolf form, she bared her fangs at me.
I knew what was coming. If I couldn’t make myself get up, then it was lights out. I tried to move again, but there wasn’t anything I could do. If you could hurry, that’d be good.
Almost there.
Now would be better.
Saoirse jumped at me with fangs ready to rip open my throat.
Donovan crashed into her in mid-air. I smiled. He hadn’t wasted any time. A crack echoed through the room as Donovan grabbed her head and viciously twisted it. Saoirse’s limp body bounced as it hit the ground. Her head lolled to the side at an unnatural angle.
I melted into the floor. “Shit. You have some timing.” My words were slurred, and I hoped it was just from the exhaustion.
Donovan knelt by my side. He hadn’t bothered with clothes in his quick shift, but he didn’t seem bothered by that. His focus was on me. He started to say something, but his voice cracked and he stopped.
“I’m sure it looks much worse than it is.”
“Meredith…” His hands shook as he brushed a piece of hair from my face. Even if his fear hadn’t been slamming into me, I would’ve known he was afraid from his scent. It was all I could smell.
“Don’t worry so much. I’m going to be fine.” I’d faced down Bhrunyz twice and hadn’t died yet. I wasn’t giving up now.
A tear rolled down his cheek. “I’m going to order you to sleep, okay? I won’t wake you up until you’re healed.”
“That sounds like a fantastic idea.”
“Sleep, a ghrá.” He said, shoving as much power as I could stand down my throat.
The world went blissfully black as the pain melted from my body.