Page 27
Hours later, Blaidd was barely lucid when the door was forced open.
Sulien cautiously stepped in, followed by two of their enforcers.
"I've orders from the alpha to restrain you," he said in a controlled voice, as was his way.
Blaidd's vision swam. He was sweating profusely, clothes hanging loose on a body already stripped down by days of burning hunger. His ribs showed stark beneath skin stretched tight. When he moved, it was with jerky, uncontrolled violence.
"I don't need help," Blaidd growled.
Sulien did not react until Blaidd lunged.
The scent hit him mid-motion—orange blossoms, Fae.
His mind fractured.
Fae… Sulien, no.
Why did he have her scent?
He attacked with a roar that shook the walls.
It took three of them to hold him down. Sulien stayed impassive, but the others whispered prayers to the goddess after seeing the state Blaidd was reduced to within two days and secretly vowed to treat their lifemates right.
Sulien and two pack enforcers dragged his barely clad body from the house, Blaidd snapping, salivating, trying to shift, trying to run. His clothes shredded under his claws. His wolf slammed against the inside of his skin, again and again, desperate to break free and find her. Fae.
The underground holding cell was the stuff of nightmares.
The restraints were not ordinary; they were heavy metal laced with silver and bolted to the wall. Blaidd struggled as they regretfully subdued him, then collared and shackled him. He almost got one of their necks with his claws before they shut the heavy grill door.
Blunt inward spikes decorated the inside of the collar, puncturing flesh every time he strained, laced with moonflower essence. Wolves healed fast, too fast, so the magic ensured the pain never quite ended. Every movement forced more essence into his bloodstream, flooding his senses with weakness and agony in equal measure.
He screamed
and raged.
Blood dried dark along his throat where the collar bit again and again. His voice shredded itself hoarse. He wept without knowing when it had started, sobs tearing out of him between roars, body wracked with it. He repeated the same word again and again.
Fae Fae. Fae.
Near dawn, footsteps echoed down the dark stairway.
A hooded figure descended.
As she came closer, graceful fingers reached up to pull the hood back, revealing radiant blonde waves and shining azure eyes in a glowing face, all at odds with the sinister twist of her mouth.
She smiled as she slowly inched closer, eyes gleaming unnaturally. Her familiar scent wrapped around him, clouding his foggy mind.
She did not come closer.
She stayed just beyond the reach of the chains, hood shadowing her face, voice low and coaxing and changing. "You're tired," she crooned softly. "I can feel your pain."
The words cocooned him like warm smoke. The fragrance of orange blossoms drifted close.
His head dipped despite himself as breath stuttered. Everything hurt, everything burned. The ache beneath his skin pulsed in time with her voice.
"I'm sorry I left," she murmured.
As he watched, he realized her hair wasn't blonde.
