These Wicked Desires (Fates #3)

12. Ellis

Ellis

This is awful. Watching my mate circle Noah. Waiting for the first move. The anticipation makes my gut roil. I’m seconds from throwing up, even though there is nothing in my stomach to bring back up. Each breath I expel is ten times harder to draw back in. I’m on the verge of a full blown panic attack, and I can’t let that happen. Any distraction to Sterling could cost him.

Kai steps behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. “Breathe with me, Ellis.” His chest brushes against my back as he inhales, and I match it. Stray curls that have escaped my bun ruffle with each breath Kai exhales. I breathe with him, slow and steady, and eventually it becomes easier. I still feel like I’m going to puke, though.

“Noah is strong, but Sterling is stronger.” Cole steps up to fill the space on my right where Kai had been standing. “I’ve been training with Sterling these past few days, and I know he can beat Noah. As long as Noah doesn’t pull anything illegal.”

That’s what I’m worried about. We all know the kind of person Noah is. He will do anything to come out on top.

Noah makes the first move. He lunges for Sterling, snapping his jaw, and I cry out, covering my mouth with my hands. I’ve never seen a wolf fight before, so I have no idea what to expect. Sterling doges Noah’s jaws and uses his body weight to slam into the other wolf. He knocks Noah down and closes his jaw around a leg, but Noah gets to his feet quickly, seemingly unhindered by the bite.

I close my eyes, too overwhelmed to watch, but the sounds are almost worse. As the fight intensifies, growling, yips, and the occasional whine float across the clearing, and I want to cover my ears. It sounds so awful.

A small hand clutches mine and I open my eyes, expecting to see Allie. But it’s Sterling’s mom. Her eyes track the fight, mouth pulled into a frown. She’s just as worried as I am. I squeeze her hand, and we stand together, watching Sterling fight for his life.

Red blooms in Sterling’s white coat, the contrast of colors so jarring. Noah’s fur is too dark to see any blood, but I know he has to be bleeding as well. Neither of them appear to be flagging or hurting too badly. The fight continues, getting more and more vicious with each minute that passes. The taste of copper in my mouth tells me I’ve chewed my cheek so much I made it bleed. I don’t care though.

I notice a girl slowly making her way around the field, but I pay her no mind. My attention is glued to my mate. From the corner of my eye, I see Cole tracking her and I know he’ll do something if she’s trying to hurt me. A few minutes later, she screams behind me. A blood curdling scream that causes Sterling to snap his head in my direction. The distraction costs him. Just as Noah no doubt planned.

Noah lunges and buries his teeth into Sterling's shoulder, clamping down tightly. The whine that escapes Fluffy cracks my heart into jagged little pieces. My breath leaves me in a rush when Noah throws Sterling to the ground, blood rapidly staining his coat.

“Sterling!” His name tears from my throat so loud it hurts. Something inside me writhes, and fire blooms in my stomach. It grows hotter and hotter as I watch Noah bite down harder while Sterling tries to fend him off with his paws. My mate is in trouble and the need to protect him rises to the surface.

“Shit,” Kai says as he grabs my shoulders. “Ellis, calm down!”

His words float through the hazy smoke in my mind. My only thought, though, is to save Sterling.

“Ellis, your flames are sparking to life. You need to keep that under control.” Kai’s voice is low and urgent in my ear. “Don’t let Noah see them.”

That registers. He’s right. If Noah sees my golden fire, he’ll do anything to make sure he gets me to Sam.

“Breathe, Ellis,” Kai murmurs, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. “Close your eyes.”

I do as he says, blocking Sterling from my vision. It’s harder than it should be. Every instinct in my body is screaming at me to not take my eyes off him. To make sure he’s okay. But I squeeze them shut and breathe deeply, imagining cool water flowing over my fingers, dousing the flames.

“Good job, baby girl,” Kai whispers in my ear.

I keep my eyes closed for a second longer, but a gasp from the crowd draws them open again. The sight drops me to my knees. Sterling is on his back, with Noah’s jaws closed around his throat.

Time seems to slow down. My fingers dig into the dirt, and each breath I take hurts my chest. Fight, Sterling. The bond inside me goes taut and I cling to it. Fight! With each beat of my heart, I push every ounce of love I have for my mate into the bond. I pray he can feel it, that it gives him the strength he needs to overpower Noah. I need you, Sterling. Don’t leave me.

His head turns to me, blue eyes pained, but he bares his teeth and growls. With a visible effort, Sterling pushes Noah off of him. Blood sprays from the wound at his neck, fur clinging to Noah’s mouth. Bile climbs up my throat but I swallow it down.

Sterling is on his feet faster than I can track, and he tackles Noah to the ground. Jaws snap and clumps of grass fly in the air as they tussle. My fingers ache from how hard I’m digging them into the ground.

Come on, Sterling. End this.

Sterling closes his jaw around Noah’s leg and bites down hard. Noah yips and backs away, limping, but Sterling doesn’t give him the opportunity to regroup. He charges Noah and buries his teeth into Noah’s neck. My breath lodges in my throat and every muscle in my body tenses. Sterling swings his head to the side, tearing a chunk out of Noah’s throat. Noah falls to the ground, and Sterling is on top of him in seconds. Another viscous bite into his neck, and the brown wolf stills.

Sterling steps away, body heaving with each breath he takes. A second later light flares through the clearing and Noah’s wolf form disappears, changing into a naked man. He’s unmoving, chest not rising. A gaping hole where his throat should be gushes blood and soaks the grass in red. Sterling stares at him for a second before stumbling backward and collapsing.

I’m up and running before I even realize what I’m doing. My gaze is glued to Sterling, watching his wolf’s chest rise and fall rapidly. When I reach him, I drop to my knees, hands hovering over his fur, matted and stained with blood.

“Sterling,” I whisper shakily.

His form shimmers, and slower than usual, he shifts back into his human form, bones snapping and popping. Blood streaks his skin, bite marks mar his body. The one on his neck is deep and blood still runs from it steadily.

“Cade!” I yell, but he’s already kneeling next to Sterling, purple light flaring around his hands.

People start to gather around us as Cade’s magic settles in Sterling, healing all of his injuries. Cole does his best to shoo them away, giving us privacy. Shari stands behind Cade, clutching her stomach, tear tracks trailing down her cheeks.

When Cade steps away I grab Sterling’s hand, relieved to find it warm. His eyes open and a slow smile spreads across his face.

“We did it,” he whispers.

“You did it.” Tears spill over and blur my vision.

Sterling sits up with a grunt and pulls me onto his lap. He kisses me deeply, and I temporarily forget there are people around watching us and that he’s covered in blood—his and Noah’s. He hardens under me and I rock my hips, making him moan.

Kai clears his throat, bringing me back to earth. “You might want to wait for that,” he says wryly.

Heat burns my neck and I bury my face in Sterling’s shoulder. “Oh gods.”

He chuckles, but squeezes me tighter, and I sit in his lap, listening to his heart beat. “You know what this means?” he asks.

“What?” I pull away and look into his eyes.

He dries the tears clinging to my cheeks and smiles. “You’re my alpha mate.”

“And that means what, exactly?”

“You’re my equal.” He kisses me lightly.

I raise one brow. “I thought I already was.”

He chuckles. “No. You are far superior to me, kitten. But in terms of the pack, they have to obey you as well, now.”

That sits heavy on my shoulders. More responsibility I don’t know what to do with. As if being a harpy wasn’t enough.

“Sterling Harrison.”

We both look up to find Agatha standing over us. Despite her hunched form, she seems to stand taller than the others around her. She gives Sterling a small smile and a nod.

“You are the new alpha of the Iron Shadows pack.”

Cheers and howls rise from the people and wolves surrounding us. I don’t fail to notice a group of wolves skulking away, no doubt supporters of Noah. Cole sees them too, and his eyes narrow.

Fatigue suddenly floods me as all of my adrenaline leaves in a rush, and I lay my head on Sterling’s shoulder. “Can we go home now?”

He kisses my temple. “Yes, kitten. We can.”

“Can I get you anything else?” I ask Sterling, handing him a bottle of water.

“Lay with me?” His eyes are heavy, and I can see him fighting to stay awake. Cade’s healing always takes a lot out of a person.

“Will you eat the sandwich first?” I point to the untouched turkey sandwich on the nightstand.

“Will you lay with me while I eat it?” he counters.

I can’t help but smile. “Yes, but if you don’t eat I’m getting out of bed.”

He holds his arms open for me, and I climb in next to him and lean against the headboard. He immediately curls around me, laying his head on my belly. I nudge his shoulder and stick the plate in front of him. Grumbling, he sits up enough to eat. He somehow manages to eat the entire sandwich in two bites, and downs the bottle of water without coming up for air.

“Happy?” he asks, blinking blearily at me.

“Yes,” I whisper and pat my stomach.

He snuggles against me again, sighing in contentment. The way my stomach flutters because this big, alpha wolf is curled next to me like he can’t sleep without me makes me smile. His hair is like silk as I run my fingers through it, gently untangling the knots. It takes only seconds before his body relaxes and his breathing evens out.

A soft knock on the door draws my attention and Cade slips inside with a second sandwich. “He’s asleep?”

“Yeah. It didn’t take him long. I don’t think he was sleeping the past few days.” I know I hadn’t been. But I wasn’t just in a fight for my life and healed magically, so I’m able to fight sleep a little better than he was.

Cade nods and climbs onto the bed, sitting at the bottom. “You should eat, too.”

I take the plate and my stomach grumbles loud enough I’m surprised it doesn’t wake Sterling with his ear against it. I can’t remember the last time I ate and it actually stayed down. It’s been a few days. I finish the sandwich almost as quickly as Sterling ate his. And I only got a few crumbs in his hair. Cade laughs softly as I try to brush them out with a sheepish grin.

“Everything okay in here?” Kai asks, popping his head inside. Seeing us all settled on the bed, he joins us. After a quick kiss for me, and one for Cade, he lays down with his head in Cade’s lap, his feet propped on the pillow next to me.

“So what’s next?” I ask, watching Cade brush his fingers through Kai’s hair, the same way I am with Sterling.

“Well, we need to start planning how we’re going to save your sister,” Cade says. “I don’t think the same plan we used for Sterling will work. For one, we’ve done it once already. Two, Sam knew he could let you go because he knew you’d be back for Grace.”

I glance at Sterling sleeping on me. “What about getting the other magical races involved? The wolves and vampires?”

“My dad won’t be game for that,” Kai mumbles. He sounds like he’s half asleep, Cade’s fingers drawing him closer to the edge. “Even with all the evidence we have against Sam, the mages are too powerful. It would be too much of a risk of them retaliating against us. My dad has no desire to be involved in a war.”

“And Sterling would one hundred percent have the wolves help,” Cade says, glancing at the sleeping alpha. “But, Cole would step in and stop him. And rightfully so. Even if the vamps and wolves banded together to go after Sam, it would be an act of war. And the last thing Sterling needs to deal with so new in his role as alpha, is an inter-race war. He needs to build up the pack’s trust. Not to mention, they are incredibly weak after Noah. They need to rebuild their strength.”

“So we go in alone again?” I try to hide the way that makes anxiety writhe in my gut. More people would mean more chance of success and less risk of one of my Shields getting hurt.

“I wouldn’t say alone,” Cade says. “We have Connor and Drew. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Cole stepped in to help.”

“So, just mostly alone,” I mutter.

Kai huffs a small laugh and cracks open one eye. “Do you not have faith in us?”

I tilt my head to the side, studying him. “It’s not you I don’t have faith in. It’s the fact I know Sam will play dirty.”

“And we’ll be prepared for that,” Cade says. “We just need a solid plan before we go in.”

“Tomorrow we’ll call Connor and Drew,” Kai says, closing his eye again. “Even Cole if he wants to help. We’ll get a plan in place and set a time. We are going to get her out of there.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

Kai shakes his head, as if to say ‘don’t thank me.’

“Okay, enough talk.” Cade lifts Kai from his lap, ignoring Kai’s grumbling, and slides under the covers next to me. “Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day.”