Chapter 8
Effie Harlow
Ihad thought I’d felt anger before, but nothing compared to this.
I was nearly shaking with fury as Ryder got to work unlatching them from their chains, his magic turning the metal gold before breaking apart like it was paper.
My skin was coated in the warmth of his magic, blocking the wind and cold spray of icy lake water, and normally I would have basked in it, but not right now.
Right now all I could focus on was getting my mates to safety.
I knelt on the stone floor as he first broke Julian’s chains and dragged him over, laying him down in front of me. My fingers immediately touched his face gently as a warm gold magic seemed to brush his skin.
Why was he unconscious? Unconscious and frozen…
and injured. His face was black and blue, and his lip was split enough that it had bled and frozen on his face.
I ran my fingers over his neck where there was what almost looked like a claw mark, and my breathing went fast and frantic, somehow able to hear his very faint heartbeat.
This was so much worse than I could have imagined.
Except it became worse when Ryder brought Dakota over and tried to gently lay him down.
Dakota was in really bad shape. The man had a savage bite mark on his shoulder, the cloth torn there, and despite the cold the wound was pulsing with hot blood as the area seemed to fester.
I could see the skin trying to heal itself, but he was so pale and chalky, his eyelids almost blue.
“It’s poison. The bite he got, it’s poison for him,” Caedmon bit out as he limped over, his ankle twisted at a weird angle.
Seeing them in pain, I could feel something growing inside of me, something darker than normal, and the strength in Caedmon’s eyes only fed the need for vengeance.
Instead of looking mad at me for being the cause of this, he offered me affection and kissed the top of my head before sitting next to me.
His eye was swollen shut, and when he intertwined his fingers with mine, I hissed, realizing his hands were all torn up.
How had this happened in such a short amount of time?
It hadn’t been a short amount of time, though.
When I passed out it had been morning, and I hadn’t woken from my unconscious state until nearly night.
I felt angry tears well in my eyes, and I found myself thinking hateful thoughts, the likes of which I’d never experienced before.
They accumulated and grew, surrounding me in a turbulent, angry storm as Ryder finally brought Tore over.
His eyes were half open, but he looked like he was completely drained, his skin paler than normal and ice in his hair.
He had clearly gotten the brunt of the waves.
That was when I hit my breaking point.
My eyes closed, and suddenly, something inside of me, almost hidden underneath my wolf, radiated out.
It felt like hot liquid gold moved through my veins, and I felt everything around me still as I let it seep out of fingers and surround the five of them.
My tears fell, and I infused every ounce of my affection into that moment, wanting them to be as safe as possible.
To heal. I didn’t think it was possible, especially with being a bitten wolf… but I was wrong.
I must have done something right, because when I finally felt my energy sag and my body melt into Caedmon, everyone shifted around me. I couldn’t move though, exhaustion radiating from every pore of my being.
“What the hell was that?”
“Do not wake her up.” Ryder’s voice was soft. “She’s never used that form of her magic before. She needs to rest.”
“What do you mean by ‘that form of magic’?”
“I told you, Effie is not just a wolf,” Ryder hissed, causing my eyes to snap open.
I found myself nearly nose to nose with Julian, his hands cupping my face gently.
His face was healed, and if anything, he looked healthier than before.
His eyes had a glow to them, and if I could’ve focused better I would have probably noticed how unnaturally intense it was.
Instead, I was just completely caught up in his hold.
“Julian.” Tore’s voice was edged in concern. “Maybe you should give her a little space.”
Julian’s gaze didn’t move from me as his eyes darted down to my lips. My tongue darted out as a low growl echoed from his throat.
That was when I realized that I wasn’t dealing with Julian. Not fully.
“Coffin,” I breathed out, and his rumble grew more intense.
“Little mate.” His voice sounded different as he leaned in and brushed his nose against mine. “Are you okay?”
“Who the hell is Coffin?” Dakota demanded.
“Julian’s wolf,” Tore stated roughly.
Julian turned towards Tore. “He is my human, not the other way around. I am no one’s wolf. Especially someone who has been alive for barely two decades instead of millennium after millennium.”
“That’s a long time,” I murmured as he turned his attention back to me.
“I can feel him trying to push back for control. Tell me that you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” I whispered. Coffin surged forward and kissed me as I let out a small moan… Only for him to be yanked away. My eyes widened to find that Ryder had pulled him off me, except I could see the momentary confusion as Julian slipped back into control of his body.
“Not now. We need to get out of here,” Ryder hissed. Julian looked at him, his eyes darkening, before returning his attention to me. Whatever he saw had him nodding as Tore lifted me up into his arms, my body completely relaxing against his massive frame.
“They leave it unlocked?” I asked as we went towards the door leading to a hallway out of the alcove.
“Not usually. I think his exact words were ‘If you gnaw yourself out of those chains like the animal you are, you’re free to go… If not, I will see you in the morning.’ He knows that only a rare type of magic could break those chains,” Caedmon said, sounding frustrated.
I blinked, looking over at his face and then the others’ as I realized…they were healed. I slid down Tore’s body silently and stepped back, my mates turning to see why I wasn’t following them. My eyes went over each of them, assessing.
They seemed perfectly healthy.
“I don’t understand…” I drew out before looking at Ryder. “They are all healed.”
Ryder nodded slowly. “Yes, they are.”
“How?” I demanded softly. “How is that possible?”
His eyes darkened. “Let’s get back to the dorm and I’ll explain.”
“Promise me you will this time.”
“I’ll explain,” Ryder promised. I could see his answer also eased some of the tension from my other mates, who clearly wanted to understand what was going on.
Nodding slowly, we continued walking, and I asked a question that had been plaguing my mind. “Who put you down here? Who said that about breaking out of the chains?”
“Hastain himself,” Dakota spit out, looking furious. “I should have just finished the job and killed Reamann.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I don’t want you in trouble…” I paused. “Well, more trouble than you already are.”
“I wish that Hastain didn’t have so much power,” Ryder murmured in disgust.
“Why does he?” I asked, my voice echoing off the stone hallway.
“He comes from a very powerful fenrir line, and more importantly, he has access to true magic,” Julian growled. “We have no idea how, but it’s responsible for everything good and bad on this damn campus.”
“True magic?”
“Magic that doesn’t come from a shifter line.”
Oh.
“Like witches?” It was the only mental example I could draw from.
“No.” Ryder shook his head, further explaining, “The gods. All magic originates from them, and most likely he either has access to a descendant of the gods or he is one himself, although there is no indication that is the case.”
“I didn’t realize the gods were real,” I admitted. How many times had I pleaded with them to help me when I was in trouble? I tried to not feel resentful of that.
“The gods are very real and very dangerous,” Ryder said before looking at the rest of them. “That punishment was far worse than I expected. How did he justify it? Especially for you three?” he added, eyeing Tore, Caedmon, and Julian.
“He didn’t, he just said it was our punishment for taking Effie,” Tore snapped. “Which is bullshit. I don’t trust that he’s done with any of this. I think he is just going to keep finding ways until it’s too late for any of our families to step in.”
“I don’t want you guys in danger.” I hated the idea of that so much.
“Too late for that.” Caedmon squeezed my hand. “Besides, mon ange, it’s worth it.”
“Mon ange?” Julian mused. “Cute.”
“Fuck off,” Caedmon growled.
“What does that mean?” I asked as Caedmon’s ears turned pink.
“My angel,” he admitted as my smile grew.
Oh.
“I love that,” I whispered.
“Well now I feel like my nickname hasn’t gotten nearly the right amount of attention,” Julian grumbled.
Now I was very curious what his nickname meant as well, but unfortunately for my curiosity, there was a far more important question.
“How did you get injured?” I demanded softly.
“Before chaining us up, they took us to the second alcove where there were two lycans that were shifted and out of control… And then we were taken to our place and chained up,” Tore explained.
That was so incredibly messed up.
At that moment, we reached a dark door that had minimal moonlight seeping through from the cracks in the wood.
My eyes widened as Tore opened it with his shoulder in a hard hit and we found ourselves in the thick forested area that surrounded campus.
I stepped out and realized that the tunnel was hidden under a large hill in the ground so that no one could see it.
It was very clear that they wanted to keep the huler a secret, which meant they were well aware that what they were doing was wrong.