Chapter 5
Idropped my hand and Raffe and I glanced out the window, which faced campus. Even though I didn’t have the same view as Adam, I had no doubt what he saw—Priestess Olwyn heading toward the apartments.
“We’ve got to get out of here.” I breathed through my teeth, rushing toward Dave.
Keith grabbed me around the waist and tossed me into Raffe. He linked, You’re going the wrong way.
My back hit Raffe’s elbow, and a sharp pain shot through my shoulder blade.
Raffe snarled as he placed his arm around me and tugged me behind him. His rage slammed into me, squeezing my already battered heart like a vise. The only time I’d ever come close to feeling this intensity was a couple of weeks after Raffe and I had broken up.
Touch her again, and I’ll kill you, Raffe commanded through the bond.
Raising both hands, Keith widened his eyes. Man, I was trying to move her out the door, especially since we now know who Supreme Priestess Olwyn is.
We didn’t have time for grandstanding. “We need to get Dave the hell out of here.”
“Dave?” Raffe spun around, his face tight. “No fucking way.”
“I’m not asking.” Even though I loved this man with my entire heart and soul, he wasn’t my boss. I couldn’t be in a relationship with someone who tried to control my every move, and the only reason I wasn’t angry with him was because he was protecting me out of love. “I’m not leaving without him.”
“Listen, I appreciate what you’re trying to do.” Dave sighed and winced. “But I’m injured and will only slow you down. You should all go now while you still can.”
This was further proof that Dave was a good guy. There was no way I was leaving someone behind who’d been threatened, and he hadn’t known what they were going to do with me. He’d been put in an awful spot, one he regretted. “Then you better get moving.”
Skylar, you can’t be serious. This guy drugged you and wanted to drain you that day you were heading back to the apartments by yourself. Raffe stepped in front of me, blocking my way. He got blood-crazed and drank from Josie. He should die before he loses control again.
I placed my hands on my hips. Have you ever made a mistake? Say, like, treating a girl like shit and adding to her losing control of her magic? You weren’t nice to me. What would you have done if I’d decided you could never change and treat me differently? And don’t forget, yes, he wanted to drink blood from me that night, but he controlled himself and told me I needed to walk away, not run. If he’d lost control, he would’ve jumped me. He’s the only vampire to hold back once my blood had been activated. I rocked back on my feet. And how would Josie feel if you left him to die or be tortured after she risked her life to save him? I suspect she wouldn’t be happy.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” Raffe ran his fingers through his hair and pulled.
Guys, she’s almost at the door. We need to go. Adam tapped his wrist. We’ll run out of time if you two keep standing here and arguing.
Yeah, man. Just alpha-will her, and let’s get the fuck out of here. Keith motioned to the door.
My stomach hardened, and I gritted my teeth. I’m not leaving, and if you do something like that to me, our relationship will never be the same. Fated mates or not.
He sighed, and the pressure on my chest released. He linked, You better realize how damn much I love you. He stalked past Adam and lifted Dave up like a princess.
Dave whimpered and his face twisted in agony.
“What the hell?” Keith gasped. “Are we seriously taking him? He’ll slow us down.”
“So will arguing about it.” Raffe shoved past them toward the door. “This is important to Skylar. Let’s fucking go.” And grab the keys to all our vehicles and the bike.
The warmth of my love for Raffe rushed through me. Even when he didn’t agree with me, he put my needs before his own.
Stay behind me, he linked as we hurried out the door. He added Lucy, Josie, Keith, and Adam to our connection. Get your asses to the cars. We’ve got to get the hell out of here.
What? Lucy replied. What’s going on?
No time to explain, but bring Octavia and Josie, and hurry, Raffe replied.
But—
I understood that Raffe expected to bark a command and be followed, but sometimes, taking an extra five seconds to explain things made people move faster. We hurried into the hallway with Keith and Adam a few steps behind me. Raffe opened the door to the stairwell as I explained, Slade and Supreme Priestess Olwyn are part of the secret society that’s trying to kill Dave and potentially me. We’re all at risk, so we need to leave.
I appreciated so much that their room was positioned right next to the stairwell, but as Raffe took the stairs, Dave grunted and groaned loudly.
“Man, be quiet,” Keith muttered under his breath as they caught up. “You’re going to lead her to us.”
“I can’t help it,” Dave gritted back.
Raffe reached the first landing, and Dave clenched his eyes shut. His hand clutched the stab wound in his chest, and his face paled even more.
Try to take the stairs easier. I despised saying it because this was one of the two main reasons Raffe didn’t want to bring Dave, but I had to stand by my decision and deal with the consequences. Which means slow down. Otherwise, he will get louder.
This is why Raffe should’ve alpha-willed her ass to leave him, Keith interjected.
My blood rose to a near hum, and my wolf edged forward. If we hadn’t been running for our lives, I would’ve spun around and put him in his place, but I’d kept my wits about me for twenty-two years. I’d hold my temper, even though it was more difficult with my wolf’s influence.
Drop it, Adam said before my mouth got the best of me. What’s done is done. Bitching about it won’t change matters.
Keith, do I need to remind you what I said about how you treat my mate? You’re one claw’s width away from crossing a line you’ll never come back from. Raffe’s jaw twitched as he took the next set of stairs slower.
Dave stopped making such loud noises and breathed through his teeth.
We were still moving quickly, but not fast enough with Supreme Priestess Olwyn on our tail. As each platform transitioned to another set of stairs, my heart rate picked up. I kept waiting to hear the door open and the priestess proclaiming she’d found us while spelling us. I’d never considered myself a dramatic person … until now.
Babe, I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear. Raffe moved easily as if he wasn’t carrying a grown-ass man.
Here I was, out of breath from anxiety. He and I were definitely not the same type of person. I’m not worried about me. I’m concerned about all of you getting caught in the fallout of whatever they want to kill or recruit me for. What Warin had said to me in the bunker rang in my head: if I didn’t join them, they would end me. I was either their weapon or a threat—there was no in-between.
You’re my main concern. So, as long as we get you out of here, I’ll consider it a win. Raffe picked up his pace, and Dave groaned.
The sound was loud and echoed down the hallway.
Shit.
We had one set of stairs left to go, but then my worst fear happened.
A door above us opened.
My heart hammered in my ears, distorting sounds.
“What in the goddess—” Supreme Priestess Olwyn’s voice cut off. She must have looked over the rail as we reached the door that led outside.
“You’re going to have to deal with the pain,” Raffe rasped as he opened the door. “You deserve to feel it anyway after all the shit you pulled.”
As I ran out the door and the drizzle hit me in the face, I heard Supreme Priestess Olwyn say, “They’ve taken Dave and are running. Get the word out and stop them. I told you I should have—” The door to the apartments slammed shut, cutting off her last words as the four of us ran toward the vehicles.
It was past six thirty, and some students were out and about. A guy jogging on the road that circled the campus paused to watch us. I could only imagine how we looked to observers with Raffe carrying a man like a baby.
As we reached the edge of the women’s apartments, the double doors of the men’s apartments opened. Slade yelled, “Sky! What’s going on?”
My heart ached, and I couldn’t swallow around the lump lodged in my throat. Hearing his voice right after learning what he’d done to me made my mouth taste salty and bile churn in my stomach. I wasn’t sure what to say. It was clear what we were doing. But maybe that was the point—for him to see what we’d learned.
Where are you guys? I linked with Lucy and Josie. I didn’t see them, which meant they were likely still inside. Raffe had tied Octavia extremely well to the bed, so it wouldn’t be easy to free her.
We’re leaving the apartment. We’ll be down in a few minutes, Lucy replied.
Shit. We had to buy them time.
Forcing my legs to slow, I rolled my shoulders and pushed the hair out of my face. The rain was coming down harder, making it more difficult to see. I was about to tell a big ol’ fat lie, so I hoped like hell the coven members couldn’t smell it. The rain should keep the smell from reaching too far. “Hey, sorry. We’re in a hurry.”
“I can see that.” Slade chuckled, jogging toward me.
Two male coven members I’d never seen before were with him.
What the fuck are you doing? Raffe linked, his fear like a choke hold.
Keep going. Lucy and Josie aren’t here yet. I have to buy us time. I knew it wouldn’t go over well, but I was already stalling.
Slade stopped a few feet from me, his blond hair more of a medium brown in the precipitation. He shook his head, reminding me of a dog, and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Dave … he’s not doing well.” I chose my words carefully.
The nape of my neck tingled, which always happened when Raffe watched me from afar. I knew he was passing Dave off to one of the others and circling back to me. He wouldn’t leave me alone with a threat.
But that was the thing. The Veiled Circle needed me, so they wanted to play nice in the hope I’d turn against my mate.
“He’s still alive?” Slade’s eyes flicked to the retreating figures behind me. He pursed his lips. I used to think his reaction was over Dave’s well-being, but now I was certain it was consternation because the vampire was still breathing. How sad was that? What sort of people thought they should be in control when they didn’t value the lives of others? At least the wolf shifters weren’t killing other supernaturals just because someone had dirt on them.
“Yeah, he’s hanging on.” Raffe’s deep voice came from a few feet behind me. He took my hand and stood stiffly at my side.
A shiver from how raspy and low his voice was shot down my spine. “Is there something you need? We’re trying to get him help.”
“Help? He’s a supernatural. He can’t go anywhere.” Slade laughed forcefully. “Just take him back to his apartment. Mom wants to check on him. If anyone can help, it’s her.”
Shit. I hadn’t thought this through, but we couldn’t abandon Lucy and Josie. The Circle would use them as leverage over us, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to those two … and even Octavia. She might have been a shit biological mother, but that didn’t mean she deserved to die, especially not if I had a brother. I didn’t know anything about him, but no one deserved to lose their mom.
“He needs blood.” Raffe lifted his chin. “Lots of it. The best thing we can do is take him somewhere isolated and steal some bags. If he drinks from a human, he’ll kill them.”
Slade scowled. “He’s a vampire and none of your concern. He’s an EEU student, and Mom should be taking point on this. I don’t understand why you two are fighting against it. I honored your request to wait until this morning for Mom to come, and now you need to bring him back inside.”
This stall tactic wasn’t working. Josie and Lucy needed to come out now. We’d done everything we could to give them time.
Time we’d officially run out of.
Thankfully, they and Octavia rushed from the women’s apartment building, but unfortunately, their timing was almost simultaneous with Supreme Priestess Olwyn stepping out of the men’s apartments. The high priestess’s emerald eyes locked on me.
We’ve got Dave in the car. You need to get away from them, Adam linked.
Just go. Sky and I will take the bike, Raffe linked back. Take your cars if that’s what you want and leave.
The three women rushed toward the parking lot, and Slade’s eyebrows rose. “What the hell is going on?”
Josie was stumbling, but she was holding her own. I hoped that meant something. “Josie isn’t feeling the best either. We thought it’d—”
“Everyone needs to go back to their rooms,” Supreme Priestess Olwyn huffed. Her long, light-blonde hair became wet, and her black dress suit clung to her figure. Her lips were crimson, a color that struck me as bloodstained now that I knew what she was. She puffed out her cheeks, making her cheekbones appear less sharp. “What in the goddess are you all thinking, running around in the rain like this, especially with two unwell students?”
Hatred flared inside me, more than what I felt toward Slade. He’d betrayed me, but Supreme Priestess Olwyn had done worse. She’d claimed me as one of her own coven members. Let my hand go, I linked.
Immediately, I felt the hurt roll off Raffe.
I need my blood to activate; otherwise, I don’t think we’ll get out of here. I could never rely on my blood to do what I wanted, but I knew one thing. It helped me survive, or at least tried to.
Raffe’s emotions steadied, and I released his hand. It wasn’t hard for my blood to hit the hum, and my wolf inched forward, but I couldn’t risk shifting out here.
“No.” I shook my head. “We aren’t bringing them back.” There was no point in keeping up pretenses. They already suspected that we knew; we’d just played the game a while longer.
I heard the car doors shut, telling me that everyone was settled.
“What happened?” Slade spoke slowly, controlling his voice. “Why are you fighting us?”
I tilted my head, tired of playing games. “Why would you ask? Are you worried about something?”
He laughed. “No. Of course—”
The smell of sulfur hit me, along with his fear and tension.
“Shut up,” Supreme Priestess Olwyn snarled. “She’s a wolf shifter.”
My heart pounded, the power funneling into my hands and not my feet. I wasn’t sure what would happen.
“They know.” The supreme priestess lifted her hands.
Then something shattered.