Chapter 3
Caidrik escorted Nadia with a guiding hand at the small of her back. Man, she was tiny. He could sense the silver still in her system and would kill Bulwark for that alone. Although he had plenty of other reasons to want his brother dead.
It felt right having the female near him, and every instinct in him bellowed for him to make her safe. Protected. His.
He ignored the primal feelings. The moment didn’t belong to instinct. It belonged to control.
Opening the door, he allowed cold air to rush over him as he tried to shield Nadia. The winter chill was biting. “Why don’t you wait inside?”
“I’m supposed to thank everyone for having tea with me and then give instructions.” She sounded as if she wanted to roll her eyes. “I wish the rules weren’t so rigid. I swear, Caidrik, if I could, I’d just mate you.”
He liked the thought but not the ‘just.’ At least they were on the same page, although she was underestimating him.
“I’m not the safer alternative, baby. You need to know that now.
” Sure, he’d been respectful when keeping his distance as her enforcer, but that job was over.
This was life. And mating. And forever. The attraction was there between them, and they both wanted the same things for the pack.
That was plenty with which to start a life.
He stared out at the wolves he didn’t want to kill. Well, besides Bulwark. Starting his reign with spilling blood went against who he wanted to be. It was time to leave the mercenary, the killer in him, behind.
In front of him, snow covered the ground in a smooth, undisturbed sheet that reflected the pale light back up at the sky. The pack members had already gone home, trusting this ancient and rather stupid law that transferred power.
The other four challengers waited in the yard, spaced apart, each of them staring at the door.
Energy, barely contained, rolled through the air.
Dax paced near the edge of the porch, his boots crunching lightly in the snow.
Bulwark stood farther back with his hands loose at his sides, always ready for a fight, while Isaac remained near the tree line. Did he look pale?
Luca leaned against the railing, his focus on Nadia.
Caidrik stepped forward and then slowed when his stomach rolled violently.
Not nerves.
He knew nerves. That was different. Heat crawled up his spine despite the cold, and a slick sweat broke out under his coat. His mouth flooded with thick saliva that tasted like slugs.
What the hell was happening to him?
“Caidrik?” Nadia asked, stumbling and then righting herself. The female had good instincts.
“I’m fine.” He swallowed hard and kept walking.
How was he going to keep her safe while he was out doing these challenges?
Philip’s enforcers had gone with him. Sure, Caidrik had soldiers on the house, and the ancient laws dictated that the heir, or trophy, couldn’t be harmed, but he didn’t trust anybody else to keep her covered.
Nadia moved beside him, close enough that he could feel the warmth of her even through layers of fabric and air. “I wish everyone would just listen to reason,” she said quietly.
“Ditto,” he replied, grateful his voice sounded steadier than his body felt.
Dax straightened. “I’m fine playing poker for the position and letting everyone go on their way after I win.”
Nadia grimaced. “Everyone would have to agree, including me.” She eyed Isaac.
Caidrik couldn’t blame her. The wolf had said he didn’t want to mate her, which was actually a smart move. He kept watching her, though. “I’d never force you.”
“I know.” She swallowed. “But you didn’t deny the right.”
No, he hadn’t. “I won’t need to force you, and you know it.” It was the truth. Oh, she might be frightened of her feelings for him, or his for her, but they were there. Real. She knew it, too.
She huffed out a breath.
Damn it. He was going to have to wait until she came to him because no way was he forcing her to do anything.
How was he going to court her and kill these morons at the same time?
Also, he wanted his time as a killer to be over.
“When I’m off doing whatever it is, read the rest of that grimoire and see if there’s any way to win without killing everyone. ”
She sighed. “I can’t read the last third of the book. It’s in an ancient language, and Solomon is one of the few people alive who can.”
Caidrik’s gut hurt. Bad. “Fine. Then get a translation app or something. Just try.”
“Oh, I’m already on that,” she said under her breath. “Like I said, I’m no trophy.”
He liked that. A lot. Spunk and determination in a sexily small package.
The world tilted around him. He stopped a few paces from the door and fought the urge to bend forward. The snow blurred for a second. He blinked the fuzziness away and distributed his weight evenly to keep his balance.
Luca’s gaze flicked to him, sharp and fast. “You look pale.”
“I’m fine,” Caidrik said. The lie tasted acidic.
Bulwark’s mouth twitched. “You don’t look fine.”
Before Caidrik could respond, Dax made a sharp, irritated sound. “What the hell?”
He doubled over suddenly, one hand braced on his thigh, the other covering his mouth. He gagged once, violently, and vomited into the snow. The sound cut through the quiet yard and sounded painful.
Everyone stopped moving.
Dax straightened halfway, breathing hard. “Shit.” Then he gagged again and dropped fully, retching until his shoulders shook. The sour smell filled the air.
Caidrik’s stomach lurched in answer, hard enough that black spots flashed at the edges of his vision. No. The realization landed with cold certainty. Poison?
Isaac took a step forward. “Dax? What’s wrong with you?”
Bulwark’s expression changed. His jaw tightened. His hand flexed once.
Caidrik tracked the movement. Good. If he were going down, Bulwark needed to be weakened as well. His brother wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of an unfair situation.
Nadia inhaled sharply. “Dax?”
Dax tried to respond and failed. His arms shook as he pushed himself upright again, only to stagger sideways. His boots slid in the snow. He caught himself and then froze. His body jerked and then started seizing. He dropped flat, shaking wildly.
Caidrik moved without thinking, trying to get closer to him, and nausea roared back inside him with renewed force.
Luca’s voice cut in, controlled but edged. “Is this part of the challenges? Nadia?”
Nadia shook her head. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
Bulwark swore under his breath and staggered a step, his hand flattening on his stomach. His face darkened as he swallowed hard. “What did you do?”
Nadia’s head snapped toward him. “Nothing. I don’t understand this.” She looked up at Caidrik. “Are you all right?”
He couldn’t answer her.
Isaac bent slightly, one hand on his knee, breathing through his nose. “I don’t feel good.”
Caidrik pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth and tasted bitterness. His head pounded now, and pressure built behind his eyes. The cold air burned his lungs with every breath.
Luca stood tall, looking at them all, his gaze wide. “Somebody explain this.”
Dax’s body arched violently. A shift tore through him on the icy ground. Bones cracked. Clothing ripped. Fur burst across his skin as he collapsed fully into the snow, convulsing as a wolf. His limbs jerked erratically, his claws tearing grooves into the white ground.
Nadia made a sound of pure panic.
Blood appeared at Dax’s ears first, thin and dark, and then spilled from his snout, staining the snow beneath his head. His convulsions weakened, turning into smaller, broken tremors.
Caidrik felt his own knees threaten to give.
Bulwark dropped to one knee suddenly, gagging, and braced a hand in the snow. He vomited once, and then heaved again, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist before snarling wildly. Growling, he shifted into wolf form, large and black, and leaped into the forest.
Gone.
Isaac gasped seconds later, retching hard, his face ashen. He dropped his gaze to the ground, his breath coming in sharp pulls.
Caidrik clenched his fists and rode out another wave of sickness, trying to lock his jaw so he didn’t puke. His pulse roared in his ears. “Solomon,” he roared.
Nadia turned but the door didn’t open.
Luca watched all of them.
“Something was in the tea,” Isaac said hoarsely.
Nadia’s face drained of color. Her eyes flew to Caidrik, terror cutting through her eyes. “You drank a lot of it.” She stared at the one calm male. “You didn’t, Luca.”
Caidrik turned his head toward Luca with effort. “Why not?” Had Luca somehow poisoned the tea?
Luca met his gaze evenly. “I don’t like tea.”
Dax convulsed once more and then went still, his wolf body collapsing fully into the snow. Blood continued to seep from his ears and snout, vivid against the white.
Nadia bunched to move toward him, and Caidrik stopped her by the arm as panic nearly took him over.
“Are you feeling okay?” Caidrik asked, his vision swimming.
“Yes. I’m fine.” She paled in the cold. “I don’t understand.”
Good. So, the poison was only for the challengers. Not her. Silence fell, broken only by labored breathing and the faint whisper of snow drifting down. What a shitty challenge. Unfair and stupid.
Caidrik’s stomach clenched again, harder this time. He staggered a step and caught himself. His head swam. His body was losing the fight.
Luca tilted his head, staring down at Dax, who had stopped moving. “Well, one down.” Then he studied a heaving Isaac. “Okay.” He bared his teeth and lunged at Isaac, shifting into his wolf form as Isaac did the same.
The two started to fight with a clash of claws and teeth. Isaac didn’t have a chance.
“Be fair,” Caidrik snarled as another wave hit him, brutal and dizzying. He swayed on his feet. He’d never attack when another wolf was down, and Isaac needed help.
Dax lay motionless in the snow, blood spreading slowly beneath him.
Caidrik could barely see. “Shift, Nadia. Now.” It was a risk with the silver in her blood, but she’d be stronger in wolf form. His body automatically shifted into wolf form, and he leaped off the porch to smash into Luca and roll him away from Isaac.
Isaac yelped, lifted unsteadily to his feet, and stumbled into the forest.
Luca jumped onto Caidrik.
Caidrik only had one chance, so he took it, snapping his jaw into Luca’s neck.
The wolf howled in pain and rolled away.
Caidrik had to get out of there before Luca healed himself or Bulwark came back.
He’d had two cups of the tea. He jerked his head to the house, and Nadia stepped back, still in human form. The female needed to learn obedience.
Gasping, snarling, and bleeding from the ears, he prodded toward her, forcing her retreat to the door.
“They need help,” she whispered.
Too bad. She needed to be safe. He continued to stalk her until she opened the door, sliding inside the warm mansion.
Only when he heard the lock engage did he turn, survey the two downed wolves on the ground, and run for safety.