Chapter 39
The pain was a living, breathing thing. Coursing through my system in waves of white-hot fire. Some part of me recognized that I was still screaming, my voice going raw, but I couldn’t stop.
The world went hazy around me. The stars above blurred into brushstrokes of light, dancing across my vision.
A feral yell sounded, and suddenly, I felt Damien pulling back, releasing me. I crumpled to the ground in a heap. I tried to move, but it was no use.
A figure crashed through the trees and was on Damien in a flash. It took several beats for me to recognize Trace. It was the bright violet of his eyes that glowed in fury that made the realization hit me.
He moved with a speed that was otherworldly. His fist crashed into Damien’s cheekbone, snapping his head back. But Damien recovered quickly, lashing out with a vicious kick to Trace’s ribs.
Trace wasn’t the slightest bit affected. He swept Damien’s legs out from under him, following up with a one-two punch to his face and torso. But he didn’t stop. Trace rained down blow after blow, showing no signs of tiring.
I tried to call out to get Trace to stop, so scared he would kill Damien. But it was then I realized I was still screaming. Screaming because the pain was still consuming my body.
Trace’s brutal strikes didn’t stop.
Thunderous footsteps sounded, and then four figures broke through the trees. Declan and Ronan went straight for Trace as Colt and Dash ran for me. They sank down to the ground, and Colt hauled me onto his lap.
“I’ve got you. You’re safe.” His face twisted in agony at my screams, but I couldn’t stop them. “Where does it hurt?”
I wanted to tell him everywhere, but I couldn’t get the words out.
“Colt,” Dash croaked as he pulled my hair away from my neck. “He bit her.”
Colt’s nostrils flared, and he struggled to keep his breathing even. “I should’ve let Trace end him.”
“We can’t,” Dash whispered. “It would mean war.”
Declan and Ronan struggled to pull Trace away from Damien’s crumpled form.
“Someone needs to tranq him,” Declan gritted out.
That only made Trace roar with fury.
“Enough!” Colt barked, getting to his feet with me in his arms. “We need to move now. Damien bit her.”
Ronan and Declan froze, rage pulsing in the air around them. Then everyone was moving. The twins muscled Trace through the woods. Colt carried me but paused to look at Dash. “Grab the keys from my pocket.”
Dash quickly did as instructed. “I’ll run ahead and get the Rover.”
I was still screaming, but no sound came out, only a hoarse whisper.
Colt nuzzled my face as he walked. “I’m so sorry.” He said the words over and over as if it were a prayer. But all I could feel was the pain. Blinding hot, as if I were burning alive.
A few moments later, we were piling into the SUV. Colt kept hold of me as Declan and Ronan climbed in on either side. Each tried to soothe me in their own way. Declan stroked my hair as Ronan traced invisible designs on my leg.
“She’s screaming,” Declan choked.
“He gave her the pain bite,” Colt gritted out.
Dash’s gaze snapped to the rearview mirror as he pressed the gas harder. “That’s against the code.”
“Like Damien gives a fuck,” Ronan growled.
I dipped in and out of awareness as Dash drove, and before I knew it, he was pulling to a stop. The doors of the SUV flew open, and everyone was moving.
I cried out as the lights of the house filled my vision. It was too bright.
“Shit,” Colt muttered. “We need to get her to her room and turn down the lights.”
He took the stairs two at a time, and then someone blessedly turned off the overhead lights. The pain in my eyes eased, but it did nothing to help the agony still coursing through the rest of my body.
“What can we do?” Declan whispered.
“I’ve got my herbs,” Dash called.
Colt tipped my head back as Dash pushed a glass to my lips. “Drink,” he encouraged.
The liquid tasted horrible, but I drank it down. Anything to help the pain.
Colt kept hold of me as the rest of the guys paced. Tears leaked from my eyes as the burning intensified.
“It’s not working,” Ronan barked.
Dash’s brow furrowed. “It might have been too long since the bite for it to take effect.”
Everyone cursed.
Colt’s gaze locked with Trace’s. “She needs you.”
Panic lit Trace’s features. “I-I can’t.”
“You’re the only one who can ease her pain. Would you really leave her like this?”
Agony that mirrored my own flashed in Trace’s eyes, and then he was moving. He ripped off his T-shirt, exposing a sea of ripped muscle. He gently took me from Colt’s arms.
The moment our skin touched, visions flashed in my mind.
A couple looking down at a much younger Trace with disgust and derision.
“We can’t have your kind in our home.” That image was replaced with something else entirely.
It was me. Me and Trace. Skin slick with sweat, the scent of lust filling the air.
I writhed beneath him, begging for release.
“Deep breaths, Little Bird. Deep breaths,” Trace crooned in my ear. “I’ve got you.”
It was all too much. The pain transformed into pleasure. But it was as if the sensory overload was too much for my body to handle, and my entire world went black.