Chapter 24
Feray
The pain of my blood burning in my veins has me screaming in my mind.
It's a searing agony that feels as though my very essence is being consumed by fire.
The twinning voices of Easton's and Diaval's shifts sing to me, their melodies intertwining in a desperate attempt to soothe away the torment.
My wolf snarls in my head, a fierce growl echoing through my thoughts as she fights against whatever is happening to me.
Warmth blossoms at my side, and a gentle hand rests on my stomach. The scent of sandalwood floods my lungs, grounding me.
Torben... My fierce, loving, gigantic teddy bear is with me.
The screaming in my head lessens, and I draw in the first full breath in what feels like an eternity. My body becomes liquid under his palm as the tension drains out of me.
"Easton, come quickly..." Torben bellows.
The thundering of footsteps echoes on the wooden flooring. "What's happened?" Easton's voice fills the space as I feel the warmth of his hands framing my face.
"She's finally relaxed. She's not fighting whatever is happening," Torben says softly.
"It's almost gone. Feray, you need to wake up and bite me. You need my blood." Easton's voice wavers, the tremor betraying his fear.
Torben shifts me slowly, positioning me to sit with my back against his chest. It's a struggle to get my eyes to obey, but eventually, they do. Everything is blurry at first, two Easton’s swimming before my vision until they merge into one.
Just as he presses his forearm to my lips, Khal bursts into the room. "Wait! Her father created an anti-venom. It may help her." Khal holds the glowing vial out to Easton, his eyes alight with urgency.
"Are you sure?" Easton tilts his head, scrutinizing the vial.
"Yes, the calculations are solid. I double-checked them myself." Deep down, I know Khal needs this. And possibly, I do too.
"I'll try it," I say, my voice weak and raspy, my throat raw from the screams that must have torn from me while I was under.
"If you want to try it, I see no harm. Khal is a master chemist, so if he says it's safe, I trust him." Easton accepts the vial from Khal. He pops the stopper and brings it to my lips, his touch gentle yet firm.
Drawing in a slow, even breath, my lips part.
Easton tilts the vial, and the fluid fills my mouth—unnaturally cold, slithering down my throat like a serpent.
It soothes the rough edges of my throat and something deep in my soul.
Warmth spreads slowly through my body, as if invisible fingers are running over every inch of me, caressing my skin and easing my tension.
My stomach rolls. I cough, the sound harsh and jarring.
"Diaval said she vomited the last time she purged whatever was in her," Easton says, holding out a pail just in time.
I empty my stomach into it. A black, roiling mass pulses in the bottom of the bucket, as if it has a life of its own.
I stare down at it, a shiver of recognition running through me.
It's exactly what happened on the beach.
I turn my face away, shaking my head. "It looked like what I puked up at the beach," I whisper.
Easton's eyes burn like twin flames as he stares at the contents. "We suspect you were dosed with basilisk blood to contain what you are," Easton says, his eyes moving from me to Khal and then back again. The words hit me like a blow to the chest.
Dosed. As a child. To cage me.
"Who would dose a child? Our blood can be deadly without a mate bond," Khal says, looking down at his cellphone, fighting with himself.
"We will keep that knowledge within the bond," Easton says firmly.
"I can find out who or what..." Khal offers, but Torben shakes his head.
"It's safer if we don't expose what was done to our mate." Torben's lips brush my cheek. "We will get our revenge."
A low growl escapes my throat, and I huff as anger boils under my skin.
We, my wolf and I, were poisoned. Bonded by an amulet.
Caged before we ever had a chance to be free.
The memory of everything that was done to me sends ice racing through my veins.
I huff again, seeing my breath misting in the air before me.
"Where did that pretty mind of yours drift to?" Easton asks, sitting down beside me.
"It just angers me, what was done to me.
" I slip off the bed and start pacing, my steps wobbly but determined.
"I get they were trying to protect me." My hands go to my throat, gripping it as if the air is being stolen from my lungs.
"How many times could I have died? I could have been hunted while I was defenseless.
" My heart thunders with every thought. "Innocent people have been hurt because they wanted me.
" My eyes lock with Easton's, and he gives me a nod of understanding.
"Little wolf, until the fire, you lived a happy, difficult life.
You were blissfully unaware of where you came from, what you will and are becoming.
" Torben's large hand frames my cheek, turning my head toward him.
I stare up into his amber eyes, seeing nothing but love reflecting in them.
He turns me fully to face him, pressing my chest to his, holding me tightly.
He's my rock. My first love. A comfort in the storm raging in my mind.
"Thank you." I stand up on my tiptoes and plant a kiss on his lips.
"For what?" His eyes search my face. I share that feeling with him through the bond, watching his eyes widen and tears bubble up, threatening to break free.
"Everything." My word hangs in the air between us, and he presses his lips to my forehead, sealing our bond with a silent promise.
I close my eyes, feeling him shoving his love down the bond at me.
The intensity of his feelings washes over me, leaving me breathless.
Sometimes, I know he doesn't feel worthy compared to the others in the family.
Torben is so much more than he gives himself credit for.
No, he isn't rich. He isn't immortal. He doesn't possess an immortal life.
He's not venomous, nor does he have fire.
What he does have over the others is that he won me with his kindness.
He is my safe place. The rock in the storm that I cling to when everything seems to rage out of control.
Even now, after discovering that I am a rebirth of an extinct species of wolf with the power over ice and winter—Torben doesn't look at me any differently than he did the first day we met.
His unwavering gaze reassures me, grounding me in the chaos of my newfound identity.
I pull away and turn to speak to Khal and Easton, only to find them gone. A laugh escapes my lips as I turn to look up at Torben. "You would think those two are cats with how silently they move."
A barking laugh escapes his lips as he hugs me tightly again. "They do tend to pop up out of nowhere." His smile makes the corners of his eyes crinkle.
"Let's go see what mate number four found while you recovered." Torben offers me his hand.
I take it, feeling the steady strength that lies beneath his gentle touch. He leads me down into the main part of the house. Diaval sits at the kitchen table, journals spread all over. He and Easton are poring over the information, trying to decipher it all.
Easton places the bucket with that ominous black mass on the table next to Diaval. "Those bastards..." Diaval mutters through clenched teeth, almost violently turning the page.
"What did I miss?"
His head snaps up, and before I know it, he launches himself out of the chair, enveloping me in a fierce embrace. "My eternal," he breathes, drawing in a deep breath of my scent as he buries his nose in my hair.
"I'm okay. Honestly," I murmur, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "Did you find anything?" My arms tighten around him before he reluctantly passes me off to Khal.
"Hey, Precious," Khal greets me, his voice unusually soft. He holds me gently, as if afraid I might shatter in his arms.
"How's my spicy danger noodle?" I beam up at him, trying to coax a smile out of him.
But his eyes avoid mine, the weight of guilt evident.
"Khal, look at me, please." I reach up, cupping his cheeks between my hands, and gently turn his face to meet my gaze.
"I don't blame you for what was done to me.
It was either my parents, Fi's parents, or a friend of the family that dosed me.
" I search his eyes, willing him to see the truth in my words.
"We'll figure out who it was and make them pay." Khal's voice hisses—a telltale sign his shift is speaking through him.
"Me being alive and happy is enough punishment for whoever did this," I say, trying to muster a conviction I don't entirely feel. There's a part of me that wants to believe those words. But if there's anything the past year has taught me, it's that my guys won't let this go so easily.
"Little wolf, you may be able to forgive and move past it," Torben interjects, his voice soft but firm.
"Our protective instincts will not allow us to.
We are your mates, and it's our job, our honor, to keep you safe.
" I can feel the weight of their protectiveness like a heavy, comforting blanket.
It's both a blessing and a burden. I know they mean well, but the thought of more violence, more vengeance, twists my stomach into knots.
As I look into their eyes, I see the same unwavering resolve mirrored in each of them. They won't rest until justice is served. Until the threat to our family is eliminated. And in that moment, I realize that this isn't just about me.
It's about all of us.
It's about the family we've built together, the bonds that tie us, the future we're fighting for.
Whatever comes next, we face it together.