15. Xin
Xin
Get up. Get up! A pain jolts my chest. Something is wrong, get up!
My skin itches, bringing me closer to consciousness. Quiet conversations have me trying to tune into everything around me. I can hear everyone, but I can’t hear Zara. Where is she?
My eyes fly open and I shoot upright. I am lying in a bed of hay, back in the stable area. Why am I here? What the hell happened?
It doesn’t matter, I have to find my woman. Rolling over, I begin to stand when Dash and Dan appear in front of me, looking concerned. Flashes of punching Rudy in his stupid face, shifting into a reindeer and brawling with each other come flooding back.
He was out of order and he deserved the sore face, even if it will heal quickly.
I know I’ll have to speak to him about it but I don’t have time to deal with that nonsense, and I say as much.
“I don’t need a voice of reason right now brothers. I don’t know how long I've been out, and I need to find Zara. She needs pain medication.”
At the mention of her name, they both look at each other and then back at me. The hairs on the back of my neck stick up and something tells me I’m not going to like what they have to say.
“What?” I growl.
“Rudy may have said some things to her.” Dan confesses. My face starts to burn and I stand to full height. Rage courses through me at the thought of him even being close to her, let alone speaking without my consent..
Through gritted teeth, I ask. “What did he say?”
Dash sighs and looks down before meeting my eyes. “He told her that she is the reason we don’t have our full powers, and that he doesn’t even think she is your mate. She was just in the right place at the right time, kind of thing.”
The world starts spinning around me. Spit fills my mouth and I swear my stomach is dancing, but not in a good way. Both ears start to ring and a burn builds in my chest. I’m vibrating; I’ll fucking kill him!
“He said WHAT!” I roar so loud it even hurts me.
Both of them raise their hands in an attempt to calm me down—and restrain me again if needed—but with a simple memory the anger dissipates, and is replaced with pure dread.
“Fuck, I need to go.” I say, rushing past them.
“I think she ran back to your room. We haven’t seen her since.” Dash rambles as he moves out of the way.
“How long ago was that?” I bark, heading for the front door.
“About two hours ago.” Dan whispers.
“Fuck!”
“Where are you going?”
“I can’t hear her! Which means she isn’t fucking here anymore. She’s out there somewhere. Hurt. Alone. With a two hour head start!”
“Aww fuck!” both of them say in unison.
“Dash, grab the others. I’ll go with Xin and start looking,” Dan instructs, racing after me.
“If anything happens to her, I’m going to kill Rudy.” I shout, heading out into the fading daylight.
“I wouldn’t blame you,” Dan mutters, trying to keep up with me.
“I didn’t think she would run off into the dark by herself!” I hear Rudy trying to explain himself to one of our brothers.
We’ve been out here searching for a while now, and it’s his fault. He can justify his behaviour or apologise until the God’s come down and accept them personally. He’s still in for it once I know Zara is safe.
“You never think, do you, Rudy?” replies Comet. “Wait until Eve gets back from work and finds out what you’ve done. Xin is going to be the least of your worries.”
I smirk when I hear Rudy’s groan in response. From what I’ve heard his mate, Eve, is not one to be trifled with. She will rip a strip up one side of him and down another. Hell, once she’s done with him, I’ll be beating on a shell-of-a-man.
They’ve got him hunting further down the mountain from me. This way I’m not tempted to bash his head into a fucking tree, but boy do I want to. Especially the longer we are out here.
We’d found nothing yet. Not a foot print, or scent.
Nothing. There were three little elf cabins we passed.
They got checked and were found empty. Each one being more disappointing than the last. Apparently, there are still a handful of elves who like to live the secluded lifestyle.
So they have cottages in the tree lines.
“Another empty cabin.” A brother shouts, knowing I'll hear him.
“Fuck!” I rub a hand over my face as the frustration boils over.
Please let her be safe.
“We’ll find her.”
A hand clamps down on my shoulder, but I don’t look back. I just nod and start walking again. The sound of snow crunching beneath our boots fills the gaps between updates from my brothers and Rudy's odd grovel to anyone who will listen to him. By the lack of responses, it’s no one.
“Don’t fucking touch me—” I stop dead in my tracks, and look around. “...I think I heard her!” I shout to anyone close enough.
Hurried steps rush to my side. In moments all eight of my brothers are with me.
“Where?”
“What did you hear?”
“Is she ok?”
They all ask at once, drowning out my chances of hearing anything else.
“Ssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” I hiss, and they immediately go mute.
“You’re hurting me. Let me go! No! Ouch!” I hear her loud and clear.. I turn to my brothers, panicked.
“Someone has her. She’s in trouble.” My eyes burn with unshed tears at the thought of something happening to her. Rage burning the river dry. ‘Fucks’ ring out amoungst us and, I try not to fall into despair.
Rudy grabs me by the shoulders, a friendly guyesture, and it takes everything in me not to head butt him.
“I know I'm the last person you want to see right now, but you need to concentrate on her voice. We might not be at full power, but if we all focus, our powers should amplify yours. Maybe it’ll give you a boost.” His eyes plead for me to listen to him.
“He’s right, you know, It might work. Everyone grab on, and concentrate on Xin,” Dan says rushing closer.
If I wasn’t so worried, I might be grateful for Rudy’s idea.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes, imagining everything I can about my mate. Her smile, her hair, eyes, body, and lastly her voice. I continue to call her to me, begging for our bond to show me the way.
It takes a moment, but I hear grunts in the distance. My heart pounds harder when I realise it's the sound of something hitting flesh.
“She’s being beaten.” I whisper, choked up. The invisible hold on me tightens. My brothers strain to give me more strength when I hear it.
“Vixen!”
She calls my name and I take off running toward the sound. Not once looking back to see who's following. Deep down I know my brothers are on my tail.
Further into the trees, hidden behind bushes and rocks, I see the side of a cabin and I know instantly that she’s in there. I can smell her. Though it’s not her sweet perfume. No, it’s her blood. And that fact makes me see red.
Nothing could have made me wait outside for my brothers to catch up.
Instead, I just kick the door down and crouch over to enter the crammed space.
I’m ready to trash the place. Tear up the floorboards to find her if need be, but freeze when I see Zara in the middle of the floor. Half dressed, beaten and unconscious.
I’m only stunned for a second before I notice a person trying to escape through the window.
A primal growl rips through me, and I storm through the room.
Tossing what little furniture is there out of my way.
Before I can stop him, though, Rudy appears outside the glass, waiting for the bastard with a sinister sneer on his face.
Without a second thought, Rudy punches through the window and rips the fool outside to meet the rest of our brothers.
Knowing he’s not getting away, I run to Zara and carefully gather her in my arms.
“Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Come back to me.”
She groans painfully, and relief pours through me that at least she's alive to feel the pain.
“We need to get her back to Santa, and quickly! She’s in rough shape” someone says, stating the obvious.
Which pisses me off. Gingerly, I carry her out of the cabin and look at her under the moon light.
A gash on her head is bleeding. As is her burst lip.
Bruises on her cheek show the struggle she’s been through, and I can only imagine what I can’t see.
I bend down to kiss her forehead, before sprinting back toward the ranch.
“Let’s go.” I hear echo out, before the stampede of my brothers follows behind me.