Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Raidon
Racing down the stairs, I can feel Rhen’s fear.
That man, much like Thane, fears nothing, so I know he must be in dire circumstances if he thinks he can’t handle it on his own.
My feet miss some stairs as I fly down them to reach the main floor.
I snatch the keys off the hook by the door.
Thane barrels into me, plucking the keys from my hand as he opens the door.
I see his eyes glaze over as he hits the key fob. No doubt Rhen is telling him what’s going on. He jumps in the car, and I throw myself in the passenger side, before looking down, to realize I still only have a towel on.
The roof of his car hits the garage door before it has a chance to fully open. He pulls out and spins the car around.
He hits the button above his head for the gate and presses his foot down on the gas. “There’s a suit hanging in the backseat,” Thane says, not taking his eyes off the long driveway. I twist, unclipping my seatbelt and snatching it when I hear the gate scrape across his side of the car.
He curses but doesn’t stop to assess the damage. I start ripping the pants up my legs, and I mean ripping because I have thicker thighs and more ass than Thane, and all his suits are tailored. As we hit the city limits, we pass a bunch of black state council SUV’s. I watch them drive past.
“Why are state authorities in the city?” Thane mumbles watching them in the rearview mirror. I slide my arms into the shirt as the mind-link opens again. I can tell Rhen is looking for Thane, but Thane pushes the link wider, so I can hear what’s going.
'Where is Harlow?' Rhen panics.
'At home with Leon. What’s going on?' Thane answers.
'Alpha Corbin is here.'
'We are almost there. Just hold him off.'
'No, get back to Harlow. Now!' Rhen screams when the link is abruptly cut off.
“Pull over!” I yell at Thane, and he slams his foot on the brakes. “Get home. I will find Rhen.” He nods. I throw myself out of the car and shift while Thane rips the car around, heading back home.
People scream and jump out of my way as my huge wolf form plows through the bustling sidewalk.
I see our building up ahead. My paws slam against the concrete as I weave between people before giving up and moving toward the road.
Fifty feet away relief floods me, but only briefly, as I feel the link open up.
'Rhen?' I panic.
'Tell Harlow I love her,' he chokes out.
A cold shiver runs up my spine before pain sears through me, making me collapse. The pain is so terrible, it forces me to shift back, and cars screech as they narrowly miss me.
'No. I am almost there,' I tell him as my body skids across the asphalt, my skin getting torn to pieces. I stand up, only to be hit by a car and tossed into the median separating the traffic.
Getting up, I am covered in cuts and bruises, and people are lining the streets, phones in hand. Some race toward me, but I take off running with a slight limp. I feel the bond flickering, weakening.
'Rhen!' I scream through the link. My heart is thumping so hard I can hear it as I run through the glass doors at the back of the building.
Pain steals my breath and nearly brings me to my knees.
I feel it cut in and out, and I nearly rip the handle off the door to the fire escape, not willing to wait for the elevator.
With each step, the pain grows more agonizing.
'Rhen!' I wail through the bond, begging him to stay, begging him to hold on. I feel Thane’s, Leon’s and then Harlow’s anguish at his loss as his bond severs.
My vision blurs from tears as I continue to force myself up the stairs. Six more flights.
I am giving up. I want to drop down and die on the stairs myself when I feel the smallest glimmer of hope. So faint, so weak, yet it is there, and it shoots adrenaline through me. In no time, I am ripping the door open and hear Leila screaming frantically.
“Help, somebody get help!” she wails. My bare feet slip on the floor as I follow my nose to find him. The conference room door is wide open. I see his feet, and so much blood.
“Help! In here! Help!” Leila screams, her voice sounding broken. I gasp as I step into the room. Leila looks up with tears rolling down her face, her wrists and lips all bloody.
“Raidon,” she chokes, pumping his chest. I drop to my knees. His face is drained of all color. Her hands work frantically to try to revive him.
“You did good. He’s still with us. I can feel him,” I tell her, as my hands replace hers. She bites her wrist as I continue pumping his chest.
“I panicked. I didn't know what else to do. Harlow is going to hate me,” she sobs, feeding him more of her blood. She lifts his shirt to see his wounds slowly closing.
“He’s not dead. She won’t hate you. We just gotta keep him alive long enough for him to heal,” I say. She sobs and nods, re-biting herself before looking at me.
“You’ll heal him faster, being his mate,” she says.
I offer her my neck, and she slashes her nails under my chin before grabbing his head and forcing his mouth open.
My blood streams out, dripping all over his face, and I know she hit an artery.
Leila moves his head, letting my blood pour down his throat before she shuts his mouth.
Her fingers grab my neck to stem the flow of blood, but I am already healing.
Still, I pump his chest, knowing that if he dies with her blood in his system, two things will happen.
First, he will turn into a hybrid; then he will become sired to her.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she sobs, making me look at her. “I hope she doesn’t hate me. I didn’t want this.”
“Leila, you saved his life. You did good. You got to him in time, and the bond didn’t fully break. He will be fine. I felt it come back. You didn’t sire him.” And no sooner do I say it than Rhen gasps, lurching upright. His eyes are wide and bulging as he grips my arm.
“Get to Harlow!” he chokes before coughing. Leila wails as she clutches him. I exhale, but only feel relief for a brief moment before I feel Thane’s rage and Leon’s fear. Then, as if a switch is flicked within Thane, gone is our mate. In his place is our Alpha.
And whoever brought that beast forward better fucking run.