Chapter 49 Ivy
Ivy
TWO HOURS EARLIER
Thor wasn’t a bear anymore. I felt someone grab me from behind as the male shifted.
It didn’t look nearly as effortless as Elias always made it out to be. What happened to Thor was painful. Agonising. Every bone in his body made audible snaps as they broke and reformed, and with each limb that changed from animal to man, he screamed.
The wolf from the Old World hadn’t seemed too bad,
But Thor…for him, it was like he was being torn apart.
Xerxes held me against him as Hawk tried to stabilise Thor’s bleeding. Behind us, more bodies flooded the hallway; I felt Xerxes tense like he was prepared to defend us, but when Sunniva reappeared, I could have sobbed.
Because she wasn’t alone. Nine familiar males were with her, and each one—despite being injured and bleeding—held children.
Some were so small they were barely even a few months old.
Others were toddlers who could only just walk.
And then there were the tiny wolf pups and bear cubs who were guided with leashes.
I clamped a hand around my mouth as they came to a stop. The children were swaddled in what looked like towels, though they didn’t appear harmed. It was just the males holding them who looked like they’d taken the brunt of the damage.
At my feet, Thor made another pained sound. I tore my eyes from the newly gathered group and took in the fully shifted male on the ground.
Even in the dim light above us, I could make out the deep scars marring his body; harsh lines cut through his chest, abdomen, and even over his thighs.
The male, like the bear, was large. Rather than defined muscle, he was thick, almost like a body builder—a common trait I’d noticed amongst the bear shifters.
Thor, however, had a thick beard that was unkempt and long light brown hair that was equally as messy.
Scars dotted his face; one crossed the bridge of his nose, another cut through his upper lip, and there were three long cuts over his right eye that sliced through his eyebrow right down to his cheek.
Hawk still had his hands pressed into Thor’s chest, though the bleeding, from what I could tell, had stopped. But were the bullets out like Hawk wanted? Or had I put Thor through that pain for nothing?
“They’re out,” Hawk said, finally pulling his hands away from the wounds. In his bloody palms were two bullets. “He’s unconscious, though. He needs to heal.”
“We don’t have much time,” Sunniva said, stepping forward. “The other door is blocked. The one Dante went through. When we leave, I’m going to block this one, too.”
I chewed the inside of my lip, looking from her down to Thor. “He can’t move himself,” I muttered, the air shifting around me. We were running out of time. It wouldn’t take Dante long to rally his army to come after us. “Xerxes. Can you carry him out of here?” I asked, looking up at the Primal.
He made a sound. “You are still hurt,” he said.
I couldn’t even feel the bullet anymore. The adrenaline of watching Thor get shot, then trying to guide him through the shift had taken its toll.
But my arm was sticky with blood. I glance down at my soaked nightgown, the drying blood that’d been running down my arm and dripping onto the ground. A lot of my own blood was mixing with Thor’s, turning the packed earth beneath our feet to mud.
I blinked hard, turning to Hawk. “Is he healed enough?”
The half-Fae rose with a nod. “Yes. Enough that I can heal you.”
I didn’t have a chance to question him as the entire floor trembled. The small children cried out, and several of Greer’s mates cursed. Hawk was at my side within a moment, picking me up and holding me bridal style against his chest.
“I can stand,” I muttered, eyeing Thor’s still form on the ground.
“I know you can,” Hawk replied, holding me tighter. “But this will make healing you easier. I already feel stronger by touching you.”
My skin prickled with a shiver. I blinked hard, keeping my eyes on Thor as Xerxes lifted the male over his shoulder.
Sunniva nodded once. “Are we ready?” she asked, pulling something from her belt.
“I think so,” I replied, eyeing her as she tossed it into the darkness behind us, then dropped one in the hall she’d come through. “What are those?”
“Those are going to stop anyone from following us,” she said, stalking to the front of our group. “If the above distraction doesn’t keep his army busy, then these will.”
I shivered again, this time from something else. “What distraction?”
“I’m not the only plant here, my Queen. There are others. I don’t know who, but there are enough that they are aware of how important this escape is, and they will ensure we get out.”
PRESENT TIME
It hadn’t taken us long to find the way out. Maybe it’d been too easy, but with Xerxes’s power over the earth, we’d broken through a false wall and make our escape.
And escape tasted like freedom and rot. The smell of sulphur was heavy down here, so thick it clogged my lungs. For almost an hour, we’d walked with our noses covered, breathing through cloths as we stepped into another hell of Dante’s making.
I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but knowing we were in a hellhound breeding ground—according to Lazarus—made fear rush through me.
All I could think about were the hairless, bloodthirsty dog-looking beasts who attacked me back home. The moment my entire world changed, when I’d been thrown into this life of magic, romance, and power.
The fact that we’d been walking nearly two hours now and hadn’t come across any made the hairs on the back of my neck rise and sickness churn in my belly.
The bullet wound was mostly healed now. It’d been a through-and-through, so Hawk thought it would heal well now that he’d done most of the stitching. The wound was sort of numb, though I tried not to look at it. I wanted to believe being so close to Xerxes and Hawk helped with healing.
Lazarus and Onyx, the two demons Greer had mated, walked ahead.
The children they’d been holding were now in Hawk’s and my arms. While he held a toddler, I had a baby.
A baby with plump little arms and feet that liked to kick into me every so often.
Now, she slept soundly in my arms, head on my chest, one hand tangled in my hair.
I allowed only one tear to fall for her as I clutched her tightly to me. Where were this girl’s parents? Her mother, was she trapped in a cage still? She had to be shifter; all these children were. But without my magic, I couldn’t tell where she belonged.
And the father…I had no idea what Dante did with the breeding. Was her father another shifter? Or another creature? Goddess above, the thought made me physically ill.
Some of the wolf pups were skittish as they walked ahead. I hated seeing them on leashes, but it was better than the alternative: them running ahead and getting eaten by hellhounds. Now, I understood parents who leashed their kids at Disney. I’d probably do the same.
They might have been skittish, but they were also excited. The few witch lights we had to guide our way were just enough to see by, allowing me to watch the children looking back every so often with excitement in their eyes.
The air thickened with tension and unbearable heat. Ahead, Lazarus raised his arm, fist up, signalling us to stop. My heart skipped a beat as we slowed. Somehow, even the young, shifted kids knew to remain quiet and come to a complete halt.
I couldn’t help but look over at Hawk, who stared into the darkness ahead, his eyes black. Gently, I brushed my hurt shoulder against his.
Do you sense something? I asked.
His eyes locked with mine. They’re here.
A shiver rolled down my spine as I looked away, searching the darkness. The last time I’d faced off with hellhounds, I’d known nothing about them.
Once again, there was a chance we were about to go head-to-head with the damned creatures, and I still knew nothing about them. Only that they were loyal to Dante.
What are the chances that their loyalty to Dante extends to his father? I asked Hawk.
A frown pulled at his features, but he didn’t get a chance to respond.
Something in the darkness growled, the sound echoing through the tunnel, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I chanced a look back at Xerxes, still carrying Thor and the others.
From the shadows, three large hounds appeared, bigger than the ones I’d faced before. These were huge, the size of a large wolf shifter. They had no fur, but they were lined with plenty of scars and gouges.
And with them was the pain demon from the cages.