Page 50 of Full Moon
Chapter 24
Feray
The painof 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.
