Page 123 of Caged

Inch by agonizing inch, I drag myself toward my Mate. I claw at the blood-slicked marble with fingers that leave deep grooves in the stone. My leg drags uselessly behind me, nothing but dead weight I can’t control. The pain from my bullet wound sears through my veins in pulses of white-hot agony, making my stomach churn.

It doesn’t matter. The pain, the distance, none of it matters. All that matters is her.

My hand slips in a slick pool of still-warm blood. I crash face-first into the floor, splitting my chin. All it does is piss me off.

Keep going. Get to her, you useless piece of shit. Don’t stop. Do NOT stop.

I keep my eyes trained on Idril, refusing to look away for even a moment. The rise and fall of her chest is shallow, but that’s where I focus. On the barely-there movements that prove she’s alive. I watch each new breath with feral intensity, mentally willing the next one to follow.

If I don’t—if I look anywhere other than those barely-there movements—I’ll have to face the fact that she’s otherwise motionless. Blood trickles steadily from the wound in her head, mocking me with each precious drop of her essence as it blooms around her like the petals of a rose. It spreads across the white marble like a taunt, a bright shimmering pool of perfect crimson.

With every inch I drag my weak, sluggish limbs, my rage burns hotter. I still refuse to look away from my Mate, not even to look Varenthrall in the eyes when my fury reaches a boiling point and the threats begin to pour from my lips.

“I will end your life,” I spit, each word dripping with venom. “And when my brothers arrive, they’ll rip you into pieces. They’ll skin you alive, you sack of shit. Wear your useless hide as a fucking coat.”

Varenthrall ignores me. Hands clasped behind his back, he calmly strolls toward his unconscious daughter. His movements are careless. Unbothered. Satisfied by the way this evening played out.

I snarl again, continuing my pathetic crawl across the foyer. Every inch is fucking agony, my lungs burn with every breath and my muscles weigh a thousand pounds. The silver’s working fast. Incapacitating me at a faster rate than normal. I feel like a day-old puppy trying to attack a fucking Rottweiler.

I won’t stop, though. I refuse to, no matter how agonizing the pain becomes.

Varenthrall crouches beside Idril. With a grunt of determination that has red-tinged spittle flying from my mouth I push harder. I need to move faster. He’s too close. Too close to my Omega.

He raises a hand and I snap. I shout, scream, threaten him in every language I know. I’d do anything to keep him from touching her again. I’d give anything to save her from this monster.

Varnethrall ignores me. Softly—like he’s not a monster masquerading as a man—he reaches out and tucks a blood-streaked strand of hair behind Idril’s ear.

Her lashes flutter. She blinks. Frowns. Blinks again. Her gaze is glassy and unfocused, but the moment she registers her father looming over her like a specter of death her blue eyes sharpen and fill with fear.

“I told you, my dear.” His voice drips with condescension. “I did warn you that I’d discover who you were protecting.”

He smiles. Chills sweep down my spine.

“I believe I promised you something else as well, did I not?”

I’m so focused on Idril that I nearly miss the sharp sting in my neck. Almost don’t see the Alpha standing over me, an empty syringe in his hand.

My limbs grow heavier, weighed down by something I can’t see or fight. The moment I realize what’s happening I shake myself furiously, trying to stop what’s already happening

Stay awake! Stay the fuck awake!

My vision blurs around the edges. Black spots flat across my vision but I still watch as Varenthrall leans closer to my Mate. His eyes are too bright, a mix of excitement and insanity. He looks like a man who finally has everything he could possibly want.

As my eyes slide shut and the world plunges into darkness, Varenthrall sneers at his daughter before issuing a final, ominous threat.

”I do believe that I promised to bleed you dry.”

Chapter 18

Vaelenor

“Drive faster,” Daxen’s voice is full of anxiety. His words are clipped like he’s biting each one off with his teeth.

I don’t point out that I’m already doing ninety on a back road meant for forty, the SUV weaving through half-paved roads and winding turns. Instead, I remind myself to cut him some slack. Right now, Dax is getting slammed with emotions from both sides and we’re both doing our best to push down the pain, anger, and fear thrumming through the pack Bond.

Two minutes later, when he snarls at me again, I change my mind about cutting him some slack. Instead, I decide that he can go fuck himself.

“I’m driving as fast as I fucking can, Dax. I can’t go any faster. Not unless you want to end up roadkill, or wrapped around the trunk of a tree⁠—”