The beast continued to stare at her, eyes roving over her body before it turned to trot away, its massive form surprisingly graceful.
She released a shaky breath before cautiously following after it. The sounds emanating from the ballroom made her weary. Grunts, growls, snapping, and snarling that could only be made by creatures much like the one she’d encountered grew louder, but Harlow forced herself to continue. Her guys were in there, facing those beasts. She had her magic, though she wasn’t sure what good it would do against such large animals.
The tall doors were ajar—big enough for the beast she’d seen to slip inside. A familiar shout of pain had her rushing through without thought of what she’d find.
Harlow’s breath caught in her lungs. There were no men; only the crashing, vicious attack of animal on animal filled the room. She guessed there were nearly forty horrible creatures. A dozen or so had horns and were of various colors, but the rest were smaller, and more wolflike, though their furry skin looked to be rotting right off their skeletons. Exposed tendons and muscle were on display, their eyes solid black.
A pull deep in her chest yanked her forward a step, and again the feeling of heat skating under her skin made her scratch her arms. Where are they? She’d rarely called on the bonds to her mates, but she felt for them, wondering if the men had gone outside to face a different enemy. Nothing was making sense.
Especially when her senses told her all twelve of her mates were in that room. She swallowed hard, unable to move from her spot. Red and black stained the floor, some of the beasts coated in it.
“What. The. Fuck.”
Harlow’s words drew the gazes of at least twenty beasts, some big, others the smaller, demonic-looking ones. The maw pulled wide on one, revealing its rotting teeth, and she could have sworn it was smiling at her.
All at once, nearly half of the terrifying wolflike creatures charged toward her at a speed far too quick for any normal wolf. A roar went up from a stone-grey beast with wicked twirling horns in the same color. Its burning silver eyes fixed on her.
The familiarity rocked her to her core.
But it couldn’t be—
Her knees knocked together, her hands lifting. Flames licked harmlessly on the surface of her skin, warning the creatures away.
She had less than a second to throw the arcs of flame toward the beasts before they reached her.
Howls of pain, along with unholy shrieks, rang out but still the creatures lunged toward her. A burst of pure energy exploded from her chest, so strong it drew a scream from her throat.
Pandemonium ensued, a clashing blur of colors, claws, and teeth. Harlow couldn’t keep up with it, though her eyes met the same silver through the throng, and she felt the truth of who it was.
Oricus.
Somehow.
Vaguely, she recalled her attack in the garden when she’d lain unable to make out anything but the vicious, earsplitting roar of a beast. The same one she’d heard only moments ago.
It was him. He had saved her.
Somehow, he could transform into a beast.
They all could.
When any of the zombie wolves—that was what she decided they should be called—got close, she propelled a burst of magic at them or set them on fire. But the more she did so, the more her temples throbbed, sending pain bolting through the back of her skull.
A particularly nasty snarl sounded, and Harlow had just managed to catch the glint of decaying fangs when three of the zombie wolves leapt onto the short-haired, spotted brown-and-black beast that instinct told her was Viktor. Two bit into his back, the third clawing at his throat. His roar of pain sent a wave of terror through her chest that brought her to her knees.
The others turned to see what had transpired and the zombie wolves used the distraction to their advantage. Blood sprayed in too many different directions, but she couldn’t stop staring at the beast that slowly shrank, his form returning to that of a man—convulsing.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Harlow was back on her feet, a gust of breath filling her lungs. And when she exhaled, a violent wind whipped through the room, tearing at the smaller creatures and sending them flying. It cleared her way enough for her to sprint to her mate, lying in pools of blood. His throat was gaping wide, blood pouring from the wound. Viktor’s eyes rolled back in his head, tremors wracking his body while he choked. A pink-tinged foam bubbled up from between his parted lips.
“Viktor!” She knelt beside his naked body, pulling on one shoulder to get him on his side. Another man crouched down beside her—Rex, she realized—pressing a cloth to the gash across his neck. “What’s happening to him?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Rex murmured, helping steady the Russian so he didn’t choke while seizing. Although she wasn’t sure that was even possible with his throat severed.
Vaguely she heard a battle still waging behind them, but another of her Marked knelt on her side, blood running down a nasty-looking cut on his bicep. Oricus observed Viktor for a moment, the thoughts racing in his eyes. Abruptly, he stood, stepping over his brother’s trembling legs to look at his back. Surely the wound on Viktor’s throat was more serious, she thought, but she didn’t begrudge Oricus for attempting to ascertain all the facts.
Viktor stilled, his eyes fluttering shut. Harlow gasped and sent Oricus a worried look. “He can’t die, right?” she asked, though she’d heard his answer a hundred times before.
This time, however, he didn’t assure her.
Her heart jackhammered, feeling like it might rip from her chest. “Viktor?” she asked, sliding a hand down to his wrist to check for his pulse, suddenly aware that she was now shaking.
The faint, slow beating of his heart made her breath leave in a rush. He was alive. Rex lowered the rag holding Viktor’s throat together, but beneath the smear of dark, thick blood, his skin was mended, leaving only a thick, angry line in its place.
“I had to heal him myself, his body wasn’t doing it,” Rex said, looking up at Oricus, who still seemed lost in thought.
“Neither are those,” he commented absently, his eyes trained on Viktor’s back.
Rex got to his feet and circled around Viktor’s head to take in the wounds on his back. Harlow’s brows knitted together when Rex’s face paled.
“What?” she demanded, stroking the top of Viktor’s head.
“A poison?” Rex asked Oricus.
When the other men gathered around, Harlow finally looked away, noting that they were suddenly alone. “Where did the zombie wolves go?” she asked.
Lefayon cracked a grin, a trickle of dried blood above his eye. “Chased them off.”
“Did anyone else get bitten?” Oricus demanded.
The men were silent, each of them glancing around uneasily. “No,” Rasimus answered at last.
Oricus nodded, as though he’d expected that answer.
“What’s up with Vik?” Kel asked from behind Harlow. She kept her gaze focused on the pallid complexion of the unconscious man before her.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Oricus said after a minute. “We’ve never encountered those creatures before. Whatever they are, their bite doesn’t seem to agree with us.”
Everyone seemed confused by that implication. They were immortal, which meant not even a poison could kill them, right? But if those strange animals were an unknown, then what did that mean for Viktor?
“Viktor?” Harlow tried again to wake him, running the back of her fingers along the rigid line of his jaw. He began to stir, his eyelids fluttering.
She let out a relieved breath, but it caught in her throat—his eyes were bloodshot.
“Hey… koldun’ya.” His voice was raspy, and he winced, seeming to be in pain simply speaking.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, unsure of how to help him.
“I…don’t know. Just glad…you’re safe.” His eyelids fell again, and Harlow gra
sped his hand, hoping to rouse him. But his skin was cold.
Her head snapped up to Oricus, who still hadn’t moved. “What the hell is happening to him? He’s cold.”
His look was impassive.
“Just because we’re immortal doesn’t mean we can’t technically die,” Geoff said, interrupting Harlow’s intense glaring at Oricus for not doing something. “We come back, obviously.”
She looked at Rex, barely registering the fact he was now fully clothed despite his complete nakedness only moments ago. “Is there any more healing we can do? His neck is fine; what does his back look like?”
His throat bobbed. “Come see for yourself.”
Scoffing, she rose to her feet and slowly moved around Viktor’s prone form, careful not to slip in the lake of blood on the floor. For a moment, her mind refused to comprehend what she was seeing.
Two unmistakable animal bites: one between his shoulder blades, the other just left of the base of his spine. The skin around both was grey and flaking, as though dead. Veins of black spread from the wounds, winding across the tattoos covering his back.
“Can we draw it out?” she asked, unable to look away. It had to be a poison of some kind.
“It’s likely too late for that,” Rex said.
Harlow dropped to her knees, cool blood splashing up her thighs. “We have to try!” Hovering her palms just above the torn skin and tissue, she closed her eyes. A part of her felt certain she had no idea what she was doing, but a smaller portion, instinct maybe, had her pushing her awareness into Viktor’s body to search for whatever was infecting him.
The moment she felt part of herself slip inside him, Viktor’s body began to violently jerk and writhe.
“Pull back, pull back!” Rex bellowed, grabbing Harlow by the biceps and hauling her away.
Her awareness snapped back inside herself, and gut-wrenching terror overtook her as she watched the flesh on his back start to melt away. Bones and muscle were left exposed.
Just like the zombie wolves.
Her sob broke free and she lunged for Viktor, though she didn’t get far—Oricus and Darrow had her around the middle, ensuring she couldn’t touch him.
“You’ll make it worse,” Oricus barked.
“We have to help him!” she cried.
“Get her out of here.” His demand was answered by her mates grabbing her wrists, her biceps, any part of her, and pulling her while she screamed and fought to get back to Viktor.
Decay. It had been brief, almost too brief to detect.
It was eating away at him.
Changing him.
She couldn’t let it happen. Viktor was dying.
Her mate was dying.
The men hauling her away waited until the doors were shut, closing off her view. Xalicur was the first to wrap her in his arms. Only then did she realize her cheeks were wet. After a long moment he pulled back, wiping her tears. His shaggy, sandy-blond hair and mesmerizing grey eyes filled her vision, and she saw the worry etched into his own features.
Strong hands tugged on her and then she was enveloped in the warmth and strength of Tadaj. Somehow, he still smelled of spice and leather despite the blood on his very naked body. They were all naked.
Suddenly her cheeks burned, and she pulled away, fixing her eyes above his head. Though curiosity got the best of her and she snuck a glance at Koen, Lefayon, Darrow, and Kel. Their beautifully sculpted bodies were on full display, but now was not the time to appreciate them. It was clear they were all used to being nude around each other.
Diverting her gaze to the floor, she let out a sigh that was filled with her pain, heartache, loss, and confusion. Every bit of the past few weeks was weighted in that one exhalation. Her body and mind were exhausted, but she couldn’t leave that spot until she knew that Viktor would be okay.
She plopped down on the floor, avoiding the motionless assassin sprawled in a grotesque fashion at her feet, then rested her head against the pillar nearest the doors.
None of the men protested. Tadaj and Koen sat on either side of her while the others took turns getting dressed before standing guard outside the doors. Her eyes closed for just a moment.
Just a second of rest, she assured herself. I’ll need my strength to be able to tend to Viktor.
One of the guys sitting beside her brushed back strands of hair from her face, coaxing the last bit of resilience from her body. The throbbing in her skull was dull but still present, and sleep rushed up to claim her.
ONOLIZA
The sounds coming from the naked male form beside her made Onoliza smile. She trailed a slender finger down the length of her prince’s spine, between the well-honed muscles, letting a shiver of lust overtake her. She’d wake him soon and allow him to service her yet again. But for now, she rose silently, floating in nothing more than her sheer gown that trailed behind her, the crystals clinking softly.
Her heightened senses alerted her to the return of the Couguay. She flicked her wrist, forcing the stone slab that led to the throne room to groan open. Slipping inside, she looked out at the wide entrance, like the yawning maw of a beast. She perched on her throne to wait.
It was only a moment later when the creatures loped inside, injured but alive. One by one they formed a line at the base of the steps, lowering their shaggy heads.
Each body shuddered before they transformed, taking on their male forms. Their grey skin still hung in tatters, bones and muscle showed in places, but she was more than accustomed to their morbid condition.
“Well?” she asked in her most regal voice.
Thayer smiled. The strangely handsome leader of the pack, he had tanned skin and dark hair that was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his skull. His teeth were visible on one side, even with his lips firmly closed. “The girl is definitely a Morovitz. Very powerful.”
Onoliza sneered. She’d suspected as much. Oricus wouldn’t go to such lengths to protect a human girl. Even still, she could die. “And did you bite their leader?”
Thayer’s smile faded. “We bit one of them; however, we do not think it was the Oricus you described.”
She closed her eyes, inhaling slowly. Cracking, shrieking ice spread around her.
Bellows of alarm rang out next, followed by a low growl. Then, heavy, thunderous footsteps, a whine of pain, and finally, a wet crunch.
When she reopened her eyes, Thayer lay in two pieces on the steps, black blood sliding over the ice-coated surface. The others watched as the tall, spindly creature crafted entirely from ice rumbled a warning growl.
Smiling sweetly, Onoliza rose from her throne. “No matter. Regardless, Prince Oricus will be in need of my services, and soon if he’s to save his clan member. Return to your cages, Couguay. I’ll call for you when I need you again.”
Their second in command—Norjem—narrowed his black eyes at her. His fists clenched; no doubt he was dismayed by the slaughter of his brother. Not that it mattered. He’d be back to normal in a matter of a tide’s length.
“We agreed to this errand on the condition that you would allow us to return to our burrows until you needed us again. Not cages.”
A wicked smirk curved her lips. “Why don’t you stay for a spell, Norjem? I’d love your company. The rest of your pack will be escorted to the cages until Thayer awakens.”
He started to protest, only for the ice monster to bend down and roar in his face. The frost coated it, freezing it and breaking off pieces of his loose skin entirely.
“Now then. Guards, please see that our guests get back to their accommodations. But be sure that it’s dark enough for their tastes.”
Her ice guards sprung up from the floor, brandishing spears at the Couguay, and marched them from the room, leaving Norjem where he stood. She descended the stairs casually, pulling the ice from most of his face, leaving a patch covering his mouth. He glared at her but was unable to speak.
Gripping his wrist, she led him to her thron
e, dropping into it before beginning the work of unbuckling his trousers. Dominicus’s fuck had been lackluster at best, but she knew he simply needed a few decades for him to forget his mate.
She’d just have to sate her lust anyway she could until he came around.
Though Norjem was unwilling, his cock sprung to attention under her influence. As he drove it into her over and over, she pictured her sleeping prince, seeing his determined jaw work while he fucked her.
Humming with satisfaction, she released a load of frosted eggs, forgetting whose cock was truly inside her.
Norjem was not weak, but he fell under her spell like most beings did. Only the Scondeladian princes were immune, much to her dismay. Still, Norjem grunted in pain, the frozen eggs wiggling, searching for sperm that would fertilize them. If left too long, they would move inside his dick to take what they needed.
Instead, she thrust more of her power into the shifter, forcing him to ejaculate all over her eggs.
Then with a sigh, she stomped on them, crushing them from existence.
Only Dominicus would fertilize her spawns.
Of that, she was certain.
ORICUS
He watched his brothers settle Viktor’s pale, shaking body on the mattress, careful to avoid the spreading decay of flesh on the off chance the necrosis could spread. Whatever he’d been infected with, it had been intentional.
What were those creatures? He’d never encountered them, and Arian had searched for thousands of years for anything that could prove fatal. It seemed likely that Onoliza had hidden them. “Someone needs to stay with him at all times. And keep me apprised of his condition.”
Just as the fools started to protest, a soft knock came at the door. He didn’t need to look to know it was Harlow. The damn bond was like a homing beacon. “I’ll stay with him,” she said.
Her mane of red curls that Oricus wanted to bury his hands into while fucking her from behind were freshly showered and brushed over one shoulder. Sauntering into the room in tight jeans and a baggy sweater that hung off one pale shoulder, she was completely oblivious to the effect she had on nearly every male present. She sat on the bed beside Viktor, pulling her knees up to her chest.
Chained to Darkness Page 17
