Chapter 22

Kellan’s pulse thundered through his veins as he howled a distress call, summoning all his warriors within earshot. He shifted and dashed through the castle, slowing only once he reached the courtyard. More than forty wolves were already moving into formation.

Kellan had trouble shifting back to human form because his wolf did not want to let go. It wanted to find its mate and tear apart whomever had taken her from the safety of their bed.

“Alec!” Kellan called.

The tracker stepped out of the ranks and approached the king.

“Go find the freshest scents of my mate. Take two others and pick up the trails of Mara and Agatha, as well. Make haste.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Kellan barely heard Alec’s reply. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Nora, and he was struggling to keep his wolf in check. It demanded blood.

As Kellan turned to the rest of the group, Rhona emerged, along with the other members of the Council. They had heard Kellan’s call and came running.

“Kellan? What’s happened?” Rhona asked.

“I need someone to tend to the four injured men that are in the infirmary. Edward is the worst. See to him first.”

“Agatha—”

“Agatha does not have long to live, Mother. Find someone else.”

Rhona’s mouth fell open. Kellan intended to kill their healer. She looked at Niles and saw the corners of his mouth turn down. She started to speak but Niles shook his head.

“The rest of you, your Queen is in eminent danger. Members of Sephtis Kenelm have already tried to kill her once,” he paused, waiting for the murmurings to stop.

“Niles can explain more after we return, but I have reason to believe Agatha and Mara are the ones responsible for the poisoning—” again he had to pause as the wolves absorbed the news one of their own was involved. They were outraged.

Kellan raised his hands to his group of elite fighters. “Settle. Now,” his voice boomed across the courtyard.

They immediately stopped their grousing upon hearing their alpha’s command. His wolves’ faces were intense, battle-ready. Kellan appreciated their anger on his and his mate’s behalf.

“I believe they took her today while I was in search of her father. They must have planned the attack on King Edward and three of our brethren to get me out of the castle,” he explained, trying to contain his rage, to remain calm so he could think.

“We must find them. If they were smart, they would have tried to either mask their scents or they left multiple trails for us to follow. We will split up into our normal search groups. Be mindful of your surroundings. Apparently, we have a vampire in the forest capable of hypnosis. Also, I believe Mara can control earth. Tread carefully. Go now. Find the Queen.”

The wolves shifted and took off in multiple directions. Kellan gave more orders to the head of the castle guards. He didn’t know how long he would be gone and was afraid to leave the grounds without extra precautions in place.

He dismissed the guards to carry out his instructions. When Kellan started to shift, he noticed his mother had not retreated into the castle as he had asked.

“Mother,” Kellan said, nudging her gently towards the door, “please go help Edward and the others. And send someone to the hall outside my chambers. There are three guards on the ground who have been tranquilized with fennel.”

“Y-yes, of course,” she replied.

“We will help,” Niles said, referring to the other members of the Council.

Kellan nodded in thanks and, before he could move, Rhona reached for him. The embrace was brief, but firm.

“Do not worry about anything here,” she said into his ear. “I will secure the castle and watch over Nora’s father.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Rhona released her son and took off for the infirmary. Kellan had full confidence in his mother, and was glad of it. Lives were at stake and he needed people he could trust.

Shaking off the dark thought of Agatha’s betrayal, Kellan approached Alec, who had just returned. “What did you find?”

“Mara and Agatha’s scents are everywhere. Almost literally. They knew what they were doing.”

“And Nora’s?” he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“It’s odd. Her scent is everywhere, as well, but stronger on the back staircase and in the courtyard on the north side of the castle. My guess is they had something, like a lock of hair, and rubbed it on as many surfaces as they could. I think we need to venture into the forest to find the freshest trail.”

Kellan shifted to wolf and the trackers followed suit. They bounded off in the direction Alec led them, chasing their prey, hungry for a kill.

* * *

The animal was getting closer. The movement stopped a few times and Nora suspected it was because it had found her bloodied pieces of cloth.

Nora would be killed if she did not get free. She pulled and pried, but the trap would not budge. She knew nothing of the mechanism, but ran her hands over every edge, trying to find something that would release her from its clutches.

She was getting cold from the blood loss, and knew enough about first-aid to know that meant she would lose consciousness soon. She tore off the bottom of her shirt and tied the material as tightly as she could around her thigh. It didn’t help.

Nora did not want to die like this, not at the hands of those who had so easily deceived her. And not without the chance to fix what was broken in her marriage.

The vibrations, which had dulled the longer she ignored them, started coming back, stronger than before. Instead of disregarding them again, Nora closed her eyes and concentrated, listening for the earth to speak to her.

Once she opened herself to it, she was inundated with messages. The soil was screaming, choking on her blood. The undergrowth, which was already dying, wept for her, telling her to take what it had left to offer.

Everything around her was calling to her, begging to accept its strength. It calmed Nora enough to relax and allow the energy to flow into her, replenishing some of her life force. Her dizziness and nausea diminished enough to drive out some of the fog in her head.

She was still in a great deal of pain, but feeling stronger. The energy, which was not quite as pure as what was in the greenhouse, moved into her leg. Nora felt indebted to the forest, offering her what little energy it had. Her muscles and skin slowly started to mend.

“No, Nora! Stop!” Kellan shouted.

Nora’s eyes flew up. Kellan was here. He had come for her. Or was the blood loss so great she was hallucinating? Real or not, she never thought she’d appreciate her husband’s voice as much as she did right now.

“Kellan?” she said, not trusting her eyes.

Kellan could not believe his luck at finding her so quickly. The scent of Nora’s blood had sent a spike of adrenaline into his system. He’d never moved so fast or recklessly through the dense woods before.

He followed the obvious trail of bloodied rags, panicked he would be too late. Once Nora was in his sight and he saw what she was doing, he didn’t have time to feel relieved at finding her alive. He shifted to man, needing to stop her.

Kellan ran to her, falling to his knees, grateful he had been able to find her before it was too late. He held her tight, telling himself she would never leave his sight again. He looked down at her leg and winced.

“Nora, do not heal yourself any further, or else your leg will heal around the trap. Understood?”

“Yes,” she said, clutching his shoulders.

Three wolves moved in front of Kellan and Nora, looking out into the dimness of the woods. The bear was still out there, close enough she could now hear its snorts and grunts.

“Kellan, I think there is something coming.”

“Yes, but don’t worry about that. The wolves will hold it off,” he tried to assure her. Her heartbeat was increasing, and he needed her to remain calm.

Kellan was frantically prying and pulling, looking for the release on the trap. It was unlike any he had seen before. Agatha and Mara had been thorough in their plans. But not thorough enough, as Nora was still alive.

Kellan ran his hands across the underside of the square plate and found a small pin. He pushed it back into place and the jaws were released. Regrettably, they did not open all the way because they were imbedded so deeply into the tissues on Nora’s leg.

Rustling in the underbrush started twenty or so feet away. One of the wolves howled, then yapped to the others. In unison, they lowered their bodies, poised to spring. Kellan glanced to his wolves, his face grim.

“Damn it,” he cursed. “Nora, I’m going to have to pull the jaws open. The teeth are caught in your leg. I’ll count to three.”

Nora closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain that would surely follow Kellan’s actions. She breathed deeply and held it in.

“One.”

Before he got to two, Kellan yanked the jaws apart and Nora screamed. The wolves whined in response.

“Wha-what happened to three?” Nora panted, focusing on Kellan.

“The bear is too close,” Kellan replied. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and picked her up.

“Wait, I need to heal myself.”

“No time.”

Kellan steadied her weight in his arms and looked around, deciding the best way out and back to the path.

The wolves were now yipping and growling. The bear came crashing through the brush, snarling and flashing its huge teeth. More wolves came from the sides, jumping on the bear, taking bites out of its back and hindquarters.

The bear swiped and bit, throwing wolves left and right. Nora buried her head in Kellan’s neck, dismayed she could do nothing to help.

“Nora, I’m going to run with you. It will be painful, but I want to get you to the greenhouse. Ready?”

Nora could barely hear him over the ferocious fighting. They needed to get out of there.

“Yes, hurry.”

Kellan ran, jumping over logs, and ducking under thorned vines. He did his best to shield her skin, but he could smell the small nicks she was getting as they started to bleed.

Her body was tense, but she did not cry out. His mate was courageous, and Kellan was proud of her. They reached the path where he could finally pick up speed.

Kellan could feel the blood from her leg as it flowed freely down his arm and onto his lower body. Nora may have healed some of her wound, but pulling the trap apart had reopened the tears in her veins. He was afraid she was losing too much blood.

Nora held onto Kellan’s neck, trying to ignore the ache in her leg. Kellan slowed, and she turned, expecting to see the castle.

Her eyes found they were still on the path and had only made it to the one part where it ran along the edge of a huge ravine, before snaking back into the forest.

They were still in the woods. Still on the path. A path which was now blocked by Mara.