"No one has seen One Eye since Ryll's camp was invaded. Will’s other pack members are on the way here and they’ll want to pay their respects in case he doesn’t make it through the morning. I'm sure that Ruby’s safe for now and sooner or later we’ll get her back. She's the only leverage One Eye has left, so he’ll make sure that she’s looked after."
Red was still worried about her gran, but Jack was right. One Eye's biggest ally was now dead, and William was the king of all the werewolves. Sooner or later the highwaymen were going to realise that they were on the losing side.
"That makes sense. Please I need to see William now," she insisted remembering the promise that she made to herself earlier on. If he made it, she would give him a chance.
Jack nodded, and gestured for her to follow him. Red left her room and started moving through the long squeaky corridors. She suspected that William and his pack were trying to renovate this part of the abandoned house. All the rooms were much cleaner and the floors looked new.
Jack opened the door to a room at the end of the corridor and Red went inside. The smell of blood took her by surprise, and it took a hell of an effort in order not to vomit. The room was light and she saw William on the bed. Martha was standing above him. Will wasn't conscious, and he was very pale. There were towels soaked with blood on the floor, and Red noticed that Martha was pressing some green leaves to his wound, probably trying to stop the bleeding.
"I'm sorry, but nothing I do is working. Pray for him, Red, pray hard, because I don't think that he's going to make it," she said.
Chapter Fifteen
Red was standing by the door, unable to move. Her mind wouldn't accept that William was going to die. Martha threw the green leaves away and placed a fresh towel on his wounds, sighing loudly.
"Listen to me, Red. There’s nothing else that I can do for him. William has a strong soul, but that doesn't mean that he’ll survive this," Martha said, and then she left Red alone.
The blood was already soaking right through the towel and Red was nervous. Fear crept over her spine. She was too afraid to touch him. She never thought that she could love a man like William.
She approached his bed and ran her fingers over his feverish body. He was burning up and she had no idea what else she could do to ease his pain. Martha left a dry cloth on the table, so Red picked it up. She quickly went to the bathroom and soaked it in cool water. When she came back, she pressed it over his forehead, hoping that this way she might be able to at least reduce his temperature slightly. Her heart was beating franticly in her chest.
"Will, please, you have to get better. I need you to live," she said aloud, knowing that he most likely couldn’t hear her, but she needed to carry on talking to him. Maybe this was her last chance to tell him that maybe Ruby had been right. She wanted to become his mate, but deep down she was afraid to ruin what they had. There was something that held her back. Something that had to do with her past. "Give me a sign that you can hear me, or I’ll keep annoying you.”
Red felt a little silly, but she needed to know that he had a chance. If she wasn't so stubborn, then maybe none of this would have happened. A few minutes later, she started telling him about the time when she was growing up, how it was when her mum and dad were still alive.
Red detested talking about the past, but her perception began to shift once William came into the picture, even though she didn’t want to admit it before now. She never used to tell Charles how she really felt when they were together, and he had no idea that her parents had been killed by a wolf.
Words started pouring out of her, and sometime later William’s body started to shake a little. Red noticed that he was losing more and more blood, but that didn't discourage her. She kept talking to him.
She placed her hand on his heart, and prayed to God to save him. She didn't want this to be the end.
"I don't know, I always wanted to be independent, even when I was a little girl. Then my parents were gone, and I refused to acknowledge the fact that they were never coming back. Everything happened so fast. I had to move in with my grandparents, but deep down, I pretended to live like my mother and father were still present …”
Then Red told him about her trust and commitment issues, knowing that he couldn't hear her, but in a way the words were helping her to overcome her own fears too. It was like therapy.
At some point, Martha came back to check on Will's wounds. Red had no idea how much time had passed, but she sensed movement in the room. She must have drifted off for a bit, because she woke up in the chair next to his bed.
"He's breathing and fighting and that's a good sign. Just keep talking to him, girl. He should recognise your voice," she told Red, patting her on the back.
Moments later, Martha left after removing the soaked towel and replacing it with a new one.
"I want you, Will, and we can be together. I’ll even mate with you if you it’s that important to you, but first, Gran needs to come back safe and sound," she said, unsure if she would be able to go through with it, but William needed to remember this. He was too stubborn to die on her now.
However, her words didn't make any difference. She kept looking at his wound, hoping that the bleeding would stop, but his condition wasn't improving. His breathing was unsteady, and Red kept trying to cool him down with the wet towel, running her fingers over his warm skin.
Ryll murdered his mate, and Red realised that now they both knew how hard it was to come from something like that, to recover and keep on living. She wondered if the woman that he loved before was similar to her, and she wanted him to tell her about his past life with her.
The wind howled outside the window, and later it started raining. She was right, a storm was approaching.
Within an hour, strong wind and rain were causing havoc outside—thunder and lightning broke through the sky. The smell of blood wasn't bothering her anymore. She kept watching the darkness outside, until she fell asleep, her head resting on William's pillow.
She dreamed about being in the house that she once remembered as a little girl. Red saw herself living there with Charles. They were sitting by the table eating dinner. She looked fuller around her face, and older too. There were two children with them, around five or six.
"I don't understand; the children don't look like me at all. People are starting to talk, Red," Charles said, holding a piece of chicken in his hands, and staring at his son, then glancing at his daughter. Red giggled nervously, smoothing her dark hair. Even now she remembered her intense night with William.
She glanced at the little girl, knowing that she was the spitting image of him; she had darker skin and those eyes, the colour of whiskey.
"You keep saying that during almost every meal, and I keep assuring you that you have nothing to worry about. Don't listen to the women in town. They don't know what they’re talking about. Besides, I haven't seen that werewolf since the war. People told me that he’s been dead for a long time," she replied, then lifted the salad plate and passed it to him. "Eat some greens, dear, it will be good for you. We’re having roast beef for dinner tomorrow. Do you think I should cook roasted potatoes with it?"
"Yes, but make sure you cook everything exactly the way I told you. The beef was too tough last time we had it," Charles told her, shaking his head in annoyance.
"Of course dear, I'll prepare it following your careful instructions," she said.
Red woke up suddenly and for a split second she was confused, not recognising the space around her. Then she saw that William was awake and staring at her—he was awake. Her dream was slowly fading away, but the memories of it were still disturbing. She couldn't believe that she was dreaming about Charles and that she had a real family. She told herself that it was just her subconscious playing tricks on her mind.
"Are you all right? How long have you been awake?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. She must have drifted off a while ago, not even realising it. She glanced out the window, seeing that it was now dawn, and soon beam
s of sunshine would be spilling into the room. She must have slept for a good few hours.
"A little while, but I didn't want to wake you. I was enjoying looking at you. For some reason I didn't want to keep heading towards the darkness anymore," he replied, and tried to move himself up, but Red was already pushing him back on the bed.
The bleeding stopped, the towel was still soaked, but somehow William wasn't losing any more blood. She had no idea if this was a good or bad sign, but she needed to get Martha right away. William still looked too pale, and his skin had a slightly yellowish tint.
"I’ll call Martha, she should check on you—"
"No, stay. I don't want you to leave," he cut her off, grabbing her hand. Red sat down again.
"I shouldn't have tried to save Gran on my own. I'm sorry. Maybe then this whole thing could have been avoided," Red said, dropping her head.
He was still holding her hand, circling his thumb in the centre of her palm, and she was aware of the heat that kept rising between them.
"Hey, hey, honeycomb, this isn't your fault. No one suspected that One Eye would reach out to Ryll and his buddies. I'm filled with regret that I didn't break his neck when he was talking about my mate," he stated, and a shadow of pain moved past his features. Red swallowed hard, thinking about her dream, deep down trying not to lose her cool. No matter what happened between them, she wasn't going to avoid him any longer. They had a lot to talk about, but she had to find her gran first. Ruby was still being held hostage by One Eye.
"I'm sorry that you had to find out that way. It must have been really difficult for you," she said, thinking about her mum and dad. Her heart was aching, and she realised that she’d been so foolish, trying to run away from her destiny. She didn’t understand her feelings yet, but she knew she couldn’t be so withdrawn any longer.
Red didn't want to push him to talk about his dead mate, but she was curious.
"We were madly in love with each other and we thought it would last forever. I saw her with another pack over ten years ago. She was a wolf woman too. We both knew instantly that we were destined to be together. Our attraction was immediate. Every time I think about her I still feel sharp pain in my heart. After she was murdered, I lost my mind for a long while, drank and battled with my enemies to ease the pain that kept rising within me every morning when I opened my eyes. Soon after, I started rising up in the ranks, people were coming to me, seeking my advice and guidance. When our king was killed, other wolves wanted me to replace him. It's quite a long and complicated story, but the bottom line is that werewolves have always been at war with trolls and this conflict is never going to end. I left Jessie with the pack, but she was captured. Someone must have betrayed us, and when I realised what was going on it was too late. Many of my men lost their lives trying to protect her, and I truly had no idea that she was expecting. Ryll wasn't lying; she shared her last memory with him and it was fucking painful. He killed her because he knew that I would suffer. I don't think I’ll ever understand what went wrong that day. My wound will never fully heal. She remains in my heart to this day."
Red was speechless. She stared at him, seeing how much he had suffered.
"I’ve never loved anyone like that," she admitted after a moment.
"Red, I heard your voice. It reached out to me when I was trapped in my own pain. You were telling me about your parents," he said all of a sudden, and Red parted her lips, not believing that he actually heard her. Martha was right. She didn't think that it was possible, but maybe her voice brought him back.
"I was trying to reach out, but I didn't think you could hear me."
"Maybe this will sound unbelievable, but I heard everything you were saying to me. It seems to me that you do care about me more than you’re prepared to admit, right, honeycomb?" he asked with a wink, sounding like he was back to being his usual self.
Red wanted to roll her eyes, but William lifted himself up and pressed his lips to hers. Heat rose in the pit of her stomach, and she wanted this kiss to last forever. He was right—she wanted him, more than she could admit. Her body instantly shook in a need of release, just from the kiss. She moaned against his mouth, and he responded. Then Red remembered that he wasn't supposed to move.
She pulled away from him and then saw that he was struggling to breathe.
"Right. I was supposed to look after you not make you even more unwell. Lie down and let me look at that wound," she said, gently pushing him down. He grabbed her hand when she was trying to check on his wound. He wouldn’t let her do it.
"No, it's fine. I'm going to be all right. Just come here and lie next to me, honeycomb; otherwise I won't be able to keep my hands off you," he added with a cheeky smile.
Red knew that he was still in pain, and she also knew that he was stubborn. At some point his wound needed to be cleaned out and disinfected. Somehow she managed to scramble on the bed and lie down next to him, without causing more harm to his condition.
"Now, just close your eyes and sleep. Tomorrow everything should be all better," she told him.
"Are you always going to be so bossy when we’re together?" he asked, with a chuckle.
"Pretty much, so you might as well get used to it," she told him.
Chapter Sixteen
William was feeling rough when he opened his eyes several hours later. He couldn't believe his own luck. Red was embracing him in her sleep. Memories about the night before started flooding in his head, and he forgot that he asked her to lie down with him earlier on. Then they must have fallen asleep.
For years he thought that he was dead on the inside after he lost his Jessie. He never thought that anyone could replace her, and he met many beautiful women along the way. William kept sleeping with them, over the years realising that he was never going to fill the hole in his heart.
Then he sensed other werewolves, and his energy instantly spiked. His inner beast reminded him of his duties. Over the past several hours he was fighting for his life and once the other werewolves found out that he may not live through the morning, most of them set out to travel to pay him their last respects. Humans had always been wary of magical creatures, and William knew that soon the whole Farrington Kingdom would be filled with his men. That might cause some problems, so he needed to let everyone know that he wasn't dead, thanks to Red.
King Caspian was still away with his new wife, and William was supposed to keep an eye on his people. The two of them had a certain agreement from years ago, but William never expected that he would ever end up anywhere near his land.
His side was throbbing with pain. He felt like he’d been drinking heavily the night before, and today woke up with a massive hangover. Red was still asleep and he was getting hard just thinking about her body. His entire left side was stiff and he needed to pee badly. It was probably late morning or early afternoon. They both had a good few hours’ sleep, and now he had to see his pack.
He tried to push away very slowly and gently, but Red stirred. Seconds later, he was lost in a pair of green eyes.
"How long have you been watching me like a creep?" she asked and he laughed. Then she turned around and stood up, stretching her arms. When she was standing next to his bed with her messy hair and that familiar frown it made his cock rise half-mast.
"Long enough for you to give me a hard on," he said and she rolled her eyes.
"Just sort yourself out. We don't have time to get frisky. We need to check if your wound is infected first," she told him quickly before he had a chance to stop her.
William was annoyed, trying to think about something other than her ass. Five minutes later Red came back in the room with Martha. Apparently, the town hooker was blessed with magic and she was the one that had been taking care of him all night, trying to stop the bleeding. Will knew that he had to thank her at some point.
Both women proceeded to check his wound. He was protesting, but they didn't listen, talking about the swelling and bandages between themselves like he wasn't even in the room.
Will had to get back on his feet straight away. One Eye had Red's gran and he knew that she was still worried about her.
It was partly his fault that the highwaymen were causing so much trouble in Farrington. He let them get away with too much freedom, and Will had underestimated their leader. Now his other pack members were there and he was already forming a plan in his head.
Red's parents had been killed by a wolf, but William had promised her he’d investigate their death. Her grandmother was convinced that a werewolf was involved, and that kind of crime was punishable by death, at least in his book. He briefly recalled that one of the travellers, Gregory, had mentioned that a young couple was brutally murdered when a werewolf lost control during fool moon. William had no idea if this had anything to do with Red, but he needed to check into it. The timeline was correct, but there were a lot of inconsistencies in this story too.
"All right, ladies, I think that's enough. I need to be on my feet. My strength has returned and I think your spell has really done me some good, Martha, so thank you," he said, when the town hooker was trying to convince him to stay in bed until at least the evening. "Soon all of Farrington will be full of wolves."
He also wanted to spend some one-on-one time with Red.
"I don't think that’s such a good idea, you're—"
"Martha, just let him do what he wants. He's the Alpha King and many of these wolves traveled long distances to pay him respect. We can worry about his wound later," Jack said, entering the room. William winked at Red and slowly tried to get up.
Pain shattered his vision, but he didn't want to show any discomfort in front of the women because they would order him to go back to bed. The wound was still fresh, and every time he thought about Ryll, his blood started to boil. He wanted to kill him himself, make him suffer, but everything happened fast. If it wasn't for Red's cry for help, he would have been long dead.
Alpha King: Red Riding Hood Page 12