A Final Paige (Hidden Kingdom Trilogy Book 3)

by L. Rose

  He snorted, coughed to cover a surprised laugh, and then shook his head. He ran a hand over the back of his neck as he sighed. “I’m new. We only met yesterday.”

  “And I wanted to be with you then?” I threw up my hands in the air. “Jesus, I must be—”

  “Do not say anything bad about yourself,” he warned, his hands clenched at his sides. “In our worlds, it’s different. The Fates have a play in our lives, in our mates. Desire, need, and hope fill us once we find each other and a small connection is made. However, not all races know that what you have in front of you is an intended mate. People often mistake it for lust. Though, some do, like I did with you. From what I’d heard, you didn’t know about me until I’d used my power and your ghoul side reacted to it.”

  “So it, this, the connection, means a lot.”

  “It means everything, which is why it pains me that we can’t be together—”

  “Why?” I demanded.

  “You will know all of this when we’re out.”

  Biting my bottom lip, I nodded. Even though I wanted to know as the thought of him not wanting me swirled through my brain, but his words said the contrary. He thought highly of a mate, so there had to be a good reason why we couldn’t be together.

  “All right. How do we get out?”

  “A kiss,” he stated.

  A giggle escaped. Then I cackled so much I had tears running down my cheeks. I slapped my hand to my leg as I bent over still laughing. I gasped, “A kiss.” I shook my head. “How very princess-y.”

  “Pardon?” Cedrick asked, his face stoic.

  I straightened, finally calm enough. “You know… a kiss from a prince always rescues the princess. I just never knew it would be from my own mind.” I snorted out another laugh. “Why a kiss? How will that help me?”

  “I’ll have to drag your mind from this point in time that you’re stuck in. There’s a chance it will hurt. A kiss from a mate is distracting and could help with any pain you may face.”

  “Oh,” I said quietly. I hated pain. I even considered not having a child since giving birth scared the hell out of me. I mean, I loved my niece and nephew…. Something tickled a part of my mind again. Something about my family. I lifted my gaze. “Is my family okay?”

  He seemed confused, the pinch to his brows told me so, before he said, “Sorry?”

  “My family… you know what, never mind. You’re sure I’ll remember everything once you drag me out?”

  “Yes.” He nodded once.

  “Good. Let’s do this.” Only it was then I thought of something. “Hang on, if our minds are in here, where are our bodies? Will we be waking into danger?”

  Cedrick shook his head. “The men and I disposed of the danger. It’s safe to leave, and our bodies should be in the old medical wing. Where we found you.”

  If I was safe, it meant I had time for another question, right? “What happened to me?”

  He took my hand, and I eagerly held onto his. His jaw clenched suddenly. He seemed angry.

  Did I want to know why?

  Yes, I had to. I didn’t hide.

  “You may not understand everything right now, but I’ll try. You and the other men were attacked. We thought it was to kill you all under the council orders. However, it seemed they were sent to drug you instead. It took some time, but you all fell asleep, and that was when they came in to get you.”

  The council wanted me dead? Me and my men? Why? What had we done? And what damn council?

  “You’re right. I don’t understand a lot. So maybe it’s best we do get out of here.”

  “Of course. Wrap your arms around my neck.” I did, and he lifted me so we were eye to eye. “I’m sorry if this causes you pain.”

  I didn’t answer right away; I got lost in his angelic features. How could one elf be so good-looking? I wanted to know everything about him, and I couldn’t wait to remember my other men. Excitement had my stomach in knots.

  I gave Cedrick a small smile. “I’m sure you’ll be able to take my mind off it.”

  “It will be my honor to try, my beautiful Paige.” Slowly, so the tingle in my groin intensified, he leaned in while staring into my eyes. His were warm and full of desire, and I knew mine burned for him. I couldn’t wait to taste him.

  He brushed his lips against mine teasingly. Feeling impatient, I growled under my breath and felt his lips pull up as he pressed them against the corner of my mouth.

  “I do not like that this will be our first kiss,” Cedrick admitted against my cheek.

  “We’ll have to make up for it then.”

  He let out a breath, maybe a little laugh. He nipped at my neck. “I will do my best.”

  I panted the words, “I have a feeling I’ll like your best.”

  He lifted his head, and before he could say more, I pressed my lips against his. He froze for a second, probably worried about the pain, until I tightened my hold around his neck and hooked my legs around his waist. His hands slapped down on my bottom and he squeezed.

  “Yes, dear God, yes.”

  “Cedrick will do, beautiful. I’m no God.”

  I pulled back quickly, swearing again. “No reading my mind, mister.”

  “I can’t help it. You’re projecting. Not that I mind at all.” He smirked. “Shall we try again?”

  “Yes,” I answered a little too quickly.

  That time he didn’t smile; instead, he dipped in and claimed my lips like he owned them. The kiss was hot, heavy, and so delicious. I moaned into his mouth, opening up to his tongue that glided along my bottom lip. Hell, he tasted of cherries, chocolates, and whiskey. How was that possible?

  All I knew was that I wanted more. I wanted all of him.

  Until… I whimpered into his mouth. It felt as if my brain was being pulled and pushed from my head without an actual opening. My head throbbed as if someone was stabbing me over and over. I wanted to scream, to cry out, but I also didn’t want to lose the connection I had with Cedrick. He kept me grounded. He kept me whole. If I let go of him, I would lose myself.

  “Nearly done.”

  I couldn’t reply because the pain intensified. I was sure my brain was on fire, sizzling away under my skull. A scream got through my block. I knew it by the way Cedrick twitched.

  “I’m okay.” I tried to reassure him, but even in my head I sounded weak.

  The pain grew again. Like a knife being drilled into my eyes and slowly the blade was being dragged up over my forehead and skull, right to the back.

  I couldn’t stop it. I had to let it out.

  Pulling back from the kiss, I gripped my head and screamed. I dropped back, but nothing around me registered beyond the pain.

  Then it was as if a switch was turned off and the pain stopped.

  I panted out unnecessary breaths. My heart was erratic in my chest. I picked up panicked voices but couldn’t open my eyes.

  “Paige, love. We’re here. You’re okay.” Asher.

  “You’re out, beautiful. You’re free.” Cedrick.

  “We’re right here, sweetheart. We’re not leaving you.” Thorn.

  “Do you feel my hand, dove? Can you feel it?” Alex.

  “Let her relax. Let her get herself together. Paige, it’s fine. Relax, angel.” Nate.

  “Yes, rest if you need to, mi corazón.” Ezra.

  My men were there. My men. My bonded mates.

  Nate, Asher, Alex, Thorn, Ezra, and even Cedrick.

  I remembered them.

  God, how could I have forgotten them?

  My chest constricted painfully. If I’d been stuck in my mind forever, I wouldn’t have had them. I wouldn’t have remembered them and wouldn’t have known what I was missing out on. Or how much love I would have lost. It hurt knowing that could have happened. Although right then, it quickly switched to anger.

  I cleared my healing throat. I must have screamed so much I’d hurt it. “W-Who did this?”

  “Thera’s father. Do you remember her? Do you remember
us?” Thorn asked. He glanced to Cedrick. “We were told you didn’t know who we were.”

  I nodded as another pang of hurt and anger twisted inside me. “I hadn’t. All of you were wiped away from my mind,” I whispered and then smiled. “I remember you all now though.” Opening my eyes, tears filled them. I saw all of them hovered over me in different ways so they could fit as I lay on what felt like a cold metal table. I looked from one to another and then over again. My bottom lip trembled. “He took you all away from me.” A sob caught, and Nate was the first to pull me into his arms and off the table. He took a couple of steps and sat us on a couch. I curled into his lap, wrapping my arms around his waist while wondering why a couch was placed in a room that looked like something out of a doctor’s office, only a nightmare kind.

  The room was all white and silver, but a lot of the silver on the desk, table, chairs, and cabinets had corroded with rust. I shivered from the sight and from the thought of being in there unconscious, prone on the filthy metal table.

  I scented Alex at my back, rubbing a hand up and down it. Ezra was to my side, pressing into me and kissing my shoulder. Without looking, I knew Thorn, Asher, and Cedrick would be standing around us, watching, listening, and guarding.

  After composing myself, I looked up and met Cedrick’s gaze first. “Did he do this because of what I’d done to Thera?”

  That I could understand. He took away what meant the most to me, like I had done with him by taking his daughter.

  Cedrick shook his head. “Let’s get somewhere comfortable and we’ll explain what happened.”

  Nate grunted. He must have agreed because he stood with me in his arms and walked us from the room. I rested my head on his shoulder and then felt a hand on my shoulder and one on my leg. Alex and Ezra. Both needed comfort from touch as much as Nate and I did. I was sure my other men did as well, but they would be willing to wait and let Nate, Alex, and Ezra get their fill first. It reminded me again of how perfectly we worked together.

  Having her in my arms wasn’t enough. My wolf and I wanted to be buried inside her, marking her with our scent all over again. The fear of waking without her in our room would live with me for a fucking long time, and it’d take a while until I could let her out of my sight. Even if it was with one of our men. My skin crawled at the thought of leaving her alone and having something happen to her.

  As we walked down the hall, my mind took me back to the last few hours.

  My head was knocked to the side. “Wake up” was yelled, so close to my face that the warm breath washed over my skin. Groaning, I clutched my head and sat slowly.

  “Kiered?” someone asked, and I opened my eyes to see Cedrick kneeling in front of me, but he was looking over at his brother who knelt over Ezra. Asher and Thorn were helping Alex sit from his spot on the bed, while I was on the floor.

  “What the fuck, man?” I asked, my throat dry and scratchy. I rubbed at my cheek; it still hurt like a bitch from his hit.

  “Where is she?” Cedrick demanded.

  My mind felt foggy as if it was stuffed in Jell-O. “What are you talking about?”

  “Where is Paige?”

  My mind spun, locked on his words, and my heart beat hard in my chest as I quickly stood in search for her. Only I stumbled a little, blinking rapidly as I sucked in a deep inhale. Her scent was in the room, but fainter than it should have been. I closed my eyes and paid more attention to my hearing. The people around me quieted as if sensing what I was doing. I could hear scuffling in the floorboards, mites or some type of bugs. Muffled sounds came from down the hall, but nothing right outside or too close.

  I couldn’t scent or hear her close by.

  I breathed deeply through my nose and clenched my hands.

  “Nate,” Asher said softly. “We’ll find her.”

  I shook my head roughly and lifted my upper lip off my teeth in a silent snarl.

  “Nate, hold your shit in until we have all the damn information,” Thorn demanded.

  My skin rippled over my body. My teeth lengthened, as did my claws. Fur sprouted over my face. It grew longer on my body.

  “Jesus, is he bigger than usual?” someone muttered.

  I lifted my head back and howled into the room.

  “Nate,” Alex called. His scent grew close until he was right in front of me. Then Asher was there, Thorn, and Ezra. They surrounded me. They belonged to me, but our bonded female, our Paige, wasn’t there.

  Someone had taken her.

  Someone would pay.

  “Calm down. Think, talk, then hunt,” Ezra said. He gripped my face in his hands and shook my head slightly. “Think, talk, then hunt,” he repeated.

  “Kill,” we growled out harshly.

  “Yes,” Ezra bit out in his own growl, his eyes glowing.

  I pulled the wolf back, even when he fought me for control. I dragged him back down inside me and held him tight. Soon, I promised him.

  “We need answers now,” I stated.

  “And we’ll find them.” Asher nodded. We all looked to Cedrick.

  “This is what I know. All of you came back in here to rest, and I went to speak with Therolidi regarding his daughter, but he wasn’t at his home. I ran into Rallis though. He’s in the dungeon with the other guards, who were rousing. We came here to get you all and found you passed out.”

  “How were we knocked out?” Ezra questioned. Yeah, he was kind of new, but he’d been a part of this from the start, even as his hellhound, so it was easy to be comfortable with him. Cedrick, even though I knew Paige and he were connected, they weren’t bonded fully yet, so I wasn’t ready to trust everything he said. Although, he looked as stricken as the rest of us with the loss of Paige.

  He ran a hand through his hair and looked around the room, like he was searching for something. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “What?” I demanded harshly, my wolf riding my tone.

  Ezra and Alex faced Cedrick, but they both reached back to lay a hand on me. Alex at my outer thigh and Ezra curled his hand around my wrist. Their contact, along with Asher’s on my neck and Thorn’s on my shoulder, helped ground me more.

  Fuck me, but I loved my pack.

  However, the most important part was missing.

  We had to get her back.

  A sad whimper escaped me, feeling her loss hit me once more. Our mates’ fingers rubbed at my skin, calming me. We hadn’t even claimed one, the hound, but he was still ours. I knew it and the wolf did also. The time would come, but it wouldn’t be until Paige was back in our arms.

  “How did this happen? None of you would just fall into slumber and risk your mate.”

  “No, we wouldn’t,” Asher agreed. “Especially since a lot of us need very little sleep to begin with.”

  “Then it happened to us without us knowing,” Alex said more to himself as he stared at the floor in thought. He lifted his gaze and turned to see all of us in the room. “The food?”

  I shook my head. “Not everyone ate.”

  “The fight,” Kiered said softly. We all looked to him behind Cedrick. He stepped closer. “Look on yourself to see if you can find a mark of some type.”

  “Fucking hell, the fight was a setup—not to kill Paige or us, but to put us to sleep to get to her,” I said while searching my body.

  “There,” Thorn said. His hands went to my lower back. I kept still as everyone crowded around me. Fingers ran over my skin. “It looks like a goddamn freckle, but it’s not.” I felt a fast, sharp prick of pain and then turned as Thorn held up what did look like a freckle.

  “Motherfucker. How did they get that on me without me knowing?”

  “Distraction,” Asher said as he picked something off his arm near his elbow. “They used the fight to see if they could take her on their own, or if that failed, they drugged us. We wouldn’t have felt it because we were getting knocked around at the time.”

  “Jesus Christ,” I yelled. “We need to find her.” I pulled Ezra around since he hadn’t f
ound his and dragged his tee from his body. I found it on his hip and pulled it free.

  “Who deals with this type of magic? A magic I hadn’t sensed before,” Alex asked, glancing down at his in his hand.

  Cedrick stepped closer to him. I grabbed Alex and Ezra and pulled them behind me, holding out my own for him to look at. I ignored Ezra’s snort and Alex’s grumble. Cedrick didn’t say anything about my mistrust of him and held his hand above mine where the device was.

  He shook his head. “Any one of my people who has the power to control earth magic. I can sense the herbs, dirt, and leaves within it myself. Used with the correct wording, which they obviously had, it all becomes a powerful sleeping spell.”

  “Can you do it, Alex?” Asher asked.

  I caught Alex roll his eyes before looking over his shoulder to Asher. “Yes, of course.”

  “Do what?” Kiered asked.

  “Trace where the spell was cast,” Alex said as his power filled the room. His eyes closed but not before I saw them change to purple. His lips moved with his own spell. The window suddenly opened with a bang, causing a few of us to jump, and I wouldn’t admit I was one. A breeze blew in and swirled around Alex.

  He then smiled.

  “I have a picture in my mind. A medical ward, but it looks run-down. It’s dark, but a man with shoulder-length, dark brown hair and eyes cast the spell from there. It’s within the walls of this castle.”

  “Merde,” Cedrick whispered. He spun to his brother. “Right under my nose.” His jaw clenched. The floor beneath us shook as his eyes glowed brighter. “Right under my nose.” He looked to Alex with intense anger in his eyes. I wanted to step in front of Alex again, but I didn’t. Mainly because Alex placed his hand on my arm in a warning not to. “Can you teleport?”

  “Yes.”

  “Using that picture in your mind?”

  “Yes, and with two people.”

  Cedrick nodded. “I’ll take the wolf and hellhound.”

  My wolf liked being called instead of my actual fucking name; it annoyed me though.