“When I made the wards, I made sure I was immune.” Quinn held onto the wall and pulled himself to his feet. “We need to find Jillian. If Sean thinks he’s taken us out, she’s his next stop.”
“Damn it.” Carrick managed to stand, but he was still wobbly. “We need to get out of here.”
“Listen.” Quinn grabbed his arm and motioned for him to be quiet. “Do you hear that?”
In the distance, there was the faint but unmistakable sound of fighting. They both took off running, adrenaline overriding the effects of the toxin.
By the time they found Jillian, the fight was over. Sean was bloody and trussed up like a turkey. Carrick walked toward his mate, struggling through his emotions. He wanted to kill Sean, but first he needed to know Jillian was all right.
“You okay?” He grabbed her, pulling her into his arms and kissing the top of her head. “If he hurt you, I’ll kill him.”
He gently placed her in front of him so he could examine her. Blood trickled from her nose and mouth. A bullet had nicked her arm and torn away a chunk of skin. She was a mess. A beautiful, bloody mess, and he loved every inch of her. “You’re all right.”
He needed to say it out loud, to convince himself.
She touched his face, reaching onto her tiptoes to kiss his lips. “I’m fine. But you don’t look so good.”
He stumbled, nearly taking them both down. Quinn jumped forward and grabbed him by the waist to hold him steady. “He’ll be fine. He just needs some time to recover.”
“Good.” She moved to Quinn’s side, kissing him on the cheek. “Thank you for taking care of him. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’re a softy.”
Quinn shook his head, but he was grinning. “What do you say we finish this?” He gestured to Sean. “He’s still breathing, so I’m assuming there’s a reason you didn’t kill him.”
“That’s your call, not mine.”
Quinn snorted. “Now you decide to follow the law?”
“I always do, when the laws are right.” She walked over to Sean, rolling him over. “But I ripped open his throat. He’ll die soon if we don’t get him to the healer.”
“And why do we need him?” Quinn asked. “’Cause I’d just as soon let him bleed out and send him to the surface in a body bag.”
“He’s working with my father. You deliver him to the surface and Reginald will know he failed. He’ll run, and we’ll never find him.”
Carrick swore. Reginald kept sinking lower and lower. The sooner they found him and ended this, the better. “Was Fiona part of it?”
“Yeah. They both attacked me. I knocked her unconscious, but I don’t know what happened to her after that. Someone needs to find her.” Her eyes widened. “I have to find Abbey and Gareth. I don’t know what he did to them. I need to make sure they’re okay. If he didn’t kill them, he hurt them badly.”
“Go.” Quinn waved them off. “Do what you have to do. I’ll take care of Sean. We’ll connect later and sort it all out.”
Jillian didn’t hesitate, but as she moved through the tunnels, she quickly realized she had no idea how to get out. She turned to Carrick. “Can you get us out of here?”
“Yeah, follow me.” He led her through the winding tunnels, up a steel ladder and back to the upper level.
She stumbled behind him, still dizzy from the drugs and blood loss. When they stepped onto the main floor, she had to hold the wall to remain upright. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried to focus.
“You okay?” Carrick asked.
“Yeah. Get me to Abbey and Gareth. I’ll lick my wounds later.”
There was nothing she could do until she found them, so she tried not to borrow trouble. But as they turned the corner into the hallway that led to their suites, the scent of blood hit her square in the face. She didn’t think. She just started running. The door to the suite was cracked and she pushed it all the way open, praying they’d gotten there in time.
The main room was empty, but a blood trail led down the hallway and into one of the bedrooms. The door was locked, so Jillian kicked it open. When she saw what was inside, her heart shattered.
She motioned for Carrick to stay back as she stepped through the door. Abbey hissed and curled closer around Gareth’s body. “It’s just me,” Jillian murmured as she moved forward. “Let me help you.” Abbey’s growls got louder as Jillian moved closer. Her ears were flat against her head, and she had wrapped around Gareth. Jillian couldn’t see him well enough to tell if he was still alive, but she could see the dried blood that saturated the floor beneath them, and that wasn’t a good sign.
“Abbey, I can’t help Gareth unless you move. I need to see him,” Jillian said firmly. “I need to see how badly he’s hurt.”
The giant cat bared her teeth, but this time Jillian could see a flicker of recognition in her eyes. Abbey slowly unwrapped herself from Gareth’s body and stood. She remained beside him, watching every move Jillian made.
Making sure her movements were controlled, Jillian hurried to Gareth’s side. His throat had been slashed, but, amazingly, the wounds seemed have healed. But his heartbeat was so faint she could barely make it out, and his skin was like ice.
“Is he alive?” Carrick crouched beside her.
“Yeah, but he won’t be for long. Can you force his change? It might be the only way to save him.”
Abbey nodded her enormous head, then moved closer, nudging Carrick with her muzzle. She settled herself on the floor at Gareth’s side, waiting.
“I can try,” Carrick replied. He placed his hands on either side of Gareth’s head. Magic surged around them, thickening the air. The spell was so strong Jillian was barely able to hold on to her own beast.
Abbey yowled, rolling onto her back, her own transition taking over her body. By the time Gareth began to respond, she was human again, naked and huddled beside Jillian. Jillian grabbed the cover from the bed and slipped it around her.
“He slit Gareth’s throat,” Abbey whispered. “He said he didn’t hit the artery on purpose, because he wanted Gareth to suffer. I stopped the bleeding, but I couldn’t get Gareth to change. He kept getting weaker. I couldn’t leave him.”
“You did the right thing,” Jillian reassured her. “Are you okay?”
Abbey stood and walked to the dresser. She grabbed a pair of boxers and a T-shirt and pulled them on, but not before Jillian saw the scars.
Convinced Carrick had the situation with Gareth under control, Jillian walked over to Abbey. “What did he do to you?”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does.” Jillian grabbed her arm and forced her to turn around. “Tell me.”
Abbey sank onto the bed, tears welling in her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it. See for yourself.” She pulled her shirt up to reveal a thin trail of scars. They started at her belly button, made a line up her belly and wrapped around her neck. After a few minutes, she yanked the fabric down and turned away. “I’m fine. The change healed me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Jillian reached to embrace her, but Abbey pushed her away.
“It’s no big deal.” She stood and moved over to Gareth. “If you want to help me, don’t let Gareth die.”
As if on cue, Gareth roared and struggled to his feet. Abbey cried out. She wrapped her arms around him, tears running down her cheeks. “You scared the hell out of me,” she mumbled, her mouth pressed against his fur. “Do that again and I’ll kill you myself.”
“Will he be okay?” Jillian asked Carrick.
He nodded. “Yeah, but it was close. I almost couldn’t force the change. He would have died without it.”
Jillian rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. Her adrenaline was starting to fade, and the events of the past few hours were becoming far too real. She slipped her arm around Carrick’s waist, laying her head on his shoulder. “I don’t want to look at blood for a very long time,” she murmured. “Take me somewhere else, somewhere we can be alone.”
/>
“Absolutely.” He gathered her into his arms and moved out of the room, not stopping until they were safely sequestered in the comfort of his suite.
“You realize I’m not up to any extracurricular activities, right?” she asked as he laid her on the bed. “I did almost die less than an hour ago.”
He shrugged. “You recover fast.”
“Nice.” She hit him square in the face with a pillow. “Besides, Quinn will be here soon. We need to figure out what to do about my father and his little minions. I’m pretty sure he has more than three. We need to weed them out before they cause any more trouble.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Carrick settled beside her on the bed. “We have so many enemies at this point, what’s a few more?”
“Funny.” She rolled on her side. “Why can’t anything be easy?”
“Because easy doesn’t teach you shit,” Quinn said as he stepped inside the room. “Sean wouldn’t talk. Said he didn’t need to tell me where your father was, that we’d know soon enough. Whatever that means.”
Jillian groaned, rolling onto her back. “It means he’s found a way down here, and he’s planning something. We need to find him.”
“No way,” Carrick argued. “There were guards posted at every entrance, and video surveillance. Your father’s good, but he’s not that good.”
“Yeah, he is,” Jillian said. “Trust me. I know him better than anyone. I don’t know how, but he found a way.”
“If that’s true, we don’t need to find him. He’ll find us. Once he finds out Sean failed, odds are he’ll try to take you out himself. He was adamant you weren’t going to rule his Pride.”
“No.” Jillian sat up. “That’s not what he wants. When I talked to him, he wanted me as Alpha as long as I enforced his agenda. He needs leverage, something to make me play nice.”
“Well, he’s not going to get Gareth and Abbey. My enforcers are taking turns watching them. No one’s getting anywhere near them.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Jillian replied. “If he got down here, he can get past your enforcers.”
“He’ll have to find them first. They’re being moved to a secure location while we sort all this out.”
“And Sean?” Carrick asked.
“Sean’s dead.” Quinn sank into the leather recliner beside the bed. “He served his purpose.”
“Good.” Jillian closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew she should feel relieved, but she just felt numb. “But I don’t trust my father. We need to force him to show his hand and end this now. I want the Claiming ceremony to go on as planned. To have a shot at successfully combining the Prides, we need to solidify our rule, and I don’t want him interfering.”
“How long have we been down here, anyway?” Carrick asked. “Feels like a week.”
“It’s four in the morning, day two,” Quinn answered. “The Claiming ceremony is in fifteen hours.”
“I always thought the Claiming was too short. That nothing important could happen in that small amount of time.” Jillian laughed. “Man, was I wrong.”
“No, you weren’t. The Claiming isn’t about finding a mate.” Quinn sighed. “It’s about having an opportunity to confirm the one you’ve already found. Or it can be a huge sex party. It’s really a personal decision.”
Jillian rolled her eyes. “I can only imagine what it is for you.”
He was about to reply when they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Quinn jumped to his feet. “That can’t be good. I’ve got enforcers guarding the doors, and I told them not to interrupt us unless it was an emergency. They’ve been looking for Fiona. No one can find her, so it looks like she may have made it to the surface.” He yawned. “I don’t know about you, but I need some shut-eye.”
“Great. Then you better get that.” Carrick walked over and pulled open the door to the mini-bar as Quinn went down the hall. “I’ve got some energy drinks. Want one?”
Jillian shook her head. “Those things will give you a heart attack.”
“I’m more concerned about falling asleep and having my throat slit, so I’ll take the chance.”
“True.” She sighed. “Give me one.”
“False alarm,” Quinn said from the doorway. Gareth’s sister was at his side.
“Anna,” Jillian said, getting off the bed and moving toward her. “What are you doing here?”
“I was worried when I couldn’t find Gareth. I figured Quinn would know something.” She shifted closer to the Regulator. “Is everything okay?”
“Sure. It’s fine.” Quinn grabbed the energy drink from Carrick’s hand and shoved it into hers. “Have a drink.”
“I don’t want a drink. I want my brother.” Anna tossed the can on the bed. “And some answers.”
“Your brother is occupied at the moment,” Quinn replied. “And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
Anna glared at him, but then his words began to take root. She blushed, shifting away from him. “I knew he was looking, but I thought—”
“You thought what?” Jillian watched her carefully. Anna was a little too comfortable around Quinn. There was definitely something between them; she just wasn’t sure what.
“I can’t say. He’d kill me.” Anna moved toward the door. “Just forget I was here. I’ll find him tomorrow.”
“No,” Jillian pressed. “Gareth’s my best friend. You can tell me.”
Anna relaxed. “It’s just that he’s always been fascinated by Abbey. He talks about her constantly, so I figured…”
“They’d end up together,” Jillian finished.
“Yeah. It’s stupid.” Anna shrugged. “Guess I still believe in true love.” She turned to Quinn. “Despite all evidence to the contrary.”
“Ouch.” Quinn wrapped his hand around her arm. “Say goodnight, Anna.” Before Jillian could intervene, he’d moved her out the door and down the hall.
“How do they know each other?” Jillian locked the door behind them.
“That’s a mystery for another day,” Carrick pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. “When I heard you fighting with Sean in the tunnels, it scared the hell out of me. I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”
Jillian turned in his arms, sliding her arms around him and pressing her face against his chest. “I know what you mean. When he told me you were dead, I was petrified.”
“This whole time I’ve been trying to convince you to choose me, and I ignored the most important reason.” He leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers. “I’m in love with you. Maybe it was your smart mouth, or hot ass, that drew me in. But being here, going through this with you, gave me a peek at your soul, and I couldn’t walk away. And I wouldn’t have, even if you’d chosen Lucas. I need you too much.”
Jillian closed her eyes, blocking out the room so she could focus on the feel of him beside her. “I danced around my feelings for three years because they didn’t make any sense. I thought you were a pure-blood, that it would never work. But more than that, I was scared. I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I needed to come back here and deal with my baggage first.”
“Then it’s a good thing I was here waiting.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “You are one of the strongest people I know. Most people would never have come back here. But you did, because you love Gareth and Abbey. You’re one of the toughest people I’ve ever met, both physically and mentally. You’ll be a hell of an Alpha.”
She ducked her head, hating the blush that spread across her cheeks. “Maybe,” she mumbled. “But you’ll have to do all the talking. You’re much better with words.” She lifted her head, meeting his eyes. “I’m more about action.” She pounced, wrapping herself around him.
Chapter Thirteen
Jillian groaned and rolled onto her back. In a perfect world, she would stay in bed with Carrick forever. She gave him a quick kiss, well aware he was pretending to be asleep. He moved, pulling her on top
of him.
“We can’t put this off anymore. It’s time to face the music.” She settled against him, laying her cheek on his chest.
“You sure?” He grabbed her hips, moving her body so she could feel that he was hard. “I think it could keep for a few more minutes.”
She smacked him away. “I’m surprised you’re up for it.” She wiggled her brow. “I mean, after seven times…”
“Just wait. That’s nothing.” He grinned, slapping her ass as she bolted from the bed.
The hell of it was, she believed him. It wasn’t like he had a deluded opinion of his sexual prowess. He was more than capable. The very thought made her want to leap back into bed with him. But duty called. So did a hot shower, but there was a problem. “I need some clean clothes.” She held up her blood-covered dress. “And they’re all back in my old room.”
“I’ll send one of the guards.” Carrick sat on the side of the bed. “You can wear some of mine until they get back.”
She eyed his tall, muscular body. “Nope. They won’t fit.” She grabbed one of his T-shirts and pulled it over her head. “And I want something of my own. I’ll take a guard, but I’m going myself. Don’t worry. Killing me in my room wouldn’t be showy enough. My father’s all about the melodrama.”
“It’s too big a risk.” Carrick moved toward her, stopping her before she could step outside the door. “Reginald’s too strong. If you’re alone—”
“I’ll have a guard. Don’t underestimate me, Carrick. Reginald is strong. But I’m his daughter, and a half-blood. I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t care how strong you are, I’m coming with you.” He grabbed his jeans from the bed and started to slip them on.
“No. I need you to check on Gareth. You’re a healer, Carrick. Go. Heal. I’ve got this.” She slipped through the door before she could change her mind.
There were four guards waiting outside the suite, and she took two of them with her. Not that she needed them. She was only going about three feet. They’d hear her if anything went wrong.
Once she had unlocked the doors, William, the larger of the two, touched her arm. “We need to search the rooms first, then you can come in.”
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