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Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sutton

Brick pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. “You’re shivering like you’re frozen, but your skin’s on fire.”

He’d been hovering for a while now. “It’s the infection. I just need some sleep, then I can fight it.” In theory that would work, but it was impossible to sleep like this.

“Will you let me help you? I think I need to help you now, Sutton.”

“I’ll…I’ll be okay…” My teeth chattered.

“You don’t smell right,” he said again. “The wound’s festering. You need to let me tend it.”

He was right. The infection was spreading.

Even in my weakened state, I had enough magic that could see it creeping through me, invading, heading for fragile organs and other areas of my body that wouldn’t heal so fast or easily.

I had no idea what had been on Poe’s knife or even on that rock wall I’d cut myself with.

It might even cause permanent damage or worse.

If I could rest and build my magic back up, I could fight it, but it was becoming obvious that I couldn’t do it.

“I—I think you might have to. I—I’m sorry, Brick. ”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said as he crouched beside me. “I want to do this for you, and for Jag.” Still, concern, maybe even a little fear, filled his eyes as he looked down at me.

“I won’t let him hurt you. He wouldn’t, not for this. Not for helping me.”

Brick nodded, but his worry was clear. I was too weak to even lift my arms. “You’ll need to unzip my dress so I can pull it down at the front.”

He carefully rolled me to my side, unzipped the dress, then eased a strap off my shoulder.

When he rolled me back, one of my breasts was exposed, as well as my sliced-up, infected flesh.

He flushed, and I wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment over seeing one of my boobs or concern over the state of my wound.

“I’ll be as gentle as I can. Tell me if I’m hurting you, okay?” he said, then lowered his head.

I was too sick to care that I was exposing myself, and pain didn’t worry me, anything had to be better than this.

His tongue gently rasped over one of the slices, and warm tingles followed in its wake, his healing saliva instantly taking affect.

He didn’t linger, doing what he had to quickly and without his body making much contact with mine.

When he was done, he draped the fabric of my dress lightly over my breast.

“Best to leave the wound uncovered as much as possible for now,” he said.

“Will you lie beside me?” I asked as another icy shiver slid through me. “I can’t get warm.”

He nodded, then shifted, I was guessing so he wasn’t pressing his naked body against me, and lowered himself to the ground. The young hound pressed his huge, hot body against me, the soft fur of his belly and side against my back.

“Thanks, Brick,” I said as heaviness washed over me. A rumbling sound vibrated through his chest and my eyes drifted closed.

A high-pitched yelp jolted me from my sleep, a commotion breaking out around us.

Jagger loomed over me, his teeth bared and his hand buried in Brick’s fur at his throat.

“Let him go,” I rushed out as elation filled me. He was here. Jagger was here. His glowing eyes dropped to me, and I realized my breast was exposed completely. “Brick helped me. I was sick. He did what he had to.”

“Sick?” Jagger’s gaze slid to my chest. His nostrils flared, then he gently covered my chest while still holding Brick down with the other hand. He stood then, lifting Brick with him. “I smell you all over her, pup, start talking.”

Brick shifted immediately, but he didn’t cower, he straightened. His gaze was lowered out of respect, but he wasn’t showing fear. “Poe cut her up, a sigil she had to slice through to break free. Infection took hold, if I hadn’t?—”

Jagger tugged him forward in a tight hug, surprising us both. “I’m in your debt, brother,” he said roughly.

He released a startled Brick, then scooped me off the ground and buried his face against my throat.

“Hey, Charming.”

“Fuck, sunshine. I thought I lost you.” His big body trembled against me. “I thought I fucking lost you.”

“I’ll be okay, thanks to Brick.” I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could, then pulled back sharply. “Luke? Is he all right? Did you find him?”

“Yeah, he’s safe. They’re all safe, thanks to you.”

A snarl erupted around us, and that’s when I noticed Rome, Lothar, and Fender. Kurgan looked like he was about to attack. Lenny was held under one of his arms like a rag doll, while his face had partially shifted, fangs extending.

Jagger carefully handed me to Brick. “If you need to run to get her to safety, do it and don’t stop.”

Brick nodded.

Jagger lifted his hands and slowly walked toward Kurgan. “Put Lenny down. She looks like she’s in pain, son.”

Kurgan shook his shaggy head.

“Look at her. She’s scared. You don’t want to scare your female, do you?”

Kurgan’s gaze sliced to the other males gathered, and he bared his fangs.

“You need to get back,” he said to Roman. “He sees you as a threat. You’re all unmated adult males. Brick’s too young to be a threat, and I’ve got Sutton.”

Rome and Fender looked confused. “Who the fuck is he?”

Lothar shoved them back. “I’ll explain later.” Loth lifted his hands as well. “We’re not here for your female,” he said to Kurgan. “Be at ease, brother.”

Lenny wrapped her arms around his thick waist. “Kurgan, stop this,” she said, her voice shaky but strong.

Kurgan stilled, the contact from her instantly giving him pause like she knew it would.

“Now put me down.”

He growled.

“I’ll stay right here beside you, but you’re hurting me and you need to put me down.”

He immediately did as she said, planting her on her feet, then breathed deep, and growled again when I assumed he scented her pain. He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and tugged it up to look for the source of it. Lenny slapped his hands away.

Jagger stepped forward, ready to intervene, then stopped when Kurgan didn’t react to her hitting him.

“It’s just a bruise,” Lenny said to him.

A look of horror covered his face. “I hurt you.”

“You did. You can’t hold me so tight. You’re much bigger and stronger than me.”

His arm around her loosened.

“You okay?” Jagger asked her.

Lenny nodded, then sat, and Kurgan, eyes locked on his female, did the same, holding her carefully pressed against him. “You okay?” he asked, imitating Jagger’s tone.

“Yes, Kurgan,” she said. “I’m okay.”

He looked at Jagger then, as if seeking approval. “Lenny’s okay,” Kurgan said. “I can be gentle.”

“That’s good, son. That’s really good.” Jagger’s gaze slid to her wounded leg, it was healing, but an obvious bite, but didn’t comment. “We need to go after Tarrant,” Jagger said, turning to me and Brick. “You know where they are? We need to find whoever’s pulling his strings.”

“They’re working for the lord Beelzebub,” I said.

Rumbling growls rolled from Roman and Lothar.

“You saw him?” Jagger asked through gritted teeth.

Brick’s lips peeled back. “Yeah, we saw him. We were being held in his quadrant.”

Jagger took me from Brick as we explained what happened. When we were done, he called Lucifer to let him know.

“He called in the lords. If Beelzebub doesn’t know you’ve escaped, he might go in.”

“That fucker’s arrogant enough to try,” Lothar said.

We headed off, making our way through the forest, Jagger still carrying me in his arms, and every now and then he’d press his nose to my hair and breathe me in, and every time he did, a low rumble vibrated through his chest. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“Somewhere you and Lenny can rest for the night.” He pressed his mouth to my ear. “Somewhere I can wash another male’s scent off you,” he added with a growl.

I pressed my hand to his chest. “Please don’t be mad at Brick, he was helping me.”

“Not mad at the pup, sunshine, fucking grateful. That doesn’t stop the beast from wanting to rub my scent all over you to make sure everyone knows who you belong to.”

I fell asleep after that; my body was still fighting off the infection and I was exhausted from being chained to a wall for days.

“We’re here,” Jagger said, waking me.

I had no idea how long I’d been asleep, probably several hours because I felt rested. A small stone structure loomed ahead through the trees. “It’s tiny, how will we all fit?”

He grinned down at me. “We’ll fit.”

Lothar pressed his hand to the door and the wood glowed red under his palm. The sound of a heavy lock sliding free came next and Loth strode in first, the rest of us filing in after him.

“Holy shit.” It opened up to a massive foyer. “What is this, the Tardis?”

Fender grunted. “Something like that.”

“It’s one of Lucifer’s places,” Roman said. “He has them all through Hell, so he always has somewhere for him and his handmaids to rest when they’re traveling.”

Rome, Loth, Fender, and Brick walked into a room that had a pool table and big couches.

Jag turned to Kurgan. “There’s a room through there. Go in if you need to check it’s safe, then leave Lenny to rest.”

“I’ll stay with her,” Kurgan said.

“You can guard the door from out here.”

He shook his head. “I stay with my female.”

Lenny touched his arm and immediately got his attention. “I’d feel better if you guard the door for me, please, Kurgan. Can you do that for me?”

He touched her glossy auburn hair that rested against her cheek, rubbing it between his thick, rough-skinned fingers. “I can protect you, Lenny.”

“Thank you,” she said, then stood back while Kurgan stormed into the room, checked it from top to bottom, then ushered her inside. He walked out then, and after she shut the door, he turned and pressed his hand against it, as if trying to see her, to feel her through it.

“Will he stay out?”

Jagger nodded, a look of amazement. “Lenny seems to have worked out how to control him, at least for now.” He tilted his head to a door across from theirs. “We’ll be just through there, and my brothers will be watching. If anything changes, they’ll be here to stop him.”