Page 38 of Savage Desire (The Savage Six #2)

38

LINCOLN

M y gut clenches, my wolf pacing beneath the surface as the door swings open. Something is telling me not to step inside. To run. Take Midnight with me and get the fuck out of here.

This isn’t the first time we’ve played a part in one of Asher’s bargains with his uncle, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but if it brings us even a breath closer to freeing ourselves from the blood kin curse, then I need to fight against the tugging in my stomach and get the fuck on with it.

I crack my neck from side to side before I step over the threshold into the dark room. I can’t see anything, but I hear the others follow me, their heavy footsteps reverberating with the thumping of my heart. An eeriness washes over me and I freeze, every muscle in my body stiffening as the door slams shut behind us, removing any light.

Polaris squeals and I envision her clinging to Wylder like her life depends on it.

It should be me.

No it shouldn’t.

I snarl, irritated at the fact she continues to cloud my judgment, when a sudden bright light beams from above. I blink, regaining my senses as I take in the room.

“What the fuck,” Minnie blurts, snapping my attention to her, but I swiftly divert to follow her line of sight instead.

Fuck indeed.

“Is this it?” Tatum asks, blinking at the far wall with the rest of us.

From left to right and top to bottom, the entire space is lined with keys.

Bronze, silver, and gold.

Tucked in the center, is a lock, waiting for its match.

“This is… new,” Minnie breathes, frowning at the scene before us as Asher sighs.

“He definitely didn’t mention this part, but it explains why he wanted me to do it,” he states, his words ringing true as Wylder grunts.

“So, what? We’re just supposed to go through all of these keys to?—”

The second the word keys leaves his mouth, the entire wall comes to life and every single one of them clatters to the floor. The clanging echoes around the room and I spy Midnight leaping back in surprise. She clutches onto Wylder’s arm and I hate him for it.

“This doesn’t look like a good idea,” she murmurs, stating the obvious, but it’s out of our hands. It was out of our hands the moment The Crow proposed the bargain. Asher never really had a choice of whether he was accepting or not.

“The quicker we get on with it, the quicker we leave,” I snap, stepping toward the pile of metal, but Tatum grips my arm, holding me back.

“Be careful, brother. Nothing is ever as it seems with this shit. Who knows what traps could be in place.”

Fuck. He’s right.

I nod. “Stay alert. Wylder, you start to the left, I’ll edge from the right and we’ll meet Minnie and Asher in the middle. Tatum, you help Polaris find a spell that might get this done faster.” It takes everything in me to use her actual name out loud, but her warning from earlier plays on repeat in my mind.

Everyone mutters their agreement, taking cautious steps to get into position, when Midnight clears her throat. “I don’t think I need a spell.”

I freeze, glancing over my shoulder at her, watching as she shuffles back and forth from foot to foot.

“What do you mean?” Minnie asks, ready to crouch and start digging through the keys. Midnight tucks a loose tendril of hair behind her ear as she steps toward her.

Tatum moves to hold her back, but I shake my head and his hand drops back to his side.

Midnight nervously approaches the lock that still hangs in the center of the wall, slowly running her finger over the space as she hums. “Well, the lock is slightly worn, but it’s definitely gold, you would assume the key matches color-wise. That fact could have us searching for a while, but if I focus, I might be able to…” Her sentence cuts off as she presses the pad of her thumb against the lock while grabbing a pinch of sand from her pocket. She rubs her finger and thumb together as she closes her eyes, whispering something under her breath.

The rest of us watch in silence as she does whatever a witch does, occasionally glancing at one another in confusion, until a sudden burst of fire flashes among the long line of mixed keys. Midnight claps her hands in delight and the flame goes out as she hurries to the site of the fire.

“This one,” she declares, retrieving a key. However, she quickly hisses and drops the metal as she shakes her hand, her cheeks coloring with embarrassment. “Maybe just give it another second to cool down,” she mutters, a tight smile on her face.

“Are you sure?” Asher asks, eyebrows raised as she nods.

“I think so, but if not, we just keep looking, right?”

Minnie grins. “Then you, my friend, get the honor of seeing if you’re right.”

Midnight brushes her hands over her jeans, her smile turning nervous as she reaches for the key again. It must be cooler to the touch now because she doesn’t let it clang to the floor again. Instead, she steps back toward the lock, key aimed toward the hole. The tip of the key knocks against the entrance and the sound is jarring, but as I look at the others, they don’t seem to feel the shift like I do.

An uneasiness twists in my gut, my heart thundering as I approach her. I note the moment the key is settled, sense the lock disengaging as she turns, and her name is on my lips in the next breath. “Midnight, wait?—”

Her gaze snaps to mine just as the lock clicks open, and a door materializes around it, creaking ajar a moment later. A rush of wind sweeps through the air, intensifying the uncertainty in my stomach. I reach for her arm, desperate to pull her to me, but the instant I grasp her wrist, she gasps, and not from my touch.

Horror burns in her eyes, the color draining from her face instantly as she looks down at her blood-stained hand.

What the fuck?

“Lincoln!” Minnie screams as Midnight stumbles, swaying backward as I try to pull her toward me, but I don’t catch her until she’s almost flat out on the floor, and that’s when I see it.

The reason for her gasp.

The reason for her pin-prick pupils.

The reason for the blood.

There’s an arrow piercing her chest.

I cling to her, refusing to let go, even when Wylder insists on carrying her. If I let her out of my sight for one second, I won’t forgive myself. The second I saw it, I called to abort the fucking bargain, and not a single person argued with me. We were out of there quickly and hurrying back to campus as soon as possible. She needs help, and she needs it now.

“Linc, hand her over,” he snaps for the tenth time, and I growl at him.

“Have you told the medical center we’re here?” I reply, ignoring his insistence as I pin her to my chest, an arrow still protruding from her flesh.

She hasn’t said a word, but her eyelids keep flickering, and I can feel her heartbeat. It’s faint, but enough to know she’s still with us. There’s blood everywhere.

Every-fucking-where.

“Asher has,” he grunts, storming ahead a few steps to swing the double doors open.

“Then where the fuck are they?” I shout, barreling down the hallway and past a few students, who side step us before we plow right through them.

“They’re coming,” Minnie insists, a step beside me as we take the left turn through the academy building to approach the medical center. To my relief, she’s right. A nurse and a doctor head toward us with a hospital bed between them. But my relief is short-lived when I realize they want me to hand her over.

“Help her while she’s in my arms,” I bark, but they both shake their heads.

“It’s much safer and it will be a lot faster if you place her on the bed,” the doctor insists, shaking the lapels of her white jacket as she stares me down. I can sense the preparation on her end, like she knows she’s dealing with an asshole and refuses to back down.

“Just do it, Linc,” Minnie pleads, placing her hand on my arm, and I sigh.

Fuck.

“If anything happens to her?—”

“It’s all my fault. I’m familiar with the temper of a wolf and the love for his mate. Don’t worry,” she states with a roll of her eyes as I place her down on the bed as gently as possible.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to correct her, to tell her that Midnight isn’t a wolf, that she’s not my… it doesn’t matter. She just needs to be saved.

“We’re coming in with you,” I declare as they start to cart her into the medical center, my sister and brothers hot on my heels, but the moment we enter into the clinical space, the doctor, nurse, and Midnight disappear, leaving us alone in a white-washed hallway. “Where is she?” I snarl, eyes wild as I glance in every direction, spotting the reception area off to the right. I stride toward the man behind the desk, finger aimed in his direction, and he quickly jumps to his feet, hands raised in surrender.

“They’ll be working on her immediately. It’s standard practice so visitors don’t run the risk of using their magic and being a distraction,” he rambles, his voice trembling a little as Wylder stops beside me. “I can lead you to her room where they will take her when everything is done. Polaris Beauchamp, correct?”

I nod, unable to speak a word, and he steps from behind the desk to lead the way. Minnie grabs hold of my arm, clinging to me, but I can’t bring myself to look at her. If I see her crumble, I won’t stand a chance.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Asher murmurs, the words more for him than us as a solemn air tightens around us.

The receptionist leads us into a room, waving at the chairs for us to take a seat. “Please, they will have her back with you as soon as possible,” he insists.

“How long will that be?” Wylder bites, hands balled at his sides as he glares at the guy.

“I-I don’t know, it depends on what treatment she requires, but any updates will be given immediately,” he promises, backing out of the room.

“Good, see to it that they are,” I order before he steps out, leaving the five of us to fester in our unspoken pain.

The intensity only heightens with every second that ticks by. I can’t sit. Instead, I pace back and forth in front of the door, ready to react. No one speaks, each of us lost in our heads as we try to understand what the fuck actually happened.

One minute she was turning the key victoriously, and the next, an arrow was lodged in her chest. It obviously came from the other side of the door, but how? Why?

Fuck.

Tatum warned us of booby traps, and we thought it would all be solved once we got the lock open. None of us expected the trap to trigger from accomplishing the little test.

None of The Crow’s bargains have transpired like this before. Why is this one different?

As I turn, stomping in front of the door once again, it opens, the nurse from earlier appearing in the doorway.

“Where is she?” I grunt, my body stiffening as she offers a tight, completely non-reassuring smile.

She takes a deep breath, lacing her fingers together in front of her as she works to make eye contact with each of us. “Miss Beauchamp is doing okay. She’s not out of the woods yet, but that’s due to the loss of blood she’s suffered.” Her eyes latch on me, or more specifically my chest, and I peer down at myself to realize the crimson stained clothes that still cling to me.

Blood. Her blood.

“How do we fix it?” Asher asks, and the nurse offers him a tight smile.

“Usually, we would perform blood transfusions, just like the humans, it’s the safest way, but it seems her body isn’t reacting well when we try.”

“What does that mean?” Minnie whispers, clinging to my side once more, and this time I drape my arm around her shoulders and pull her in tight. I need the silent support just as much as she does right now.

“It can mean one of a few things, really. She does have a rare blood type, but even syncing her up with the same doesn’t seem to be working. Otherwise, she could just be in a state of shock and need a bit more time to acclimate and know she’s safe.”

“Or…” Tatum murmurs, folding his arms over his chest as he stares intently at the nurse.

“Or?”

“The more sinister alternatives, the ones you’re not saying,” he grunts, and she gulps, pushing her hair back off her face.

“Right, those. It could be one of two things if we consider more supernatural reasons.”

“Which are?” Wylder pushes, clearly as irritated as I am by the fact that she didn’t start with them.

“There could have been something on the tip of the arrow. We’re still waiting on results to come back to confirm whether or not that’s the case, but otherwise it could be because she’s… bound.”

That single word hangs in the room like a guillotine, sucking the life from the room as it claims every breath from every wolf present.

“What did you say?” Asher bites, nostrils flaring as he squints at the nurse, and she pales under his intensity.

“Don’t be a dick to her, it’s not the nurse’s fault,” Minnie grumbles, folding her arms tight over her chest as her gaze flicks to me.

“Bound,” Tatum murmurs, tasting the word on the tip of his tongue, and by the way his nose crinkles, it doesn’t taste good. “But to whom?” He tilts his head at the nurse, but it’s clear from the way she shakes her head that she doesn’t have the answer to that. If anything, she was hoping we would know.

Wylder sighs, lacing his fingers behind his head as confusion claims him too. “It doesn’t make any sense. Who the hell is she bound to?”

A shadow casts over the door, the only inclination we’re not alone before one dark and taunting word fills the air.

“Me.”