Page 13 of Savage Sacrifice (The Savage Six #4)

LINCOLN

D arkness clings to me like a second skin, refusing to let go as it drags me farther and farther into the pitch black hole that I’m lost in.

I can’t see anything.

I can’t smell anything.

I can’t feel anything.

I can’t hear anything, except the distant beeping of a machine.

It lures me closer from time to time, but the moment I get too close, the darkness reclaims me.

Time passes. How much, I don’t know, but one thing feels clear: I’m waiting for the afterlife. Yet the fact that I’m conscious enough to think that leaves me a little unsure.

The truth is, I don’t care where I am, as long as I can find Midnight.

The eeriness tingles down my spine once again as darkness threatens to swallow me up, but the distant beeping draws closer.

I prepare for the noise to stop as I’m dragged back into the bleakness, just as I have been so many times already, but the tug doesn’t come.

The beeping grows louder, rattling in my skull; if it didn’t feel like I was connecting with something, I would hate it.

The repetition is exhausting. But when I suck in a breath, eyes prying open with a mixture of panic and surprise, I’ve never been happier to be irritated by something.

Blinking, I try to force my gaze to settle, but everything is a blur of bright lights. My eyes burn, but I refuse to shield them. The more aware I am of the discomfort, the closer I am to trying to find Polaris.

That thought keeps me grounded as I wade through the disorientation, taking deep breaths despite the surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins.

I grunt, shaking my head in frustration, and my vision clears a little.

White sheets are draped over me, arms on top, and I’m acutely aware of the firm pillow behind my head.

Sighing, I stare down the length of my body, wiggling my toes beneath the sheets to make sure I have full use of them, but my mind is distracted by the sight of my forearm.

My bare forearm.

The mark of my blood kin curse is gone.

My nostrils flare at the acknowledgment. I don’t know what to make of it, or what it means entirely, but the fact that I’m aware enough to know it’s no longer there confirms my memory is intact.

Foregoing the rest of my limbs, I take in the room, noting a door across from me, windows to my right with the blinds closed, and a supply closet to my left where a nurse hovers.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to bark at her, but my mind is coming to much more quickly than my body. I feel sluggish, and although I can wiggle my toes and stretch my fingers, it’s going to take a minute before I can sit up fully.

As if sensing my distress, the nurse turns to me, a gentle smile on her face. “Ah, you’re finally with us, Mr. James. How are you feeling?”

I frown, unable to form an answer as I blink at her, beyond confused.

I know her.

From somewhere, but… where?

“Mr. James, are you okay? I’m sure you’re confused right now, but I can assure you, you are safe,” she insists, stepping closer with a clipboard in hand, and my frown deepens. My lips purse as my jaw tics, and her calming smile widens. “How about we start off easy, okay? Can you tell me your name?”

I shake my head, running my gaze from her silky brown hair swept back off her face to the silvery shimmering eyes looking back at me.

“How about I tell you yours?” I rasp, my throat dry, but I let the sharpness burn, welcoming it as I accept the fact that Polaris was right, and I’m here, alive.

I don’t know where here is exactly, but that’s beside the point for now.

“I’m sorry?” The woman breathes as her eyebrows furrow in confusion, and the look of uncertainty is a small resemblance to the look of despair I’ve seen her wear once before.

“I fucking know you. You were in her vision.” I nod, managing the strength to push up to a full sitting position as I swing my legs over the side of the bed.

Saying it out loud only serves to bring the memory into sharper focus.

“You had me wearing some mad old shit, but I saw you,” I insist, and she shakes her head as she takes a step back, but the way her eyes widen…

I know I’m right.

She clears her throat, tucking a loose curl behind her ear as she avoids my gaze, looking down at her clipboard instead. “I think you’re mistaken. It’s the brain injury, I?—”

“No! No, I’m not.” I launch to my feet, swaying slightly, and I notice the thin gown draped over my shoulders.

“You were outside crying in the woods with someone while the whole town was inside plotting your demise,” I insist, and her gaze snaps to mine, the color draining from her face as she gulps.

“You don’t know me,” she breathes, nipping at her bottom lip, and I snicker.

“Belladora, right? Or should I call you the original witch? The one who tainted us all with this god forsaken blood kin curse,” I snap, and I didn’t believe it was possible, but her eyes widen further.

I can hear her heart rate thundering over the rapid beat of my pulse. Does that mean my wolf is still here? Fuck, I don’t know.

She presses the clipboard to her chest like a shield. “What’s your name?”

“Lincoln James.”

It’s her turn to sway this time. I’m certain she’s going to pass out when the door bursts open and a man immediately fills the doorway. He doesn’t pay me any attention at first; his sights are set on Belladora. It makes sense, since he’s the man she was with in the woods.

Jonah.

“Is something going on?” he barks, eyeing me cautiously as Belladora shakes her head.

“One of your men, your coven, right? Jonah, was it? I’m sure that was him in the vision,” I grunt, clenching my fists at my sides to try and keep myself grounded. I feel like I could spiral off a cliff with everything unraveling around me.

Jonah’s eyes narrow on me as he takes a step toward us, folding his arms over his chest defensively. “Explain yourself. Now.”

I scoff, my irritation rising. “I’m not the one who needs to be explaining shit, and right now, I don’t care if you do either.”

He cocks his brow at me. “What do you want?”

“Polaris. Now.”

Belladora shakes her head and Jonah cuts the distance between them, planting himself at her back and draping an arm around her chest; protective, just like we are with Polaris.

Fuck, it only makes my need for her grow stronger.

“None of this makes sense,” Belladora whispers, and I grunt, pinching the bridge of my nose in a failed attempt to remain calm.

“It doesn’t have to. Take me to her now before I start wreaking havoc,” I promise, and Belladora grabs onto Jonah’s arm as she whispers his name under her breath.

He silently soothes her as he fixes his stare on me. “She’ll take you to her, but first, tell us how you’re here with your memories still intact.”

I grind my teeth together. I want to stand my ground and get the fuck out of here, but my gut is telling me that playing along with them for a moment is the faster route to getting me what I want.

I’ve never been one to catch flies with honey, I’m more interested in the chase, the dominance, the aggression, but for Midnight, sacrifices can be made.

“Listen carefully because I’m only explaining once,” I warn, and they both nod in sync as they cling to one another.

“Polaris killed herself when she learned her blood kin was my sister, her best friend.” The truth cuts through me like a blade, reopening the wound even though I know she’s out there somewhere, alive and well.

“Before she did, she whispered one sentence to her: ‘Come find me.’ Well, we’ve been looking, and here I am. ”

“And how are you here?” Jonah asks, and I shake my head.

“That wasn’t the question you leveraged.” It was, but fuck if I have anything better to say.

“Amuse me.” He cocks a brow at me again, and my hands clench at my sides.

Play the game, Lincoln. Play it for Polaris.

I heave a sigh, making sure my irritation is clear. “My blood kin was announced, but I didn’t take action. Thankfully so, because now I’m dead, tethered to the other side so I can fucking find her and bring her home.”

Belladora takes a step toward me and Jonah releases his hold. She discards the clipboard without care as she blinks up at me. “You’re here on purpose.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m pretty sure we’ve been over that. I’ve done my part, now it’s time for you to do yours,” I snarl, watching as tears well in Belladora’s eyes.

To my surprise, she nods, each sharp move stronger than the last. “I’ll lead the way.”

Belladora and I make it halfway down the hallway before I request an alternate clothing option, and she quickly obliges, offering me a crisp white t-shirt and a pair of black pants.

It’s a little more formal than I would prefer, but it beats the hospital gown, and she at least offered a pair of sneakers too.

When we’re finally heading back down the hallway, the walls clinical and cold, Belladora clears her throat.

“You must really love her,” she breathes, like she’s revealing a secret, but I say nothing, hoping to shut her up.

Unfortunately, it seems to have the opposite effect.

“To come all of this way for her, to die for her… wow,” she breathes, and I scoff.

“And yet I still can’t see her.” The pointed look I offer her is unnecessary, but she doesn’t pay me any mind.

“We’re getting there,” she offers, a soft smile on her lips, and I can’t help but find it odd that the woman from the vision, the reason for the blood kin curse, is standing beside me in nurse scrubs.

It doesn’t make sense. It won’t, not unless I ask, but I’m not asking shit until I’ve got Polaris in my arms. Nothing else matters until then.

“Through here,” she states, opening the door at the end of the hall. She waves me inside, and I step in, startled by how similar the room is to the portal room back at the academy. However, there are multiple openings here.

It’s not shadowed with dark mahogany wood, though. Instead, the walls are as white as the corridor we just came through, and the clinical feeling still lingers.

She closes the door behind us, trapping us in the small space as she offers me another warm smile. “You might want to hold on,” she offers, dipping her hand into her pocket before revealing a pinch of sand in her grasp as she starts to chant under her breath.

“I’m good,” I mutter, familiar with how a portal works, and she smirks.

“Suit yourself.”

Without a moment wasted, the floor starts to rumble and I immediately lose my balance.

In my panic, I spot a handrail on the wall that runs around the entire space and I cling to it for dear life.

It’s about five seconds in when I realize she’s not generating a portal for us to transport through, she’s moving the whole damn room.

My feet lift off the floor as the room turns three times before we finally calm down, the rumbling waning as it finally stills.

She turns to me with a grin and a wink before she returns to the door, opening it without issue as I’m left to gape at her.

I should be questioning all of this, every last fucking thing, but Polaris first. My curiosity around this will have to wait.

“I’m going to be questioning all of this once I have her in my arms,” I state, following her outside to find another clinical white wall.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask if we’ve even gone anywhere or not, but she immediately leads me through a door to our left, and we step outside.

It’s hot as fuck out here.

“I hope you do,” Belladora murmurs, referring to my prior statement, and I grunt, wiping the back of my hand over my forehead.

I can’t help but wonder what she means by that, as the heat makes my brain melt.

“Where are we?”

She tilts her face to the sun, enjoying it with a sigh. “Florida.”

That makes sense. Hotter than the surface of the sun.

“Where were we?”

“New York.”

I nod. That correlates with where Krystal is, and the whole moving of an entire room explains why Polaris is here in Florida, but it still leaves a lot to be answered, and I don’t have time to waste presuming.

“Where to now?” I glance around, noting the fact that we’re not in a hospital like I expected. It seems to be a college campus, with the way the buildings are laid out and the number of people gathered in random spots everywhere.

“This way,” she murmurs, pointing down the road.

I take off beside her. I can’t decide if she’s setting the pace and I’m keeping up, or whether I’m storming ahead and she’s trying to remain at my side.

Either way, as we make our way down the block and away from the liveliness, I all but stumble over my own feet when she halts, pointing to the next house on our right.

“That house,” she breathes, and I sense her nerves, but it doesn’t leave me questioning her. I have no time for that.

I don’t stutter, I don’t question, I just run.

My feet can’t carry me quickly enough as I approach the door, barreling through it without care as my heart races so fast it might just beat out of my chest.

A hallway greets me, a set of stairs leading up a level, but noise draws me to the room on my right and I whirl through the opening. I note five figures, two of whom are seated, while the others turn to face me.

Two I don’t care for, not when there’s a flash of silver from the third.

I bolt, encasing her in my arms as a sob tears from my lips in disbelief. Delicate hands cautiously wrap around my middle as I breathe her in.

All I can see is the silver of her hair.

All I can feel is the softness of her skin.

All I can smell is home.

All I can taste is the sweetness of her skin as I press a kiss to her cheek.

“Polaris,” I rasp, leaning back to capture her chin. I stroke my thumb down her face, awe cracking me open and letting me bleed out without care as a whoosh of relief claims me.

A soft, nervous smile plays on her lips as she places her hand over mine, leaning into my touch.

She’s standing right in front of me.

She’s truly here.

I didn’t die for nothing.

My heart is fucking whole.

My mind spirals, thought after thought building me up and making me dizzy all at once.

She rubs her lips together nervously as I shift to capture her face with both hands. My lips part, ready to declare my undying love, when she clears her throat.

“This is great and all, but who are you?”