Page 42 of Wicked Dove (Institute Thirteen #1)

THIRTY-TWO

ELODIE

Beeping echoes around me, vibrating through my soul and awakening me from the shadows of Hell.

My eyelids flicker, but I can’t pry them open.

My limbs ache, my fingers weighing so much I can’t even lift one.

My breaths are sharp and crisp, echoing loudly in my ears, and after a few more attempts, I manage to open my eyes.

Disoriented, I can’t recall where I am, but it’s clearly somewhere medical since there’s an oxygen mask secured to my face. Panic threatens to set in, but I’m too exhausted for it to take root as I look past the end of my nose and familiarize myself with my surroundings.

I’m in a white-washed room. The door is open across from me, and there’s little in here other than the bed I’m lying in, a few cabinets to my left, and the beeping machines to my right with a small chair nestled beside them.

Think, Elodie. Think.

I groan as I lift my hand, tugging the oxygen mask off my face as my eyelids close and the memories flood back to me.

I stiffen, forcing myself to sit up despite the pain radiating through my bones.

Brushing my hair back off my face, I swing my legs over the side of the bed as I rattle through my memories, trying to recall everything Ocean said, even though all I want to do is pass the hell out.

But I poisoned myself for this. I can rest later, when I’m home free. Or when I’m dead. Either will do, I just have to wait first.

My gaze snaps to the door, where the silver engraved number sits.

Room twenty-six.

“Elodie, if you’re in rooms one to fifteen, head right; if you’re in rooms sixteen to thirty, turn left.”

Looking down at the length of myself, I grimace at the fact that I’m still wearing my oversized tee and panties. I should have thought this part through before I made a run for it, but this will have to do. Barefoot and all.

As I stand, I hiss as something tugs on my arm, and I realize I’m connected to one of the machines. Grumbling, I yank it free, only for the machine to start beeping.

Dammit.

Tossing it aside, I hurry to the door as fast as I can, which is nowhere near as fast as usual.

With my back pressed against the door, I peer into the hallway.

Nurses buzz around, hurrying from one room to the next or gathering to my right at the nurses’ station.

There is a couple sobbing down to the left, but it’s the security guard standing by the door that holds my attention.

That’s where I need to go, and fast.

Wetting my lips, I take a deep breath as another thing Ocean mentioned consumes my thoughts.

When life shuts a door in your face, open it again. That’s how a door works.

I don’t have long until Kael is notified as my guardian, if he hasn’t been already, so I need to get a move on.

Stepping out into the hallway, I’m immediately greeted by a nurse who smiles at me compassionately.

“Miss Blackwood, you shouldn’t be out of bed.”

I nod, flicking my ratty hair over my shoulder. “I need the toilet,” I lie, and her eyes widen slightly.

“Oh.”

“Please, I’m desperate,” I add, and she nods.

“Of course, let me get you an escort,” she offers, and my eyebrows rise in surprise. An escort? What do I need one of them for?

“Can you let me get a head start and they can join me? I’m on the brink.” My eyebrows gather pleadingly and she sighs.

“Okay, they’re going to be right behind you. Take your time,” she insists before side-stepping me.

Flooded with relief, I make my way down the hall to where the security guard is standing, trying to come up with an excuse that will get me inside the room he’s protecting, when a hand lands on my shoulder. I stiffen at the contact, my heart racing in my chest.

Glancing over my shoulder, I find an older woman with a tight smile on her face. “The women’s bathroom is this way,” she mutters, turning me to the room across the hall from my desired exit.

I can’t think of an excuse quick enough, not one that wouldn’t cause an unnecessary scene at least, so I follow her inside.

Stepping into the bathroom, I shiver at how much it resembles the bathroom I used with Kael back at The Sanctum. The white tiles are the same, and the cubicles too. I shuffle into one of them, locking it behind me as I take a deep breath, trying to find the answer to all of my problems.

“Come now, Miss Blackwood. I don’t have all day,” the escort grumbles impatiently, irritating me as my mind circles on the only option I can think of.

With another deep breath, I let all of my emotions rise to the surface. Instead of tamping them down, I let them consume me, swirling through my veins as I open the cubicle door. My escort glares at me, her inconvenience on clear display as I move toward her.

She rolls her eyes at me as a huff parts her lips. “Quickly, we—”

I don’t think, I just move, shoving my hands against her chest and hoping for the best.

A scream echoes around the room, bouncing off the tiles as it gets louder and louder, while my escort falls to her knees. Her face is scrunched in agony, despair thick in the room as I bite through the pain in my hands, watching as they start to shift into wolf claws.

The desire to slice at her is real, to use her own magic against her, it’s overwhelming, but before I do something I’ll completely regret, I stumble back a step. She flops to the floor, revealing the vanity mirror behind her, where I catch a glimpse of myself.

Rage burns in my eyes, my hands remain as claws, and my shoulders are tight.

I don’t even recognize myself.

I hate it.

My escort stirs on the floor, curling herself into a fetal position, and a pang of guilt nestles in my chest.

I have to move. Now.

Hurrying for the door, I find opening it isn’t as easy with these damn claws still protruding from my knuckles instead of my fingers, but I somehow manage to make it out into the hall.

The door ahead is clear, no security guard in sight, so before I can think better of it, I charge toward it, slipping inside without a backward glance.

I press my back against the door behind me, attempting to catch my breath, but there’s no time for that as I find two security guards standing between me and the exact thing I’m looking for.

A portal.

The portal.

“All you have to do is get yourself to that portal, Elodie. Name the place you want to go to and you’ll be free.”

“You can’t be in here,” the security guard to the left says, and I nod, thoroughly assessing the room. He’s seated on a chair, while his friend stands back a step to my right. The wall behind them is a vortex of swirling purples and blues.

“This room is the whole reason I’m here,” I admit, and the guy standing is the first to understand what I want.

Without a moment’s pause, he charges toward me. Fear channels into determination, and I slice at him with my stolen claws the moment he’s within arm’s reach. His scream is hollow as he snarls, snapping his teeth at me, but he quickly drops to his knees with my claws still protruding from his chest.

“You little bitch,” the other security guard roars, clambering from his seat, and I ready myself for him, but the second he’s close enough for me to attack, the claws disappear.

Thinking on my feet, I slam my palms against his chest, but nothing happens as he knocks me to the floor. My back hits the black tiles with a thud, stealing the wind from my lungs as he pins me down.

He sneers at me as I try to buck him off, but it does nothing. He’s too much on top of me, and he knows he outweighs me.

Fear turns to rage as he focuses on pinning my legs down, but I manage to free my hands and slam them against his chest. Relief floods my veins as I watch him stiffen. My soul warms as my magic consumes me, then the ache ripples through my jaw and my eyes narrow.

My nostrils flare as his eyes widen in panic. The foreign magic that floods me takes over, and before I realize what I’m doing, I sink my teeth into his neck. Blood pours between us, coating my skin as he grows weak in my arms.

Shoving at him again, he falls limp beside me, and I take a moment to catch my breath, willing the burning hunger inside of me to subside. Panicked, I push to my feet and blink deliriously in search of the portal.

I feel drained, but I crawl toward the swirling colors uninterrupted. When it’s within reach of my fingertips, I think of where I want to go, take a deep breath, and fall into the vortex on my back.

A gut-wrenching bleakness seeps into my bones as I feel like I’m floating. Dark tendrils frame my vision as my pulse throbs while I linger on the edge of consciousness. After another long blink and a soft exhale, I peer up to find the night sky twinkling above me.

It takes a moment for the hope to blossom in my gut, but once it’s there, it takes root as I feel the familiar gravel beneath me.

Stumbling to my knees, pain ricochets through my body. I can see the distant lights of the trailer park, but it feels so far away. I don’t think I’m going to make it without passing out first. Maybe that might be a good idea because once my father sees me, he’s going to knock me clean out anyway.

Not unless…

In my determination to run, it’s only just now registering in my mind that Rion said Thorne and Kael were headed here, and my gut twists. It had to be in search of him, but… surely not.

I’m not going to find out from here, though.

Crawling, I feel the gravel crunch beneath my bare knees and the palms of my hands, but it’s worth it if it gets me closer.

My movements are slow, labored, and too much.

I’m ready to give in when headlights stop me in my tracks.

The slow roll of an engine, combined with the sound of the gravel shifting under the tires makes me falter.

My knees give out from under me, my weight too much for me to carry as the vehicle rolls to a stop, but I refuse to accept my fate.

Despite the torture rippling through me, I use all of my strength to force myself to my feet.

I blink slowly as a shadow steps before the full beams and I straighten my spine, desperate to stand and fight, but I’m sure there’s a crook to my frame, the pain growing stronger as it roots itself in my soul.

Helplessly, my fingers curl into fists, even though I know they’re weak, but it’s all I have now that the claws are gone, and there’s no way in hell I could summon my magic like that again.

I’m a survivor, a fighter, I’ll go down trying no matter what.

The figure comes into full view and I freeze, the wind stolen from my parted lips as my world crumbles, eyes blurring with emotions I’m too bruised to acknowledge.

Those eyes, I’d know those eyes anywhere.

Everywhere.

In the dead of night, they still beam like beacons, luring me to shore.

“Walker,” I rasp, unsure if I even make a sound.

His name slams through me as I fall against his chest, his arms wrapping around my waist, which becomes the only thing keeping me up.

I want to throw my arms around his neck, breathe him in, but it’s impossible.

Now that he’s here, my strength is gone as I sink into him, taking all of the warmth from his embrace.

He came for me.

My eyelids fall closed as he lifts me off my feet and hauls me toward the idle car. I hear the door slam behind us, feel the rumble of the engine beneath us as he holds me in his lap. I press my forehead into his shoulder as silent tears stream down my face.

He came for me.

Everything morphs into the background.

I hear nothing.

I see nothing.

I am nothing.

Nothing but his to hold.

He came for me.

Time turns, the world spinning as I welcome the darkness. I can’t speak, and he doesn’t bother to say a word; his presence is more than anything I could hope for.

The vehicle rolls to a stop. The only way I know is because he carries me into the bitter air a moment later.

My adrenaline doesn’t keep me warm this time, that’s all him.

Bundled tightly into his hold, I keep my eyes closed, trying to will away the tremble from my limbs when I feel the touch of cool stone beneath my feet.

My lack of shoes becomes the farthest thing from my mind as I lose his touch in the next breath. Confusion tightens my features as I pry my eyes open. There’s a hint of something in his gaze, something I can’t quite place.

Guilt? Remorse? Indifference?

I press my palm against his cheek, unsure where to even begin with what my life has become, and completely unsure whether I have the strength to tell him.

I don’t even know whether he’ll believe me, but I have to try.

Before I can attempt a single word, footsteps echo from behind me and I lose his attention.

My heart burns in my chest as I twist my neck, despite the pain, to follow his line of sight, regretting it the moment my eyes latch onto those approaching.

A sneer promises vengeance.

A smirk promises torture.

A snarl promises retribution.

I don’t understand.

I’m back.

I clawed my way out in a desperate search for my lifeline, and the moment I found him, my life hanging by a thread, he brought me back to the gothic towers I’ve grown familiar with.

Institute Thirteen.

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