My heart squeezes in my chest as my bond brothers stare at me, their eyes full of loyalty and devotion. I lower my gaze. “I do not want any of you to get hurt.”
“And do you think we do not wish for your safety as well, brother?” Nyx says. He turns to Kai. “I will go with him.”
I open my mouth to argue, but Kai nods his head. “Do not engage anyone. Simply scout the area. If it does not appear to be a trap, we can come for the prince tonight or tomorrow instead.”
Nyx claps a hand on my shoulder and nods. He looks to me. “You ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
He arches a condescending brow then shifts. “Try to keep up, cat.”
Together, we race through the forest and toward the estate.
Chapter 35
Devon
The first of the sun’s rays barely peak above the horizon by the time we reach the estate. Quietly, we approach the garden wall, hiding behind some bushes, when we see two wolf shifters walking toward the tower door, disappearing inside.
We wait a moment longer for anyone else but see no one. I turn to Nyx. “It is guarded, but not heavily. This is strange, is it not?”
A deep feeling of unease moves through me as I scan the area again. “Whatever this trap is, I already feel as if we’re as good as dead the minute we enter the tower.”
Nyx remains silent, his brow furrowed deeply. After a moment, his voice fills my head. “How many times?”
I cock my head to the side in confusion. “What?”
“How many times did you bring her to completion?”
I clench my jaw. “More than you.”
His brows rise slightly, and he smirks. “I doubt that.”
I growl low in my throat.
“I’ll bet if we asked her, she’d say that I am the better lover.”
I narrow my eyes. “Why are you bringing this up now?”
A grin tugs at Nyx’s lips. “Would you care to wager a bet?”
“A bet?”
“Yes.”
“On what?”
“On who can make her come more times in one hour.”
I give him an incredulous look. “Are you trying to make me mad?”
“No. I could sense your despair just a moment ago.” Nyx chuckles softly and claps a hand on my shoulder. “I am merely giving you a reason to live.”
Before I can reply, he adds. “All right. Let’s go.”
I scowl after him, and we move toward the tower.
A cool breeze rushes toward us, and we stop just outside the door. My nostrils flare, and alarm bursts through me. “Do you scent that?” I ask Nyx.
He nods. “Death.”
“Yes, but whose?”
“Hopefully not the prince,” he replies.
As we carefully make our way up the stairs, it feels like forever until we reach the door to Ella’s old bedroom. Everything is so drafty, cold, and run down. I hate that this was her home for so many years.
My heart aches with the want to hold and kiss her, to bury myself deep in her warmth and hear her cry out in pleasure—but all that must wait. I must remain sharp, for I do not intend to die here.
I look to Nyx and nod. As one, we burst through the door only to stop in confusion when we do not see the wolf shifters and instead find only the prince, his body bound as he lies on the floor.
Next to him were three familiar females that belonged to none other but Ella’s stepfamily. Bruises and cuts cover their skin, paired with the fear etched upon their faces, could mean only one thing.
They were brutally murdered and left lying to rot in the very room they had forced Ella, the true owner of the estate, to live.
I despise them for their treatment of her, and I had wanted, at one time, even to kill them myself. But as I look to them, I am reminded that death is such a terrible and awful thing for any creature, no matter how evil.
Scrunching my nose to try to hide the horrid stench, I rush toward the lost prince and remove the gag from his mouth. “Where is everyone else?”
“Are you here to save me?” he asks, his eyes wide with what I recognize as hope.
I nod. “Now, answer the question.”
He shrugs. “There hasn’t been anyone here since last night.”
I spin back to Nyx and give him a curious look.
His nostrils flare as he scents the air. “Magic,” he growls low under his throat. “The guards were not real. They were decoys.”
“Decoys?” I frown. “But why?”
My heart stops then begins pounding as panic coils tight in my chest. “The cottage,” I barely manage. “We have to leave! Hurry!”
“But the prince,” Nyx says. “The prophecy says he must kill the queen.”
I rush to his side and shred his binding with my claws, freeing him.
He stands and rubs at his wrists, raw and bleeding from the tight ropes. He looks at us. “I do not know who you are, but thank you. As for the wolf queen,”—he grits through his teeth—“I will find her, and I will kill her for keeping me prisoner. I am a prince, and I will not allow this crime to go unpunished.”
“Fine,” I tell him. “Now, climb onto me.”
“Climb?” he asks, but then his jaw drops as I partially shift into my much larger cat-like form. Large enough for both him and Nyx to climb on.
“Let’s go!” I project to Nyx, knowing the prince cannot hear me while I’m in this form.
Nyx looks to him. “He’s telling us to hurry. Let’s go.”
I’m glad the prince doesn’t ask any more questions because there isn’t time. I suppose having been held for all this time by shifters, he’s seen enough of them transform that it is no longer such a shock to him as it was the first time he saw it.
Chapter 36
Ella
I wake up surrounded by two sets of strong arms wrapped solidly around me. Opening my eyes, I look up to see Finn, and I know without looking back that Cash is behind me.
Finn reaches out and tucks a stray tendril of hair behind my ear. He presses
