Chapter 16: 16: Chapter 16

LEAH

I am awakened by the sound of Boris finally waking up. He growls and grunts in his cell as he laboriously gets up from the floor.

“Boris?” I whisper hoarsely.

“Your Majesty!” he shouts, shocked and probably relieved that I am conscious. He doesn’t know that he was the only one who had been unconscious until now.

“Yes, I’m here! But we don’t have much time, Boris, listen to me, John is here, and it’s Camille and Lilly who have taken us captive. They’re going to move us soon, because Ares is on their trail.”

“What the fuck do you mean?! Lilly is alive?!” he roars, and I tell him everything that has happened while he has been unconscious. I grab the bars as I shuffle up on my feet.

“Do you understand? We need to get out as soon as possible! Before they come back!” I plead.

“John, are you there?” Boris shouts from his cell.

“Yes, I’m here and I’m ready!”

“The joints on my bars are rusty, so I think I can push my way out of here,” Boris says before stripping off all his clothes and shifting into his wolf.

I hear his wolf striking the bars of his cell.

“How is he going to get us out then? What’s the plan?” I ask John, who replies that he doesn’t really know, but that he’s ready to leave regardless.

We hear him slamming into his cell door again and again. I am just about to give up hope when Boris growls loudly before he throws himself against the bars, and they give way and slam into the stone floor. I cover my ears when the loud sound from the impact fills the room.

“Shit, they must have heard that, they can come at any time!” I scream.

Boris’s wolf turns his big head toward me. ~“Move, maybe I can force your bars open too.”~

Just as I back up as far back in the cell as possible, the huge wooden door opens. Boris quickly turns to Lilly who has just come in, he growls and bares his teeth at her. His body crouches down and takes a few steps toward her.

She widens her eyes, visibly shocked to meet Boris’s wolf outside of his cell. Just as he jumps toward her, she runs out of the room and through the tunnel. I press my face against the bars as I listen to Boris’s fading footsteps. I hear him growl and something hitting the stone floor. My heart rate quickens when we suddenly hear footsteps approaching.

“John…,” I whisper just before the wooden door flies open again and a naked Boris enters. I have never been so relieved seeing him. He has a chain with keys in his hand when he walks up to my cell door.

“She is unconscious, we will take her with us to the king. We must hurry before Camille comes back, I have no idea where she is,” he says as he unlocks my door and opens it.

I step out and follow Boris who is walking toward John’s cell. He opens the door and John doesn’t have time to take more than one step out of his cell before I throw myself into his arms. Shocked, he puts his arms around my waist, and we stand for a moment in silence holding each other. I am so incredibly happy that he is unharmed. We let go of the embrace, and I take a second to look him over. His cheeks are sunken, and his skin is pale.

“Can you shift?” I ask without taking my eyes off him.

John nods, and all three of us shift into our wolves. Boris starts running through the tunnel, and we follow him quickly. He stops in front of an unconscious Lilly, and John shifts back into his human form before throwing her onto Boris’s back. I look away when John walks past me; it doesn’t feel right to look at other men when they’re naked, even though nudity is a normal part of werewolf life.

Boris begins running down through the tunnel, and I follow him with John just a few steps behind me. My body is tired, I don’t have much energy left after not eating for so long. I’m constantly worried that Camille will come through the tunnel at any moment, but I can only smell an old scent of her in the tunnel right now, which means she hasn’t been here in a while.

“We’re nearing the exit!” Boris says as he picks up his pace. Lilly’s body bounces around on his back like a rag doll.

I see the sun’s rays, and the relief washes over me as we get out into the fresh air. I need to squint my eyes so I don’t get blinded.

~“Ares!!”~ I shout through the mate bond.

~“Leah!”~ he growls loudly, his anger and worry washing over me. ~“Where the fuck are you?!”~

I look around. ~“We seem to be on the east side of the castle, just outside the border.”~

I follow Boris who starts to run in the direction of the castle when I hear a nerve-racking howl. Ares is on his way. We don’t get far before his big gray wolf jumps out through the forest with his teeth bared. He walks straight up to me and presses his nose against my neck.

“Shift,” he orders. Several wolves surround us, some run in the same direction we just came from. I guess Boris must have told them where we came from. I glance at John and Boris who continue running away with a few others. Left behind are Ares, me, and five other wolves who are walking around us with their eyes fixed on the surroundings.

“Shift!” he roars again and I obey. I watch as he shifts as well, and I meet his dark gaze; his body is shaking with anger.

“Why didn’t you tell me you spared Lilly?” I say angrily.

“You have no right to question me!” he roars back as he takes a few steps toward me. I stand still, even though my instincts are telling me to back off, but I don’t let go of his gaze. “You chose to put yourself in a dangerous situation, AGAIN!”

I bite my lip hard and I’m about to say something when Ares pulls me into his arms. Sparks spread across my bare skin and my nerves relax as I place my arms around his waist. He presses his face against my neck before inhaling several times. He then puts one arm under my knees before lifting me up in his arms. Ares carries me back to the castle without saying anything, except for the occasional growl at people we meet.

I can no longer fight the tiredness and I fall asleep in his arms.

***

I wake up a few hours later in our bed, my head resting on Ares’s chest. Carefully I raise my head to look at him; he has dark circles under his eyes.

“Good morning,” he says hoarsely without opening his eyes.

I put my head back against his bare chest, his heartbeat beating steadily under my ear.

“Why didn’t you tell me you spared Lilly?” I say after a moment of silence.

He doesn’t answer right away but takes a deep breath that ends as a sigh. “I knew her father and mother. I made a promise to them before they died. The promise was that I would give Lilly a roof over her head and a job at the castle. I didn’t have it in me to execute her,” he replies.

“But you could have told me,” I say hesitantly. “We’re mates, we’re not supposed to have any secrets from each other.”

My thoughts go to the fetus that is currently growing in my womb, and I am about to tell him about my discovery when Ares starts talking.

“I’ve done research on your family, Leah,” he says, and I tense up. What the hell does that mean?

“Your dad, he’s of royal blood and that’s why Camille is after you.”

I get up so that I’m sitting in bed. “You’ve done a background check on me?” I look at Ares, and I feel the irritation growing.

“It was for your own good,” he answers.

“My own good? You violated my privacy! And how long have you known about this?!”

“Two weeks,” he responds calmly.

“Two weeks!” I shout before I get up from the bed. I march over to the closet to get dressed.

“Where the hell are you going?” he says angrily as he follows me into the closet.

“Getting away from you!” I yell back.

“Forget it,” he growls as he stands in the doorway, his body filling the entire space.

“Move!”

“Forget it.” He crosses his arms, causing his muscles to bulge even more.

“I’m hungry, I haven’t eaten in days,” I say between clenched teeth, hoping that he will let me go to the dining room.

“I’ve already asked for food to be delivered to our room. I won’t let you out of my sight for a second!” He closes the distance between us before he lifts me in his arms.

“Let me down!” I hiss, but his grip only tightens as I try to break free. He places me on his lap as he sits down at the table in one of the corners of our bedroom.

A servant knocks lightly on the door before entering and places a tray of food in front of us. She blushes before quickly leaving us alone again.

“Eat,” Ares orders, and I reluctantly obey him. His grip loosens a little when he sees that I’m starting to get food in my stomach. “Then we can talk.”

I’m thinking that I won’t tell him about the pregnancy yet, not until I’ve had it confirmed by a doctor.