I Will Save You, My Princess

Escape

Rhiannon

Luca helped me to my feet. It f*****g hurt, but what else was new. At least the collar was gone, but my neck almost hurt more now that it was exposed to the open air.

"I still can't shift," I muttered to Luca, biting my lip against the pain.

I saw another flash of anger in his eyes before they melted to concern. I knew he wasn't mad at me but it still made me flinch.

"I'll carry you," he said, like it was easy, and maybe it was easy for him. He was insanely strong and I was much thinner now than I ever had been due to the scraps of food they fed me here.

"What if we need to fight?" I asked. If his hands are full carrying me and someone attacked. . .

"We won't," he growled. "Come here," he added more gently.

He carefully lifted me in his arms, bridal style, and Goddess, the relief being in his arms brought my abused body. Nothing took the pain away completely, but I felt a sense of calm in his arms, like maybe we'd get out of this alive.

He was naked, as was I, left that way after Bane was done with me. My bare skin pressed against Luca's and ignited sparks throughout my body. I know he could feel them too because he clutched me closer.

Touching him will help you heal, Keia said gently.

She'd been weird since Bane had--well--attacked me. I didn't even want to think the word 'rape,' didn't want to hear it even in my mind because that made it too real and I couldn't accept that it had actually happened, not yet.

Keia had disappeared from me completely during the attack. It was like I had no wolf at all, like she shut herself off from me. Now she was acting weird. I needed to talk to her, but there was no time.

Luca carried me out into the hall and down the stairs of the packhouse. No one was around, which was strange. As if he read my mind, Luca said, "There was an attack to the north. That's--That's where I was when--"

"It's okay," I cut him off, not wanting him to say it either.

I clutched myself closer to him. Somehow I'd come to trust this man, my mate, and it felt like a luxury. He would get me out of this. It would be okay as long as I had him.

~o0o~

Luca

Rhiannon said it was okay. She said it was f*****g okay that I wasn't able to protect her from my father. Of course it wasn't f*****g okay.

I clenched my jaw, holding her tighter against me.

I carried her as quickly as I could to the side door. It opened into the forest, the easiest escape.

Where are you, boy? My dad bellowed at me through the mindlink.

Shit.

I didn't know if he found out I had run from the fight or if he'd found Rhiannon's empty room, but either way, we were running out of time.

I reached the door and shifted Rhiannon's weight slightly so I could open the door.

My dad's voice thundered behind me, this time through my ears.

"Boy!"

Shit.

I sat Rhiannon on her feet in a swift motion and whirled to face my father. I kept Rhiannon behind me, as sheltered from him as possible.

Bane snarled, stalking closer. His wolf started to front, claws extending, his teeth becoming more canine with every breath. He didn't seem to be in any hurry, taking his time, taking measured steps toward us.

My father was about to try to kill me, and all I could pray was that I could injure him enough for my princess to escape.

"Out that door is the Bloodwater forest. Run straight south. They'll help you in Moonstone," I told Rhiannon softly, never taking my eyes off Bane. Rhiannon was hesitating, I could tell, and my father was getting closer and closer. "Go!" I roared at her. Alaric fronted, putting power in my voice. He'd wanted to take charge since we found Rhiannon on the floor, but I'd held him back for her sake. Now I let him out, my own teeth elongating and my claws ripping from my fingers.

I heard the door open and felt Rhiannon slip away behind me. The chill from the outdoor air, compounded with my fear for her, left me cold. I might not make it out of this hallway alive.

"Wanted the slut for yourself, did you?" Bane snarled, his voice distorted by his wolf.

Rising up to my full height, I let Alaric come into my own voice. "Do not speak of her."

To my surprise, my father flinched.

I took a step forward, growling, "She is mine."

My dad actually took a step back, but he rallied himself.

I felt his Alpha aura wash over me I panicked. He can use his aura to control every member of the pack.

A few seconds passed and we looked at each other suspiciously. It somehow wasn't working on me. I felt his aura, but it did not affect me.

Emboldened, I lunged.

He was too stunned at the failure of his aura to react in time, so my first strike clawed deep gashes across his face, slicing open his left eye and splitting the right side of his lip, raking across his nose. Blood splattered my hand.

He roared, stumbling back and then--to my complete shock--turned tail and ran, hand clutching his face.

For a second, I considered running after him, but Rhia, my princess, was outside alone. I had to get to her.

~o0o~

Rhiannon

I ran. I ran, and I hated every second of it. I shouldn't be leaving him to face Bane alone. He was my mate and I knew how to fight.

But I couldn't fight, not right now, not with my body like this.

Not in your condition, Keia added.

So, I ran.

Luca said to head due south through the woods, so I did. Like all wolves, I have an internal compass. It's very rare for me to not know where I'm headed.

There wasn't exactly a path due south, though.

I slowed down.

I'd been heedless of my tracks so far, but that meant that anyone--that Bane--could easily follow me. If Bane killed Luca--if the worst happened--then Bane could easily follow me and drag me back to captivity. I knew Luca would fight to the death to save me, I knew it in my bones, but what if that wasn't enough?

Luca is alive, Keia reassured me. He will win.

She didn't like the implication that Luca could be weaker than Bane, but I knew Bane's strength firsthand.

I was there too, Keia snapped.

Were you? I snapped back. Seems like when I needed you, you disappeared.

We don't have time for this!

In this case, she was right. So, I asked her, trying to remain measured. Slow and steady or fast and obvious?

Before she could answer, I heard rustling behind me, getting closer.

Hide! Keia barked.

~o0o~

Luca

I took off at a sprint as soon as I was out the door. Rhiannon's trail was easy to follow. I could tell by the underbrush that she was struggling to run.

Alaric keened.

The reminder of what she went through distressed us both.

Suddenly, though, her easy tracks vanished.

I paused, my nose in the air.

Where the hell had she gone?

The tracks just stopped. The ground looked undisturbed in every direction except the one we came from.

Alaric whimpered.

She's gotta be around here somewhere, I reassured him. She didn't get beamed up by aliens. She had to go somewhere.

"Rhia?" I called hesitantly. "You there?"

I heard a small "Here" from above me and looked up. There she was, up in the high branches of a pine tree--not the easiest tree to climb.

"How did you get up there?" I asked, crinkling my brow.

"Climbed," she said like it was easy. I took a second to admire her, my mate. Even in her state she managed to scale a tree and completely cover her tracks even from me.

"Can you get down?" I asked, stepping directly under her so I could catch her if she fell.

Without answering, she scampered down the tree using her arms to leverage her body against the tree as she came down.

I engulfed her in a hug as soon as she hit the ground.

She hugged me tightly, but she pulled back, searching my face. "Bane?"

I grimaced. "Still alive."

She nodded, and I could tell she was hiding her disappointment. All she said was, "We need to go."

I nodded. "We'll be faster if I shift and you ride Alaric."

She bit her lip and nodded.

I shifted, my wolf suddenly dwarfing her small battered body.

Rhiannon took a moment to rake her eyes appreciatively over Alaric. He knelt so she could climb on, her fingers twining in Alaric's fur. When I was sure she was secure, I took off.