Chapter 88
Lirael
Silence. Then footsteps. Lucas reappeared, annoyed. "What?"
"The drug, this whole setup." I forced a laugh even as the heat made my head swim. "It's very theatrical. Very dramatic. But it won't work. You want to know why?"
"Enlighten me."
"Because Sebastian's better than you." I met his eyes, saw the flash of anger. "In every way that matters. Stronger, smarter, more dangerous, more in control. Hell, even his bed technique is probably better—and I should know, considering how thoroughly he's ruined me for anyone else."
It was a lie, but I saw it land. Saw his composure crack, ego bruising.
"You little bitch—" He stormed toward me, and I waited, counting seconds. When he was close enough, leaning over me with rage distorting his features, I snapped my head forward, slamming my forehead into his nose with every ounce of strength I had.
Pain shot through my skull, made my vision white out, but it was worth it. Lucas reeled back with a howl, blood streaming from his nose. In that moment of chaos, I twisted, reaching for the knife on his belt. My fingers closed around it, yanked it free, immediately sawing at the rope on my right wrist.
"You bitch!" Lucas lunged, but I was already moving. The rope parted. I swung the knife wide, catching his thigh deep.
"That's for drugging me, you sick fuck," I snarled, working on my other wrist, the blade slippery with his blood. "And this is for thinking you could use me against Sebastian."
Lucas clutched his leg, face contorted. "You're dead. You're fucking dead—guards!"
But I was free now, the last rope falling away. I didn't waste time on conversation. I grabbed the towel, wrapped it around my fist, and punched through the window. Glass shattered, and I pulled myself through, ignoring the cuts opening on my arms and legs, ignoring how the drug made everything feel too intense.
I hit the ground running, barely registering the cold against overheated skin. Behind me, Lucas was shouting, footsteps mobilizing, but I had a head start and I intended to use it.
The estate was sprawling, labyrinthine. I ducked into shadows, using every trick from three years of captivity to avoid flashlight beams. The drug was working harder now, making everything feel wrong, but I pushed through.
I rounded a corner, nearly hitting two guards. "The boss is hurt!" I screamed, pointing back, letting panic color my voice. "He's bleeding! Move!"
They ran past without thinking. I kept going, found a climbable wall, hauled myself up despite my burning muscles, landed in snow on the other side.
Cold. It registered distantly, but it wasn't enough to stop what was happening.
Because the drug was getting worse.
My skin felt like it was on fire, every nerve ending screaming for touch, for contact, for relief. And worse—so much worse—every time I closed my eyes, I saw Sebastian's face. Heard his voice: I'm in love with you. Felt the phantom touch of his hands, his mouth.
No. This is the drug. This isn't real. These feelings aren't real.
But it felt real. The ache in my chest, the desperate need to be near him, to feel his hands on me, his body against mine. I wanted him with an intensity that terrified me, wanted to surrender to every dark promise.
"Fuck," I gasped, stumbling against a tree. The bark was too rough, too much, every sensation magnified to the point of pain.
Keep moving. Just keep moving. Find Sebastian. He'll fix this.
But my legs were giving out, vision tunneling, black spots dancing at the edges. I managed a few more steps before I collapsed into the snow beside an old highway, my body finally giving up.
The last coherent thought I had before darkness claimed me was a prayer—not to any god, but to the man I'd left bleeding on a bridge, the man I'd chosen to fight beside.
Please find me. Please, Sebastian, find me before I lose myself completely. Before this drug makes me do something I can't take back.
---
Sebastian
The tracking hound picked up her scent three miles from the bridge. But my wolf found her first.
I'd shifted the moment Marcus confirmed Lucas's location. My wolf form was massive, fur black as midnight, eyes burning gold. And I ran faster than I'd ever run, driven by need that went beyond rational thought.
Her blood hit me first, sharp and wrong, mixed with something chemical. Then I saw her—crumpled in the snow beside the highway, so still that for one heart-stopping moment I thought I was too late.
I shifted back to human, not caring about nakedness in the cold. I dropped to my knees beside her, hands hovering, afraid of what I'd find.
She was unconscious, skin flushed with fever, breathing rapid and shallow. The cuts on her arms and legs were already healing. But that wasn't what terrified me.
It was how she was curled in on herself, how her fingers had torn at her own skin, leaving bloody tracks down her neck and chest. How she whimpered even unconscious, body shaking with need.
"What did they give you?" I breathed, carefully gathering her into my arms. She was burning up, temperature dangerously high.
Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused and glazed. "Sebastian?" Then her hands fisted in my hair, pulling me down with surprising strength. "Need—God, I need—help me, please—"
"Shh." I caught her wrists gently but firmly, keeping her from hurting herself or me. "I've got you. You're safe now."
"No." She was crying, tears streaming down flushed cheeks. "Not safe. Never safe. The drug—Lucas, he gave me something—" She broke off with a sob that was part anguish, part arousal. "Please. Please, Sebastian, make it stop. I can't—I need—"
Behind me, vehicles approached. Marcus appeared, taking in the scene with wide eyes. "Sir, we need medical—"
"I know." I stood, cradling Lirael against my chest. She immediately pressed closer, seeking contact, face buried against my neck, and I felt her tongue against my skin, tasting. "Get Lucas. I want him alive—barely."
"Already done, sir. He's in custody, injured. What should we—"
"I don't care what you do with him." My voice was flat, emotionless, because if I let myself feel what I wanted to do, I'd lose control entirely. "Just make sure he lives long enough to regret every second of what he did tonight."
I carried Lirael to the vehicle, hyper-aware of every place we touched, every sound she made. The drug had turned her into pure need, and the way she looked at me, the way her hands tried to pull me closer despite my grip, was both heartbreaking and dangerous.
Because I wanted to give her what she was asking for. Wanted it with an intensity that shocked me. But I knew if I did, if I took advantage, I'd lose her forever.
And I'd rather die.
"Hold on," I murmured as the vehicle started moving toward the northern residence. "Just hold on. I'll fix this. I swear."
She whimpered, body arching against mine. "Hurts. Sebastian, it hurts so much."
"I know, baby. I know." The endearment slipped out, and I felt her shudder. "But you're strong. Stronger than any drug, stronger than anything. You just have to hold on a little longer."
Lucas would pay. The Genesis Foundation would pay. Anyone who had ever hurt her would pay in blood and screams and suffering.