King Baswein's funeral was to be held that morning, and Count Dickman was most likely to attend it. Or maybe he had already returned from the Royal Palace. Mina did not know how much time had passed since the Count whipped her with his belt until she passed out. For all she knew, it could be late afternoon. Unfortunately, she could not tell, as a thick brown curtain blocked the window.
She had to escape and return home. To Jayden. What if she wasn't home the day he came back from Isyleon Island, and he thought she had left him? That she betrayed him?
She looked at the legcuff and the chain that kept her prisoner. She should have learned how to pick locks when Shin offered to teach her, but she refused, saying that's one skill she would likely never use. The moment she was far away from Count Dickman, she would learn any skill she could, no matter if it would be useful to her or not. But even if she did not know how to pick locks, she wanted to search the room, hoping to find something useful. Even a small rusty nail would be of help.
She inhaled as deeply as she could, for each breath she took was agony. It felt as if she was breathing fire, and she wondered if she had a few broken ribs. Before trying to get out of bed, she listened attentively, making sure no one was close. The house was quiet. Utterly quiet. There were no low voices coming from the hallway or no creaks on the floor. She hoped Count Dickman had fallen down the stairs and was dying a slow and agonizing death.
Without thinking about what she was about to do, she suddenly moved to the edge of the bed. Her entire body screamed in agony, and she bit down on the pillow to stop herself from screaming. The idea of moving again made her sob. But what choice did she have?
She thought of Jayden as she forced herself to stand on the bed, but it felt as if someone was hitting her back and ass with a hot iron rod. Her eyes filled with tears, and before she changed her mind, she stood and took a few steps.
A framed painting hung next to the window. If she could get to it and remove the nail from the wall, she could use it to unlock the cuff. Her thighs were so sore that tears ran down her face as she slowly walked. She tried to ignore the pain. To block it.
'Jayden needs me! Ivy needs me! The children need me!' Mina kept repeating herself like a mantra as she took small steps. Sweat ran down her back; her undergarment was so drenched it stuck to her body. When she felt something warm running down her thighs, she wondered if she was sweating or bleeding.
The room was small, and the chain was long enough to permit her to reach the window. A cry of relief escaped her lips when she made it to the window. A simple round table and a chair were in front of it, and Mina braced herself against the table as she stared at the painting.
It was not hung very high, but Mina had never been tall. She stopped growing when she turned fifteen and was barely 5'2 tall, 5'3 if she wanted to feel good about herself. Jayden was tall, around 6'4, if she was not mistaken.
She grabbed and dragged the chair closer to her and pulled the courage to get on the chair regardless of her discomfort.
She had just removed the painting when the house's windows trembled as a strong sound shook them.
Not just a sound but a roar full of anger.
Mina gasped.
Panicked voices reached Mina's ears while a thunderous roar shook all of Athea.
She knew it in her heart, in her soul, it was Jayden. He was coming. Tears fell out of her eyes.
Jayden was coming.
She was struggling to remove the nail when the door opened suddenly, and Count Dickman and the two men from earlier entered the room. Count Dickman looked at her with eyes full of madness. "Grab her!" he ordered his men while he produced a key from his pocket and waited for the men to do as he asked.
When the men rushed to her, she panicked, hugged the painting, lost her balance, and fell face-first to the floor. A crack came from her nose and another from her ribs. Blood ran from her nose, dripping on the floor, and she could do nothing but stare at it while she felt like dying.
But if she died and Jayden never found her body, would he think she was just like Rosalyn and left him for another man?
She had to live. For Jayden. For the life they would have together. And for the children. And all the children they would have together.
The men forced her to stand, and she cried out in pain.
"Shut up, you stupid whore! That bastard would not be out there searching for you if you had done what you were told! But don't worry, he will never find you! I will make sure of that!" Count Dickman snarled. He pointed at one of the men. "You! Remove the cuff from her leg!"
The man took the key from Count Dickman, got on his hunches, and opened the legcuff.
"Let's go!" Count Dickman said before rushing to the door.
The men were dragging Mina when a black vapor entered the room. Mina let out a cry of relief as she saw her mate. The fog paused for a moment, looking at Mina, before slamming into Count Dickman's chest, sending him crashing into the wall next to the bed before going after the other men. They let go of Mina, and she collapsed on her knees. The men rushed to the door but stopped in their tracks when Herron, Andres, and Caesar entered the room and blocked their path. Jayden's men appeared to have been in a fight, for Caesar's left eye was so swollen he could not open it, while Andres and Herron's noses were broken so badly both their eyes were starting to swell up.
Screams and growls echoed inside the house while all color drained from Count Dickman's face, leaving him pale as a ghost while he tried to get up from the floor.
A moment later, the vapor turned into Jayden. His eyes were utterly black. There was no light, no joy, no emotion in his eyes. They were so black Mina felt she was being sucked in by the great Void.
"Andarra! Dear gods!" Caesar cried out and tried to rush to Mina's aid, but when a sound that appeared to be from another world, another Universe, came from Jayden, Caesar changed his mind.
Count Dickman's men were so terrified of Jayden that they froze in place.
"What are you?" Count Dickman squealed.
Jayden stood stoic in the middle of the room, his dark gaze fixed on Count Dickman. He appeared to be a creature born of Chaos to bring only suffering and endless pain. To kill and destroy. He seemed to be a messenger of Death. He was Death.
In a low voice, empty of emotion, Jayden said as he stared at Count Dickman, "I am the Son of Night and Chaos. My voice is thunder, and my body is shadow. I am the Great Wolf who brings Death and Destruction wherever I go! Say your last prayer!"
"Don't hurt me!" Count Dickman begged.
Jayden studied his nails for a moment. "Hurt you? I am not going to hurt you! I will make you curse the day you were born!" Shadows came out of his body and turned into three big wolves. Count Dickman's eyes bulged out, and for a moment, it looked like they would fall out from their sockets. A malicious grin appeared on Jayden's face. "These are my loyal wolves," Jayden said, and the shadow wolves rubbed against Jayden's legs. He stroked their heads. It amazed Mina that he could do so. "The last time they fed was during the war, and they are hungry," he flatly said while his shadow wolves jumped on Count Dickman and his men, biting and tearing at his flesh. "Don't kill the Count! You can eat the two sacks of bones!" Jayden ordered his shadow wolves before he crouched in front of Mina blocking her view from what the shadow wolves were doing to the men.
While she could not see Jayden's wolves, she could hear the men's screams and pleas for forgiveness until she heard them no more. Then came the cracks of bones, and when it stopped the shadow wolves attacked Count Dickman—who had been staring at the nightmarish creature with his mouth hung open.
When the Count started screaming, Jayden, without taking his eyes off his mate, said, "Scream one more time, and my wolves will tear out your tongue!"
Jayden's gaze traveled from her face to the blood on the floor to the rest of her body before returning to her face.
Her bottom lip trembled.
Pain flickered in his eyes as they turned from completely black to golden. "Little mate," he rasped. He stretched out his hand, wanting to touch Mina, but she flinched. Not because she was afraid of him, she knew Jayden would never harm her, but because she was in so much pain. "I will not hurt you," he said as tears pooled in his eyes. "My wolves would never do anything to you! Please, don't fear me!"
Mina regretted not letting Jayden touch her. "I am not afraid of you. It just.... hurts," she admitted.
"Little mate," he breathed. "It will be over soon," Jayden promised.
Seeing that Jayden was calmer, Caesar rushed to help Mina. "We need to take her to a Fire Mage!" he said and was about to crouch next to Mina when Jayden's eyes turned black once more. Caesar backed away.
Jayden stood and faced his men and growled like a rabid animal. "Get. Away. From. My. Mate!"
"Commander! She needs help!" Andres protested.
Jayden seemed to think while his shadow wolves tore out the Count's fingers. "Enough! Return to me!" he ordered, and his shadow wolves obeyed him. "Call a Fire Mage! And bring the Count to the Ruxman Manor's basement! I am not done with him!" he barked at his men before turning his attention back to Mina. He got on his knees and inched as close to Mina as he could.
Herron and Andres dragged the Count away—who was whimpering in pain—while Caesar rushed to the nearest Fire Church.
Despite all the pain Mina was in, a smile cracked on her face. She cupped Jayden's cheek, and his eyes turned golden. "As soon as Aksel finds Ivy, Violet, and Landon, we will go to stay with an ocxoa tribe up in the mountains. We will only return to Athea on our mating day," he told her before planting a kiss on her palm.
Mina knew the Slave Hunters had also taken Ivy, but hearing that Violet and Landon were missing made her heart ache with pain. "How is Shin doing? He loves Violet very much."
Jayden stood and picked up Mina in his arms. She whimpered in pain, and he inhaled sharply. "Shin is with Aksel on a ship, searching for their lost mates," Jayden replied as he gently set Mina on the bed.
"A ship?"
"From what Einar and Arald found out, a young sea captain bought Ivy and the little ones before he set sail last night."
Mina remembered the sea captain from the tavern and wondered if it was the same one who bought Ivy, Violet, and Landon. "And Kara?"
"Kara, Belle, and Xander were able to get away without any injuries."
Jayden took out the magic ore knife he found in the abandoned mine back when he was trying to gain the trust of his men and started cutting and removing her clothes.
"Jayden! What are you doing?"
"I need to see the extent of your injuries," Jayden explained as he cut open the back of her dress. He paused as he stared at her body.
"Jayden? How bad is it?"