Finally Jarek is gone.
WARD I spare one last look at Sheila that is now laying lifeless on the floor of her cell and I run up the stairs. I burst through the door to the basement and run right up to the bedroom that I share with Keena. "Keena," I yell out loudly. There is no response. "Keena," I call out again in desperation. "Where are you?" The sirens around the royal mansion are blaring loudly and my mate isn't where she promised she would be. 'Princess. Where are you?' I call out through the mind link. 'Ward, I took my lycan for a run. I caught a scent. I think that Jarek is-" She is panting heavily through the mind link before it cuts out. 'Keena,' I scream through the link. Panic rises in my chest as I pace the bedroom. 'Princess, please answer me.' Running my fingers through my hair before I raise down the hallway. The King's office door is open but he is also nowhere to be seen. The fighting outside of the mansion is getting louder and I know that I need to get out there an
KEENA My lycan stands on the edge of the front lawn of the royal mansion and it has turned into a full blown battlefield. There isn't an inch of snow that is untouched by blood. I scan the battlefield for my mate. 'Where is Ward,' I mumble to my lycan. Opening the block that I put up in case I got hurt I can feel Ward's pain and suffering through the mate bond. I can feel Ward taking attack after attack. That is when I see it. I see a cluster of rogues on the front porch of the mansion. All of them are snarling and growling at a single lycan. The lycan lifts his head and scans the battle as he takes hit after hit from the rogues. Even from this distance I can see his hazel eyes sparkling in the moonlight. It is Ward. 'Keena, I love you,' his voice is loud in my mind but I can hear the pain in his voice. He is injured. Taking a deep breath I look at the group of rogues that have surrounded my mate. 'I am coming for you,' I tell him before his mind link snaps shut.
KEENA Holding Ward's head in my lap I beg for him to get better. Why didn't my lycan healing work? Perhaps all of my powers are gone now. I can hear the sirens of an ambulance blaring in the distance and I know that they are coming for my mate. Gently I run my fingers through his dark beard and over his soft lips. His eyes flutter open and he tries to smile at me. He mouths the words, "I love you," before his eyes roll back in his head once again. "Save your energy," I beg of him. "You can't leave me." A soft hand rests on my shoulder and I look up to see my mother standing with a shirt in her hand. I look down at my body and realize that I am mostly naked. The remnants of my clothes are nothing but rags hanging off my body. I know that I should be embarrassed but right now I just don't care. All I want is for my mate to be better. Pulling the oversized shirt over my head, I look up at my mother with tears streaming down my cheeks. "Is there anything that you
KEENA Kayla releases me from her hold and uses her fingers to wipe the tears that are streaming down my face. Placing a kiss on my forehead she pulls me in for another hug. "Go to your mate," she whispers next to my ear. "Thank you for being here for me," I tell her. "When all this is over with I want to see your lycan," Kayla says as she holds me at arm's length. I nod my head and get to my feet. Following the doctor back through the double doors, I give Kayla one last look before they close slowly behind me. The doctor moves quickly through the hallways. He takes several turns and I try to memorize the way. But my mind is too preoccupied and it feels as if I am walking through a maze. Finally the doctor stops outside of a room. I try to look inside the door but the curtains around the bed are pulled. Lifting my nose to the air I search for the scent of my mate. I can barely smell the scent of peppermint but it appears to be mixed with other scents. "What yo
KEENA "I am afraid that it isn't just your witch abilities that you have lost," the doctor says with a frown on his face. "I am afraid that you may have lost your lycan abilities as well." Panic fills my chest and it begins to feel like I am unable to breathe. "That can't be possible," I tell the doctor. "I was able to shift after I sent out the pulse." "Did you try to heal your mate when you shifted?" The doctor asks me curiously. I ignore the doctor's question. I know that he already knows the answer. "Are you telling me that my lycan is going to be trapped in the recesses of my mind again?" "It is hard to say," the doctor taps his pen annoyingly on the chart on his nap. "So, once again I am nothing more than a human," tears are streaming down my face. I run my fingers up and down Ward's skin hoping to feel the tingles of the mate bond. The sparks of electricity still erupt under my fingertips and I let out a sigh of relief. "Princess, I am sorry to be the o
KEENA The bed beside me feels cold. I reach out my arms for Ward but there is no one there. My eyes fly open and I look to Ward's side of the bed. It is empty. I had hoped that the night before had been only a bad dream. My whole body is sore, it feels as if I have been in a terrible car accident. Gingerly I get out of the bed and stumble across my bedroom to the joining bathroom. Walking into the bathroom I catch my reflection in the mirror. I am a hot mess. My hair is knots with sticks and grass sticking out in odd directions. I peel off the old t-shirt that I was given last night and slowly begin to unwrap the bandages from around my torso. My skin is covered in bruises that are in differing stages of healing and the wound that is on my stomach is finally beginning to heal itself. Reaching back into the depths of my mind I look for my lycan. I let out a sigh of relief when I find her sleeping in the recesses of my mind. I turn on the shower and step into the water
WARD Darkness surrounds me and my head feels hazy. I try to open my eyes but my eyelids feel heavy. There seems to be a disconnect between my body and mind. Inhaling deeply, I catch the scent of roses and I know that my mate is near. It is calming to know that she is close by. I try to snuggle closer to the scent but it is fading from the air the longer time passes. Dread fills my chest as memories of the past twenty-four hours fill my mind. It is as if I am reliving the pain of the rogues attacking me all over again. I haven't seen my mate since the training session in the basement of the royal mansion. The last thing I remember was a blinding white light. My eyes fly open and the room. I am in a darkened room surrounded by machines. The constant sound of beeping fills my head and it only serves to agitate the anxiety that is growing within me. Holding my arms in front of me, I see many wires and tubes running in different directions from all over my torso. One by
KEENAAs I walk into the hospital it is utter chaos. Nurses and doctors are running here and there yelling medical terms that I have never heard before. My gut tells me that all of this is because of Ward. Looking up at my father, I cannot stop the tears that are running down my face. My father nods to me before stopping one of the nurses as she rushes past us with IV bags of blood in her arms. The nurse pauses for just a moment and then she looks at me with wide eyes. Without sparing my father a second look the nurse reaches out for my hand. "Princess, you should come with me." I let the nurse drag me away from my father. Looking back over my shoulder my father mouths the words "I love you." He quickly turns around and leaves the hospital and I can only hope that he is going to get my mother. I follow the nurse through the winding maze of the hospital corridors. Just like yesterday we stop in front of the same door. Only this time the curtain is wide open and there a