4

Arrows, honey and forbidden bond

Anne

The arrow was coming straight at my chest.

I didn’t have time to scream, duck, or regret that my last meal had been a cold tartlet stolen from a diplomatic tray.

Nathan threw himself on top of me.

The impact sounded like a sharp thud against flesh.

His body tensed.

I was crushed between the seat and nearly two meters of Alpha, which would have been quite an interesting situation in any scenario that didn’t involve lethal projectiles.

“Nathan?”

He didn’t answer, and another arrow struck the car door.

“Nathan!”

He moved away just enough to look at me. His face was still serious, but a muscle twitched near his jaw.

“Are you hurt?”

“No. Are you?”

“No, not me either.”

The black tip protruding from his shoulder seemed to have a different opinion.

“You’ve got an arrow stuck in you.”

Nathan looked back as if he’d just discovered an unflattering accessory.

“It’s superficial.”

“Sure. And my ex was practicing CPR on my cousin,” I said without a trace of irony.

A whistling sound cut through the air.

Nathan shoved me to the floor of the vehicle just as a third arrow shattered the side window. The glass rained down on us.

The car veered off the road and crashed into a tree.

The seatbelt cut off my breath. The engine coughed twice and died with the dignity of a tired animal.

Nathan pulled the arrow out of the door and examined the tip.

“Dark silver,” he whispered.

“Is that bad?”

“Very.”

“Excellent. For a moment there, I was afraid tonight might actually get better.”

Voices echoed through the trees.

Nathan tried to sit up, but he barely managed to open the door before staggering, so I held him by the waist.

“What part of ‘a lot’ means you’re about to collapse?”

“The part where we need to keep moving.”

A shadow stretched out from his feet. The air grew colder, and for a moment I thought it was going to do one of those terrifying things that lived up to its reputation.

The darkness barely reached the roadside before fading away.

Nathan clenched his teeth.

“The poison is blocking my power.”

Let me take control, Nina said hurriedly.

I’m not going to leave this man like this.

“Then we’ll walk like normal people,” she said hurriedly. “A tragedy, I know.”

I took his good arm and slung it over my shoulders.

He was heavy.

Heavy in the sense that I was trying to carry a fortress in boots while wearing a torn dress and shoes designed by someone who hated women.

We headed deeper into the forest.

The branches scratched my face, Nathan’s cloak got tangled in the bushes, and he stumbled every few steps.

“You could help a little,” I said in a gasping breath.

“I am helping.”

“Does breathing count?”

“In my condition, yes.”

Behind us, the attackers reached the car.

“They went into the woods!” a man shouted.

Nathan looked up.

“Five. Maybe six.”

“Can you smell them?”

“I can hear them.”

“I can hear them, too.”

“Then there are six.”

I didn’t have the energy to ask him how he’d come to that conclusion.

I spotted a dip among the roots and led him there. A narrow stream flowed below. The sound of the water could drown out our voices.

Nathan took two steps and collapsed.

“No, no, no.”

I knelt down beside him.

The arrow was still lodged beneath his shoulder blade. The fabric around it was soaked in blood, but the worst part was the dark veins spreading across his neck.

“I need to pull that out.”

Nathan opened his eyes.

“No.”

“Would you rather keep it as a souvenir?” I asked dryly.

“The tip has barbs. If you pull, it’ll tear the muscle.”

“Then I’ll push.”

His expression could have stopped armies.

I’d already survived my stepmother, a public betrayal, and a five-tiered cake. I wasn’t impressed.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t have another Alpha to spare.”

I checked the cloak and found inner pockets. A knife, two coins, a small bottle of liquor, and a perfectly folded handkerchief.

“You carry alcohol?” I asked, confused.

“It’s medicinal brandy.”

“And if no one’s hurt?”

“It becomes diplomatic brandy,” he muttered.

“Finally, a policy I understand.”

I poured some of the liquor onto the knife blade.

Nathan followed my movements.

“Do you know what it does?” he asked with genuine curiosity.

“I’ve deboned turkeys bigger than you.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“It is to me,” I said without hesitation.

I tore away the cloth covering the wound. The poison smelled of metal, ash, and something sweet.

That scent was familiar to me.

I didn’t know where from.

“I need honey,” I murmured.

“Of course!”

“Don’t make fun of me. Honey draws out impurities and stabilizes certain compounds,” I explained firmly.

“Do you have any honey on you?”

I opened the bag I’d grabbed from the kitchen before leaving. I’d packed two small jars with samples from the banquet, some napkins, cinnamon, and a packet of herbs.

Nathan looked at me.

“Do you always travel with a pantry?”

“You never know when you’ll have to heal a nasty Alpha in the woods,” I retorted sarcastically.

I mixed the honey with alcohol and yarrow leaves. The scent changed instantly. A gentle warmth ran through my fingers, so I stopped.

Then the herbs seemed to glow a little.

Not much.

Just enough to make me think the arrow had wounded me too and I was hallucinating.

“Anne,” Nathan said.

“I’m busy,” I replied without hesitation.

“Your hands.”

“What’s wrong with them?”

“They’re glowing.”

I looked again.

The light was gone.

“It’s just the moon’s reflection.”

“We’re under a tree.”

“The moon is persistent.”

The voices grew closer.

“Blackstone!” someone shouted. “Hand over the woman, and you can return to your territory.”

Nathan tried to get up, but I pushed him back down.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“I can’t let them find you.”

“You can’t even walk in a straight line.”

“I can kill them,” Nathan said without hesitation.

“If you’re lucky, you can count to six.”

“There were five of them.”

“A minute ago there were six.”

“One stayed by the car.”

I looked at him.

“Are you arguing about math while you’re poisoning yourself?”

“It helps me focus.”

I clamped the handkerchief between his teeth.

“Bite down on this.”

“I’d rather bite down on something else.”

I froze.

So did Nathan.

Despite his fever, his gray eyes swept across my face and lingered on my mouth.

The heat that rose to my neck was completely irresponsible.

“Are you flirting with me?” I asked in disbelief.

Of course, he is, Nina said without hesitation.

“I’m dying. My standards have dropped.”

“How romantic!”

“I didn’t say they dropped that much.”

Before I could decide whether to hit him or kiss him, I made an incision around the tip. Nathan groaned through the handkerchief.

“Don’t bite so hard,” I said. “It’s good fabric.”

He gave me a murderous look.

I pushed the arrow in until the tip pierced through the other side, then pulled it out with a quick motion. Blood gushed out, so I pressed the mixture of honey and herbs onto the wound.

Nathan arched his back.

His body changed.

It wasn’t a complete transformation. His nails grew longer, his eyes turned almost black, and a deep growl vibrated in his chest.

I instinctively stepped back.

Shit, Nina said.

The wolf was too close to the surface.

Nathan turned toward me.

For a moment, I didn’t see the man who had lent me his cloak. I saw teeth, fury, and a wounded predator.

“Nathan,” I whispered.

His hand grabbed my wrist, and his claws grazed my skin.

I should have screamed.

Instead, I felt that strange tug beneath my ribs.

A warm current flowed from my arm to him.

The growl subsided.

Nathan closed his eyes and rested his forehead against my hand.

His breathing slowed.

“That’s new,” I whispered.

He didn’t let go of me.

“Your scent calms my wolf.”

Interesting, Nina whispered.

“I smell vanilla ice cream, smoke, and questionable decisions.”

“You smell like home.”

The words hit me in a place that was still raw.

No one had ever associated me with a home without first demanding that I cook, clean, or make myself smaller.

Nathan said it as if my presence alone were enough.

I touched his cheek and realized he had a fever.

“You’re delirious.”

“Probably.”

“That explains why you find me attractive.”

His lips curved ever so slightly.

“I found you attractive before the poison.”

“You saw me in that torn dress,” I said teasingly.

“That was a memorable moment.”

“And then I smashed a cake into a man’s face.”

“That was even better.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

The laughter died away when his eyes darkened again.

Nathan squeezed my wrist.

“Anne, there’s something you need to know.”

“More important than the assassins chasing us?” I asked mockingly.

“You’re my mate.”

Impossible, I don’t recognize his beast, Nina said in bewilderment, and astonishment washed over me.

I stared intently at Nathan.

I waited for the forest to do something dramatic. For lightning to strike. For the moon to descend in person to hand me an instruction manual.

All I heard was the water in the stream and the voices of those who wanted to kill us.

“What?”

“You’re my destined mate.”

“We’ve known each other for an hour, and my beast doesn’t recognize you.”

“The wolf doesn’t wear a watch, and he recognizes you just fine.”

“Well, he should buy one.”

Nathan breathed heavily.

“I felt it when you bumped into me.”

I remembered the heat, the tug, the sensation of recognizing something impossible.

“That could be indigestion,” I said mockingly.

“It isn’t.”

“So what am I supposed to do? Move into your kitchen? Howl? Sign a form?”

The smile faded from his face.

“Nothing. The Neutral Blood Clause forbids me from claiming you.”

The chill of the forest seemed to intensify.

“Garret said I’m a registered heiress.”

“If you possess Willow Creek strategic magic, any bond with me would nullify the treaty.”

“But I don’t have any magic,” I said confidently.

Nathan looked at the mixture that was still glowing faintly over his wound.

“That remains to be seen.”

A branch snapped behind us.

I turned, and five figures appeared among the trees with drawn bows and covered faces.

The man in the center lowered his weapon just enough to look at me.

“The heiress of the Lunar Alchemist,” he said. “At last.”

Nathan tried to stand, but could barely manage to kneel before me.

“Don’t touch her.”

The attacker smiled.

“Your father managed to keep you two apart. So did Garret. But you had to cross the border with her.”

Nathan growled.

The man pointed the arrow at me.

“The union between the Blackstone and Helena’s daughter will destroy the Clause, shatter the Registry, and doom Willow Creek and Ravenshade.”

I clenched the bloodstained knife between my fingers.

Less than an hour ago, my biggest worry was an unfaithful boyfriend.

Now I was a magical heiress, the enemy Alpha claimed I was his mate, and five armed men believed our romance could spark a war.

I definitely needed more comfortable shoes.