Page 5

The roar of the waterfall fills my ears as Damian snatches up my thrashing son. I strip off my coat and shirt, the cool air raising goosebumps on my skin. I embrace the shift. Bones crack and reform, pain and power raging through me as fur replaces skin.

“Soren, what do you think—”

With a growl, I leap into the churning waters below hearing Damian screaming after me. In this form my body can take a battering and heal quickly.

The impact with the water is like a hard slap, stinging my skin and temporarily driving the air from my lungs. I battle the rapid currents, my powerful limbs slicing through the water. The icy water bites at my fur the force of the waterfall is relentless as my hands brush against sharp rocks beneath me.

My eyes, accustomed to the dark, catch sight of her—Bree’s limp form caught and pushed into the rocks at the bottom, the water beating down on her. There’s no time to hesitate; every second she remains submerged is a second too long. I reach her, my hands gripping her arm as I try to drag her out. With powerful kicks, I propel us toward the surface. Breaking through the water’s grip, we emerge into the night air, Bree limp in my arms as I drag her closer, clutching her to my chest.

With a final effort, I surge toward the nearby riverbank. My claws dig into the wet soil, pulling us out of the water. The moment we’re clear of the river’s grasp, I slump back, breathless. Bree’s body is lifeless in my arms, her skin deathly pale in the moonlight. I shake her gently, calling her name, but receive no response. Panic rises in my throat, choking me. “Bree!” I growl out again, more desperate this time. She can’t be gone. Not after everything.

Her chest is still. No gentle rise and fall that indicates life. I press my ear against her chest searching for a heartbeat? A gasp? A sign she is alive.

Nothing.

My hands move to her chest, as I try to remember how to do CPR. “Come on, Bree!” I murmur, pressing my hands onto her sternum in a rhythmic motion, trying to force her heart to beat. “Don’t do this!” I continue chest compressions, my heart pounding with each passing second. It’s been too long since she’s taken her last breath. Too long since that spark in her eyes dimmed out. But I can’t—won’t—give up on her.

I tilt back her head and pinch her nose closed, taking a deep breath before sealing my mouth over hers and breathing into it. Two breaths before I resume the chest compressions. My ears strain for any sounds of life over the deafening rush of the waterfall nearby. “Breathe,” I implore, my voice choking with dread. “Please, Bree.” I beg as my guard rushes down toward us.

The night air grows colder. My arms are tiring but I don’t dare stop. Not until I hear it, a faint cough, weak but undoubtedly there.

Suddenly, her body convulses beneath me. Water gushes from her mouth and nose as she sputters. Her eyes snap open dazed and confused.

She gasps for air, raggedly drawing in lungfuls as she continues to cough up water. Beneath my hand, there’s now the unmistakable thump-thump-thump of a heartbeat that wasn’t there before.

Adrenaline rushes through me as I roll her onto her side. She chokes, coughing out water in painful wheezes. Her body shudders with the effort, but she’s breathing.

“Bree!” My voice rumbles out in relief as I gently stroke back strands of hair from her face.

As she fights for breath, moonlight reveals the cruelty she has endured. Large gashes mar her flesh, which must be caused by the dead rogue Damian found. Cradling her close, I lift her into my arms.

“Stay with me, Bree,” I urge, my voice rough with the remnants of my Lycan growl. “You’re safe now.”

Her eyes flutter open, and she meets my gaze. There is no need for words; her gratitude, intermingled with pain, conveys more than language ever could. Silence wraps around us, punctuated only by her labored breathing and the distant sound of the waterfall.

“Max?” she chokes out.

“You didn’t hurt him,” I tell her when her eyes widen, her pupils dilate, and I see the moon’s reflection in them as her shift takes hold in my arms. Damian and my guard step forward, ready to subdue her, but one growl from me has them backing up.

“Get my son home and unlock the observatory!” I order just as her teeth tear into my arm. I growl as she rips at my flesh before forcing the shift back to my Lycan form. I’m not letting her go, I’m not leaving her out here unprotected.

Chapter 3

• King Soren •

Blood pounds in my ears, but my main focus is on Bree. I grasp her tighter to me—her breath hot against my neck, her body trembling from exertion and the aftermath of adrenaline and nearly dropping dead on me. The howls from wolves in the forest grow nearer as they pick up our auras and her scent which is intoxicating. I shouldn’t be using my calling on her, but I also can’t have her tearing me apart, either. Max, noticing me as I step out of the tree line, escapes and rushes toward me. His face streaked with tears.

“She saved me,” he gasps out between heavy breaths, his eyes wide. “Killed one rogue, then jumped when the others ran. She saved me, even from herself,” he says standing on his tippy toes trying to peek at her.

“Max, inside, she is naked!” I scold, as he tugs on my arm trying to see her.

“So I’ve seen everyone naked, they’re always naked around here, Dad. It should be a nudist kingdom, especially after seeing Grandpa's hairy balls!” he shudders. “He’s got a hairy butt, too!” I snicker, he has a point. Nudity is not something any of us worry about with shifting so frequently, still, I’m not sure how comfortable Bree is with nudity around others.

My grip on her tightens instinctively when I peer up seeing all my guards watching us, protectiveness flaring. I growl at my men and they instantly turn their gazes away when Damian arches a brow stomping toward me. I can feel my own snarl distorting my face as I confront him since he is always saying how much of a danger she is to Max, yet she jumped to her death to save him. “Still think she’s a threat to my son?” My voice is a venomous growl, daring him to contradict the truth that’s just been laid bare.

Damian’s gaze falters, his lips pressing into a thin line before he nods stiffly and hurries to snatch up Max, who is already retreating.

“Hey, put me down!”