Page 23 of Winter Unleashed
I threw my knife into one of the fucker’s back to get him off Isaac. Then I reached out for my wolf. She responded, and I let a jolt of power hit me to ignite my body in a coat of fire. When Isaac screamed, I let the power intensify, and a blanket of flames washed over my yard. The vampires let out horrifying sounds as the fire embraced them.
Any others that had been heading our way turned and fled back into the trees. I ran after them, tapping my wolf for a boost. Within the blink of an eye, I was in the woods aiming my power at the remaining vamps. It was like they were moving in slow-motion. I could see where they were going before they got there.
I took out one after another until I couldn’t detect any more. Then I collapsed on the ground. My legs could no longer support me, my heart pounded in my ears, and my vision wavered. A voice spoke to me, but it was too fuzzy for me to understand, and I groaned when strong arms slipped underneath me to lift me from the cold forest floor. The world faded to black when they held me against their hard, warm body.
When I woke up, I was on the dirty floor of a dark, damp cell. I groaned when I recognized it as the one Cybil had kept Stella and me in. The smell of mildew made it hard to breathe well, and I gagged when the mustiness invaded my lungs. My head hurt, my stomach ached, and my limbs felt like they weight a thousand pounds each. When I tried standing, I fell back to the ground with a thud.
“Ah, I see you’re awake,” a man’s voice said from the shadows outside the cell.
I strained to see who it was but could only make out the outline of a tall, broad body. “Who are you?” I asked. My voice echoed in the small space making my head throb.
He stepped forward into a ray of moonlight coming through the only window in the room. I gasped when I saw him, and my shock seemed to delight him. “You finally recognize me.”
“Liam? Why are you here? Why am I here? What’s going on?” I rattled off the questions so quickly a wave of dizziness hit me.
“I’m here to remind you of your place in this world. You’re nothing but a cursed abomination who should beg for the likes of me to look at you. You could never be my mate.” The venom in his voice made it clear that I disgusted him.
“We’re not mates. Celeste broke the bond… I think. I don’t understand what’s going on.”
He laughed. “Of course you don’t, you’re an imbecile.”
His words struck me like a knife to my heart. I didn’t understand why his opinion of me, or lack thereof, would have such a profound effect on me, but it did. Tears burned my eyes, and I quickly shoved them away. I wouldn’t let him have the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
“She’s awake?” The woman with long brown hair stepped up beside Liam. She looked up at him as though he were the king of her world.
“Yes, my love,” Liam said, bending forward to kiss her. “She mentioned you.”
“Oh?” Celeste turned her head to look at me. Her expression was more hateful than Liam’s had been. The difference? I didn’t give a fuck what she thought of me. “And what did the mutt have to say about me?”
“She thinks you broke the bond between us.” Liam glowered at me as though I were a pile of shit.
She let out a high-pitched laugh that had me cringing when it made my headache worse. “As if someone as wonderful as you would have a mate as pathetic as her.”
“I told her the same,” Liam said before kissing her again. “Come. Let’s go to bed and leave her to rot like the garbage she is.”
A boom sounded as they closed the dungeon door. A few moments went by with me too sore and weak to move. All I could do was lie on the ground while wondering what was going to happen to me. Then I heard a strange noise. It was like a rasping, scratching sound. I sat up when it grew louder as it moved closer to me. When I saw what it was, I screamed.
Hundreds or thousands of rats flowed into the cell through an open panel in the wall. Their beady red eyes glowed in the dim light and their teeth were overly large. The covered me, biting into me. The pain was unbearable as they fed from my body leaving large bloody divots in my flesh. There wasn’t an inch of my body they hadn’t bitten and soon I lost consciousness from the blood loss.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in my own bed, in my own house. A relieved sigh escaped my lungs when I smelled the familiar scents of home, not mildew and rat shit. I ran my hands over my body. I was whole and unharmed. Nothing hurt as I moved all my fingers and toes then my arms and legs. It had been another nightmare.
The room was dark, but I could make out a figure on the chair in the corner. “Liam?” I asked. My voice was hoarse, but his eyes opened at the sound of it. “Why are you here?”
With the dream still fresh in my mind, panic filled me when his eyes met mine.
“I needed to be sure you’re okay.” He rose to his feet. “How do you feel? Do you need anything?”
“I’m okay, thank you. Please don’t come closer.” I shook my head and held my hands out as a barrier.
“Did you have a bad dream?” He frowned when I nodded. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“Not really,” I said. I lifted the covers and saw I was wearing a man’s pajama top. I usually slept in tank tops or naked. “Uh…”
“It’s one of mine. It was in your drawer. Stella dressed you,” he added quickly when my eyes narrowed.
“Hmm.” I kept my eyes on him as I slid out of bed, keeping myself covered as I did.
“If you’d like to change, I can leave,” he offered, motioning to the door.