Chapter 9: Antsy

He couldn't help remembering the way Elize saw him when he stood there to stop her. His voice was broken, and he was shaking hard when he peered into her eyes. They were a pale red. She needed blood like now, but the stubborn girl wouldn't feed from him. "Where are we going?" asked Caleb as soon as he mounted the centaur.

Arawn didn't bother to respond as the centaur broke into a gallop, charging through the snow without hesitation. He was one of the fine, proud centaurs, one of the last remaining ones of his tribe and who had been given the charge to look after the enchanted forest. The snow whipped his face and Arawn squinted to see beyond it as he continued to gallop. "Keep the girl warm!" he said and became quiet.

Caleb grunted and held Elize closer to his chest. She was so cold and her back was soaked in blood. He didn't know what happened to her, but he was sure that the moment he would come to know who stabbed her, he would kill that person, very creatively. His mate was extremely weak and she needed blood. Her skin wasn't healing on its own. He wanted her to rest. Clearly, her apartment was not an option for resting because it was compromised. From what he had talked to Ileus earlier, he had an inkling that Arawn was taking them to the Fulshire forest. And it was apparent that Ileus was cornering him into going to Galahar.

Elize had stirred a little but it seemed Arawn was doing some magic. The girl had slept all over again.

Ileus joined them on a horse an hour later when they were nearing Fulshire forest. As soon as they were at the periphery, Arawn slowed his pace and guided them to the road that sloped down. And just a few meters away there were two menhirs standing tall, as if guarding the secrets of the forest. As soon as the centaur entered, Caleb scented the coppery smell of magic. Green light rippled between the menhirs as they passed through them. It went back to darkness the moment they stepped in the forest.

They ran through the glens that were covered with moss. Towering oaks and birches and aspens formed a mesh over the slopes. The forest was dense and dark. Dark silhouettes of trees loomed large. Snow covered large areas of the forest floor, accumulating into heaps in between the spaces. Since Arawn was the keeper of the forest, he could easily make his way.

They reached a small cabin in the center of the forest at midnight. With Ileus' help, Caleb dismounted and took his mate inside the cabin, pressed tightly against his chest.

Ileus followed him. Arawn shifted and rushed ahead to open the door for them. The cabin inside was lit in the buttery glow of the warm lights of the fire hearths. Arawn pointed Caleb straight ahead to a winding staircase. "There's a room up there. You can take her there," he said. There was sweat on his face even in this cold. He had ridden two people on his back, what else would happen.

As Caleb climbed the stairs, it groaned under his feet and disturbed the otherwise silent house. Ileus had disappeared somewhere after asking him to meet in an hour. Caleb berated himself for letting his cousin play him, but on a basic level he knew there was something too urgent.

An oil lamp burned at the top of the staircase that lit the small corridor, which led into a bedchamber. Caleb pushed the door open and was surprised to find that the logs were still burning in the hearth, making the room warm. There was one bed, large enough for just two people, a table by the window and a wardrobe. There was a door on the left, which probably led to the bathroom—his current destination. He took Elize to the bathroom.

He worked to strip her off her clothing and soon she was naked. Having his naked wife in his arms after months was stirring his beast up, but his face became tight when he saw the stab wounds in her back. His mate looked so fragile and pale that his heart cracked. He placed her in the tub in which he had already ran water. He rushed to the light of the hearth for warmth as water ran in the tub. He sighed looking at the flames that slithered in the fireplace. Once he was done lighting it, he stripped himself off his clothes and stepped in the bath behind her. He made her sit in his lap, between his legs, and he realized that even in her unconsciousness, the girl shivered. He clasped her in his arms and waited for the steaming water to fill in the oversized bathtub. In the warm water, he bent over to remove all the blood that had caked and washed it gently. He took caution of not hurting her as he slowly rubbed the soap in circles and removed every last bit of dirt. Gods, her skin was so cold and— "I am so sorry, love," he murmured. There were so many stab wounds on her back. Which sadist had done this to her? He knew that she had gone to her father's funeral, but then what happened there?

A shaky breath left his lips as he spewed curses at whoever did this to her. Her head lolled against his chest and he couldn't help but feel relieved. As soon as he had given her a clean bath, he lifted her from the water. Her hands were loosely wrapped against his neck and her head was buried in his skin. He thought she stirred, murmured something and then nuzzled in his chest hair. Caleb toweled her dry and then laid her on the bed. He wiped her damp hair again and spread them behind her on the pillow.

Now that she was clean, her intoxicating scent was surrounding him to the extent that his shaft went hard painfully. Biting on a groan, he made her turn to the side and got up to retrieve disinfectant from the wardrobe. He applied liberally all over her back and then let her sleep on her belly. Elize hadn't woken up and her body was again becoming cold. The wounds weren't healing on their own. He knew that she needed blood. And that he needed to be inside her desperately. But he found himself going to the wardrobe and fetching a light cotton shirt for her. Everything was making him antsy—her condition, her need for blood and his need for her.