Then, he lunged.
His eyes were as red as a sea of blood. His jaws unhinged, canines sharp and wide.
Adina screamed as his fangs tore into her shoulder. Her scream caught in her throat. The rebel's breath was foul, his eyes wild with madness and fury, ready to tear into her even more.
The last thing she saw was Thorne ripping the wolf off her like he weighed nothing. She heard the rebel's scream piercing through the air as Thorne tore the rebel apart with his bare hands.
Then everything went black…
She twitched in the bed, her body slick with cold sweat. Her mouth moved, lips forming silent words at first… then came the whispers.
"Please…" she murmured.
"I didn't… I didn't hurt her… my baby… my baby…" A tear slid from the corner of her eye.
Her breathing turned shallow, fingers clawing at the sheets desperately, her eyes squeezed tight. "I didn't do it…
don't take her…"
Her eyes flew open, chest heaving heavily. She squeezed her eyes shut again, pain blooming into her body. She opened her eyes, brows furrowing.
She wasn't in the slave quarters, so where was she? What happened?
Memories of the attack flashed through her mind. The rebel wolf, Kora, and Thorne…
She jolted upright and gasped when she saw the person in the room. He stood over the bed, watching her.
Adina's breath caught. She scrambled off the bed instinctively, recognizing him as the beta, second to the King. Her feet hit the floor.
Only for her knees to buckle.
Caelum was already moving. He caught her effortlessly, steadying her before she could hit the ground.
"Easy," he said. "You're still weak."
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't realize I—"
"No need to apologize. You almost died," he replied, and Adina resisted the urge to pinch herself. What was going on? Where was she, and more importantly, why was the beta here with her?
Her thoughts were cut off as the door swung open, his scent hitting her at once, and if she wasn't already being held by the beta, she would've fallen.
Thorne stood in the doorway, tall, broad, and still blood-streaked from the attack. His eyes were unreadable as he stared at her—at them.
Caelum immediately let go of her, stepping aside.
Adina lowered her gaze and moved to kneel again, but her legs trembled too hard, and she nearly fell a second time.
"Don't…"
She froze.
He stepped further into the room, "There's no need to kneel. Not when you're barely able to stand."
Adina didn't know how to respond. Instead, she tried to make sense of this. Of him. Of why she was here at all.
He stepped closer to her, and her breath seized. She didn't understand this… why she felt so nervous around him. Of course, there was the fact that the man was the king of Obsidian, but even so… she felt odd around him, her stomach would flip each time she neared him, and even now…
Thorne didn't say a word, his gaze stuck on her, intense. He lifted his hand to touch her bandaged arm only to stop. With his jaw clenched hard, he turned away from her.
"Rest up! I will not have a slave die in my kingdom."
Adina's heart pounded harder. This didn't make sense. Don't slaves die in the kingdom every day? For the most mundane things too?
An hour later, Adina stepped out of the room, unable to settle or stay calm knowing she was somewhere she wasn't meant to be. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, nor did she want to continue to stay in close proximity to the king. Not with how much her insides would shiver when he was near.
No. She had to stay far away from him.
And so… she sneaked out of the room as quietly as she could and went back to where she should've been.
The slave quarters.
The room fell into a heavy silence the moment Adina stepped through the door. All of them turned to look at her.
She clutched the blanket tighter around her shoulders, ignoring the ache in her arm, and walked toward her cot. The other slave girls shifted, some scooting farther away as if she carried the plague, but she didn't mind.
It was better this way.
Just as she sat down, ready to close her eyes and ignore their looks, the door creaked open again.
The head maid stepped in, her gaze flickering about the room until it fell on Adina. A nasty frown settled on her face at this. She rolled her eyes and looked behind her, a girl stepped out from her back, clutching a bundle in her arms.
Her gaze flickered around the room just like the head maid's had and then stopped at Adina. She smiled widely. "Adina." She mouthed.
"New transfer," the head maid barked. "Room's getting crowded. Don't make me come back for noise complaints. Else I'll skin you all alive."
She then stepped outside the room, mumbling curses under her breath.
The second the door clicked shut, Kora rushed toward her and dropped to her knees in front of her cot, grabbing her hands with a soft, trembling grip.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered with teary eyes. "I—I should have helped you. I froze when that thing attacked. I wanted to move. I just—couldn't."
Adina hesitated. Her shoulder throbbed faintly. "It's fine. None of us could've predicted what happened," Adina murmured. "But… how? How did you get transferred here?"
Kora glanced over her shoulder, then shrugged casually, "Who knows? One of the guards said something about overcrowding. Or maybe they thought I'd be better off here."
Before she could ask more, Kora leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper. "So… what was it like?"
Adina blinked. "What was?"
Kora smirked. "The King's chambers. I mean, you were there, weren't you? After you fainted, he carried you." She then leaned in even more. "Everyone's talking about it."
Adina's body stiffened. The king carried her after she fainted? What the hell was happening?
"I wasn't in his room," she said carefully. "I was injured. They just… put me somewhere to recover." She then shook her head, "Why would a slave ever be in the king's room, Kora?"
Kora shrugged. "Why would a slave be carried by the king either… anyways, I'm glad you're doing alright. The guilt was eating me up."
Adina smiled, "You have nothing to be guilty about." Her smile dimmed a little. "Thank you for helping me at the farm."
Kora shook her head. "You have nothing to thank me for. Girls helping girls, am I right?" She winked as she stood up. "Sleep, Adina. You did well today."