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In a split-second decision, the king realized that he wouldn’t be able to take on all of the wolves at once, especially in his present condition. He had to get to Madison, but in the meantime, he had to have backup coming in from all sides.
So he threw his head back into the air, howling the most mighty of howls. He called for his enforcers, who would arrive from both his aunt and uncle’s estate and the palace itself.
The sound cut through the rain and violence like a knife, but when the king returned his gaze to his beloved, she had fallen to the ground. Hordes of beasts had toppled her like scavengers looking for that last scrap of meat.
He went for her without another thought, sprinting magnificently through the rain and throttling whoever got in his way. He snapped at any furry limb that his teeth could grab and whipped his head side to side to do as much damage as he could.
His body barely registered the damage to it, healing as quickly as it could to continue fighting until help arrived or he died. He hoped the former and not the latter would happen. After what seemed like forever and yet the blink of an eye, he heard a vehicle and the pounding of feet along the pavement to denote his enforcers arriving.
All six of his men came for the wolves who had swarmed around Madison, taking them by the ankles, the scruff of their necks, their jaws, their jugulars … whatever they could grab hold of. The king himself was ravenous, not only in rage but also in fear. That acute anticipation of loss made him into a madman.
The first wolf he gripped tried to kick him in the snout, which was its dire mistake. Fletcher snapped his ankle like a twig with a single spin of his jaw, leaving the enemy bewildered and whimpering. They slashed the others’ throats menacingly, blood raining out onto the pavement like sparkling jewels. It didn’t take very long for both the king and the enforcers to remove all of the wolves from Madison’s still body.
Trenton was one of the wolves present, helping the king as the sight of his darling, unmoving mate made him frantic.
She is unconscious,he tried to say calmly between them amidst the shattering noise of the rain.It’s the spell she summoned. It drained her energy.
He was furious, not only at the men who had attacked but at himself. Why did he think that Alaric was going to give in without a fight? Why did he let himself be lulled into a false sense of hope?
They were trying to take the only thing that kept him holding on for the sweet breath of the dawn … Madison, his fated mate. He was, of course, the king, after all. He was a fucking fool to have let her come to the meeting with the alpha … to let anyone have seen how precious she was to him.
Retrieve the healer, now!he screamed into Trenton’s head. Kill all of the rest of the wolves and chase down the stragglers.
Trenton did as he was told, turning toward the enforcers and taking down the remaining attackers. When the king realized only a handful of the assailants had managed to get away, he turned back to the sight that terrified him more than anything in the world.
She was soaking wet, her drenched hair spread out around her head like a halo. Her normally rosy cheeks faded into a ghostly white, along with the rest of her exposed skin from the dress he had longed to make love to her in a mere few hours before. Her wounded arm lay solid and still beside her while the rest of her twitched and trembled. She was still breathing, her stomach rising and falling rapidly.
Fletcher felt like a sword had been sunk directly into his heart. He shifted into his human form and fell to his knees, terrified, naked, pulling Madison’s head to rest in the crook of his arms.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay, darling,” he whispered, trying to veil his concern. “I’m here now, Madison. Everything is all right.”
Madison didn’t say anything, didn’t move, and Fletcher couldn’t tell if she was breathing. That was until she began to cough up blood.
Maybe this is a good thing,he thought at first, until blood began to stream from her mouth.
He moved her to settle in his arms, cradling her. Her breathing was now very faint, and she had yet to open her eyes. Fletcher raised two shaky fingers to her neck and pressed to feel for a pulse.
It was feeble. She was bleeding out … he was losing her. The truth struck him like an arrow to the skull; she was going to die right there in his arms in the pouring rain if he didn't do something. There was no doubt that the healer wasn't going to get there in time.
Fletcher’s eyes darted about her beautiful face, seeing sprinkles of freckles along the bridge of her nose and cheeks, leading down a plentiful pathway along her shoulder and diverging along her collarbone. Lips, usually the color of a bold sunrise, were the shade of a decaying plum. And most of all, her soul, that brazen, spectacularly stubborn, and intricate soul that he had fallen deeper in love with by the second, was dwindling away from him.
Existence without Madison would be like a sky with no sun. A night with no stars.
He had only one option, and if he was going to do it, he had to do it fast.
He looked at Trenton and saw that all of the attackers had either been killed or taken into custody. They locked eyes, and a knowing look was shared between them. Trenton knew what his king had to do.
Fletcher pushed a thatch of hair that was stuck to Madison’s neck out of the way, then gently tilted her neck to the side, bobbing away from him. His heart smashed against his chest, his wolf coming out in the form of swelling, bright fangs. Then, holding her body tightly to his, lowered his head to the flesh of his most adored.
Her enchanting scent made his wolf groan. He could finally have her, just in the way he always desired.
Fletcher closed his eyes and sank all four incisors into Madison’s neck, the patch of skin just above where the shoulder began. He bit down hard enough to make sure the mating bond was forced, the taste of her blood rushing into his mouth, her pain fusing into his own as one cosmic entity.
He rocked back and forth as Madison's body responded to the bond. She arched her back, much in the way she would at the swell of a climax, and her jaw hung open as if in relief.
Fletcher kept his eyes closed until the physical procedure was completed, the signal of a euphoric kind of sensation mixed with a shared sense of anguish.
Madison’s body finally sank back into him, her mouth relaxed and still hanging open. Fletcher was invigorated, sensing her heartbeat having grown in speed and power. She would still need tending to, but she was no longer on the edge of death.
