CAYDEN
“We are out of here. NOW!” I growl as I carry Artemisia, who is still passed out, to the cars. “Pack up everything. I’ll get her out before they pull another stupid trick.”
Ramona nods, and she runs back inside with Matthew and Hendrick to pack our things while Finnegan and the warriors shift into their wolves. As I get into the car with Logan and we roll off the Royal Pack’s territory as fast as we can, Finnegan and the warriors run by our side, escorting us securely.
“Bloody idiots,” I hiss, caressing Artemisia’s face as she lies in my arms peacefully.
“Here,” Logan leans toward us from his seat, passing me a bottle of water.
“Thank you,” I say as I take it, even if I don’t want to wake Artemisia.
Leaning back into our seats, we sigh practically in unison, our exhaustion flowing from our bodies, causing us to drift into a deep slumber.
***
“Cayden.”
A drop falls onto the smooth surface I’m lying on, causing small waves to ripple over the mirror-like surface.
“Cayden!”
Artemisia’s voice pierces the tranquillity of my dream, making me sit up as I feel her light tugging.
I open my eyes groggily, only to find her looking at me wide-eyed. “Cayden!”
She calls for me again, and even if I’m glad to see her, I’m a bit concerned by the shocked expression on her face. “Cayden! What did you do?”
“Huh?” I lift my brow as her grasp tightens at my shirt.
“What did you do? What happened to the judges? Are we running from the Royal Army?” she asks, her eyes already welling up with tears.
Before my sleep-drunken brain can grasp what she is talking about, Logan cracks up.
Artemisia looks over her shoulders confused, sniffing as she watches Logan lost. “This is not funny! We had planned to take the judges’ verdict as it is to save the pups!”
She turns back around, her panic evident in her face. “You promised me!”
With a groan, I straighten up slightly, grabbing her wrists. “Missy, please, calm down! We didn’t attack the judges.”
“What?” she whispers while Logan pushes out a deep breath as he comes down from his laughing fit.
“Actually, you attacked them. Well, not exactly, you attacked the guards and made your brother fly through the courtroom,” he says, making her scrunch up her nose. “We got out of the courtroom after the judges ruled in our favour.”
“What do you mean by saying that I attacked the guards? My brother flew… Oh, come on!” Her shoulders slump as she looks forth and back between us, trying to make sense out of the situation. “Why are you always making fun of me? This is serious! We are going to lo…”
She suddenly halts and her eyes widen, causing a smile to spread on my lips. “Wait. Did you just say that they ruled in our favour?”
I nod, and she throws her hands in front of her face, muffling a squeal. “You are lying!”
“I’m not! I’m…” My words die in my throat as Artemisia hugs me, sobbing on my shoulder.
Caressing her hair, I kiss her temple. “It’s over, babe. You will finally get your marking ceremony.”
It takes her several minutes to calm back down, but I give her all the time that she needs while holding her in my arms. Logan looks out of the window until her breathing normalises, and he turns towards her.
“Here. Take this,” he says caringly, handing her a bottle of water.
She drinks half of it with big gulps, thanking him as she wipes her lips with the back of her hand.
I smile up at her, seeing her lost in her thoughts. I guess that she must be torn between happiness about being able to get home and sadness about what her family did to her. “Why don’t you sleep another bit? It will be another five hours until we get home.”
With a nod, she cuddles back against my chest and I wrap my arms around her with a happy sigh. Logan slips off his jacket, covering her and settles back into his seat.
“Will you be calling Corvina?” he asks as we sense Artemisia’s breathing even out, signalling to us that she fell asleep.
I sigh exhaustedly, “I don’t know. I think I will. But I’m also going to call up all the elders who will be willing to speak to me. This episode of her did seem to be a rare ability I once read about. But I want to be sure before we look into it deeper. It also looks like she doesn’t remember anything about what happened.”
“This keeps getting stranger and stranger. I can’t keep up with all this mess,” he exhales a deep breath, leaning his head back against his seat.
I chuckle, closing my eyes as I breathe in Artemisia’s scent. “Things will get easier soon. You will see.”
“Let’s hope so,” he murmurs lowly.
We spent the rest of the drive in silence, and while Logan keeps dozing off from time to time, I force myself to stay awake.
Concentrating on her calming heartbeat and her relaxed breathing, I hug her closer.
I’m afraid that after nearly losing her, my body will actually repulse the moment I have to let go of her, even if it’s just to let her get out of the car.
We still have another hour until we arrive as Aiden suddenly stirs.
‘Save the pups,’ he growls in my mind.
I’m just about to ask him what he means as a strange sensation wafts through me. Panic expands in my chest as I must feel her pain before I pick up a metallic smell.
Artemisia whimpers in my arms, squirming in my hold as she holds her belly and distorts her face in pain. “It hurts!”
Leaning down to check where the smell of blood comes from and to ask her what exactly hurts, I jump as the car suddenly comes to a halt with squealing tyres and the door gets ripped off its hinges.
“What the fuck are you doing to my mate?” Finnegan growls into the car, his eyes already totally black as Drake must have taken over.
I lift my hand to gesture to him to calm down, only to halt in my movements as I look at my palm. Indescribable pain pierces through my heart as I see that it is drenched in blood.
“Fuck! We have to get her to a doctor!” Logan shouts as Finnegan is already tearing her out of my arms.
“I’ll take her!” He positions her in his arms before he takes off, leaving me and my racing heartbeat behind.
‘Save the pups!’ Aidan growls again, making me get out of the car as well to shift and follow him.