Chapter 99
Thorne’s POV
“Get up!”
I can’t move.
“They’re taking her!”
Pain echoes through my body, filling it and pulling me toward unconsciousness.
“We must protect our mate!”
I need to get up.
I need to save Aurora.
Forcing my eyes open, I blink past the blurriness that blinds me and search for my mate.
“There!” My wolf barks, guiding my eyes to the tree where a rogue, in human form, is carrying an unconscious Aurora. She’s still in her wolf form, but she hangs limply over the man’s shoulder.
“To the Alpha!” Anders shouts, jumping between me and a rogue who was about to pounce. He and several of my gammas surround me, fighting the remaining rogues and pushing them back from me.
“Are you alright?” Anders asks through our mind link.
“F-Fine,” I rasp. “I have to g-get Aurora.”
My body is too weak, and I realize something is wrong as I struggle to stand. Regular injuries wouldn’t weaken me this much, but I don’t have time to think about it when I notice Aurora’s captors disappearing into the trees.
I can’t let them get away. If they take her, I don’t know how long it’ll be before I can find her.
Planting my paws beneath my body, I push up. Every ounce of energy I have left strains against the weakness in me, and as I get to my feet, a bout of dizziness hits me. I sway on my paws and stumble to the trees, determined to get to my mate.
If I can’t save her, I won’t be able to forgive myself.
“Just a little further,” my wolf pushes. There’s a strained feel to his presence, and I realize something is affecting him as well. He hasn’t pushed for control like I thought he would, and that is strange.
However, I don’t have time to think about it. I put all my energy into running after Aurora. Her scent is strong and easy to follow, but the further I run, the heavier my body grows. Blackness creeps in from the sides of my vision, and it grows harder to breathe.
“Alpha, where are you?!” I can hear Anders, but I can’t answer.
My chest tightens, my body becomes numb, and my legs give out.
“Al—a, wh—re—ou?”
My body hits the ground with a thud, but I don’t stop. I dig my claws into the ground and pull.
“Wh—re—ou?” Ander’s voice cuts in and out of my head, fading.
Inch by painful inch, I push myself to follow Aurora’s scent. My body screams in protest, but I keep going. I drag myself across grass, across rocks, and across water. I don’t stop.
Until I can no longer move.
I can’t connect with the mind link anymore either.
Groaning, I stare in the direction that Aurora was taken, taking in one last breath as the darkness swallows everything in existence.
A slow beeping noise guides me to the surface, but there’s still no light. I’m surrounded by darkness even as I open my eyes.
“Thorne? Thank the Goddess,” I hear Anders say from my left. A hand lands on my left shoulder, while an arm goes under my back, helping me to sit up. “I thought you’d sleep longer, but your vitals are finally starting to get a little better.”
I blink against the darkness, squinting my eyes, but it doesn’t change anything.
“Thorne?”
“Anders.” My voice sounds rough, even to my own ears. Something moves past my face, and I jerk back.
“Alpha, can you look at me?” His voice is now in front of me, so I lift my head and look straight ahead. Then, something touches the top of my head—his hand— and turns my face slightly. “I’m here.”
“Anders, why can’t I see anything?”
A sharp intake of breath sounds from in front of me as Anders’s touch disappears.
“Anders!” I growl. The heart monitor beeps faster as my heart begins to race.
“Calm down, Thorne,” he says, planting his hands on my shoulders. “You took a few hard hits to the back of the head during the fight which seems to have temporarily blinded you. Once the wolfsbane poisoning in your system is gone, you should heal correctly and get your sight back.”
“Wolfsbane?”
There’s silence for a moment before he speaks again, “Yes. Somehow, during the fight, you were poisoned. It weakened your body and has slowed your healing down, but I’m working on getting it out.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
This can’t be happening. I don’t have time to waste.
Pushing his hands off my shoulders, I swing my legs to the side, focusing my dull senses on the room around me.
“What are you doing!?” Anders shouts, pushing on my shoulders and making me fall back onto the bed. “You’re in no condition to go anywhere right now. I doubt you could make it out of the building before you collapsed again.”
“I can’t just sit here!” I roar, shoving him back. I roll over and drop off the bed, hitting the floor with a groan as pain flares in my body. Something pulls at my hand, causing a sharp sting as it rips free.
Forcing myself to ignore the pain, I fumble for something to grab onto. My hand finally latches onto something metal, like a handle, and I pull myself up on unsteady legs.
“Thorne, you can’t—”
“Take me to the cells,” I order, reaching out my hand. “I want to interrogate the prisoners.”
“You aren’t well enough—”
“If you don’t help me, I’ll go on my own,” I snarl, glaring in his general direction.
“You don’t need to interrogate them because Jace already is,” Anders says, guiding me. I feel the bed at the back of my legs and lean against it. “Get in bed, and I’ll tell you what we know.”
Begrudgingly, I let him help me back on the bed and wince as he reinserts an IV into the back of my hand. I will admit that I don’t feel well and that he’s probably right. I wouldn’t make it out of the building.
“The rogues who attacked were after Aurora the entire time,” Anders explains. I knew this, though. “We don’t have much information yet, but we do know one thing. They were paid to attack and kidnap Aurora, but we haven’t figured out who paid them yet. Jace is working on getting that information now.”
“I already know that!” I growl, pushing against him again.
“Stop fighting me,” Anders shouts, pushing me back to the bed. My weakened state doesn’t let me fight much as he holds me down. The darkness is disorienting enough, and now I’m trapped.
“I have to find her, Anders!”
He growls, “You can’t rescue her if you die!”
“She won’t be able to protect herself! She’s not like us!”
Rage rolls in my chest, mixing with the anxiety and worry that are eating away at my insides. There’s no telling what those rogues are doing to my mate.
“Then you need to heal quickly, Thorne. Hurting yourself by not giving your body time to heal won’t help anyone.”
“I need to do something, Anders,” I grit, clenching my fists. I feel helpless and isolated, which is probably how Aurora feels right now.
Something cold and solid bumps against my fist, and when I open my hand, Anders places the object in my palm.
“It’s your phone. I think you should call Aurora’s mother and update her on the situation,” he says. “She deserves to know what happened to her daughter.”
Nodding, I curl my fingers around my phone and take a deep breath.
Don’t worry, Aurora. I’ll come for you.
