Hope Awakened by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 29

The big, mean-looking Feral threw Reece on the bed. The two Fallen left, clanking the steel door shut and locking it with a key. She noted that Milos wore gloves when he touched the metal. She wondered why that was. “This cage is silver-infused. It’s no use trying to escape.” Milos told her from through the bars. That answered her question about the gloves. “You will find everything you need in the cupboards and the cold box.” He pointed at a refrigerator. She looked around them. They were in a regular Feral house, only it was enclosed in a silver cage. It looked like the entire house had been built into the cage. There were tables and chairs, a bedroom area, a kitchen. She suspected that the bathroom would be through the door.

“I need a first aid kit,” Hope said. “Var is badly injured.”

Milos snorted. “He is a Feral. He will be just fine, my queen. Do not try to escape. I, or one of the others, will check in regularly.”

“We need medical supplies!” she shouted. “I’m going to deliver soon. What then?”

“Females for hundreds of years have birthed just fine without the need of such items.” He started shifting.

“How did that work out for your Feral women, you asshole?” she shouted after him.

“Don’t antagonize them,” Reece pushed out. It sounded like he was gritting his teeth.

“Reece!” she cried out, running over to him.

“It’s Var.” He gave a half-smile and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. “You are a resourceful female, I’ll give you that, but you should not have pulled that stunt. You’ve put yourself in harm’s way.”

“What choice did I have? If I hadn’t acted when I did, it would have been Claire sitting here instead of me. She would’ve been alone and afraid.”

“Still—” He groaned, more blood trickled from his mouth. Reece clutched his side with his good arm. She didn’t need an X-ray to know that the other one was broken.

“Shit!” she said. “Where does it hurt? I think you might have a punctured lung.”

“It hurts everywhere, and I definitely have a punctured lung.” He winced, his nostrils flaring with every breath. “For the record, I allowed that prick to beat me. I had to get him to take me with.”

“That was stupid. What good are you to anyone if you die?” She was panicking and trying not to show it. “You need surgery. Your arm is also broken.” It was bent at an odd angle just above the wrist on his right arm.

“I won’t die. I need a few hours to heal. I’d appreciate it if you could help me with the arm.” He lifted it, wincing.

“Help how? I don’t have the necessary equipment. I would need an OR and—”

“What is an OR?” More blood bubbled from the corner of his mouth.

No! No!This was bad. “An operating room. I need medication, an IV to administer fluids—”

“None of those things are necessary. Pull it straight so that it sets correctly.”

“What? I can’t just pull it. There are—”

“Please, Hope.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed softly. “Pull it straight. It’s all I need. I have accelerated healing. I’m going to be just fine, I swear. If it sets like this…” He started to shake his head but stopped, his face morphing into a mask of pain.

“Okay…okay, but it’s going to hurt.”

“I can take the pain.”

“Yes, but—”

“Please, Hope!”

“It’s Claire, or your highness.”

Reece started to laugh, but groaned instead, scrubbing a hand over his face. They were in a real bind.

“I’m sure they’ll find out soon that I’m not the queen.” Hope felt along his broken arm, trying to determine what was going on inside. Trying to decide how to tackle this.

“Just pull it straight,” Reece said again. “You’ll need to use quite a lot of strength.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “It’s a pity that no one saw you. No one knows that you are pretending to be Claire. They might figure it out, though. I hope they do. Otherwise, we will be found out sooner rather than later and Claire will be in danger.”

“Actually, I left a note on the wall in the storeroom to say that I was pretending to be Claire. I hope they’ll find it since it’s small and low down on the wall. I didn’t want any of those guys spotting it.”

“You’re a genius! When you told me that you could be of service in protecting Claire, when I first met you, I thought you were full of nonsense. It turns out I was wrong. I underestimated you, Hope.” He gave her a glimmer of a smile. It was tense with pain.

“They have to find that note first and then put two and two together. I don’t see how it will make any difference either way.”

“My team will look for clues. That closet was left open. They will check that too. I am certain they will find the note. I think that Ekon will find out that I’m not a healer but I’m hoping they’ll keep on believing that you’re the queen.”

“How, though?” Her eyes widened. “Word will get out soon enough that Claire is still at home and that I’m missing. That I lied. I’m sure their spies will hear of it.”

“Nope.” He pushed out a breath. His eyes were clouded with pain. “They’ll see your note and they’ll know what to do. It’s protocol in situations like this to make that kind of information ‘need to know’ only. If everyone believes you are Claire, then she will be safe. They will hide the queen to prevent the Fallen from finding out that they have the wrong person. There are very few who will know what really happened; that you were taken instead of the queen. That you are pretending. Our team, the Royals, and—” He cussed.

“What?”

“Do my arm while I’m angry,” he growled. His eyes were narrowed in rage.

Why is he so angr—?

“Do it!” Reece growled.

Hope gripped just above his wrist and just below the elbow and pulled…hard. There was a crunching sound as the radius and ulna straightened. She expected the whole thing to collapse as she let go, but it didn’t. “We need a splint.”

Reece was breathing heavily. His eyes were closed. Sweat had beaded on his brow. “You’re in pain. I wish I had something to give you.” She touched his hair, smoothing it.

Reece groaned. “That helps.” He grunted. “Give me a second.”

She jumped off the bed and fetched some water for them both out of the refrigerator.

A few moments later, he opened his eyes. “Thank you. That already feels much better. No splint…necessary.”

“Here.” She let him drink, which he did, before helping herself. “You should have passed out. You should probably be dead,” she told him.

“I’m not a human. I’m fine.” His voice was strong and sure. He didn’t look quite as pale as he had before. “I’m sure I’ve stopped bleeding internally. I’m already healing.”

“I’m glad.” She licked her lips. “What were you saying about the Fallen finding out about me not being the queen?”

“They’ll keep it a secret that Claire hasn’t been taken. Only a few of us will be told. I trust my team, of course I trust the Royals. I don’t trust Shard, and as head guard, he will be told.”

“Shard…the guy who came to introduce himself to me?”

“The one who asked you out.” Reece looked pissed. His jaw was tight. His eyes blazed, and it wasn’t from pain this time.

“You’re not still upset about that, are you?”

“I am!” he growled. “That male is a bastard.”

“I figured you didn’t like him. You said that you were once best friends.” She and Reece were having sex. They were also friends. At least, she liked to think they were. She wanted to know more about him. “What happened there? Why don’t you trust him? Why do you hate him so much?”

“He lied to me about something very important. He is a selfish bastard.”

She kept her eyes on his, hoping he would elaborate.

He didn’t. Instead, Reece closed his eyes. “I’m tired, Hope,” he murmured. “I need rest.”

“Of course. I should probably clean some of those wounds, though, we don’t want them becoming infected.”

“No.” He shook his head, cracking his eyes open for a second. “They won’t become infected. I’ll wash tomorrow. Right now, I must sleep…it will help me heal. I’m going to need my strength.”

“Okay.” She reached for a fur, pulling it over him. “How’s that?”

“Fine.” His teeth were chattering.

“Do you need anything else?”

Reece’s chest rose and fell. His breathing was heavy. Was he asleep? Already? Was he pretending because he didn’t want to talk to her anymore? Hope didn’t like the idea at all. There was only one bed in the room. Hope grabbed a fur of her own and lay down next to Reece, keeping a space between them. It took her a long time to fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning…

“Get to your feet!”Reece was yanked out of bed. It was that big fucker, Cradock. The male grabbed him by his healing arm. It hurt like hell’s fire, but he didn’t make a sound. It felt like the newly knitted bones held. That was something, at least. Hope clutched the covers tightly to her chest, even though she was still fully dressed. Her eyes were wide with fear. He hated how helpless he was.

The sun had only just started to rise. Stars still twinkled in the dawn sky. How did they find him out that quickly? Perhaps this was something else. Why was Cradock there, then? What was going on? What was this all about? Reece didn’t like it one bit.

Ekon elbowed the cage door open, walking inside. Two of his guards flanked him. Reece knew that there would be more males on the landing and shifters circling the nest. He was outnumbered by a mile.

Ekon sauntered into the nest, a smirk on his face. The male wore a loincloth made from soft leather. Not many of their males wore this traditional garb anymore. Not since they had started to seriously look at taking human females and studying the human ways. “So,” he said as he came to a stop, “you’re a healer, is that right?” he asked Reece.

What did Ekon know? It was clear he knew something.

“Yes.” Reece nodded. “That is correct.”

“Var.” He lifted his head in thought. “I don’t remember a Var.”

“I’m sure you don’t recall every male.”

“Only the important ones.” Ekon scrutinized him. “I see that some of the swelling is down. Still bloody, though. There is only one male healer. My spies were very clear about that. Who are you really?”

“I told you. Not many people know about my existence, I—”

“You can stop with the lies, Reece,” Ekon spat.

Reece closed his eyes and let out a breath. His blood ran cold. Blast it all to hell!

The Fallen king knew his name. He had to keep his cool. Both he and Hope, as well. Especially Hope. Perhaps her identity was still a secret. It was possible that word had spread about him being missing.

“I thought I recognized you,” Ekon said. “It was all that blood and gore.” He wrinkled his nose. “Nice disguise. Clever. I actually bought it.”

Disguise? Right. His males had beaten him to a pulp, and he’d had to take it.

“Bow to the king,” Cradock said in a hoarse voice. “I said to bow!” The male kicked Reece in the knee. He heard it pop as he went down. Pain flared, but he refused to bow his head.

Down on one knee, he kept his eyes on Ekon. “You are not my king,” he growled. “Leukos is everything you are not. He’s just and kind. He—”

“Enough about my brother!” Ekon threw out. “Leukos will soon be nothing. His heirs buried along with his hopes and dreams.”

Buried.

What?

Ekon turned to Hope. She put a hand over her mouth and whimpered.

“I know that you are not the queen,” Ekon told Hope.

Blast!

By all that was feathered.Reece grit his teeth, grinding his molars until he was sure they would crack. It could only be someone from the inner fold who was feeding Ekon this information. That bastard was dead. If he got out of this alive, he was killing Shard. He’d kill him slowly, make him bleed.

“Of course I’m the queen.” Hope tried to keep up the ruse.

“You are Dr. Hope Bristol. The queen is hiding in one of the abandoned towers on the eastern side of Feral territory. Her mates believe that she is safe there…for now. They are wrong.” He laughed, sounding every bit the madman.

“How do you know all of this?” Reece snarled. He knew how this bastard got his information. He wanted to hear it for himself.

Shard! It had to be him.

“It doesn’t concern you,” Ekon said.

“It does. I’m going to kill the fucker who—”

Cradock elbowed him in the face. His lip split again. Hot blood ran down his chin.

“Shut up!” Cradock growled.

Reece had to work hard not to retaliate. He could snap the male’s neck without breaking a sweat. He needed to bide his time, though. Reece had no hope of escaping right then. There was no point in retaliating, but Cradock needed to watch his back when the tides turned. Bastard was going to bleed when that day came.

“You can stay.” Ekon pointed at Hope. “Help the queen to lay her eggs. You made some good points last night, Doctor. I don’t want my soon-to-be-mate dying. I want her alive and well. You will look after her in the days following the laying. Make sure that she heals quickly. I want to mate her sooner rather than later. I want my seed growing inside her. The future of our people is in your hands, Doctor.”

“Claire is already mated,” Hope said. “What are—"

“I can do anything I want. I’m the king. Me!” He hit his fist against his chest, his eyes blazing.

“Yes, but—” Hope tried. Reece knew it was futile. Hope may as well be talking to a wall.

“I’m going to put Leukos to death along with that traitor, Magnar.” Ekon ignored Hope. “I’m taking my kingdom back. As Leukos’ right-hand male, I’m putting you to death as well, Reece.”

“No!” Hope shouted.

“Yes, little human. That’s how it’s done. If I want to take my throne back, I need to make some hard choices. There are those who must pay.”

“I need Reece,” Hope stammered. “You can’t kill him.”

Ekon snorted. “What could you possibly need Reece for?”

“He’s my lover,” she said, picking at a piece of fur in her lap. “I love him.” She wiped at her eyes, which were shimmering with tears. “If you kill him, I’ll refuse to help you with the queen.”

“Of course you will help her,” Ekon scoffed. “It is your sworn duty. You will not let the queen suffer. You would not watch her die.”

“If you harm the man I love,” she shook her head, “I swear to god I won’t help you. Not with anything. Not with this. You need me! Humans are weak. The queen might not survive the laying if I don’t help her. It’s why I was called in. She’s got a condition where her pelvis is very narrow. There is a chance she will require a cesarean section.”

“What is this ces-ar-ean sec-tion?” Ekon asked.

“It’s an operation where the eggs would be surgically removed if they can’t pass through the pelvis. We’re hoping not to have to go that route because it could harm the chicks.”

“The chicks are not important.” Ekon curled his hands into fists. “You must save Claire. She is mine. Do you hear me?”

“You need to let Reece stay. I will need an assistant. Reece can help me with the surgery. I won’t agree to help Claire otherwise.”

“You will help her!” Ekon snarled.

“If you harm Reece…you can go straight to hell!”

Reece knew that Hope didn’t mean it about not helping Claire. There was no way she would allow the queen to come to harm. Ekon didn’t know that. She sounded convincing.

Ekon turned hard eyes to him. Reece didn’t move. He didn’t say anything. He prayed that Hope would stay silent as well. If she spoke, she would give herself away. She would come across as desperate.

Ekon finally nodded. “Very well. Let him go,” he said to Cradock, who obeyed instantly. “You will help the doctor. I would urge you to swear fealty to me or it will not end well for you. Your female has bought you time. I suggest you use it wisely.”

Your female.

Hope…his.

The thought warmed him, so he shoved it away. There was no ‘them’. Hope wasn’t his, she never would be.

“Let me know what you need, Doctor. The queen will be here soon enough. You need to prepare for the laying,” Ekon said.

“I will need a pen and paper to make a list.”

“Very well.”

Reece watched as they left. The cage door shut with a clang. There was the sound of the door being locked and then cracking sounds as the males shifted before taking to the sky.

“Thank you for saving me,” he told Hope.

“He’s crazy.” She got up off the bed, lifting her dress and tearing away the fake stomach. “I think he’s going to harm the babies. He said he’s going to bury them.” She put a hand to her chest, looking like she was panicking. “He said he doesn’t care what happens to them. I don’t like the way he’s talking.” She shook her head.

“I’m sure that Claire will be well guarded. They won’t get to her.” Ekon seemed to know exactly where she was. If she was in hiding, they might not have a large number of guards drawing attention to her hiding place. He didn’t say any of this. He didn’t want to scare Hope any more than she already was.

“What if they do?” she whispered.

Reece groaned as he clambered to his feet. His knee was swollen. It was hot and throbbing, but he could stand just fine. It was already healing. His lip, too. It had stopped bleeding and was already scabbed over. “We can deal with one thing at a time.”

“This is a nightmare.” She wiped at her eyes. “A total nightmare.”

He walked over to her, putting his arms around her. “It’ll be okay.”

“You don’t know that.”

“If Ekon is stupid enough to take Claire, there’ll be a war. Mark my words. Leukos will send every last warrior to free us and to take down Ekon and his generals. I will keep you safe.”

She nodded.

Reece let her go. “You shouldn’t have told Ekon that you love me.” He shook his head.

“It just came out. I didn’t know what to do. I panicked. He was going to kill you, and I could see that he meant to do it. It was the first thing that came to mind. I needed him to believe me when I threatened to refuse Claire the care she needed.”

“He might find a way to use it against you. Ekon is good at turning people’s emotions against themselves.”

She shrugged. “We’re friends. I didn’t mean it. I mean, I don’t…love you, that is, so…” She shrugged again. “He won’t be able to use anything against me.”

“We’re not friends, Dr. Bristol. We were fucking and now it’s over.” He hated that his actions had caused this. If only he could turn back the clock. If only. He wanted to punch the wall, to break things, but it would be a useless outlet for what little energy he had. “What happened between us was a mistake,” he muttered.