Resisting the Moon (Royal Shifters #2)(41)

“Tyla!”

Eyes burning, I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Sebastian.” With newfound strength, I shut him out. It broke my heart to do it, but I couldn’t let him in my head, not when there was nothing he could do to help me.

“Shall I get Stefan to bring your mate up to watch?” When I didn’t answer, he started toward the door. “Stefan,” he called.

“Stop,” I pleaded. “I’ll do it. Just don’t bring Sebastian in here.”

Grinning, he turned back around. “I knew you’d see it my way.”

I took off my clothes and faced him head on, ready to shift at a moment’s notice. If he tried to get anywhere near me with that dick of his, I wasn’t going to let him win, not without a fight.

A satisfied moan escaped his lips as he looked at me. “Very nice. Now get in the shower and clean up for me. You smell like your mate.” The bathroom was off to my right and before he could follow me in there, a knock sounded on the door. “What is it?” Jaret growled.

“Your sister’s back. She wants to see you,” Stefan answered.

“Where the hell has she been?”

“Don’t know. She says it’s urgent though.”

Huffing, he turned back to me and pointed at the shower. “Clean up. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as he left, I switched on the shower and searched through the drawers, looking for anything I could find to help defend myself. When I found nothing, I rushed into the shower. My wrists burned where the ropes had rubbed me raw, but thankfully, the water washed away the painful wolfsbane residue.

Stepping out of the shower, I froze. There was someone in the bedroom, but it wasn’t Jaret. “Who are you?” I inquired. I couldn’t see who it was, but I could hear them.

I walked out of the bathroom and there was a girl with her back to me. She had red hair hanging down in waves past her shoulders, dressed in a long, white skirt and white top. She was a wolf, but she was something else as well. “Laila?”

She set the tray down and turned around, holding a steaming mug in her hand. Her face looked familiar, like I’d seen it before. “Amelie must’ve told you about me.”

I snorted. “More like how you betrayed her. What do you want?”

Sighing, she stepped toward me. “I’m here to help you. There’s a change of clothes on the bed. Now get dressed, and hurry.” I did as she said and threw on the clothes. The last thing I wanted was to be naked in Jaret’s bedroom. “And I didn’t betray Amelie. She’s my friend.”

“That’s not what she thinks. Your family’s full of f*cked up psychopaths. She’s not going to believe you for a second.”

Laila closed the distance between us. “I don’t have time to explain. Drink this.” She held the mug out to me. It wasn’t coffee and it wasn’t tea.

“I’m not drinking that shit.”

“Dammit, Tyla, I’m trying to help you. I need you alive and the only way to do that is to keep you from fighting Jaret. This is the only way. Now drink.”

Keeping my gaze on hers, I took my chances and drank the contents. It tasted like hot peach green tea. Once I was done, she took the cup and set it on the dresser. “What happens now?” The room started to spin and she took my hand, guiding me over to the bed. My head hit the mattress and everything began to fade.

Her voice sounded far off, but I could still hear her. “You’re going to sleep for a while. Just know that you’re safe. No one’s going to touch you.” She held my hand and then a zing of pain sliced through it. I could smell my blood. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for you to show up and now you’re here. Soon it’ll all be over.”





Sebastian

“Sebastian, please wake up.”

My head pounded and all I could smell was burnt flesh. I opened my eyes and saw Amelie, her tear streaked face wild and desperate.

“Oh my God, I thought you were dead,” she cried.

Groaning, I sat up and hissed when I looked at my hands. The skin was peeled back and they reeked of wolfsbane. “What happened?” It was all a blur, until I looked at the bars and everything came crashing down. “Tyla!” Closing my eyes, I concentrated on her, but it was like she wasn’t even there. “No!” I shouted.

“Where is she?” Amelie demanded, getting to her feet.

I looked up at her. “I don’t know. I can’t feel her in my mind. All I remember is trying to get out and then everything going blank. What happened?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure. You were doing that mind to mind stuff with Tyla, then you went crazy. The next thing I knew, you’d wrapped your hands around the bars and started prying them apart. I screamed for you to stop, but you didn’t listen. Your hands kept burning. Then suddenly, you stopped and fell to the floor.”

“How long was I out?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but it felt like forever.”

My stomach clenched. Tyla had been alone with Jaret for who knew how long. If anything happened to her, I’d never forgive myself. Kneeling down on the floor, I covered my face with my mangled hands. “Fuck, f*ck, f*ck. Why isn’t she answering me?”

As if on cue, Jaret and three of his men walked in. When he got sight of the cage and my damaged hands, he barked out a laugh. “Not too happy this morning, I take it?”