The Wolf Prince's Fated Heart - Page 72

We have to do something, I scream in my mind, panic taking over me.

Call Helia!

CHAPTER 15

Cassidy

Blinding, burning pain. It runs along my arms and legs.

There’s softness underneath me. I’m in bed. Whose bed?

A wave of warmth floods me, washing away the burning, and I relax.

For a few moments.

“Hold her down,” a woman’s voice says. “She’s going to wake soon and panic.”

Arms press down on my shoulders and my ankles. Panic rises in my throat, threatening to suffocate me.

“Relax, sweetheart,” the woman whispers. “You’re going to be okay. It’s Helia. We haven’t met yet, but I’m sure you’ve heard about me. I’ve definitely heard a lot about you.”

She keeps talking even as I feel the weight of her hands on top of my ribs.

I open my eyes and stare directly into another pair of blazing green eyes.

This time, the woman is beautiful. Her wild blonde hair frames her pouty face. Her full lips are twisted in concentration as she stares down at me.

“It’s okay, Cassie. I’m Helia,” she repeats. “I’m healing you. You might feel a tug. That’s normal. Please don’t scream. That will increase the pain tenfold. Be brave. You’re almost done.”

It feels like there’s a bomb somewhere inside me, ticking away, getting closer to the final moment of detonation. I try to twist to the side, but every move is excruciating and, more importantly, pointless. I’m unable to escape whoever holds me down.

The bomb goes off and I scream as the pain hits all my senses at once.

Black spots appear behind my eyelids, and I sink into the comfort of darkness.

The throbbing pain returns when I wake. Something cool is pressed against my neck. I want to move away, but my body is rooted to the bed. I open my eyes slowly to take stock of my body’s injuries.

“How are you feeling?”

Graham’s voice is my saving grace. I stop my train of dark thoughts and look up to his handsome, relieved, and most of all, worried, face.

“Sore,” I croak back. “The worst kind of sore.”

He leans in, but I reflexively flinch away. Though I’m aware it wasn’t him who hurt me, my body recognizes him as the threat.

His eyes fill with pain.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay,” he replies. “You’re right to be afraid of me. I tried to warn you about the danger.”

I pause, unsure how to say the right thing. His guilt is the hardest thing I’ve experienced so far. I don’t know the fate of my ex-boyfriend yet, and I’m not sure if I want to know. In fact, I’d prefer him alive so I can kill him myself for betraying us.

“I’m not blaming you,” I say. “It’s not your fault that I was stupid enough to stand up to the wolf.”

He frowns. “Cassie, you could’ve died because of me. I nearly killed you. You saw firsthand what I’m truly capable of. I’ve never lost control like that before. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you…”

“I’m okay,” I assure him, barely feeling any pain at all. “Speaking of, what exactly happened?”