Chapter Eleven

Camden seizes my arms and pulls me to the bed, tossing me face-down on it. When I try to scramble upright, he presses a hand to my spine and holds me down, not seeming put off in the least by my struggles. I’m sure, in his mind, I went way too far with my attempt to kill him. In reality, he’s simply yet to realize that I will do anything to protect my sister. He holds me down for several minutes, and I get the sense that he’s trying to calm himself—but that doesn’t stop me from continuing to try to escape.

Finally, he speaks, the words chillingly cold. “You were afraid for your sister,” he says, as if to himself. “Likely assumed she’d come to harm while under my care. That made you lash out, which is understandable, but trying to kill me is still not fucking acceptable.” After another pause, he continues. “I’m going to stripe your ass with my belt—perhaps that will act as a deterrent for any future foolish endeavors.”

Stripe my ass with his belt?I don’t think the bond could turn that level of pain into pleasure. The spanking before was a mere warning; this will be an example of what Camden’s going to do if I cross him so severely in the future.

“Wait,” I rasp. “I’m sorry—”

“Oh, you will be,” he says darkly. “I’ll make sure you’re sorry enough to never repeat an assassination attempt. The more you struggle, the harder I’ll go on you, so it’s in your best interest to stay still.”

I fall motionless at once because I fully believe he’ll deliver on any threat he makes right now. Although I was acting rashly out of fear and anger, I did just attempt to murder him. To him, not punishing me for that would be a concession of weakness—something I doubt he or his wolf would permit.

Camden still keeps a cautioning hand on my back, but I hear him take off the belt with the other. “You get to keep your pants on this time, but if you ever do something that suicidal again, I’ll whip your naked ass until you bleed.”

With that, he lets the belt swing. I hear the telling displacement of air before a stripe of pure, torturous fire ignites my ass from the impact. I can’t help it—I cry out. My entire body jerks involuntarily. Camden isn’t going to take it easy on me.

“Stay. Still,” he warns, before hitting me again and again, not deterred by my yelps and eventual screams when the pain simply becomes too much.

He hits me ten times in total, the blows so shockingly aggressive I’m surprised he didn’t snap my tailbone. The agony is scalding, burning, and unbearable. My entire ass is on fire, and the slightest twitch only amplifies the pain.

When he’s done, I shut my eyes against the tears of pain threatening, forcing them back. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I simply lie motionless on the soft bedding, trying to regulate my breathing.

Camden lets out what sounds like a breath of relief. “Don’t make me do that again.”

When his hand moves from my spine up to my face, in an attempt to brush the strands of hair covering my face aside, I snap, “Don’t you dare touch me, you piece of shit!”

I sit up on my haunches and face him, wishing that he wasn’t immune to my power but knowing better than to try to hit him with my flame again.

He stands fully upright, crosses his arms, and gazes down at me. It looks like it takes every ounce of his willpower to remain still. “Go home. Pack your necessities and Leisel’s as well. Tomorrow morning I’ll be taking you to Kinrith.” His tone gentles slightly when he sees traitorous tears welling in my eyes. “It won’t be so horrible, Sierra. Don’t try to kill me, and I won’t belt you again—that’s a punishment that’ll only be administered in extreme circumstances.”

I don’t say anything because as soon as I open my mouth, I know I’ll cry. Not from the pain though—it’s already subsiding, and I have a pretty high tolerance. I suspect that though I’m not a healer, the magic within me does make me heal faster than humans. No, I’ll cry because Camden is quite literally ruining my life, and worse, Leisel’s.

“You’ll want for nothing,” he tells me softly. “Anything you could possibly wish for will be yours.”

After that, I hear his unspoken words: Anything but your freedom.

***

The ride home is unbearable. Every jostle on Shadow reignites stinging pain on my backside. I keep my winces to a minimum because I don’t want to frighten Leisel even more than she was being confined in a room with shifters for upwards of twenty minutes.

When I walked back to the dining room, I refused to hang my head like a disciplined mate would. My chin was in the air, my eyes disdainful as I took in the curious shifters. My posture was straight as if every step wasn’t painful. I got the sense that Camden somehow liked that about me. When he bid Leisel and me farewell—in the smuggest way possible, of course—I’d seen a glint of pride in his eyes.

Well, fuck that and fuck him. If the bond was a physical thing, I’d light it on fire and watch gleefully as the connection between us was destroyed. Unfortunately, it’s magical and impervious to tampering.

I haven’t yet broken the news to Leisel that we’re going to have to go live with shifters because I don’t know how to. I promised her I’d protect her. I vowed it. And yet, my protection hasn’t proven to amount to anything when it comes to shifters. I’ve never felt so powerless, furious, or ashamed.

We’re both quiet until we get into our home. Then, without speaking, I get to work on our dinner. I’m in the middle of putting together sandwiches when I feel two small arms close around my waist from behind.

“Are you okay?” Leisel asks in a tentative voice.

I blink several times, looking at the ceiling and trying to control the tears that seem determined to escape.

Once I’m confident I’ll be able to keep a handle on my emotions, I turn, crouch, and wrap my arms around my little sister. Even after what I know was a terrifying experience—being alone with a room full of shifters—Leisel’s worried about me. She’s so kind, gentle, and caring. How will she survive if we live among mongrels?

“I’m okay, sweet girl,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I just got some tough news from Camden.” I pause, choosing my words carefully. “He’s issued an order for us to go back to the wolves’ capital, Kinrith, with him. It’s non-negotiable and utterly unavoidable. I—I’m so sorry, Leisel. I did my best to free us.”

She pulls back to consider me, her expression unusually somber. Chip makes a chattering noise that sounds almost consoling from her shoulder.

“Everything’s going to be different now, isn’t it?”

I open and close my mouth several times. “Yes.” Then, trying to focus on something remotely positive I add, “But we’ll be living with much better accommodations. In something resembling a palace, I think, similar to fairytales.” Except in fairytales, the Princess isn’t soulmate to the villain.

“I don’t want a fairytale,” Leisel says, her golden eyes wide and frightened. “Not if it means being with…them.”

Having nothing else to offer, I repeat, “I’m so sorry.”

“Will we be safe there?” she asks.

I consider the question before responding. On a physical level, I think so, because from my understanding mates have a primal drive to protect each other at all costs. Wolves especially turn protective with human mates, since they’re so much more fragile than fellow shifters, even when receiving strength from the bond post-consummation. Granted, Leisel and I aren’t exactly human, but we’re still more physically fragile than mythics.

On an emotional level, however, is an entirely different story. My intuition’s telling me that upcoming events will put me under more stress than I can imagine. I’m determined not to allow the stress to spill over to the young healer in my arms.

“As safe as we can hope to be,” I tell her. “I’m not a fan of shifters…but being mated to such powerful ones will give us more protection than we have here.” As much as I wish my fire had burned Camden right into a grave… “Wyatt would give his life to protect you.” If for no other reason than the bond will drive him to do so.

Leisel blinks slowly. “Will Camden protect you?”

I swallow because he’ll be the biggest danger to me possible. While Leisel’s young, and will therefore be treated according to her age, I’m an adult, and I’ll be punished for my indiscretions as an adult—as Camden demonstrated tonight.

Not wanting to worry Leisel with details, I say, “Yes.”

Leisel’s hands tighten around me, and then still for a moment. “You’re hurt,” she somehow realizes and pulls back to look me over. She can sense pain too? Not just see it? A powerful healer indeed.

“I’m alright, my love.”

“Where are you hurt?” she demands.

Knowing that she won’t let this go, I murmur, “I think I might have twisted my ankle earlier. I’ll be fine by morning.”

It’s not a lie—I did awkwardly roll my ankle when Camden was pulling me out of the dining room, but that pain’s been overshadowed by adrenaline born of fear, as well as the pain from the belting.

I feel a warmth spark in my waist and know it comes from Leisel. Before I can protest, it travels to my ass, healing the raw flesh, and then shoots down to my ankle. Within seconds, I no longer feel even a twinge of discomfort anywhere on my body.

Seeing her power at work makes my thoughts flick back to the duel earlier today. More specifically, the fact that time somehow slowed down to my benefit. That wasn’t a power stemming from me; I know that for sure, which meant it was most likely somehow a result of divine intervention. I prayed to Hecate and she responded. The question is, why? Why would the goddess of witches do that? Initially, I thought it might be to help release me from the Rockwell Pack, but that clearly isn’t the case as Camden still found out about Leisel’s and my powers. A divine being such as the goddess of magic must’ve known that would happen.

Perhaps she wanted to spare me pain or perhaps it could’ve been her intent for my powers to eventually be revealed, though that doesn’t explain her aid. Whatever the case is, it seems I’ll never know, and I certainly don’t intend to tell anyone just what occurred. After all, magical aid—whether stemming from me or not—would be classed as breaking the laws of duelum and would give Camden further grounds to take me with him.

I release a sigh and give my sister a squeeze. “Thank you, Leisel. Now let me finish making the sandwiches. We’ll pack in the morning, and then we travel to the capital of mutts.”