15. ANGEL

“If I could kill you, I would. But I’ll settle for beating you up instead." “Shut up, Mason.” “Don’t tell me to shut up! This could have been avoided if he had informed her not to report as a slave anymore.” “It’s your own fault! You should have explained things more clearly to her!” “Both of you shut up and get the damn door open!” Sounds slowly penetrated my ears when the arguing died down. I could hear the howling wind more clearly and the raindrops hitting whatever roof we stood under. I was resting against someone’s solid chest. Our clothes were soaked, and the cold was seeping into my bones. I couldn’t feel my hands or feet. “Get her inside,” Lucas ordered. “I’ll start the fire.” And Lucas was married to her. Opening my eyes, I stared up at the face above my own. Nate was focused on where he was going. I flinched when bright light filled the room. Squeezing my eyes closed, I turned my head into his chest. “Hey, honeybee,” he said softly. “Everything is okay.” I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to believe him or not. They locked me in a small shack because I ruined one of the queen’s dresses. It was only an accident and I had offered to fix it. Queen Arabella was not the woman I had imagined her to be based on all the rumors I'd heard about her. She was mean and, in all honesty, a real bitch. He’s having a baby. “I’m going to take off your clothes,” he said softly as he lowered himself to the floor. “It will be easier to warm you up once your wet clothes are off. Lucas is going to start the fire and Mason is grabbing some blankets.” I blinked up at him as he lowered me to the floor. “Can you tell me where you are hurt?” “D-don’t know,” I croaked. “Wiggle your fingers.” I did as he ordered even though I couldn’t feel them. “Good. Now wiggle your toes for me.” It was a little harder but manageable. “Good.” “Give her some of your blood to heal her,” Lucas ordered. I pulled a face, making Nate smile down at me. While he was busy unbuttoning the front of my dress, I slowly turned my head to watch Lucas. He was busy stacking wood into a stone fireplace. When he was done, he moved back a few inches and then did something I wasn’t expecting. His lips parted as he sucked in a deep breath and when he blew it out, fire came out of his mouth. The wood instantly caught flame. He stayed by the fire for a few seconds before he stepped away. For a few seconds, his eyes locked with mine, but then he walked away. The dress slipped away, making me shiver. Goosebumps broke out over my skin. Slipping a hand to the back of my neck, Nate slowly helped me to sit up. He pushed the dress off my shoulders and then easily unhooked my bra. Dropping my wet clothes aside, he lowered me back to the floor and started pulling his own clothes off. The moment he started unbuttoning his shirt, I closed my eyes. It wasn’t long before he pulled me against his chest again. Two thick blankets were thrown over us. “I know this isn’t your favorite thing to do, but I need you to drink some blood.” His lips brushed my cheek. “Do you remember what happened?” Darkness surrounded me. There was nothing but silence. Until it all changed. The wind started picking up. It made the walls tremble. And then it suddenly started raining. Softly at first but then it got harder and harder until the rain drowned out every other sound there was. But I had heard the loud crack before something fell onto the roof of the shack and everything came tumbling down on top of me. I was pretty certain that I shouldn’t be alive, but by some miracle I was. “Angel?” “I remember,” I whispered. “You’re injured and my blood will heal you.” Can it heal broken bones? Nate held his arm out and cut his skin with a sharp claw. Blood instantly started to well. “Drink fast, honeybee. We heal fast.” He held his arm closer to my face. I hesitated and then reached out to grip his arm. Swallowing, I squeezed my eyes closed and forced myself to drink the blood that was offered. The warmth of it filled my mouth. And then the taste registered. His blood was much sweeter than Lucas’s blood. A moan fell from my lips before I could stop it. “That’s it,” he growled against my ear. “Take my blood.” I shuddered and gripped his arm tighter. Just as I was getting used to the taste, it didn’t fill me anymore. “Let me get you some more,” he whispered. My hold on his arm loosened just enough for him to pull his arm back so he could cut his skin again. There was no hesitation the second time. Nate groaned and pulled me closer against his body. There was no mistaking the feel of his hard length pressing into my lower back. “Can you feel what you’re doing to me, Angel?” I nodded. When his blood stopped filling my mouth, I pulled away and licked his skin clean. Nate gripped my chin gently and turned my face towards his. “Okay?” I licked my lips, making his eyes drop to follow the movement of my tongue. Cupping my cheek, he brushed his thumb over my cheekbones. His eyes darted up to my forehead and then lowered down my body. “Now all we have to do is clean the blood from you so we’re sure that you are healing.” “I’ll heat some water.” My eyes darted over to Mason as he passed us. He had a blanket wrapped around his waist, leaving his upper body bare. I stared at the scars covering one side of his body until he disappeared from sight. “W-where are we?” I asked, turning back to Nate. “At our cabin. We’ll stay here until the storm dies down and then return back to the castle.” I frowned. “Lucas is here.” “We have procedures set in place in case something like this happens. While Lucas is away, Xavier and the council are taking care of things until he returns.” His eyes darted over my face. “Lucas has most of the things handled anyway.” My eyes dropped to his chest. “Oh.” Reaching out with a shaky hand, I traced the dark line on his chest. It matched the mark on my wrist, only it was a bigger, more colorful version. “It’s beautiful.” “So are you.” Smiling, he leaned forward, but hesitated when our lips were only inches apart. I closed my eyes and closed the space between us. Lucas had kind of already taught me how to kiss by the creek. But it was different with Nate. His hand slipped to the back of my neck as his lips forced mine apart. “Water is ready.” Slowly, Nate pulled away. “Let’s get you clean honeybee.” I nodded, even though the last thing I wanted to do was stop kissing him. Mason dropped to his knees in front of us with a bucket and a towel. His eyes darted over my face and lingered on my forehead. Dropping the end of the towel into the hot water, he leaned forward to wipe the blood from my skin. My breathing sped up as he moved the towel lower over my neck. It felt like my skin was on fire. I was struggling to suck air into my lungs. “It’s okay, honeybee,” Nate muttered. “Just let us take care of you.”