Wanted: Wild Thing

Chapter Fifteen

I came to sometime later, my eyelids heavy as if there had been a brick resting on each one. My mouth tasted like a wad of cotton, and my head felt fuzzy. I could hear crickets chirping, and the grass under my head was wet. My eyes slowly focused, and I looked up at a canopy of leaves overhead.

Huh?

I scrubbed at my mouth, hating the taste of it and wishing I could remember more of how I’d gotten here. Every bone in my body ached, and something hard was digging into my lower back. My head pounded, and I lifted a hand to rub at it . . . and realized that I had horns.

Frowning, I glanced at my hand and realized it was scaled.

Scales . . . trees . . . flashes of last night rolled through my mind. Crawling out the bathroom window. A car wreck. Hugh’s animalistic roars. A woman’s face slid in and out of memory. Sickness rolled through my gut.

I’d been kidnapped.

I rolled over in the grass, my blunted claws digging into the earth as I assessed the situation. My eyes were having a hard time focusing on my surroundings, but it was warm and humid in the area, and birds chirped somewhere in the distance. Insects buzzed, and the ground underneath me felt wet with dew. The smells of dirt and plants overwhelmed my senses and made my stomach churn sickeningly. I wanted to throw up. Had the disguised fae prince managed to get me to the fae realm after all? Was that why I was in my changeling form?

Something fuzzy touched my back and I jerked upright, flipping over with a shriek to look.

An enormous saber-toothed tiger stared back at me, green eyes gleaming. The long fangs protruded from his mouth, gleaming and dangerous and inches away from my face.

I heaved a sigh of relief. “Hugh.” I reached out and grabbed the cat by the ruff to kiss his nose. “Oh, my God, you have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

A rough tongue swiped at my cheek, the cat version of nuzzling. I laughed with relief, and it turned into a sob. “I don’t know what happened last night. My mind’s all messed up. Where are we?”

The cat nosed me again, expectantly.

“I don’t speak saber-tooth,” I told him. “Nor do I interpret nose-butts.”

The cat made a low, grumbling noise in its throat that might have been either a purr, a growl, or a laugh. I couldn’t tell. He turned, paced away a few steps, and his shoulders hunched.

I knew what that meant—a shift. I closed my eyes to give him a bit of privacy, waiting patiently for him to finish shifting. A moment later, a big hand brushed my cheek. I opened my eyes and looked into Hugh’s human face.

He was stark naked.

I glanced down at my body. So was I, for that matter. “Where did our clothing go?”

“You transformed when I carried you through the portal,” Hugh said. His gaze, surprisingly anxious, continued to search my face, and his thumb stroked my chin. “I had to take your clothing off or it would have hurt you. Your dress was very tight against your skin.”

Oh. That it was. It made sense, I suppose. I still had trouble focusing. “And your clothing?”

“Tore it when I shifted.” He shrugged, as if it wasn’t important. “Are you well?”

“I’m not hurt? All my scrapes and bruises are gone.” I distinctly remembered broken glass and blood on my hands and knees, but the scabs on my skin were only tender and well on their way to healing.

“Time has passed. You have been asleep for some time.”

I pressed two fingers between my brows, wishing my headache would go away. “Last night seems to be a blur.” Try as I might, I couldn’t recall everything. It flashed in and out of my mind in a vague jumble of images.

“The fae tried to grab you,” he said, then angrily bared his fangs. “You went with him. Why?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think. “I think he drugged me. Roofie. It’s something someone can put in your drink that gets rid of your inhibitions. Basically it makes you unable to say no.” I shivered. “I can’t believe I was roofied.”

“And nearly taken.” His eyes narrowed, and that hard look crossed his face again. “I nearly lost you.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, then grimaced. “And I don’t know why I’m apologizing. I didn’t know I was going to be drugged.” I glanced around at our surroundings. “So you took me here? To the primordial realm?”

Hugh gave a short nod. “There was much chaos after your car turned over. People were arriving, and I had lost my clothing because I’d changed. They were going to take you away, so I chased them off and took you. The fae ran and I could not find him.” He bared his extended fangs again, Hugh’s version of a scowl. “I think he shifted faces once more.”

I rubbed my arms, shivering at the thought. “If he can change faces over and over again, I don’t know how I’ll be safe from him.”

“You will be, here in the primordial realm with me,” Hugh said fiercely. “You will not leave my side.”

“But we can’t stay here. Finian won’t like my being here, because it messes up his schedule. Time passes differently in this place, so that screws up how much time I have left before I fully turn.” I extended my arm and regarded my scales. They were a pale green, softly gleaming. It was . . . pretty. That was strange. I touched my face and wondered how different it looked. I craned my head, trying to glimpse my wings, but they were still wrinkled and lay against my back, not fully developed.

Hugh got to his feet, leaving me eye level with his rather impressive equipment. “At this moment, I do not care what Finian likes or does not like.” He extended a hand down to me.

I took it, blushing and trying not to glimpse the cock I had been eye level with just moments ago. My feet were still wobbly, and my legs were feeling weak. I struggled to take a few steps, then sighed at how much it made my head spin. “I think I’m still hungover from the drugs.”

“I will carry you,” Hugh said. He reached for me, and before I could protest, he swung me into his arms. One strong hand grasped my thigh and supported me behind my knees, and the other crossed my back and pressed me against his chest.

My breast pushed against his bare skin and I gasped, feeling need flood through me. “Sorry.”

“Do not apologize for touching me,” Hugh gritted as he shifted me against him.

“Yes, but . . . you don’t want to be tempted,” I said, feeling that same overwhelming sadness. I shifted, trying to get comfortable in his arms without pressing too much of my body against his. “I won’t do that to you anymore. It’s not fair to you.”

“Ryder, do not worry about me.” Hugh pulled me closer to his chest, shifting me so I had no choice but to press a hand against one lightly furred pectoral. “Get comfortable. It is a long walk back to the caves.”

“The caves?” I looked at him in surprise. “Is that where we’re going?”

He gave a short nod and began to walk.

“Are . . . are you sure you want to carry me? I can walk. I just need time to adjust—”

“Let me care for you,” he said softly. His arms tightened around me. “Relax. Sleep if you need to.”

I wouldn’t. I remained tense as Hugh cradled me against his chest and continued to stride forward through the swampy forest. After a few minutes of silence, though, I realized Hugh wasn’t breathing hard. He wasn’t winded at all. So I relaxed, lulled by the rocking motion of Hugh’s steps.

Eventually, I even drifted off to sleep, still exhausted.

I woke up sometime later, my cheek cuddled against Hugh’s shoulder, one side of my body warm from lying against him, the other chilly. I glanced around and saw that it had gotten dark while I’d slept. I looked up and saw Hugh’s cat-eyes, gleaming in the darkness. “Where are we?”

“Almost to my home,” Hugh said in a low voice. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, I guess?” I rubbed my eyes and sighed at the sight of my changeling skin. “Still scaly, though.”

“You will be as long as we are here in this realm,” Hugh said. “It is part of who you are.”

“It sucks.” I wrinkled my nose at my scales, though they were now a pale, pretty green. “I hate it.”

“You are beautiful,” Hugh said, ducking a low-hanging branch. “I could look at you all day and never get tired of gazing at you.”

Oh, wow. I felt a wiggle of heat prickle through me at that. “Thank you.”

“I speak the truth,” he said simply.

He did, because he never lied. I basked in his compliment for a time, still snuggled up against him and feeling too delicious to volunteer to get down and walk. There was something decadent about letting Hugh carry me, and I hated to admit that I enjoyed every moment of it.

“We are almost there,” Hugh told me. He shifted, then glanced down at me with concerned eyes. “Can you walk?”

“I can try,” I told him and felt a little twinge of disappointment when he shifted and gently placed me on my feet. I wiggled my toes in the grass. I was hungry and tired, but the fuzzy, confused feeling had left me. I took a few steps and nodded at Hugh. “I’m good. Thank you for carrying me.”

“It was my pleasure,” he told me in a husky voice that sent shivers up my spine and made my folded wings flutter. When he said it like that, it really did sound like it was a pleasure for him.

Was Hugh . . . flirting with me? This wasn’t like him. I gave him a surprised look, and another when his hand slid down my back, as if reluctant to release me. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, then put a hand to the small of my back, just north of my flicking tail. “Come. Do not be afraid. I will protect you from everyone.”

I frowned at that. “Do I need to be protected from the others?”

“They . . . will not be pleased to see me. Now, come.” Hugh nudged me forward.

We dove through low overhanging trees and maneuvered around brushy ferns. The jagged, sheer cliff appeared in the distance, and I felt a pit of dread in my stomach at the sight. Why would the other primordials be unhappy to see Hugh? Had something else happened that I didn’t understand? I kept my worries to myself, since Hugh had gone silent, a sure sign that he was troubled.

Timidly, I brushed my hand against his. For some reason, I wanted to be held. To know that someone was going to help me. That I wasn’t as alone in this as I felt.

Hugh’s hand clasped mine. He laced his fingers through my own, and I felt that weird wiggle of warmth in my belly again. I noticed that his claws were out, though, and glanced up to see his eyes completely dark, entirely animal. He was on high alert.

Then he stopped. He lifted his head and sniffed the air.

I glanced around, seeing nothing. Trees, trees, darkness, and more trees. Just then, a pair of gleaming eyes caught my attention in the nearby bushes. I sucked in a breath and nudged Hugh.

“I know,” he told me. “It’s all right, Ryder. It’s Artur, come to greet us.”

The bushes shook, and a moment later, the warrior emerged. He was fully naked as well—strange how I still wasn’t used to all the naked beefcake strolling around in this place—and wore a scowl on his brutal, ugly face. His arms were crossed over his chest (which was thicker and broader than Hugh’s, which I didn’t think was possible). “Brother. You will not receive a warm welcome for this return, I am afraid.”

“I had no choice,” Hugh said. His hand detangled from mine, and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head before striding forward to confront Artur.

The gesture was so sweet and possessive that I almost missed the flash of longing in Artur’s gleaming eyes.

Almost.

Hugh came to his friend’s side, and they clasped forearms in greeting, though Artur still didn’t look pleased. Hugh talked to him for a long moment, their voices so low that I couldn’t pick out what they were saying. The nosy part of me wanted to rush forward and listen in, but I suspected that as soon as I got closer, they’d cease talking. Whatever it was, it was clear I wasn’t meant to overhear.

So I shuffled my feet in the wet grass and brushed my hair over my breasts, trying to make it seem like I wasn’t wearing only scales.

Artur glanced at me again, then nodded. “While I cannot say my heart is glad, I do understand you, brother.”

Hugh nodded. “Let’s go tell the others, then. Get this over with.”

“Tell them what?” I asked.

No one answered me.

“Tell them what?” I asked again. “Hello? Cute girl standing right here? Likes long walks on the beach and hates being ignored?”

They both just turned and stared at me.

I sighed. “Never mind. Let’s go and get it over with. Whatever ‘it’ is.”

The two men flanked me (an act I found unnerving), and we continued forward through the woods until we came to the labyrinth of caves. Each dark cave entrance seemed to have a set of gleaming eyes peering out, watching us.

“Wait here, Ryder,” Hugh informed me. He stepped forward and raised a hand to his mouth, letting out a roar that was so loud and tigerlike that it startled me.

“But—”

Artur stepped to my side and shook his head at me, indicating silence.

The other primordial shifters began to emerge from the shadows. I watched, my heart fluttering with something like anxiety as, one by one, they slunk forward, gaze flicking back and forth from me to Hugh.

He glanced around until he seemed satisfied, then said, “You all know of my agreement with Finian. That I sold my services to him, acting as a representative to all of us. I was to complete the vow, and in exchange, we would be given mates so we might end our lonely existence. I am sorry to say that I cannot complete the vow. I have failed all of you.”

I gasped. What? How?

With horror, I watched as the other shifters leapt upon Hugh, burying him in a pile of furious bodies determined to attack.

“Hugh,” I cried, running forward.

Artur grabbed me by the arm. “Do not. All will be well.”

“But they’re hurting him!”

“He expected this. He is letting them vent their rage.” Artur’s hand tightened on my arm. “Do not attempt to intervene.”

I looked at the snarl of men, fists and naked bodies flying. It seemed to be a mosh pit of nudity and anger. If I hadn’t been so distraught at the thought of poor Hugh being at the center, I probably would have enjoyed all the flexing buttocks and bouncing peen. As it was, it just freaked me out.

One large arm shot through the crowd of angry men and grabbed someone’s head, knocking it into another. Two men fell to the ground, only to have another two leap into the fray. Hugh rose for a moment, his nose bloody, a gouge down one cheek. His teeth were bared in a feral snarl, his eyes dark.

Then another man grabbed him by the throat, and down he went into the surging bodies again.

“Hugh,” I cried out, then yanked at my arm when Artur grabbed me again, pulling me away from the fight. “Let go of me.”

“Let them get it out,” Artur told me. “Don’t you know he’s doing this for you?”