Chapter Twenty-Eight

Celina

Bright sunlight wakes me up and as I go to shield my eyes, I feel a hand grab mine. His scent hits me, making me relax into him. “What happened?” I ask him, feeling a bit sheepish. Hindsight is twenty-twenty and it’s clear I’m the dumbass in this bed.

“I found a white lycan injecting you with Wolfsbane. I managed to scare him off and get you here. Dr. Ariah came by and examined you. The rogue gave you a minuscule amount of Wolfsbane that was designed to last only a few hours. You had a deep bite wound on your back and the back of your legs were sliced up pretty good as well. The rest of your injuries are minor and will be healed by morning. She’ll come back and check on you in the morning.”

I groan, my body fully agreeing. “I think she got it dead on. I’m still trying to catch up on what happened.”

“What did happen?” Chris asks, his voice restrained and his grip on me slightly tensing.

I rub my face as I try to remember. It’s still a bit foggy. “I lured Randaul out to an isolated wooded area that I’m familiar with. I had an escape, but I miscalculated on how many men he’d likely bring, and how strong he actually is. To get away, I slit his throat with my claws and shifted and ran into the woods.”

I have to slow down to try to remember. My memory is in shambles and it’s hard to recall everything clearly. “I was making my way towards the stream. I remember that, and I was being careful so I could hide my scent and tracks. Something…something attacked me from behind. They bit the middle of my back and pushed me on the ground while their claws were digging into my rear legs.”

I have to shake my head to try to recall more. “I-I managed to kick him off and get a good couple of slashes on his stomach. He tried to bite me, but I managed to get a good latch on his arm. I don’t remember much after that. I think that’s when he jammed the needle in my neck.”

He lets out a deep hum as he mulls that over. “You think? Are you having problems with your memory?”

I nod slowly, feeling especially unnerved by this. “Why is that?”

He puts his lips on the top of my head. “Dr. Ariah drew some labs; I’ll have her run some tests.”

I laugh. “I do keep her busy when I’m in town.”

“Is she a friend of yours?”

“I guess you can call her that.” I feel him relax a little. I try to sit up but he holds me down. “What’s wrong?”

“You scared the hell out of me Celina, and you pissed off the others. You shouldn’t have left us behind. If I was a minute later, you would be gone.”

He’s not wrong. I just didn’t want to risk losing my chance to get Randaul. “It was a calculated risk and not one I’ll be making again. Especially with that rogue sniffing around.” I sit up, grimacing as my back protests. “He managed to get past Randaul’s pocket men, and he had an exit plan. That’s clear because he ambushed me. I’ve never seen someone like him reveal themselves without an exit strategy.”

“How did he get past you?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. I felt no other beast’s presence, and there was no scent. My wolf didn’t even pick up on him.”

This time, when I try to sit up, Christopher lets me. “Where-where is my phone?” I’m starting to remember my conversation with that classless traitor, so I need to get moving on my backup plan.

“Smashed. Why?” He sits up, making me turn my head. A blush creeps over me as I notice him shirtless. He’s wearing grey sweats and smells amazing.

A frown crosses my lips when I see a long gash on his shoulder. “You’re hurt,” I pout as I touch his wound.

He chuckles as he gently grabs my hand to kiss it. “It’s nothing compared to what you received. Now, why do you need your phone?”

“I got ambushed, you got it because of me.” I shake my head as I stand; starting to realize that I did too much without thinking. I’m playing in a league of strengths higher than I’m used to. I may be able to overpower my opponent with my aura’s strength, but physically I’m way out of my league. I’m going to need help, and that’s going to be hard to swallow.

I take a hard breath as I look at him. If he hadn’t just risked his neck for me, I don’t think I could muster these words. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone alone. I’m so used to being stronger than everyone, that I forgot I’m not dealing with regular lycans and werewolves.”

His jaw opens, slightly floored by my response before recovering quickly. “No, you shouldn’t have. We’ll discuss the repercussions of your actions later. For now, we have to figure out what we need to do about the Council. Get dressed, we have a lot to talk about.”

I nod and quickly shower and change into black sweats and a grey tank top; leaving my hair down to air dry. Chris is waiting on the bed for me. His eyes are hard as he glares at me, shifting to black as he looks me over, searching for my wolf. I let Mara take over for a moment, making Chris and his beast relax before she settles back down. She’s exhausted from the day’s events, and I can’t say that I blame her.

“Mara, are you okay,” I ask her, feeling how unnerved she is. “Did he hurt you?”

“Please don’t tell Rajin, but I felt the rogue’s beast. He wanted to mark me, and he called me his mate. I told him off and told him that I already claimed my mate, but I can’t say I was repulsed by him. His beast’s name is Sephtis. He’s stronger than Rajin, and his power is what is tempting.”

My entire body becomes tighter than a highwire when her words hit me. “He’s your mate? Who is his human?”

“I don’t know his human’s name, but they’re nearly as in sync as we are; which means that they have a leg up on Rajin and Chris. That’s also what makes them at least a league stronger than Rajin. I think Sephtis was trying to distract me since I didn’t feel that pull.”

“What exactly did Sephtis say?”

“He told me that I’m his mate, and I may as well let him declare me as his, since you were going to be marked anyway. That’s why they used the Wolfsbane on you. So it’d make me lose my shift, and his human could bite you before moving you to their home.”

“And if I accepted his mark, you lose Rajin’s, and Sephtis is free to mark you.” I close my eyes and shake my head, completely realizing what one of my slip-ups could mean to Mara. I could cost her her mate. That thought instantly sobers me up. I need to be more careful if I want Mara to be safe and happy. “Don’t worry Mara. I won’t let anything happen to you and Rajin.”

I look at Chris. “I’m going to need some help this weekend.”

“Holy shit!” I hear a very familiar and annoying voice yell. “Did I just hear my sister admit she needs help?”

“Shut up Xander,” I shout back as I go to open the door. Xander is grinning with his arms folded. He looks tired and the coffee stain on his white t-shirt proves it. “You’re not going to like what you have to help me with.”

He raises his eyebrow, “What is it?”

“Randaul told the Council what my degree is in. I have a very small window to move my backup plan into action and get my degree. That means I’m going to need massive amounts of help studying.”

“Celina, I sent your voice recording to the Kings and the Council. Dad and your soon-to-be Father-In-Law are now in full control. You and I have been called back to start the investigation.”

That takes a minute to sink in. “We’re investigating?”

He nods. “Yes, we are. The entire Council has been placed on leave. We have a flight out Monday night.”

“Monday?” I ask, taking it in with my stress level almost audibly rising. “I can make that work.”

“Make what work?”

“Taking my finals before our flight.” I push past him. “I need a phone.”

“Celina, you can take your finals next year,” Xander reasons, trying to follow me.

“With my degree choice?” I ask him doubtfully. “Besides I put in a hell of a lot of hours, years of sacrifice, and I’m sure some years off of my life, into getting this degree. I’m taking the damn shot while I have it.” I start looking for any cell phone lying around. That’s when I notice something is missing. “Where is Jenna?”

“She was collected about two hours ago.”

“What? Why?”

“Because she’s a traitor,” Xander’s tone implies it should have been obvious.

A deep breath escapes me as I think about that. I shake my head to dislodge that realization. I can’t be distracted right now. “I need a phone. Now.”

“Well, I’m programming your new one right now. You’ve got to stop breaking these Cel.”

“Hey, the last one was because of that lycan creep.” I shudder. “I met him by the way. He’s not a nice man.”

“Excuse me,” Ruben demands, and I just notice him sitting on the couch. “When?”

“When I was escaping Randaul. Fucker came out of nowhere.” I lift the back of my shirt and twist to show him the still-healing wound. I lock eyes with Xander as I lower it. “Phone please.”

“You need to explain what happened,” Ruben says sternly while Xander hands me his phone.

“Shh,” I hiss as I dial a number that I memorized in case the Council ever found out my true degree. “Leroy,” I start quickly the second the line connects. “I need to put plan negative z in motion.”

“They finally figured it out huh,” he chuckles. “What happened?”

“All very bad things. The Council is being investigated. The Kings are in control. I’m getting called in to investigate. This is likely going to be my only shot. Call the Dean and remind him of that heavy bribe I gave him at the start of the year. I will come for his head if he doesn’t get my tests prepared and ready by five Monday morning. Emphasize that.”

“Celina slow down. What happened?”

“I’ll tell you when you call me back.”

“You’re making me worried. Please Cel, what happened?”

I hear a low growl behind me as I speak, “The cliff notes are that I pissed off Randaul and got him removed as the Grand Chancellor, then got attacked by one of my psycho lycan stalkers. Now the entire Council is being investigated, and Xander and I are leading it. We’re leaving Monday night.”

“I’ll be stopping by your house later tonight,” Leroy tells me sternly. “You will tell me what happened. If the Council is being investigated, I should return as well.”

Honestly, he’s not wrong. He’s the next Head Guard. Guarding the Royal Family will be his job. “I’ll let Chris know so he can prepare you.” I hang up and look at Chris; whose face is darkening by the minute. Please tell me he’s not the jealous type.