Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 193

Chapter 193: Protect Her

Back in Aethelwulf, Braxton and his men moved through the ruined hotel, tracing Claudia’s scent through the reek of blood that hung heavy in the air.

He rounded a corner into a long, dimly lit corridor and found her at the far end, lying motionless in a pool of her own blood.

The sight struck Braxton right in the chest, pushing the air out of his lungs. He rushed forward and dropped to his knees beside her and pressed two fingers to her throat.

There was a faint pulse. like the fluttering wings of a dying bird, but it was there. Relief washed over him.

"Claudia! Open your eyes, Claudia!"

Her eyelids fluttered, lifting slowly. For a moment, her gaze was unfocused, staring at the ceiling, but then she looked at Braxton. A smile tugged at the corners of her blood-flecked lips.

"Alpha," she breathed, weak as a dying candle. "She knows now. She knows everything."

"Where is she?" Braxton asked, leaning close. "Where’s my sister?"

"Gone, I think. Back to Dravengard, if she made it out." Claudia swallowed with effort and forced her hand upward, her fingers weakly clutching at the sleeve of his jacket.

"You must join forces with her now. The two of you, side by side. Fight that monster Rolf and take back what was always your mother’s. Her inheritance. It belongs to you both."

Braxton gritted his teeth, shifting his arms underneath her to lift her up. "I am not talking about inheritances right now. I am taking you home to get medical treatment. You are not dying in this hallway."

But Claudia shook her head with what little strength she had left, her brow furrowing in irritation. "You need to go find your sister. I don’t think she has had enough formal combat training."

"She had killed most of these dark creatures through sheer will and fury, Alpha. She won’t be able to fight off more if she is left alone out there. Go. She needs you right now. Protect her from them."

She paused, coughing weakly, before her grip on his sleeve tightened

"Protect her, Alpha. Even from the King. We need to know that we can actually trust him, and we must make sure she is not in harm’s way when he finally finds out who she really is. Power... power turns men into monsters."

Braxton shook his head fiercely, hot tears springing to his eyes and blurring his vision. He hated feeling helpless, and seeing the formidable woman who had helped raise him reduced to this was breaking something inside him.

"I am not leaving you here to bleed out, Claudia. Stop talking."

"You stubborn, stubborn boy." The faintest fond exasperation touched Claudia’s voice, her eyes beginning to drift closed. "Leave me be. Go to her."

"Claudia! Stay awake!" Braxton snapped, turning his head over his shoulder to look at his beta, who was standing a few feet away with a tense, worried expression.

"Take her and some of the men back to our pack immediately! Get her the best medical treatment we have. I don’t care what it takes, make sure you get her home alive."

The beta nodded quickly, carefully scooping the unconscious woman into his arms and rushing toward the exit. Braxton watched them go, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand before turning to another remaining guard.

"Find Milo," Braxton ordered, his voice dropping into a low growl. "He was supposed to be shadowing my sister. I want to know exactly where he lost her."

***

Back in Dravengard, the great ward was very busy.

Lycans were magnificent creatures with great healing abilities, meaning most of the injured guards were already recovering from their shallow lacerations, but the room was still thick with nurses and doctors hurrying in and out, stitching gashes, wrapping bandages, carrying out cognitive checks on the worst of the dazed.

The injured gammas had all been placed together in one large ward.

In Derek’s own head, Leo would not settle. The beast snarled and growled and paced behind his eyes, restless and furious, mirroring the man.

Derek paced the length of the ward, his phone in one hand, his left arm bound in a cast against his chest.

For what felt like the hundredth time, he tapped his wife’s contact and pressed it to his ear. It rang. And rang. And went straight to voicemail.

He ended the call and immediately pressed it once more, as if sheer stubbornness might force a different result. He got the same result.

"Dammit, Kira," he muttered under his breath, slamming the phone down against his thigh.

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