The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 199

“Who knows?” I went to stand. “They’re rogues. It’s not like they’re the most logical—”

Before I could finish, the room spun from the sudden movement, loss of blood, and whiskey in my system. My knees buckled again, and I collapsed. Callum’s arms shot out, gathering me against his chest just before I hit the floor.

The world went dark before I could even make out the word he formed on his lips.

…

Callum’s POV

I stared down at Liora, eyes wide. She’d gone as limp as a sack of potatoes in my arms, presumably from the blood loss. Her face was pale, and her breathing was shallow.

“Liora?” I shook her slightly. “Liora, are you okay? Wake up.”

Nothing. No response. Just something I couldn’t make out muttered under her breath.

I held her for a moment, biting my lip and wondering what to do. If I took her to the infirmary now, then she would get in a lot of trouble. More trouble than me, if Mr. Alder’s—and my parents’—track record was any indication.

Finally, I decided she just needed to sleep it off, so I laid her down on my bed. She stirred faintly, muttering something under her breath again, but didn’t wake. She looked exhausted, and with no wolf, her healing would take far longer than it would with a non-wolfless.

But she would be okay. I pressed my hand against her forehead and checked her temperature just to be safe. Yeah. She was fine, just… exhausted. The thought relieved me more than I expected it to.

My wolf whined, but I ignored him. Jaw clenching, I grabbed my pillow and another blanket and found a spot on the floor. The wood was hard against my back, but at least I wasn’t doing anything stupid.

Even then, as I settled on the floor and shut my eyes, trying to sleep, images of the night kept flashing through my mind. I wouldn’t soon forget the way Liora had jumped in front of that student, just as she had with Bella. Nor would I forget the panic in her eyes when that rogue had tried to take her.

But there had been something else in her eyes, too. Resignation, almost. As if she expected this. As if she would prefer to let herself get taken rather than another.

Who were the rogues looking for, truly? Why did it seem like Liora had been their target all along?

And most of all, why did the thought of something happening to her, despite everything she had done, make it so hard to sleep that night?