( … continued)
The door slammed open with a thunder that shook the frame off its hinges.
Dante stormed in like a hurricane, unleashed….shoulders squared, fury etched in every taut line of his body, his wolf bleeding into his voice.
"WHO WAS IT?!" His roar rattled the jars that still trembled on the shelves…sent the air crackling like lightning. "Who the fuck dared attack Amara inside my pack?!"
Archer spun from the window just in time, guilt flashing too deep across his features before he tried to smother it. His boots scraped against the floor, body tensed as if caught in the act.
His Alpha's gaze pinned him instantly.
Archer's throat bobbed. His lips parted. No words. Then all of a sudden.
"I…I…" he fumbled, eyes darting from Dante's burning stare to the unconscious Amara.
But before he could finish…the front door creaked.
Both heads turned.
And in walked Delilah.
Archer's heart dropped like a stone.
Dante's eyes narrowed with instant irritation.
Archer lunged a step forward, hand snapping out to catch his sister's wrist, to drag her back, out, anywhere…slap her then and there…the fuck was she thinking waltzing back like that…before she destroyed them both.
But Delilah slipped from his grip with practiced ease, her face the very picture of innocence.
"Oh, Archer?" Her voice dripped with feigned surprise as her gaze flicked between the two men. "And Alpha Dante is also here? I came running to check on her after I heard about the… mishap."
Archer's pulse spiked. Mishap?!! This little piece of shit!!!
He wanted to strangle her himself for that word alone.
Delilah didn't care. Her lips tilted into a faint pout, her voice lilting with mock sympathy.
"Who was it who attacked her so brutally, Alpha? I mean… despite everything she's done to you…"
Her eyes fluttered towards Amara, lashes batting like false wings.
"Nobody deserves to die like this."
She strolled closer, each step measured, yet careless.
Archer's eyes burned holes into her…pleading, warning…shut the fuck up before you hang us both.
But of course Delilah ignored him. She lowered herself by Amara's head, fingers hovering delicately like a saint in prayer. Her hand even dared to brush Amara's temple, as if to check for fever.
"Poor thing," she sighed, feigning sorrow.
The air thickened.
Dante's voice shattered it.
"Archer."
The Beta jerked upright at the call. "Yea…Yes, Alpha?"
"There was someone choking Amara before I came in." His words were low, carved with steel. "Did you catch any movement?"
Archer's tongue felt like sand. His throat clamped, sweat prickled hot down his spine.
"I…umm…" he stammered.
His mind ran wild. Delilah's voice hissed in his skull. Dante's eyes sliced into his skin.
Finally, he somehow stuttered.
"Yeah… The window. The window was open. I tried to look. But…nothing."
Dante's gaze flicked towards the open sill, his jaw tightening, thoughts grinding visibly in the shadows of his expression. He nodded once, slow, as if piecing something together only he could see.
Archer breathed…shallow, sharp, relief scratching his ribs.
Then…his own voice betrayed him. "Wait…"
The word fell out before he could snatch it back.
He froze.
"How…" his voice cracked, his eyes cutting back to Dante with dawning dread.
"How did you know she was choking?"
Silence.
Heavy.
Loaded.
Dante's head turned, slow as death itself.
His eyes rose to meet Archer's.
No words. An unspoken exchange.
And in that gaze Archer knew… " No way, Alpha! Your bond?! But… but how can that be… it's… it's impossible… "
Dante's lips parted…he was about to speak…explain what Archer was nowhere near ready to hear… what he didn't understand himself…
When a shriek split the air.
Delilah's.
Her voice pitched high,too dramatic. "Oh my moon! Brother! Alpha…look at this!!"
Archer's head snapped towards her.
His stomach twisted. What the fuck now?!!!
She stood by the cot, her palm shaking, but not with fear…no, he knew his sister too well. This was her stage, and she was reveling in it.
"Someone tried to poison Amara," she gasped, holding up a tiny empty vial between two trembling fingers. Her eyes glistened with mock horror. "Who could be so cruel?"
Archer's jaw clenched so hard it ached.Poison?!!!What the fuck!!!
Where the fuck did she pulled that from?
"Delilah…" his voice burst forth low, warning, but his sister didn't even glance at him.
Dante's gaze, however, had already snapped to the slow, steady drip feeding into Amara's veins.
The Alpha's nostrils flared once. Twice. His body went rigid as realization struck.
"Fuck!!!"
A loud growl tore out of him.
In the same breath he moved.
"Damn it!!!" Dante's roar shook the walls as he ripped the line free. The needle tore out of Amara's soft skin. He hurled it across the room as if it was an explosive.
"Amara?!" His voice cracked, raw. "Amara, can you hear me?"
Her head lolled against his arm as he hauled her against his chest, his hands gripping too tight, desperate.
"Fuck.Goddammit ,answer me,Amara!!" He shook her gently, fiercely, his mouth right at her ear. "Amara! Open your eyes. It's a command!"
His eyes blazed with panic, voice guttural, almost breaking. "Doctor?! Where is the goddamned doctor?!"
Immediately echo of boots thundered down the corridor. Nurses and healers burst into the infirmary, scrambling forward with fear.
But before they could even lay a finger on her…
Delilah's arm shot out, stopping them with a dainty flick of her wrist.
Her voice cut through the chaos. "Oh my God, Alpha…" she whispered, louder than necessary. "Look what else I just found."
Every head turned.
Her hand dipped low, sliding beneath the narrow cot where Amara had been resting. She straightened with a flourish…fingers curled around something gleaming.
Golden.
Archer's stomach bottomed out.
"…no. No, you didn't." His whisper was hoarse.
But Delilah's smirk was barely masked as she stepped forward.
"Under her bed, Alpha." Her tone was pure, poisonous sugar. She lifted the object…slowly…deliberate, savoring the weight of the moment. "This was right under here."
She placed it in Dante's palm, lingering…too long. Her fingers brushed his skin, deliberately…staying there for no reason before Dante yanked it out of her palm.
A golden emblem.
Dante's hand closed around it.
His breath caught. His wolf roared beneath his skin as he recognized the symbol etched into the metal.
The Royal emblem of the Silverhales.