A Cursed Embrace(45)

And that’s when my heart stopped beating.

Koda and Gemini sprang from the Yukon. The scent of spilled gasoline burned my nose, and the cool night breeze slapped my face as I shoved the door open. But it was the thunder of Aric’s growls that had me jetting behind the wolves.

The crowd of weres that easily parted for Koda and Gemini became an impenetrable wall of bodies the second I neared. “Let me through.” My voice should have spewed all the anger and terror coursing through me. Instead it softened and shook, revealing nothing but my fear for Aric.

“Not your business, cat,” the same leather-clad were spit the moment he caught my scent.

“But I’m—” What? The girl he’d slept with? I cleared my throat. “Aric’s friend.”

A werecheetah dressed in a slinky gold dress quirked an eyebrow. “Aren’t we all?” she whispered in a breathy tone that told me more than I wanted to know.

I scanned the area for a possible opening, only to fix on the pale skin of the very still and very dead human to my far right. Droplets of blood stained his white T-shirt. His jeans and underwear had been ripped off. Only a tattered piece of denim remained attached to one ankle. He lay spread-eagle on the asphalt near the driver’s-side door of his blue Ford Focus—well, had the door remained attached. The dented clump of metal dumped on an empty lot was all that remained. Claw marks caved the roof in, and clumps of blond extensions littered the passenger-side seat.

What the . . . ?

Another howl of agony had me lunging at the crowd of weres. I managed to bust through the cheetah in the gold dress and another female, only to be forced back by the rest of the group.

Koda’s deep voice shouted over my growls, “Let her through!”

The weres abruptly released me as Koda appeared, his glare parting the crowd like the slice of a machete. He extended his hand. “Come, Celia. Aric wants you.”

Koda was offering me more than his hand. He was making it clear I was to be left alone, or else. I took it quite willingly and allowed him to lead me through. I hurried behind him only to stop short when I caught sight of Aric.

He lay on a makeshift bed of particleboards elevated by stone pavers, an old army blanket covering his naked and writhing form. My free hand clasped over my mouth to suppress my gasp. Aric’s normally golden skin had darkened to a sickly gray, and a waterfall of sweat cascaded down the muscles of his back. About six gaping holes punctured along the length of his spine. I felt my head spinning and I barely grasped onto the realization that he still lived.

Koda’s hold barely kept me upright. What could only be described as a gold, two-pronged meat hook with barbs pierced through Aric’s right shoulder and out his back. Blood and pus oozed from the openings where the cursed gold poisoned his body. No wonder he suffered; the gold mimicked acid coursing through his veins. I tore away from Koda and dashed toward Aric, falling to my knees before him.

My hands pushed his sweat-soaked hair from his clouded brown eyes. My God, his skin was on fire.

“Celia,” he panted.

“I’m here. Don’t worry, we’re going to help you.”

His lids shut tight with pain, but he inhaled deep to take in my scent. “You’re hurt. I can smell your blood.”

I stroked his cheek with my thumb. “We ran into trouble, but it’s taken care of.” Aric jerked his head, and tried to rise. I held tight to his arm. “I’m fine, Aric. I swear it. Please lie down.” Aric slowly lowered, groaning with each small movement. My eyes fixed on Koda. “Tell me what to do.”

The moment Koda approached, Aric let out a growl that sent every hair on my arm to quivering beneath my skin.

Koda stepped back. “Aric was shot with six gold bullets through his chest. They’ve been cut out.” He motioned to Aric’s shoulder. “The barbs go through the length of the hooks, making them harder to remove. The curse from the gold is rushing through his bloodstream. His beast is, well, pissed and trying to protect Aric from further harm. If you can keep his wolf calm long enough, we can wrench out the damn hooks.”

I blinked back at Koda as Aric released another toe-curling growl. Our recent sexual encounter aside, Aric barely knew me. And his beast barely knew mine. Could I keep him calm? I wasn’t so sure. But I’d meant what I said when I promised to help him. My arms fastened around Aric’s neck, immediately silencing his growls. My lips teased over his enough for me to taste the salt from his sweat. “I didn’t think our next kiss would be like this,” I murmured.

Aric’s lids peeled back briefly before Koda and another were jumped on his arms. Two more grabbed his legs while a werebear donning black rubber gloves up to his armpits straddled him and yanked on the hook.