Fighting Fate (17 page)

“It was always the fucking princess and her bastard mate.”

She had no idea what he was talking about, but she’d keep that information for later. And there

would be a later. She couldn’t die like this.

She couldn’t die with Logan watching and without being able to touch him one more time.

They hadn’t even had a full day with the mating bond, and now Caym had ruined it all.

She’d be damned if she’d let the demon take Logan from her.

She’d just lost her parents.

She couldn’t lose anymore.

“It’s always the last,” Caym murmured as he set the whip down, the echoing sound sharp against

the stone walls.

Thank God.

“Always the useless.”

Killing this demon would make her day, her week, her life.

“I’ve always wanted to try this,” he whispered.

That couldn’t be good.

She met Logan’s gaze, mouthing her words. “Okay?”

He tried to nod, winced, then mouthed. “Yes. Be safe.”

Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them back. She had a feeling neither of them would ever be

safe again. Maybe they never had been. Maybe safety had always been an illusion and she’d wasted

too much time running from her fate and her feelings. Now she could lose it all before she’d even

grasped it fully.

Regrets meant nothing, only actions. She had to remember that. Though being bound and bleeding

didn’t allow for much action. If only there was a way to escape.

If only…

Caym grinned then snapped his fingers. All at once, the walls melted away, forcing Logan and

Cailin to their knees. She slammed into the ground, pain radiating through her legs. At least she was

alive to feel pain. That was something.

Magic pushed her down to the ground. She forced her head up to glance at Logan, who struggled

with the same force pushing him. Goddess, she just wanted to touch him.

Then gut the fucking demon.

“Stupid wolves,” the demon sneered. “There were never any walls. Never any ways to escape

because everything was an illusion.
My
illusion. You’ve always been my puppets now you’ll die in a

way that will make the others remember. There is only death for the Redwoods. I watched the life

drain out of the pathetic Alpha and his mate’s eyes. I’ll now watch the two of you beg for your lives

then die. There will be no rescue. No survival. You’ll die like you’ve always been fated to.”

“Fuck you,” she grunted.

“You’ve always been so insolent,” Caym said, his voice bored now.

Cailin tried to lift her hand, reaching for Logan, or a rock to smash the demon’s head in. Right

then, she and her wolf didn’t know which she wanted more, and she had a feeling Logan wouldn’t

begrudge her for choosing death and maiming over him.

Caym strode over to them until he stood between her and Logan. He blocked her view of her

mate, and she growled, only to suck in a sharp breath as the magic pressed down on her harder. Caym

knelt in front of her then trailed a finger down her cheek. She flinched, and he slapped her.

Hard.

“Bitch. But don’t worry. Flinch all you want. I’m going to chain you both to the trees you love

and break down the dam holding back the lake. Not only will you drown next to your precious,

precious mate, I’ll destroy the border to the neutral zone, killing the forest you love. All in a day’s

work, and then my plans can continue. Without you two in my path, I’m unstoppable.”

So many things ran through her head at once. Drowning? Goddess, that was one of the ways she

really
didn’t want to go out if she had to die. Destroy the forest? Her Pack would survive this, but the

forest was part of her soul, just like her wolf. That’s why she
was
a werewolf. And why were she and

Logan so important? It didn’t make any sense.

She had to live so she could figure it out.

Then kill the demon.

Magic slammed into her, forcing her back into a tree. Logan rocked into the tree beside her. They

were close enough that she could feel the heat from him, but she couldn’t touch him, couldn’t lean in

and promise everything would be okay.

Because it wouldn’t be.

Caym appeared before them then grinned.

Evil bastard.

He tilted his head, and chains dug into her skin, tying her to the tree. She gulped and fought

against them. Each tug bruised, each pull burned and cut.

Caym reached out, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, and she held back the bile rising in her

throat. Only Logan got to do that. Only Logan got to touch her, love her.

No, this wasn’t love from the demon. She knew that. This was something so dark, so endless, she

didn’t know if they could live through it. As her body worked itself against the chains, she tried to

think of another way out of it, but she couldn’t.

She would die there, a breath away from the mate she’d finally had a chance with, and no one

would hear her scream.

No one but the mate who would die by her side.

“Goodbye, princess,” Caym sneered before blinking away.

She hated the word from his lips. That was Logan’s name for her. Logan’s alone.

“Logan,” she whispered. Her voice hurt, and goddess, she didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t give up, Cailin,” he grunted. He still had cuts and bruises all over his body, and she

knew he was still bleeding, just as she was.

She struggled against her bonds. If she could just get her right hand from the twisted position

Caym had placed her in, she could maybe move a little better.

“I won’t. Damn it. I wish I could at least touch you.” Her wolf clawed at her, wanting their mate.

“I think if I could just do that, my wolf wouldn’t be freaking out so much.”

She turned her head, facing Logan, who struggled against his chains the same way she did. Blood

had seeped into his jeans, and his bare chest looked somewhat clean. She knew it was his back that

had been hurt the most. His back that was currently pressed up against the hard, rough bark of the tree

as he tried to free himself.

“I think I can get my arm free if I keep going, princess. Don’t give up.”

Cailin curled a lip. “I won’t give up. I’m stronger than that.” Though she wasn’t quite sure if that

was exactly true anymore.

“I know, baby. I’m just saying that to needle you. The angrier you are, the stronger you are, the

harder you fight.”

“You’re such a brute, but I’ll take it all.” She cried out as she twisted her wrist too hard, the

bone snapping. “Oh fuck.” Her vision went blurry for a moment, and she had to take deep breaths.

Logan growled. “What did you break?”

“My wrist,” she groaned. “Fuck. I can’t move it. He chained me too fucking good.”

The sound of roaring started to fill her ears, and the hairs on her arms rose. Animals screeched

around them, running away. Birds above them flew in the opposite direction from the roar, and Cailin

met Logan’s gaze again, the worry in them just as potent as her own.

“He broke the damn,” he whispered.

“I can’t move, Logan.” She heard the panic in her voice, but he didn’t comment on it.

“I’m almost there, Cailin. Don’t give up. You got me?” If only she could reach him. “Don’t give

up, princess. I’ll get you. I promise.”

The intensity in his eyes grew with each word, so thick she could almost reach out and touch it.

That was if she could move.

They each struggled against their bonds in a futile hope they could move. The pain of not being

able to touch him became unbearable, almost as much as the pain in her body from the bruises and

cuts.

“Get out, Cailin. You got me? We won’t have much time.” The roaring increased, and she knew

the water was coming.

Fast.

“The water will hit us hard. If we’re lucky, it will break the trees, and then we can get out. Use

all your strength to get free and break the surface. I’ll find you. I promise.” Her wolf begged for him,

and she nodded. “I’ll find you.”

“Not if I find you first.”

He cracked a grin even in the dissolute situation, and she knew she loved him.

“Logan, I—”

Before she could profess her love, the water slammed into the tree. She hit her head against the

bark, her vision going hazy. The water rushed around her, covering her head. She couldn’t see Logan

anymore.

She couldn’t see anything.

Think, Cailin.

Go slow.

You can do this.

She swore the words were spoken in her mother’s voice, and that calmed her enough to think

about what she had to do next. The tree broke under her feet, and she hit the ground, still attached. The

rush of water pulled her against the dirt and rocks, cutting her more.

Some of the chains loosened, and she wiggled free except for her broken wrist. The damn chain

held her down, the pain excruciating. She couldn’t breathe, and she couldn’t see beyond making out

shapes. Every time she tried to move, blinding pain shot through her making her want to vomit.

She bore down, ignoring the agony, and pulled. She felt another bone pop, but she didn’t care.

She’d live without that hand if she had to.

She just had to live.

Her head went hazy as she pulled. She was running out of oxygen. Fast. She couldn’t make out

where Logan had gone. Couldn’t bear to think it.

Her limbs became heavy, but she couldn’t give up. Not without knowing if Logan had made it.

She pulled one more time, the pain nauseating, but she couldn’t move.

Oh goddess, this was it.

Damn it. This
couldn’t
be it.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist, and she leaned into them.

Logan.

Her head bowed, and her body was dying even though she couldn’t give up. He bent over her,

pulled at her chains at the angle she hadn’t been able to get, and broke her free. She used her last

remaining energy to kick up. Logan pulled her with him.

As they broke the surface of the water, she took a deep breath. Choking on water and the burn of

new oxygen.

“Hold on to me,” Logan shouted over the water.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, careful of her wrist, and took in their surroundings. The

fucking demon had broken the damn. Water rushed around them, breaking trees and rocks in its path.

They’d been directly in the center of it all, and if they hadn’t been wolves, they’d have died right

away.

If it hadn’t been for Logan,
she’d
have died.

“We need to get to a safe place,” she yelled. “Once we get to land, we can wait for the water to

pass, and then we can swim to safety.”

“I’m looking.”

She stayed wrapped around him, swimming with him because she couldn’t let him go. She had

the energy to swim alone, but she’d be damned if she’d let go of his touch.

“There!” he shouted. “There’s land over there that the water isn’t rising up against. It’s not going

to get any deeper, so we can rest.”

He faced that direction, and they swam as hard as they could.

She looked over her shoulder and screamed. “Logan!”

He looked over his shoulder and pivoted, protecting her. A log slammed into him, and he cursed

before dropping his head to her neck.

“Logan! Damn it. No.” She could feel his breath, and her wolf calmed slightly. He was just

knocked out. Thank God. With her remaining strength, she swam, forcing Logan to float beside her.

He’d gotten hurt because of her, damn bastard, but if the log had hit both of them, she would have

been knocked out too.

Damn him.

Finally, sweet finally, she made it to land. It must have once been a large hill, but now it looked

like an island in a new lake. She pulled Logan to the dry soil and threw her body next to his. It hurt

like hell, but she didn’t have the energy to do anything better.

She’d worry about heat, comfort, and getting home in a moment.

They were alive.

They would be safe.

She leaned up on her unbroken arm and brushed Logan’s hair from his face. He fluttered his

eyelashes, coming to slightly.

“Cailin?” he rasped.

Oh goddess, she loved his voice.

Loved him.

“You’re safe,” she whispered.

“I’m with you. Of course I am.”

Damn the wolf knew the right words.

Once they got home they’d worry about the demon and his words. She and Logan were

important, and there had to be a reason.

Maybe they could end them. Maybe they were the key.

They had to find out because this was the end. The Redwoods couldn’t go on like this.

They needed peace.

They needed a dead demon.

Chapter Eleven

Logan crushed Cailin to him as gently as he could, their clothes finally dry from the sun, but their

bodies far from healed. Their bodies shook, the adrenaline from trying to survive wearing off rapidly.

He inhaled that scent that was all Cailin, his wolf finally calming now that his mate was relatively

safe.

As safe as they could be in the middle of a flood in enemy territory.

When she pulled back, she patted his arms, chest, and hips, as if making sure he was real. He ran

his hands up and down her body, doing the same. He took in each wound, each bruise. Caym would

pay for all of it. He’d said it before, as had countless others before him, but it didn’t make the oath