The Queen's Conquer

Chapter 32 : Entranced

Anima • [aa-nee-muh]
Breath, the vital principle, life, soul.

🖤

~+~

"Get in the lake," Samuel demands.

"How did he escape?" I choke out as my throat closes up, my mate pulling me back on my feet.

Killian's already charging for the rogue when I look in their direction again to ensure I'm not hallucinating, the male shifting swiftly into a blur of golden-brown

"Get in the lake, Anastasia," he repeats, his sharp tone startling me.

I grip onto his forearms, my fingernails nearly puncturing his skin. "What the hell is that going to do?!" I shout.

"He can't touch the water," Samuel says, stripping off my clothes and shoes for me until I'm in nothing but my underwear. The crisp air shakes something within my bones regardless of the sun's rays as my skin meets sheer briskness.

Past him, I watch as Killian sinks his teeth into the rogue's shoulder—but the one-eyed wolf is relentless, slamming his opponent into a nearby tree until Killian releases his hold. All I'm able to do is watch it happen, puzzled as to how the rogue is so much stronger since I last saw him if he's been interrogated and tortured for information about my father—unless...

Ferals, Xander had called them. Not rogues. Not captives that escaped.

He must've been referring to the imprisoned rogues that were taken after the attacks on the Wall from months ago. From before my disappearance. All of them.

Lilith has now shifted and joined her mate, her fur the color of a silver moon as she takes the rogue by surprise, grabbing him by the back of his neck and throwing him off of a downed Killian.

"What do you mean he can't touch the water?" I gasp as I'm dragged towards the edge of Lukalla.

"This lake is the heart of Phantomridge. He's not a member of this pack, meaning if he so much as touches the water, it'll poison and kill him. Now, get in the fucking water before I throw you in myself," he growls.

Sterling's beside us a moment later, asking my mate, "Do you want me to stay with her?"

Samuel only nods. "You do not leave her side no matter what."

A silent understanding passes between the pair as she begins pulling off her shirt, pants, and boots, too, enduring the cool air with me.

Several howls pierce through the thick timber, exposing the rest of the so-called ferals—the fugitive rogues. It takes mere minutes until all of them finally appear, standing their ground at the edge of the woods as they bare teeth at us. I catch a glimpse of a scrawnier one, but despite its size, the wolf seems far from weak—far from tame. As though it's under some sort of trance.

I clutch my mate's arms, dread tangling and ruining my level-headedness. "What about you?" I breathe, searching his blue irises for a sliver of hope. "Samuel, I'm not just going to leave you."

"You haven't been trained enough for something like this," he retorts, pushing me backward until my feet meet the freezing water. A sensation of complete surrender coils around my blood and bones, as though the lake knows the danger we're all under and is desperately trying to save me from it.

"I don't give a shit," I seethe. "Let me help."

"If they take you, you will be gone, Anastasia," he explodes, his chest heaving.