The Alpha Prince's Mate (Book 7 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 53

It was hot. Very hot and his throat was extremely dry. He felt like the sun was searing his skin, and he was laying in the most uncomfortable position possible.

He peeled his eyes open and it took a moment for him to be able to focus. His eyes were blurry. He reached up to wipe them and that's when he realized his hands were chained behind his back. He sighed in annoyance. What the heck had happened to him?

He pulled at the cuffs but they didn't budge. 'Maverick?'

There was no response, infuriating him. He breathed out slowly, forcing himself to calm down. Panicking was not going to help him.

He stopped to take inventory of himself. He was laying on his side. Someone had taken all of his clothes, leaving him out here naked. His hands were chained behind his back, and he imagined, if they had known what he was, those chains were silver.

He scanned the area around him. He was in the desert, sand all around him, and no shelter within his immediate vicinity. Someone had left him out here to die. He sighed. If he was a normal werewolf, he'd probably be much closer to death, disconnected from his wolf like he was, but he wasn't normal, and whoever had taken him hadn't known that.

He didn't feel right though. He felt slightly out of it, and his head was hurting, something he'd never experienced before. He groaned. He also could tell he had sunburn, something else he'd never experienced and he wondered how long he'd been laying here.

He had to at least have wolfsbane in his system, and he wondered if someone had injected him with silver, slowing down his healing. Someone really had set out to kill him.

Ethan rolled himself into a sitting position, and groaned as he looked around. The sun was too bright and it was way too hot. He desperately needed some water, but laying here like this wasn't going to get him anywhere.

He finally got himself to his feet, and began to walk. Slowly, as his feet were chained together as well, and he couldn't do much more than shuffle, but at least now he was moving. The sand was hot, and burned his feet but he kept moving, ignoring the pain.

He let his thoughts drift to what had happened to him, but his mind was a bit hazy and he really couldn't remember. He couldn't remember much of anything; thinking took too much effort, and the longer he was out in the hot sun, the hazier his mind got. If only he could find shelter, he'd rest until the sun went down.

Shade was a priceless commodity though, and he couldn't seem to find any. He realized he had no sense of direction, and could possibly be wandering in circles. Or not. He wasn't even sure anymore. At one point, he thought he saw a body of water and headed for it, but then he lost it and couldn't remember why he'd even headed that way.

Waves of nausea were coming on strong now and he dropped to his knees. He couldn't keep going. He was going to die out here, which at the moment, would be a blessing. He ached all over. He closed his eyes and laid there, his face half buried in the sand, and waited for death.

His mind was so muddled that he wasn't even sure who he was anymore. He just needed to die. Then he could stop suffering.

But death didn't come and the cool air of the night woke him. He groaned as he lay there, fairly certain he had sand in his eye. He still felt horrible, but at least the nausea was somewhat gone.

He needed to get up now. He needed to find shelter before the sun came back up. He couldn't handle another day of wandering around under the brutal sun.

He desperately needed water, too. His lips were cracked and bleeding, and his mouth felt like it too had sand in it. Given that his face was half buried in the sand, it probably did, but at the moment, he didn't care. He hurt everywhere. His skin was raw and blistered.

He moved and the sound of something rattling caught his attention and he froze. What the heck was that? At this point, he hoped it was death, come to collect him from this absolute misery he was in. He moved a bit and something struck him in his arm, making him groan.

He forced himself up, and moved, noticing a light in the distance. He began to move slowly towards it, his eyes fixated on that light. His arm was starting to ache, and he longed to rub it, but his arms were still cuffed behind his back.

The light steadily drew closer as he shuffled towards it, though it felt as though it took forever to get there. He stumbled to his knees more than once, and had to force himself to get up. He was starting to feel nauseous again, and at one point, he stopped to vomit.

His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest and he felt like he couldn't get a deep solid breath. Maybe death was approaching. Finally.

He fell to his knees one more time, and stayed there for a long moment, staring at the ground. He felt cold now, and he realized he was shivering. He forced himself to lift his head. The light was so close now. He could make out a few buildings. Just a few more steps.

Maybe whoever it was would shoot him for trespassing and put him out of his misery. He hoped so. He wouldn't even be upset about it. He'd even stand still.

It seemed to take forever, but he finally approached the house, and somehow dragged himself onto the front porch. He collapsed then, realizing he couldn't go any further, and he fell forward, smacking his face on the door.

The sound of barking filled his ears and the door opened.

"What the..?" A feminine voice said, then cursed. A hand gently touched him, and he moaned. "What happened to you? You poor man."

He didn't answer. He couldn't. He just lay there, feeling someone's comforting touch, until it suddenly disappeared. He could feel a vibration against his cheek, and a moment later, something wet touched his cheek.

"Sassafras, leave him alone," the feminine voice said. "I'm going to cut those chains and trust you not to hurt me, while I asses the damage."

A loud noise sounded and suddenly his arms came forward, and dropped heavily. A similar noise rang through the night.

"Okay, I need to get you up before you pass out. You have to help me though, because you're a big fellow."

Well, it didn't sound like she was going to shoot him, which was rather disappointing. He did his best to help her haul him up and stumbled through her house.

She took him into a room, flipping on the light, and her eyes scanned over him. He heard her curse again. "Let's get you to bed. Fortunately for you, I'm a doctor. Though honestly, I'm not sure how you're not already dead."

She got him into the bed, and frowned as she pulled the blankets up. "These aren't going to feel good against your skin, but for now, I'm going to get you some water and see what I've got to take care of you. I have a feeling you have sun poisoning."

He closed his eyes when she left the room, and breathed out slowly. The blankets were irritating his skin, but they took the chill off.

She came back a few moments later, a glass in one hand and a pitcher in another. She sat down on the edge of the bed, and held a straw up to his lips. He eagerly took a few sips of the water before she pulled it away. "Not too much or you'll be puking it back up. What's your name?"

"I don't know," he whispered.

She nodded. "Can't say I'm surprised. I'm going to get an IV started on you, and get some fluids in you first, then I can assess what kind of damage has been done. I'm also going to get those cuffs off of you."

She disappeared again and he shut his eyes. Just the small amount of water had been amazing, but he hurt everywhere, especially his arm. He didn't feel well at all.

She appeared again a few moments later with an IV bag and pulled back the blankets to reach his arm. She cursed again. "Snake bit. Well that's just the icing on your crappy cake, isn't it."

She sighed and moved over to the other side of the bed, and his other arm. "I have no idea how you aren't dead, and how you're even lucid. I'm going to sedate you. You have to be absolutely freaking miserable and sleep is healing. I'll take care of you. My name is Rose by the way, and for now, we'll call you John, since neither of us has any idea who you are." She got the IV situated, and looked back at him. "Good night, John."