Forgotten - Dawn Nicole Stevens Page 0,56

finished, she instructed Dirk to lie down on the bed, then carried both the bowl and the pot over to the bedside table. ?Take off your shirt,? she told him as she glanced his direction from the corner of her eye.

Dirk clenched his jaw and pulled off his shirt, then lay back on the bed and took a shaky breath as he watched her gloved hand dip a rag into the pot. He wasn?t sure what to expect, but when the hot water touched the skin of his chest, the burn that it created made him growl out in pain. His skin seared and his body ached as the wolf inside of him began to fight the power of the Wolfsbane. The pain was so intense that when he forced his eyes open, everything around him was dark and blurred as his vision struggled to focus through the pain.

He screamed again and could barely make out the door flinging open on the other side of the room. A figure quickly moved toward him, then it was gone as the pain won out and his body collapsed to unconsciousness to escape it.

***

Fritz opened the door to he and Dirk?s room to find Dirk sprawled on the bed with Ica huddled over him. He knew at once that she?d cast some sort of spell but was uncertain what she could have done that would cause Dirk so much pain. He?d been four doors down speaking with the Kappa officers about their next move when he?d heard Dirk howl.

He lunged for Ica and screamed, ?What have you done??

She quickly moved away from him and held her hand up to keep him at a distance, scowling at him as she straightened her clothing. He glared at her and thought that for one who was afraid of werewolves, she sure had balls.

?It?s not what I?ve done, it?s what I?m doing. I?m not finished so you need to stand back. Do. Not. Touch. Anything.? She spoke to him like one would to a child, spelling out each word clearly. He bared his teeth to her, but stepped back, watching as she spread aloe over the blisters that now formed on the skin of Dirk?s chest. She pulled off her gloves and grabbed the bowl from the table, dipping her fingers in the goo inside it and drawing circles with it onto Dirk?s forehead and temples. He wondered if he should stop her, but Dirk had consented to this. Hadn?t he? He understood how Dirk was feeling and he knew without a doubt that he had. Dirk would try anything if he thought it would bring him closer to his mate.

Fritz stood quietly as Ica recited words he couldn?t understand, ?Xekin铆_ste o_s d媒o kai na eno_tho煤n o_s m铆a . Ekt贸s ap贸 af_t茅s tis psych茅s ap贸 poia ap贸stasi_ 茅chei g铆nei . En贸_sei ta 贸neir谩 tous, 贸po_s akriv贸_s kai oi kardi茅s tous, 贸_ste k谩the vr谩dy bore铆 pot茅 na e铆nai ekt贸s.?

Fritz glanced around the room and noted the herbs and potions, the things he?d expected, but what he didn?t expect was the Aconite sitting on the table. He?d been too angry with Ica and too worried for Dirk that he hadn?t even noticed the heinous smell.

When Ica was finished, he stepped closer to the bed and stared down at Dirk, examining the blisters on his skin that weren?t healing as they should be. ?What have you done, Delta?? he whispered to the still body on the bed.

Chapter 21

Jane awoke as the sun beamed through the basement window in her face. She wasn?t certain what time it was because she?d spent much of her time sleeping. She tried to stand and her body protested, each of her limbs feeling as if they had the weight of a dozen bricks strapped to them.

Slowly, she made her way to the other side of the cell and stared at the wall where she and the other girl had been marking the days. She wasn?t sure if the current day had been marked and decided she should wait for the other girl to wake to ask her if she had.

She slumped down against the wall and wrapped her arms around her aching stomach. It growled and protested the diet she?d been reduced to. She looked back into the corner at the rat carcasses and turned up her nose. She never thought another species? cannibalistic nature would be of any use to her, but when she refused to offer any more information to her captor and