"Look," Raine said, her voice softening. "I cannot take you back in. It's already too late. Maddoc has already entered the room or kicked down the wall or something, and there were king's guard in that room. It's not just fighting knights from the houses or inexperienced men who haven't faced battle before. The king's guard are dangerous to us. They have killed many of us. I cannot take you back up there to be hurt, or taken, or distract Maddoc from what he's doing."
Ana's heart sank. She was right. Glancing back up at the house, she nodded and they both headed down the street.
That evening Maddoc did not come.
Ana paced the pavilion after sundown, expecting him to enter at any moment, but when an hour passed, she began to worry that he may have really been hurt. What if Aldous had caught him, did that mean that they were coming to the camp to get Ana? What hope did the rest of the people here have without Maddoc?
She shook her head pushing away her fears. Slowing her pace down in the middle of her room, she realized that she was fearful for him. She didn't want anything to happen to him, and she could not go to sleep until she saw him.
Peeking out the entrance of the tent, she looked to see if anyone was nearby. Her guard stood a few feet away, but he seemed to be watching something on the other side of the camp.
She tiptoed over to him. "Do you know where Maddoc is?"
He turned, his eyes glistening in the fire light. "Yes. He will come and see you when he is ready, Princess."
"Where is he?"
The guard was silent for a moment. "He would prefer if you waited for him."
"I don't give a fuck what he prefers," she hissed. "I want to know where he is right now."
The guard eyed her. "He is in the healing tent."
“Where is that?”
The guard pointed.
"Is he all right?"
The guard didn't answer. "That's all I know." The guard's answer was noncommittal, but there was clear worry on his face, and she realized that he had been staring across at the healing tent when she approached.
Without saying another word, she walked in that direction, preparing for him to try to stop her. But he didn't, and when she glanced over her shoulder, he was simply following, escorting her there.
The healing tent was surrounded mostly in darkness, but since Ana had never been there before, she was unsure what she would find. Who was the healer in the camp? Did each camp have one or was it one for the whole base?
She stepped toward the opening and peeked inside to see Maddoc’s huge form lying on a raised platform in the middle. It looked like a mix between a table and a bed, possibly what they might use in treatment rooms to treat patients. Next to the table was… Raine.
What? Ana blinked.
They were talking, and she was pressing something on Maddoc’s shoulder, leaning over him and laughing as she did so.
A flare of anger sparked a growly rumble at the back of her throat. What was she doing?
“Princess, I think you should leave him to—”
“Go back to your station,” Ana hissed at the guard, her anger heightening.
He stilled, then took a few steps back, but went no farther.
Ana turned back to the tent, incensed that Raine was in there. Was this really a healing tent or a fuck tent? She’d always been aware that there were probably a lot of women that Maddoc had slept with, but she’d assumed that they would be whores or disposable liaisons, much like the way he treated her—only interested in sex with her because she was an Omega and a princess, but this woman was a fucking highcloak. She was permanently by his side in battles, and he trusted her to bring the stolen Omega back to camp every day.
She scowled as she watched them. Maddoc was naked from the waist up and they talked to each other comfortably, as if nakedness wasn’t a problem. The woman even brushed her hand over his skin and barely looked at him, as though she had seen him naked plenty of times before.
The more she watched, the more she disliked what was happening, and emotions rose that she didn’t understand. She tried to turn away, but couldn't. She had to know what this woman was doing with her Alpha. Was she who he was with every night after he kissed her and left her?
She leaned in closer, her hands gripping the opening of the tent as the woman went around the table and rinsed a cloth in a basin nearby and then returned to place the cloth over his shoulder. Blood dripped down his arm and onto the ground, but he didn't even wince. Raine looked down at the rest of his body and murmured something, then giggled.
And that was breaking point.
All the rough, ragged feelings building in Ana took hold of her, reaching a scalding tipping point that pushed reason far from her mind. Instincts urging her forward, screaming for her to do something about this threat. And as much as Ana had not wanted to address any feelings for this Alpha, she had no choice now. She had to act.
Embracing the inner haze of fury that swept her, she stepped into the tent.
8
MADDOC
Maddoc growled at the pain that tore at his shoulder. He had been stabbed with a sword before, but didn’t recall it being so painful. It was always a risk fighting the king's guard, but he had been trained better than them, and so had most of his highcloaks. This injury happened by accident on the part of his attacker—he got lucky. It was unfortunate for him he was no longer alive to brag about it.
He groaned again. It was as though his shoulder was being trampled every time he moved, and while Raine was doing her best, he had the feeling she wasn't saying something. "What is it?" he finally growled.
Her mouth twisted as she looked at her chart and then dripped two drops of a foul-smelling liquid into the wound. "You are lucky. The sword went through the joint. It didn't hit anything major that will cause any difficulty in your arm."
"But?" Maddoc sensed something coming.
"You've lost a lot of blood, and from the way in which the skin is reacting around the wound, the sword may have been poisoned."
Maddoc was quiet for a moment. That was bad. "Do you know which one? There are antidotes to many of the poisons available."
Raine nodded. "I think so, but it would be difficult to determine, and I don't know how long this one will take.” Her voice lowered. “We need our healer, Maddoc.”
“We cannot use her right now. She trained you for a reason.”
“Yes, but I’m not an expert with this! Your life is too important for me to guess, Maddoc.”
Maddoc said nothing. He simply stared at her until she calmed down. Raine managed to control her outbursts most of the time now. “How has escorting Ana been?”
Raine made a face. “You want to talk about that now?”
“You know why I gave you that task, don’t you?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
“Has it helped?”
Raine shrugged while mixing some of the ingredients into a paste. “A bit. I’m trying to find the right time to talk to her.”
“My experience is that there is never a right time. You just pick one and make it work.”
Raine snorted. “That might work for you; she’s weak for you.”