Chapter 81: The Earthstone
Rodrigo’s strides were long and unwavering as he carried Nina through the chaos of the auction house.
People scattered at the sight of him. Some pressed themselves against the walls to clear his path while others lowered their eyes and stepped aside without waiting to be told, fear written plainly across their faces. Beyond Rodrigo’s shoulder, lycans moved through the crowd as shouts and the clash of steel rose and fell around them.
Nina barely noticed any of it.
Her attention remained fixed on the steady rise and fall of Rodrigo’s chest beneath her cheek and the rigid set of his jaw.
He had only taken a few steps toward the main entrance where most of the crowd were gathered when he stopped abruptly.
His eyes stayed over the crowd for a few seconds, and then without looking away from the hallway ahead, he turned his head slightly.
"You."
One of the lycans broke away from the others immediately and hurried toward him.
"Yes, Alpha."
The man bowed low.
"Find a clean exit and prepare the carriage."
The order came out calm and even. Nina’s fingers tightened around the chain hanging from her wrist.
The lycan nodded at once. "Right away, Alpha."
The man disappeared into the crowd, and Rodrigo remained exactly where he was, his arms still securely around her.
He didn’t shift his weight. He didn’t speak.
Nina stared down at the chains still wrapped around her wrists.
Her eyes fixed on them for a long second and then she cleared her throat.
"I can stand," she tried to move from his grip. "You can let me down."
Rodrigo’s hands tightened around her, and he didn’t budge. Neither did he answer.
Nina’s grip tightened around the broken chain.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze.
He was already looking at her.
His expression gave nothing away, but his eyes had darkened.
Nina looked away immediately. Her pulse quickened.
She lowered her gaze back to her hands, to the broken chain still hanging loosely from one wrist, and swallowed hard, biting her lower lip.
Footsteps approached just then, and Nina heaved a sigh of relief.
"The carriage has been prepared, Alpha."
The lycan bowed and gestured toward a narrow doorway hidden at the end of the corridor.
"Lead the way."
The lycan nodded and stepped forward.
The hallway beyond the door was dimly lit and quiet. The only sounds were the distant echoes of chaos behind them and the measured rhythm of Rodrigo’s footsteps.
When the lycan finally pushed open the heavy door at the end of the hall, cool evening air rushed toward them.
Nina inhaled sharply.
The crescent moon hung high overhead. Lycans stood stationed around the auction house, torches burning in their hands. The Alpha’s carriage stood a short distance away. Three lycans waited beside it, standing guard.
The moment Rodrigo approached, they bowed deeply and opened the carriage door.
He stepped inside and lowered her onto the cushioned seat with a care that felt strangely at odds with the silence between them.
His hands lingered for the briefest moment before pulling away.
Nina kept her eyes fixed on her lap.
The chains around her wrists clinked softly as her fingers twisted together, avoiding his eyes.
Rodrigo didn’t move.
She could feel him standing there in front of her, his gaze fixed on her as though he had a thousand questions to ask and didn’t know where to begin.
Then, finally, he stepped back out of the carriage.
"Take the Luna back to the pack’s house." He ordered the guard, and they chorused a response. A brief pause followed. "Ensure no one knows of this."
"Yes, Alpha."
Nina turned toward the window.
She watched his back as he stood beside the carriage, his broad shoulders rigid beneath the fading light.
For a moment, she thought he might turn around. Instead, he looked toward the auction house.
The carriage door closed behind her with a dull thud, shutting out the noise from the courtyard.
Nina leaned back against the cushions and released a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.
She pressed her thumb against the swollen skin beneath the iron and closed her eyes.
When she had first entered the building, she had expected to feel something. Anything that showed that the earthstone or something carrying such great power was here, but there was nothing.
No warmth.
No sudden rush of power.
Her fingers curled into her palm.
Was it because the earthstone wasn’t here? Or was she unable to feel it because she had lost her powers?
Nina opened her eyes and stared at the carriage door.
If she left now without finding out, then everything she’d gone through would have been for nothing.
Just then the carriage lurched forward and began to move.
Nina leaned upright, her eyes searching as her brain worked.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she pushed the carriage door open and leaned outside.
The lycans standing guard turned toward her immediately.
"Stop the carriage." She ordered. The words came out sharper than she intended.
The nearest guard blinked in surprise. "Your Grace?"
Nina straightened her shoulders and stepped back from the door just enough to compose herself.
"I don’t feel comfortable leaving the Alpha here alone," she said. "We shall wait for him."
The guards exchanged uncertain looks.
One of them stepped forward. "The Alpha instructed us to return you safely to the pack house, Your Grace."
Nina tightened her grip on the edge of the carriage door until the wood pressed painfully against her palm.
"I understand that," she replied, keeping her voice steady. "But I am instructing you to wait."
The lycan hesitated for a moment before lowering his head. "At once, Your Grace."
Nina settled back onto the seat as the carriage came to a stop.
She didn’t know how long she sat there. At some point, her eyes drifted shut. She woke with a start and immediately looked toward the auction house.
She kept drifting back to the building, as though Rodrigo would suddenly appear. She didn’t know what the earthstone looked like, but if her power truly resided inside it, then it would surely respond to her somehow.
The sky had darkened further, and groups of lycans moved in and out of the auction house.
And yet Rodrigo hadn’t come out. Neither had Seven, and Moreen was nowhere to be found.
Moreen.
If she didn’t go to Rodrigo, then where was she?
Did the men capture her?
Nina shut her eyes, dragging a slow breath.
The air was thick with tension and the lycans who were gathered whispered amongst each other in low tones. Nina leaned closer to the edge of the carriage to hear what they were saying, but she couldn’t make out a word of it.
Suddenly, Nina heard the back doors of the auction house creak open, and her gaze snapped to the curtains.
Nina straightened immediately, her heart thudding against her chest as she listened.
Several footsteps sounded first, spreading out across the courtyard, then one suddenly stopped.
Then she heard him. "Why is the Luna still here?"
Her stomach dropped. She folded her hands tightly in her lap, pressing her fingertips into her skin as she listened.
"The Luna instructed us to wait for you, Alpha."
A resounding silence followed.
Nina’s heart slammed against her ribs.
She stared at the carriage door and waited.
She was too far gone to retreat. There was no going back now.
The silence stretched long enough for her pulse to climb into her throat, then she heard the sound of his calm footsteps approach the carriage, and they came to a stop just outside the door.
Nina stiffened as her eyes stayed on the doors.
Then the doors opened.
Cool evening air swept inside, fanning her hair away from her face.
She looked up slowly, and her gaze met his.
Rodrigo stood in the doorway, one hand resting against the frame.
There was dried blood along the collar of his shirt and a fresh tear across one sleeve. The strain of the evening lingered in the hard line of his mouth and the tension in his shoulders.
His gaze settled on her.
His expression remained unreadable.
That unsettled her far more than anger would have.
She held his gaze for a moment before her attention shifted downward.
He was carrying a box. Her gaze snagged on it immediately.
Every thought that had been circling her mind since the auction house fell away at once.
It was small enough to fit comfortably between his hands, made of dark wood polished to a soft shine. There were no markings on the surface, no hint of what it contained.
But the moment her eyes landed on it, the air caught in her throat.
Without thinking, her fingers tightened around the edge of the seat.
The earthstone.