Chapter 80: She Was In Trouble
Nina’s heart pounded so violently against her ribs that it felt impossible he couldn’t hear it from where he stood on the other side of the glass. Tears clouded her vision until his features blurred, and still she couldn’t look away.
For one terrifying moment, she forgot how to breathe.
She didn’t know how long had passed since they took her.
The men had dragged her into a room as she fought against them, but it was useless.
The bearded men had held her down while the other man disappeared and returned with three elderly women, and instructed them to prepare her for the auction.
The women had washed the dye from her hair until her hair had returned to its golden blonde color and then, they dressed her in the white gown without saying a word to her. Nina stopped fighting, there was no point.
She’d had a little hope that he would save her, but when she heard the auctioneer announce she would be taken in before the earthstone, all her hope came crashing down.
If he saved her, then... he might not be able to get the earthstone.
The earthstone was the only thing that could save his people.
She knew what it meant to him. How could he give that up for her?
He would choose his people.
He should choose his people.
There was no world in which she was important enough for him to throw away their only chance at survival.
So, she had buried every fragile piece of hope she had left and just waited for the worst.
And yet... he was here.
Nina’s gaze lifted through the blur of tears, catching movement at the edge of the glass enclosure.
Her breath caught halfway in her chest as the outline sharpened. Broad shoulders. Dark hair. Everything in the room stilled as though everything around him had been forced to make space.
He stepped closer.
The distance between them shrank with every movement, but her body refused to decide what it was seeing. Hope and fear collided so sharply her fingers dug into her palms again, pain snapping her back into focus for a moment too short to hold onto.
And then his head lifted.
His eyes found hers through the glass.
Everything in her went completely still.
Her breath caught in her throat.
There was no mistaking them now. The same shade of grey as the wolf who had saved her.
It was him.
Rodrigo.
For a second, she forgot where she was. The edges of the room blurred as she fought to keep her composure, blinking rapidly as she tried to hold back her tears.
He didn’t speak.
He just stared at her through the glass, his chest rising and falling with heavy, uneven breaths as though he had run through fire to reach her.
Slowly, she watched the remnants of the beast recede. His fangs dissolved, his claws shrinking back into familiar hands, until only him remained.
Then he rose and gripped the edge of the enclosure.
The glass groaned in protest as he forced it aside, the harsh scrape echoing through the room.
Nina squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers biting into her palms.
She held her breath.
For a moment, she couldn’t make herself look. She couldn’t bear the thought that this wasn’t real. That she would open her eyes again and she was back in this glass, in front of the crowd. And he wasn’t here.
A tear slipped down her eyes.
’’Nina,’’ his voice filtered through her ears and Nina stilled. The tears she had held back slipped through her lids, dropping onto her wrist.
It was him. He was here.
Her eyes fluttered open, and they locked in his.
It was him.
His hands lifted toward her face, but stopped inches away.
They hovered there between them.
His fingers trembled.
His gaze moved over her face again, lingering on her eyes, her mouth, the tear tracks on her cheeks, as though he needed to memorize each detail before he let himself believe she was truly there.
A breath shuddered out of him.
Then his hands closed around her.
He pulled her against his chest with enough force to drive the air from her lungs.
His arms locked around her, holding her so tightly that she could feel the wild, uneven rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her cheek.
Nina’s eyes slipped shut.
She pressed closer, clutching handfuls of his shirt as the tightness in her chest slowly began to ease.
He was holding her as though the thought of losing her had shattered something inside him.
As though choosing her had never been a choice at all.
The realization broke through the last of her carefully built defenses.
A tear slipped free and soaked into the fabric of his shirt.
His arms tightened around her instantly.
Slowly, he pulled back just enough to look at her.
His gaze moved over her face, then lower, lingering on the bruises around her wrists and the chain hanging from them.
"Are you okay?" The question came out rough, barely louder than a whisper.
Nina looked up at him and she nodded.
A tear slipped free and his thumb brushed across her cheek before it could fall.
His eyes dropped to the chain holding her in place, his jaw tightened, then with a single pull, he ripped the chain free from the board.
Metal crashed against the floor, the sound echoing through the room.
Without hesitation, Rodrigo slid one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back before lifting her effortlessly into his arms.
He held her close, as though he couldn’t bear even the smallest distance between them.
Rodrigo turned toward the hallway with Nina still cradled securely against his chest, but after only a few steps, he stopped.
Only then did she truly see the chaos surrounding them. The crowd was in an uproar. Some screaming, others running.
The polished floors were littered with shattered glass and overturned display cases.
The sharp scent of blood hung in the air beneath the acrid smell of smoke.
Rodrigo’s men moved through the crowd, clashing with the auction house guards, as their steels clashed. Nina shrank closer to Rodrigo instinctively.
A figure pushed through the confusion and reached them quickly.
"Alpha."
Seven stopped a few feet away, his voice steady despite the chaos surrounding them. His eyes flicked toward Nina for the briefest moment, lingering just long enough to confirm she was unharmed before he turned to the Alpha.
"We’ve surrounded the building and secured every exit," he reported. "No one gets in or out."
Rodrigo gave a single nod.
"Find the earthstone," he said, his voice low and unyielding. "No one leaves until it’s found."
Nina tensed at his words, her heart racing.
The Earthstone. If he took her away, she would not see it. Nina’s mind worked as she watched Seven.
"Yes, Alpha." He bowed.
Without another word, Rodrigo continued toward the exit.
Nina remained quiet in his arms, as her mind worked. Her gaze drifted over his shoulder as they moved through the wreckage. His hold on her hadn’t loosened once. One arm supported her back while the other rested securely beneath her knees, holding her close enough that she could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath the noise around them.
Suddenly, her eyes widened,
"My maid." She exclaimed, Rodrigo’s steps slowed, his brows creasing into a frown.
Nina lifted her head to look at him.
"My maid," she repeated, "Have you seen her? She was with me."
Her eyes met his, and she watched something shift in his eyes. His brow furrowed slightly, and his jaw tightened.
Looking away from her, he turned to Seven.
"Find her maid."
"Yes, Alpha." Seven added, and disappeared into the crowd without hesitation.
Rodrigo resumed walking silently. He wasn’t asking her any questions of how the hell he saw her that morning, and left her safe in the pack house, and she found her here? In an auction house, chained to a box to be auctioned off.
Nina glanced at him.
He wasn’t looking at her. His jaws were clenched tight, and his eyes fixed ahead.
Nina gulped, a different kind of fear creeping in.
She forced herself to look anywhere but at him, her eyes skimming over the ruined hallway as though an excuse might be hidden somewhere among the shattered glass and overturned tables.
What was he thinking?
Why was he not asking her?
Her teeth sank into her lower lip.
She was in trouble.
