GIFTED RILEY by Lacy Mierr

Chapter 74: Another Lucky Escape

*Riley*

I cried as my vision all blurred together. I went from my senses being the best they had ever been to barely seeing the colors in front of me.

Tears formed in my eyes as they tried to combat the foreign substance. I should have known that Malik would have something else up his sleeve, but silver powder never crossed my mind once.

It was quick to seep into my skin and burn into my eyes. I was sure I was going to be permanently blind from this… That was if I was to survive in the first place.

There was no way for me to fight my way through this now. Even with my previous injuries, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get this far. Now, completely blinded, there was nothing I would be able to do. I was at their mercy.

Which was so disappointing because I had Malik there. In my jaws. One quick snap of my teeth and his neck would be snapped. His corpse would have been at my feet.

I could still taste his blood staining my wolf’s teeth. It was from where my canines had sunk too far.

For them to add the net on top of it all was a low blow. They would

have known I was incapable of doing anything else to them now. I tried getting back to my feet but they were quick to shove me back down to the floor.

So I accepted my fate. My wolf whined, curling up on the cold floor beneath me. I would have to endure this pain only a little while longer

There was no doubt that I was close to death. I had already been

through so much. This was going to be the last time. I had too many lucky breaks as it was, there was no way to come back from yet another near-death situation. Even if I did, do I want to live on with the trauma?

With that thought, suddenly I was hearing faint voices around me. These voices were familiar to me. It took me a few seconds to place who I was hearing. My wolf’s cars had perked up to hear better but it didn’t help.

The two voices were very distinct. It was Vera and Knox talking around me for sure. I just couldn’t tell who else it may have been. At least I felt a little bit safer knowing they came for me.

My wolf decided that we had some chance of understanding our surroundings better from my form. Maybe the silver wouldn’t be able to transfer over? This was my first shift, so I wasn’t sure yet how any of this would work.

I

I tried blinking away the pain and the blur in my eyes, but it stuck firmly in my human form as well. I kept myself curled in on myself on

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Another Lucky Exce

the floor. A hiss escaped my lips when the net rested on my bare human skin as well.

Then it hit me. If they were here, that meant that I was going to be able to go free. I had to find Nicolas so they would know where he was too. I wouldn’t let him be left aside while I got out of this hell hole.

I patted the floor around me to try to get my bearings. No matter how many times I tried blinking the blur away, I could still only see colors and wobbly shapes around me.

Still, I persisted. I started crawling back the way I had come. Trying to get back to where I had left Nicolas in the cell next to the one I escaped.

I couldn’t get over the sight of him in pain in what I would barely consider a bed at this point. I ignored the voices around me while I tried making my way back. I realized that at some point I managed to shed off the net around me.

Tears trailed down my cheeks while I tried to find my way back. All my senses were jumbled, leaving me with nothing to find my way back with any remaining luck I possessed.

Hands wrapped around my body, forcing a painful cry from my lips. I fought whoever’s hold was on me now. It was weak as I pushed back, but I tried my best to pull away to get to Nicolas.

It was Vera’s voice, though, that tried calming me down.

Chapter 74. Another Lucky Escape

“I have you, Luna Riley,” she said softly down to me. I cried harder, knowing that I wouldn’t have to go through anymore. “Is it alright if I help you get dressed? I found some extra clothes on the way here.”

I sniffled at the Beta but still nodded. My limbs felt like jelly so I wasn’ t sure if I would be any help in getting any of the clothes that she would offer me.

A silly hope came from me that there were no pants or tight fits. I didn’ t want to have anything to restrict my body in any way. With all the wounds on my body, tight clothes would only put me through more pain.

Again, it was silly to think about everything happening around us. But I was trying hard to think of anything except the pain radiating through my body now.

What Vera seemed to be putting her in was shorts and an oversized cotton shirt. I cried and sobbed when the fabric started to wrap around me. Vera continued to hush me, trying to be as gentle with my body as possible.

No matter how slow she was or how lightly her fingers grazed my body, it all still hurt down to the bone.

When I was as dressed as I was going to get, I shifted my head up as if to look Beta in the eyes. “Please, Vera,” I croaked up at the woman, “Please take care of Nicolas first.”

Chapter 74 Another Lucky Escape

I didn’t care what happened to me as long as he was safe. Any mate would know the feeling.

My body shut down before I could hear her response. I was pulled into. the deep pit of unconsciousness.

The last thing that I heard was Rain’s voice echoing in the back of my head. “Nicolas is our mate,” she whispered.

That was when something deep in my soul snapped into place for the very first time.