Rhodes was waiting there. His eyes went wide when he saw me. He crossed the remaining feet to us and swung me up into his arms, carrying me inside the house.
Some of the pack members were in the kitchen, pulling out food and starting pots of coffee and hot water for tea. All conversation ceased as Rhodes carried me in and up the stairs. He went past all the doors until he got to Remy's room, setting me on the bed gently.
Larkin followed him in, closing the door.
"How bad is it?" Rhodes asked, his voice more serious than I had ever heard. His dark eyes glanced at Larkin.
I rolled my shoulder gently, hissing out a breath. "It hurts, but I think I'm okay." I looked down at my hand. There were scratches and a couple of deeper punctures from where Trace's teeth had broken the skin.
"Can you get us a first aid kit? I'm going to get her into the bathroom and see if we need a doctor." Larkin gave Rhodes a gentle shove away from me, taking charge of the situation.
Rhodes hesitated, his eyes still on Larkin. "Are you okay?"
Her shoulders drooped, her eyes kind as she tried to reassure him. "I'm fine. But I need to look at Skye."
Rhodes gave her a sharp nod. "There's a first aid kit under the sink in Remy's bathroom."
"All right," Larkin said. "Help me get her into the bathroom and then wait for us downstairs."
I made a small sound of protest. "Guys, I can walk-"
The look on Rhodes' face shut me up. I let him lift me up again, carrying me into the bathroom and setting me on the closed lid of the toilet seat. He hurried out of the bathroom, closing the door.
Larkin turned to me, all business. "Let's get your shirt off and see what the damage is."
I nodded, trying to help her pull the shirt off of me, but it was already sticky with blood from my shoulder. She was gentle as she peeled it away from my body, but it still hurt like a bitch.
"Shit," she swore, looking at my shoulder. She turned and reached under the sink for the first aid kit, opening it on the counter. She pulled out a small bottle and a thick stack of gauze before turning apologetic eyes to me. "This is going to hurt."
I gritted my teeth as the alcohol made contact with my torn flesh, nearly screaming from the searing pain.
Someone knocked on the door.
"I have the bag of clothes you brought for Skye," Rhodes called through the door. "It's right here."
"Thanks," Larkin called, still cleaning the wound.
I took deep breaths through my nose until she finished.
"Some of this is deep," she muttered. "I think you might need stitches."
"I'll be fine," I replied as she moved to cleaning my hand. I glanced down at my shoulder. The front part I could see was already bruising, and I could see a set of teeth marks in the center of the bruising. The back of my shoulder ached the most. That was where his teeth had really clamped down.
After she cleaned my hand, Larkin looked at my face with narrow eyes. She wiped under my nose. "There's a little bit of blood, but your nose isn't even bruised. I don't think he broke it."
"It doesn't feel broken," I said. It still hurt, but not nearly as bad. I was stupidly glad my face wasn't messed up. The wounds on my arm I could hide under clothes. I didn't want people staring at my face.
Larkin moved to the door and opened it quickly, pulling the bag inside the bathroom before shutting the door again. She started pulling out clothes.
"Maybe I should take a shower first?" I suggested, looking longingly at the large shower in the corner of the bathroom. There was even a bench, so I didn't have to stand for long.
Larkin shook her head. "No. The bleeding has slowed a lot. The water might pull some of it open, and then you would definitely need stitches."
“Ugh,” I muttered, just wanting to wash all the mess away.
Larkin rummaged through the drawers and pulled out a washcloth. “This is the best I can do for now.”
She wet the cloth and cleaned me up as best and gently as she could. Once she was finished, she helped me into new underwear and my jeans, which might have been humiliating if I wasn't so bone weary. She finished helping me with the clasp on my bra when there was another knock at the door.
"Let him in," I said immediately, my heart slamming against my ribs.
Larkin's eyes went wide, her hands still holding my shirt. "Rhodes can wait until you have a shirt on."
I shook my head, getting up and moving past her. "It isn't Rhodes."
I opened the door with my good arm, barely able to step away from the door before Remy was inside and crushing me to his chest. His hands were shaking as they pressed against my lower back, his lips finding mine in a searing kiss that had my bones turning to jelly for all the right reasons.
"Easy!" Larkin admonished from behind me.
Remy pulled back, his dark eyes wild and angry. His expression darkened, his teeth grinding so hard I heard it, as he looked at my shoulder and then my hand.
"Katy?" I asked.
"Doctor set her leg. She's going to stay in the infirmary for a day or so. Dante sent Ryder to stay with her so I could come back here," he answered, his voice rough thick with emotion. He smoothed his hands over my face, unable to stop touching me.
His eyes flickered back to Larkin. "How bad is it?"
"The wound in her hand isn't too deep. It should heal in a few days. Her shoulder is a bit more mangled, but I don't think it'll need stitches." She set my shirt down on the counter and gave me a small smile. "I'll leave you guys alone."
Remy waited for her to close the door before he was pulling me close again. "You scared the hell out of me, Skye."
My good arm went around his back, trying to soothe the trembling muscles there. "It wasn't the highlight of my day, either."
He gave me another brief kiss before helping me into my shirt. To his credit, he had barely looked at me beyond my injuries, keeping his movements clinical. I wasn't sure if I was happy or disappointed about that.
Remy led me into his bedroom, setting me on the bed and standing across from me. "Tell me what happened."
I relayed the entire story, trying to keep my tone calm even as he grew more and more agitated.
"Is he out of his fucking mind?" Remy snapped when I finished. He raked a hand through his dark hair.
"I guess there's a chance it was an accident? But it looked deliberate to me," I said. The more I replayed it, the more Trace seemed to shoot out of the tree line like a bullet aimed at Katy.
"It was absolutely deliberate," Remy growled, eyes flashing. "First Larkin, then he hurts Katy and he attacks you?"
"But ultimately it's our word against his," I replied bitterly. "His whole pack was there. You know they're going to back him up."
"He could have killed Katy," Remy whispered. He turned his eyes to me, his expression tortured. "He could have killed you. What if he had gone for your throat?"
Telling Remy that Trace actually had tried to go for my throat probably wouldn't help a damn thing. I wasn't entirely sure Trace wouldn't have killed me and then Larkin, maybe even Katy, if Remy and the pack hadn't arrived when they did.
I sighed, pulling my legs up onto the bed. "I should have stayed with the pack. We shouldn't have split up."
"This is not your fault," he replied quickly, folding his arms over his heaving chest.
"Did the doctor say Katy will be okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah. The break was clean and in a good place, whatever that means. Thank God we’re shifters. If she was a normal it would take months followed by physical therapy for this to heal. As it is, she’ll be in a cast for a few weeks.”
"Have you called your dad?" I asked, knowing the Alpha needed to know what had happened, not only as the leader of our pack but as Katy's dad.
"I will after we talk to the faculty. They're putting together a group of teachers to look into this. All the packs will be notified once they finish their investigating. They'll probably issue mandatory boundaries for packs for the rest of the semester
." He snorted, his wolf clearly annoyed by having a set area where it could go.
Before I could respond, the bedroom door opened and Rhodes poked his head in. "The council is here to talk to Skye."
It was exactly what I said it would be - Trace's word against ours. Almost his entire pack testified that I attacked him without provocation after he accidentally ran into Katy. Thankfully, the council was saying I acted under duress due to Katy being injured. In shifter terms, not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.
It was bullshit, and Remy was beyond furious.
Katy had woken up later that day and admitted she hadn't seen what happened. She just knew she had been hit and then lots of pain. The doctor gave her another dose of pain medicine, and she went back to sleep.
Remy had the McAllister twins replace Ryder to stay with Katy. The odds of anything happening to her in the infirmary were slim to none, but he wasn't taking any chances. He had assigned rotating shifts of Blackwater pack members to guard Katy.
He had barely let me out of his sight except to go to the bathroom. I had a feeling I would be spending another night in the cabin.
Not that I minded.
I had gone to see Katy a few hours earlier, and the doctor checked me out. I didn't need stitches, but he advised me to get lots of rest and take it easy for the remainder of the weekend. After checking in with Katy, Remy ushered me back to the cabin where I got my wish of curling up in front of the fireplace, cuddled to his side while he talked to Rhodes and Larkin in low voices. I managed to doze off for a little while.
Dinner later that evening in the cafeteria was a strange experience. Hardly anyone spoke, but there was a clear division line between the school to the point where tables and chairs were moved to show a physical line separating the two groups.
Remy kept an eye on Trace and his pack the entire time, his body stiffening anytime one of them got up.
"He won't try anything here," I said softly, resting my hand on his thigh under the table.
"She's right," Dante added, but I noticed he was just as wary of them.
"He should have been kicked out of school," Rhodes said darkly, stabbing his chicken with his fork. "Or had his ass kicked."
"He won't get away with it," Remy replied coldly.
I exchanged a worried look with Larkin. If Remy retaliated in any way now, he would probably be the one kicked out of school. The school council had ordered the Blackwater and Norwood alphas to stay away from each other.
My gaze flicked to Trace and I couldn't help the smug smile from ghosting across my lips. He had several deep scratches on his neck and walked into the cafeteria with a bit of a limp.
He might have beaten me, but I hadn't gone down easy.
Finished with my food, I pushed it away and leaned my head against Remy's shoulder, letting my eyes droop closed.
"Want to go back to the cabin?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No. Just resting."
His lips pressed against my hair for a second, his arm coming around the back of my chair so I could snuggle against his side. The steady thump of his heartbeat helped calm me, and I realized after a minute that my pulse was beating in time with his.
I opened my eyes as someone cleared their throat at the table.
Amanda stood across from me with a grim smile. "How are you feeling, Skye?"
"Okay," I replied, lifting my head.
Her gaze flicked back and forth between Remy and me. "Elias asked me to see if you would be up to talking with him. Both of you, actually."
"Why?" Remy asked.
"I told him what I saw in the woods," she replied softly. "Remy, it’s obvious Skye is your mate. This is completely unprecedented for wolves your age, and he has a few questions for you, if you're up for it."
Remy looked down at me. "Your call. We can talk to him tomorrow if you're too tired."
I shook my head, sitting up. "No. Let's go."
34
Elias' office was just as crowded and cramped as the other times I had been in there, but things seemed even more disorganized now, if that were possible. The older shifter was still at his desk and gave us a warm, but haggard, smile when we came inside. The loveseat that was usually covered in books and papers had been cleared for us to sit on.
"How are you, my dear?" he asked me, his eyes concerned.
"I'm okay," I replied, pulling one of my legs under my body. The movement made my body lean into Remy, his arm immediately lifting and coming around me.
Elias raised his brows. "So, it is true. You’ve bonded.”
We both nodded, and Elias grinned at us.
"Amazing," he breathed. "When did this happen?"
"Last week," Remy replied, his knuckles dragging absent-minded circles on my shoulder. "We haven't told many people."
Elias waved a hand. "Of course not. It's your own business, but I hope you don't mind an old man asking a few questions?"
Remy shrugged. "It's fine."
"Are you both comfortable with the bond?" Elias leaned forward.
I glanced at Remy. "It's been an adjustment, but yeah. We're both good with it."
"Have you been able to communicate when you shift?"
"Yes," Remy answered.
"Verbally?"
I raised my brows. "Is there another way?"
Elias frowned. "Oftentimes when a new pair bonds, the communication bond is ... more impressions than actual thoughts or words. The longer the pair is bonded, the clearer the communication becomes."
I looked at Remy and blinked. "I heard you the night we bonded."
He nodded at me. "Same. Your voice has always been clear. Especially today."
"So, you were able to reach out to Remy when you and Trace had your ... altercation?" Elias looked absolutely fascinated, his eyes big as they watched me.
"Yeah. I mean, I was able to tell him what happened and where we were."
A dark look crossed Remy’s face and I knew he was blaming himself for not getting to us sooner. I pressed against him harder, trying to reassure him that I was still here and in one piece.
"This is remarkable," Elias murmured. He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his stomach. "I watched you earlier, in the cafeteria, before I asked Amanda to get you. I don't think you even are aware of the way you act."
"The way we act?" I repeated skeptically.
"Like you're orbiting one another. One of you moves and the other moves to counter it, balancing each other. I've seen it before in bonded mates, but usually only ones that have been together for several years." He sighed. "Forgive my frankness, but it's highly unusual for two teenagers to find their true mate, let alone reach the level of harmony you both have. And it's only been a week."
Elias swept a hand over the office. “I’ve been trying to find any information, but the youngest bonded mates we have on record were both twenty-two.”
I glanced at Remy. We knew that it wasn’t common, but to be the only teenagers who ever bonded?
Chalk up another mark in the ‘Ways I’m a Freak’ column.
Elias turned his attention to me, his expression guarded. "How are you handling the added ... intimacy?"
I stiffened, not entirely sure what he was implying. "Excuse me?"
Remy bristled beside me but stayed quiet. I didn't have to see his face to know he was glaring at the older man by the way Elias ducked his head.
"I know there were things in your past you preferred not to discuss," Elias explained slowly, looking hesitantly at me.
"Remy knows who I am. He knows about Long Mesa," I replied after a moment.
"So, you trust him?"
"Or course." I didn't hesitate to answer. It was the truth. I had gone from a girl who trusted no one to a girl who had a circle of people she trusted implicitly.
And Remy was at the center of that circle.
He gave me a reassuring squeeze, careful not to touch my hurt shoulder.
"Remy, how are you handling being a mate and an alpha?" Eli
as turned his focus to Remy, his eyes assessing the boy beside me.
Remy sighed. "It's been an adjustment, but I think I'm handling it all right. Today was definitely the biggest test I've had yet."
"Trace," Elias surmised, rubbing his jaw. "How did you handle the Norwood alpha's incident?"
Remy snarled softly under his breath. "It wasn't an incident. He attacked my sister and then he attacked my mate."
"And yet he is still breathing."
"I should have killed him," Remy muttered.
"No, you shouldn't have," I said sharply. "You got him away from us and immobilized him. You protected us, Rem."
"You didn't let your emotions rule you," Elias agreed. "As an alpha you did the right thing. As a mate you did the right thing. You wouldn't be with Skye right now if you had gravely injured or even killed Trace. You would be held for questioning and possibly banished from Granite Peak. Killing another alpha outside a formal challenge could mean stripping you of your own pack rank or worse."
"Wait," I started, leaning forward. "You mean Remy could be removed as alpha? For beating the shit out of Trace?"
"If Trace or his father, the Norwood Alpha, made a formal complaint with the Shifter Council, yes," Elias replied. He inclined his head to Remy. "You know this is true."
"He's right," Remy told me softly. "There are rules of conduct for Alphas. If we can't keep ourselves in check, how can we lead an entire pack?"
"And no one is asking how Trace can lead a pack? After what he did?" I demanded. "He could have killed Katy."
"The school council ruled it an accident," Elias said simply.
"That's bullshit!" I snapped. "He got his entire pack to lie for him. He was the one who started this whole thing."
"What reason would he have to do that?" The old man quirked a brow up.
I paused then and turned slowly to look at Remy. "He's baiting you."
Remy frowned. "What?"
"Think about it," I said, my words coming out fast. "Larkin, then hurting Katy, attacking me ... Hell, he's dating Sierra, a member of your pack, who conveniently likes to let people think you two had a thing last year."
Sanctum (Blackwater Pack Book 1) Page 29
