“Mila, it’s me. Liza, remember?” She spoke calmly, getting down on her hands and knees to be eye level with the wolf form of her friend. “Shift back, okay? We can’t play video games like this, now can we? I’m here, no one else is gonna hurt you as long as I’m here, I promise.” She carefully reached her hand out, but the wolf snapped at it, teeth just missing her fingers. She didn’t move her hand back, just kept watching her eyes and following her instincts. “I know you’re not gonna hurt me, you’re just scared. Let me help you, let us help you. You’re hurt and scared and I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help you, but I am now. So will you let me help you, Camila?”
Very slowly, the eyes of the red wolf before her started to shift. Her snarl eased away slowly to a whine of pain. The wolf closed her eyes, and the shift back to human began. After a few moments, there was Camila, kneeling naked on the floor. One eye was nearly swollen shut while her lower lip was twice its normal size on one side. Several cuts and bruises dotter her exposed skin, but the worst was a deep gash in her side that still bled heavily. Someone behind Elizabeth had given her a blanket, which she gave to Camila, who took it. She whimpered pitifully as she wrapped it around herself. This feisty, easily excitable and happy girl was now a broken, beaten and bloody victim, and whoever did this to her friend would pay dearly.
Nick went to Camila carefully and, after getting permission, carried her out of the den. Elizabeth followed them until Camila had called for her.
“Liza! Where’s Liza!” She saw Nick struggle to keep a hold of the girl.
“I’m here, Mila! Right beside you,” she touched the girls hand, which flinched at the contact. She relaxed while the trio headed to the med ward together. Nick waited outside while Liza stayed with her friend as Dr. Gerald treated her. He deemed most of the injuries would heal on their own, but the gash in her side would need stitches and a couple days bedrest. Luckily there was no serious internal injuries, but he’d keep her for the day for observation. Once the treatment was complete and she was given a few pills to prevent infection and other complications just in case, there was a knock on the door. Elizabeth found herself growling low in her throat as she stalked to the door, throwing it open. Nick was there, eyes wide in shock as he took in her appearance. His eyes shined for a second, but he blinked and cleared his throat.
“I need to speak with Camila, if she is feeling up to it,” he said, carefully.
“Do you think she’s ready to talk? She was just attacked, she even blacked out at some point and her wolf took over,” she snapped, and regretted it instantly as Camila spoke softly behind her.
“It’s okay, Liza. Nick come on in.” Elizabeth felt bad for speaking for her friend, and for snapping at Nick, but the other girl just smiled kindly. Camila knew her friend was just trying to protect her, but she could talk to her friends. “What do you need to know, Nick?”
“First, we’ve been able to tell someone attacked you, but not who. The blood around your den is all yours, and nobody else's. There’s no scent trail either, which is a little shocking, but not completely a surprise. Do you remember anything from the attack?” He phased his words carefully, but clearly. He was all business in his tone, but his eyes showed he desperately wanted to drop the facade and comfort his friend.
“I wish I could, but I have no idea. I can only tell you he was male, but not who he was or anything. I did fight back, but at some point my wolf took over completely. I don’t remember anything past that,” she confirmed for him as he nodded along.
“I knew you wouldn’t go down without a fight. Had you not fought back, you would have been the next missing victim. Aside from your attack itself, everything else is typical of the missing wolf cases both in our pack and from outside.” Nick flipped a few pages from a notebook he had with him.
“How many wolves are missing?” Elizabeth asked, placing a hand on her friends. Camila’s face had paled at his next words.
“Over twenty around the entire Seaside territories. None have been found and there’s been no clue how the kidnappers get in and out without being seen. They usually don’t leave a trace, but yours is different. From what we can gather, it seems whoever is doing this is getting sloppy. Once you’re released tomorrow, you won’t be going back to your den. We are gonna shift you somewhere else in case they try to take you again, or worse. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe now,” Nick affirmed for Camila, who smiled weakly. “Now that formalities are over, how are you doing? And to clarify, I don’t mean your injuries.”
“Honestly? I’m scared. Terrified even. I don’t want to be alone for a while, so I’m glad the Doc is keeping me here tonight,” Camila’s eyes watered a bit, but she didn’t let the tears fall. Nick gently touched her face, being sure to avoid her swollen eye. Camila sighed a little, and Elizabeth knew he was using his ability to warm her from the inside out to calm her.
“You’re safe now, and I’ll make sure of it so don’t worry. Now, I’ll leave you to rest. Liza, can you come with me, please?” Surprised at the sudden direction Nick took the conversation, Elizabeth looked at her friend.
“Go, I’m probably gonna take a nap anyway. Something the Doc gave me is making me sleepy,” Camila said around a yawn before settling down and closing her good eye. Elizabeth stood up to follow Nick out of the med ward and down the hall. Once they reached the stairs, he spoke again.
“I want you to strongly consider staying in my den with me until we catch this guy,” he said sternly, clearing holding back words he wanted to stay.
“What? No, I don’t want to do that. I can’t put you out like that, not again at least. Sorry about falling asleep, I don’t know what happened,” she apologized, her cheeks feeling warm again. Her friend was just attacked and was now recovering, she was also thinking about her own personal relationship.
“Trust me when I say that I’ve slept in worse places than a couch. In fact, the couch is my second favorite place to sleep, so it’s no problem. My main concern is that no one else I care about gets hurt.” The worry was thick in his voice as he spoke, it made Elizabeth’s heart ache a little at hearing him.
“I’ll be alright, I promise. There is going to be an increased guard, right? You even said the guy is getting sloppy, so I’ll be fine either way.” She tried to put as much confidence into her voice, even though she was quite worried about it herself. He seemed to pick up on it, too.
“Like I said, I want you to strongly consider it. I won’t force you, but I will find a way to keep you safe, even if that means sleeping outside your door. I don’t know what’d I do if you were hurt,” he said as he turned her around. They had reached her den door now, she noticed there was a guard in wolf form two door down from her. She closed her eyes, took a calming breath and gathered her thoughts a moment.
“I don’t think it’s needed, he’ll be near to keep things safe, right?” She motioned over to the wolf. Nick glared from her to the wolf and back again, sighing in defeat.
“Alright, I need to go get ready to report to Beatrice and you have to get ready for your kitchen shift. I’ll see you later tonight.” Nick placed a hand on Elizabeth’s, smiled then, reluctantly, headed back towards the stairs. She smiled at his retreating back just as fondly, even if he couldn’t see it.
She walked inside, leaned against the door as she shut it and sighed happily. It was nice to have someone know all of her history, all of her past and still accept her. Love her for it, even. He didn’t take pity on her like a lot of others did, he just wanted to make sure she was safe and cared for. She trusted him to do just that, no matter what happened, she trusted him. The realization washed over her as quickly as his warmth when she was stressed, filling the holes in her soul she didn’t know she had. She inhaled another breath and something else replaced that warmth she had imagined into existence.
A sense of wrongness filled the den. She couldn’t place her finger on what it was, but her ears were perked and she found herself sniffing around, trying to see what was wrong. She k
new where she put things and everything seemed to be right where they were supposed to be, but the feeling never went away. Her search eventually led her to the bathroom, where the feeling became stronger until she saw it. She’d entered from the hallway, her eyes searching for something that was off about the room. Her sharp eyes looked to her right, the privacy glass shower, and a long set of scratches that ran down one side. Scratches she hadn’t put there. Falling backward out of the bathroom, she turned as she scrambled to her feet and ran to her den door.
As she threw her den door open, she screamed, “Nick!” Eyes frantic and searching for the one she trusted to keep her safe above all else, but could he hear her? She was about the cry out again when suddenly a blur of white hair and blue jeans stepped in front of her. Relief washed over her as she hugged him tightly.
“Liza?! What’s wrong?” He hugged her back, protectively searching for whatever demon was trying to attack her.
“There’s something wrong, in my den… in the bathroom,” her voice cracked, causing him to bare his already sharpening teeth. He clamped down on his wolf and let go of Elizabeth to enter her den. Carefully, she watched him silently approach the door she had left open in her panic. Once he reached the doorway, he looked around. He must have missed it at first, because he looked at her from the middle of the room. “The shower,” she clarified, his eyes snapping to it and finally seeing the claw marks.
“You didn’t make these?” he asked.
“No, why would I, and how?” With a nod of acknowledgment, he stalked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. He came out of the door carrying an arm load of clothes and two pillows, one was his she had been using and one was from her bed. He walked over to her, grabbed her arm with his free hand, and pulled her from the den. “Hey, what are you doing?”
“Keeping you safe,” he said simply as he looked over to the wolf at Camila’s den. “Hey, is Darren still in there?” The wolf nodded. “Good, get him. I need him to deliver a message to the Alpha.” Another nod and the wolf ducked inside.
“Hey, you gonna tell me what’s going on or not?” She was getting angry now, he hadn’t let her go.
“You’re staying with me until this jerk is caught.” He said sternly, in a tone that was meant to be followed.
“But-wait-no, you can't decide that for me! I’m my own person, you can’t just drag me around!”
His eyes snapped to her as Darren approached Nick from Camila’s den. “I can and I am. You are my responsibility and I say you’re staying with me.” He turned to Darren,, “Tell the Alpha that Camila was not the target, get your best noses in there and figure out who’s doing this.” Darren nodded and went to speak with Beatrice while Elizabeth was still angry and a little stunned.
“If Camila wasn’t the target, then who was? And how do you know that she wasn’t the target?” she found herself asking.
“There was none of Camila’s blood in your den, so that means whoever attacked her, came to your den first. Camila was just an afterthought. They wanted you and I’m not going to let them have you, no matter what.” She blinked at the truth in his eyes, the fear and anxiety at the mere thought of her being in that hospital bed like Camila. At her just vanishing without a trace. She couldn’t argue with his fear, so she agreed.
Chapter Nineteen
It was decided that she would sleep in the bed and he would get the couch, despite her own feelings about it. He would accept no less for her, so she could only deal by thinking of it as a long sleep over. Elizabeth hadn’t been to a sleep over since she was fifteen, and that was for a friend’s birthday party. That first night knowingly falling asleep in his bed was the hardest of them all, knowing he was right on the other side of a door. The knowledge was both reassuring and upsetting. She knew he was just trying to protect her the only way he could, but knowing that the ceremony was coming made falling asleep hard when the guy she was realizing her feelings for was a few steps from her at all times.
Where falling asleep was hard, waking up the next morning was the best thing so far. She felt well rested and ready to tackle her day. She stepped out into the living room as quietly as she could, and walked toward the bathroom. Nick was curled up with the pillow he had taken from her room yesterday, his face buried into it. He looked adorable as he slept, and before she realized it she found herself reaching out her hand to see if his hair was just as soft as it looked. She stopped a few inches from touching him, drew her hand back and quickly made her way to the bathroom. His bathroom was bigger than hers, due to his status in the pack. It almost seemed like a waste considering it was all for one guy. His shower doubled as a tub and had a curtain, not the privacy glass of her den, but this would do the job just fine. The garden tub was replaced by a small jacuzzi, she wondered if he used it after patrols to help his muscles relax.
She showered quickly in case he woke up and needed to use it, wrapped a towel around herself and tried to sneak back into the bedroom. She made it to his bedroom door before he stirred. She froze for half a second, but once she was sure he was indeed waking up, she bolted into the bedroom slamming the door behind her. She heard him startle and jerk up off the couch.
“Liza?” he called loudly.
“I’m here, just getting out of the shower. I’m getting dressed now,” she explained from the other side of the door.
“Oh, okay. You know, you don’t have to hide. I can cover my eyes or not look at you if you are uncomfortable.” She thought he sounded like he was stretching. She heard the quiet padding of his feet to the bathroom and the door shut behind him. With a sigh, she got dressed in the clothes he had grabbed for her. By the time she was dressed and leaving the bedroom again, he was already grabbing breakfast for them from his cabinets.
“Oh, I don’t have time to eat right now, I’m gonna be late for kitchen duty,” she said. She began putting her hair up into her ponytail.
“You need to eat, you had a rough day yesterday and you’re probably gonna have another rough one today if you plan on spending time with Camila. You won’t have any other time to eat if you don’t eat now, I know you a little too well after all this time.” He handed her a couple heated waffles with syrup. She debated continuing with her denial of food, but it smelled so good she cracked. She took the plate and sat down. He joined her with his own large meal of eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. They ate in silence for a little while, before Nick asked, “How did you sleep?”
“Great, slept like a pup,” she answered without thinking, causing a smile to slowly cross his lips as she realized what she had admitted. He hadn't patrolled last night to make sure he would be there if she needed him.
“Good, glad to hear all your worrying was for nothing. You were up late just rolling around in there, I was worried you would fall off.” The mirth in his eyes caused her emerald ones to flash a little.
“What do you mean?”
“I heard you in there. My hearing is really good, after all. Comes with age.” He pointed to his ears, smiling.
“I thought that the older you get the worse your hearing gets?” She couldn't help the laugh that forced its way out her mouth at the look on his face. She finished eating quickly before walking around the table and giving him a hug. “Thanks for letting me stay here, I really do feel safer here.”
“Of course,” he said, hugging her back. Being this close to his hair, she couldn’t help touching it as she leaned her head against his. He froze for a moment, fearing if he didn’t she would realize what she was doing and stop. But she stayed there for a moment or two longer, before sighing happily and making her exit. He watched her go, just happy to see her happy and safe.
***************
As the days wore on, the end of the first week staying in Nick’s den had come. She had just gotten out of tutoring and was making her way back to his den. She met with Camila on the way and they got to talking about her lesson and Liza’s concerns about it. Her friend advised that maybe she should speak to Nick about it as she was on
her way to counseling with Edward and Jen Gardner, a mated pair with two children. She gave her friend an understanding hug before heading up the stairs and being stopped by Terry.
“Hey, you can’t be-oh! It’s you, go ahead. He’s in his den,” she stepped aside to allow Elizabeth to pass. She hadn’t run into anyone else since staying with Nick, but it seems the other Beta’s were aware of her being allowed access. She didn’t question it and went into Nick’s den, slamming the door behind her causing Nick to jerk up from the couch, nearly falling off.
“Wha-what’s going on?! Liza? What’s wrong?” His eyes glowed brightly like sapphires until he realized there was no danger, then the glow subsided.
“I just don’t get it!” She stalked to the chair, dropped down into it and curled up into herself.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you so upset?”
“The teacher wants me to connect with my inner wolf, but she’s just not there! It’s only there when I’m in danger or upset, but I was told today I should be able to reach her anytime. Use her heightened senses even without shifting, but they seem to be temperamental, or she is. It’s just so frustrating!” She turned away, cursing herself for not having a better handle on this. It felt like something was stopping her from reaching too deep, preventing her from accessing everything she needed to.
Pureblood (Pureblood series) Page 18
