Cold Mercy (Northern Wolves)

by Sadie Hart

  Eden was there, too. Way too close. A long metal stick was clutched between her hands and she stabbed down at the troll’s thigh, ramming it straight through the meaty flesh. A ragged scream ripped through the air, sending twigs from nearby trees skittering into the wind, ripping them right from the dead branches they’d once grown on.

  Rage and pain had the troll whirling on her. His hand snapped back and he backhanded her. Only Bay lunging, his jaws clamping down over the troll’s wrist slowed the impact of the monster’s hand slamming into Eden’s chest. Out of the corner of his eye, Bay watched as she tumbled out over the snow, a soft sob the only sound that slipped from her. Desperate, Bay clamped down so hard his jaw ached with the effort, but he heard the satisfying crunch of bone underneath.

  Then he too was flying through the air, only to land in a crumpled heap besides his porch. He struggling, his legs instantly scrabbling beneath him as he strained to stand, but when his head lifted the troll was gone. Only the deep imprints and blood in the snow told him anything had happened at all.

  Then Bay turned and hobbled to Eden’s side, agony ripping down his left side in waves of pain that made it hard for him to breathe. He sank down next to her and licked her cheek, his cold nose brushing against her ear. The wolf let out a soft whine. Get up. His mind begged, pleading frantically, even as pain ate through the last of his resolves and the world around him started to darken. He nudged her again, his only answer a soft moan.

  Trembling, he started to step away when his body wavered and his legs gave way beneath him. He collapsed onto the ground beside her, his shoulder and head tossed over her. Protecting her. Breathing in her scent, the world faded to black and Bay felt pain’s dark oblivion drag him into unconsciousness.

  ***

  Friggin’ hell that hurt. Eden gave a rattling cough as she tried to move her arms, pain streaking down her back in pricks of needle-sharp spasms. It was like getting rammed in the chest by an angry moose. One second she’d been standing there, the next she’d been hurtled through the air with all the force of a tornado.

  She even felt like a damned house had landed on her.

  The weight over her shoulders made it impossible to get her arms under her and heave herself up. Eden angled her head to the side and saw the pile of white fur stretched out over the snow beside her. And God. The blood. Fur the color of goose-down, normally unmarred and beautiful, was suddenly splattered with red. Crimson droplets covered the line of Bay’s shoulder, and then—

  Eden fought the bile surging up in her throat. He’d been ripped open. Shit. Could someone survive a wound like that? She squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden wave of panic. Maybe. Especially, if that someone was a werewolf. After all, if Bay could already do the impossible and go from skin to furry in five seconds, he might be able to survive getting gutted by a monster the size of a tree.

  She just needed to get him off her, get him into the car, and, yeah right. Eden blew out a breath. Ignoring the stabbing pain that danced up her arm, the twisting jolt that sent sparks through her bicep. She wedged her arm around and down her side, only to dig out the slim black phone in her jeans pocket. She dialed Kennedy’s work without thinking, her friend was never late and had to be there by now, then pressed the phone against her pounding head.

  He’d survive this. She was calling in the cavalry, all Bay needed to do was hold on.

  The phone rang and Eden breathed into the snow. Pick up, pick up, pick up. Please. Silence stretched around them, a haunting ghost that seemed to taunt her, only broken by the sharp blasts of the phone ringing on the other end of the line. “Dee, please,” Eden whispered, knowing her friend couldn’t hear her, but still she hoped.

  “Mercy Pass Animal Hospital.”

  Relief left her throat raw, her eyes itching with unshed tears. “Jas. Please get me Kennedy. It’s an emergency.”

  Her voice broke. Jasmine, Dee’s assistant, made a sympathetic sound. “Had a lot of those today. I’ll go see if I can get her.”

  “Please,” Eden whispered again.

  She could hear people talking and then finally, “Eden? What happened?”

  “I need you to get to Bay’s. It’s up on White Rabbit Road.”

  “I can’t. We’re packed. Six dogs and a cat with hypothermia, another cat with something I don’t even know yet. We’ve never had so many cases like this.”

  “Dee. Bay was attacked. He’s a wolf right now. He’s bleeding. His whole side is ripped open.” Her voice hitched in her throat, but she forced the words to keep coming. Sobbing wouldn’t do a damn thing. “He landed on top of me and he’s the size of a bear. I can’t move, I’m pretty sure I’m hurt, too. You’re the only one I can call.”

  Eden tried to wiggle out from underneath him, her chest squeezed with a blast of raw pain. A muffled cry clawed its way out of her and Kennedy cursed. “I’m on my way. I’m calling Rowan too. Be careful, Eden. Hurt animals bite. They get testy.”

  Testy? That had to be a bit of an understatement. Eden blew out a breath, ignoring the burning in her chest. “I know.”

  She let the phone fall into the snow beside her and turned her head back so she could get a glimpse at Bay. Blood leaked out into the snow, ribbons of red slashing through the white. His side looked like it had been shredded. Shit. At this rate he might bleed out before Dee and Ro even got there. “Bay,” she called softly. “Bay, please.”

  The wolf shuddered, the muscles in his haunches twitching. She gulped. She’d seen the size of his wolf’s teeth. Hell, she’d felt its wrath before. Just because the troll had been the latest brand of puppy chow and Bay might have been able to control it, didn’t mean she wasn’t snack material now. Especially when he was hurting.

  “Bay,” Eden said again, her arms straining as she tried to drag her way out from under the massive werewolf. Bay’s wolf whimpered, a sound that made her heart seize and her breath stall in her throat.

  The wolf gave another tremor and then the weight over Eden’s shoulders vanished. Her muscles twitched, and she was ready to bolt to her feet and get out of there while she still could, but she didn’t dare move that fast. Running triggered predatory instinct in dogs and wolves had a lot more drive to hunt than the average husky.

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, Eden eased slowly away and drew herself up to her feet. Black dots danced over her eyes and her head throbbed, a pulsing hammer against her temples that made her want to squeeze her eyes shut and put her head between her legs. Instead, she reached out a steadying hand and leaned against Bay’s front porch, her eyes on the wolf still standing in front of her.

  His large sides heaved, blood oozing out onto the ground beneath him. A line of red trickled down over one paw. Nausea swam through her and she swayed. Shit, but if it were even possible, he looked worse to her standing up than he had when she’d been face down next to him.

  Black eyes blinked as the wolf looked up at her. Years of working with dogs had taught her how to register the slight signs of pain. He had wrinkles under his eyes and at the corners of his lips. He gave her another long, slow blink and whined. The pitiful sound tore at her heart and Eden stepped closer, sinking into the snow next to him. She reached a hand out and touched the silken fur, her fingers sliding up the wolf’s muzzle. He didn’t lash out, didn’t try and rip her arm off, and she relaxed, letting the tension ease out from between her shoulders.

  “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered. “I called for help.”

  The wolf blinked again and this time, his eyes were green. Bay’s eyes. Human eyes.

  It lasted for only a split second and then they were gone, lost in the black abyss that was the wolf. But obviously the wolf no longer wanted her dead. “Shh,” she crooned, her gaze drifting to the wound. She didn’t even know where to begin to stop the bleeding. But she had to try. Had to do something. Sitting here holding his paw wouldn’t keep him alive. “Hang on, I’ll be right back.”

  Eden glanced back at the forest. There was still no sig
n of the troll. Hopefully that particular monster had no intention of coming back. Then, briefly curling her fingers into the fur just below Bay’s chin, she pulled away and sprinted up towards his house. The door was unlocked. She couldn’t think of many people in Mercy Pass who ever bothered to lock their doors. In this town, you couldn’t misplace a shoe without everyone knowing. Between the long drives between everyone’s houses and the fact that one person’s business was everyone’s business, they had no real fear of theft.

  Eden hurried back down the hall, remembering the direction of Bay’s bed and the attached bathroom. She found the towels in the closet in the hall just before the bedroom, but none of them looked big enough. Stuffing two under her arm, Eden strode into the bedroom and ripped the top sheet off the bed. If she had to swaddle him like a baby she would. As long as it meant she stopped the bleeding. Or at least slowed it.

  Eden hurried back outside and was just hurrying down the steps, having to grip one rail so she didn’t black out and fall to her knees, when Dee’s truck pulled up, the tires spitting snow as it jerked to a stop. She tossed the blankets onto the snow besides Bay as Kennedy hopped out, a bag in one hand. Dee raced across the yard, only to skid to a stop at the sight of the wound.

  “Jesus.” But as fast as the flare of panic had flitted across her face, it was gone. Dee thrust the bag at her and moved to take control. Before Eden could register what was going on, Kennedy had already settled in to work.

  The wolf lifted his head to snarl once, but Eden sank to the ground by his head, cradling his muzzle in her lap. Instantly, the beast quieted. Dee looked up at her over the length of white-furred body. “We should probably muzzle him. I could show you how to tie a makeshift one out of gauze.”

  A dark rumble sounded from the wolf, his lips curling back to reveal teeth.

  “No.” Eden ran a hand down Bay’s neck. “It’s fine. Trust me.”

  Kennedy paused, for the barest hint of a second, then nodded, trusting her. After that, time blurred together. A haze of red and white, the two colors twin flashes across her vision until she couldn’t see one color without seeing the other. Exhaustion and pain ate at Eden, but she didn’t dare stop. She alternated between helping Dee and holding Bay, keeping his beast steady and under control.

  She didn’t know exactly when Rowan got there, but suddenly Ro was at her side, pressing her back down next to Bay. “Don’t worry. I’ll help Dee, you just keep him calm.”

  Eden blew out a ragged breath and leaned down, her face pressed into the side of Bay’s neck, breathing in the scent of his fur.

  “You’re going to be okay,” she whispered again and again, her words faint and breathy.

  Her fingers trailed circles over his muzzle, until finally, Kennedy knelt next to her. With one hand on her shoulder, Dee squeezed gently. “Eden?”

  Bleary eyed, she looked up. The snow was still crimson with blood, and red flecks decorated Bay’s fur, but the wound down the length of his side was wrapped in dark blue bandages. Hope flared and she looked at Dee.

  “I think he’ll be okay. He’s one tough...werewolf.” The last word came out a bit faint and she shook her head. “Besides, some of the wound had already started to heal. I stitched him up the best I could, bandaged what I couldn’t, and gave him some pain meds. The rest is up to him.”

  “You think we could get him inside?”

  Kennedy’s eyes widened at the question, her gaze flicking between Bay and Eden. “He’s the size of a grizzly. Short of a crane I don’t think we’re moving him until he can walk.”

  “Okay.” Eden started to get to her feet and swayed. Rowan caught her by the elbow and held her steady so she didn’t fall.

  “Whoa there,” Rowan whispered. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I was just going to go get some more blankets. I’m not leaving him.”

  “You need to see a doctor yourself,” Dee said. “Let Ro take you. I’ll stay.”

  “No.” Eden started to shake her head when both of her friends scowled at her.

  “Not an option.” Ro’s hand turned firm against her elbow. “You don’t get a choice here. You were swaying on your feet when I got here and you don’t look any better now. If anything your lips are as white as the ground we stand on.”

  “In short, you look like hell,” Kennedy said. “I helped him. All he’s going to do now is sleep. Go.”

  She thought of arguing, but one look at the wolf in front of her—the slow rise and fall of his breathing—and her will to fight died. He looked content. Peaceful. And completely out of it. “Okay. But call me if he wakes before I get back.”

  Kennedy flashed her a smile. “Of course,” she promised.

  Leaning into Rowan, Eden nodded. “Okay then.”

  Together, they managed to hobble to the car with Rowan supporting most of her weight. She leaned back into the passenger seat and looked back, only to see Kennedy squatting down beside Bay, her small hand stroking down the wolf’s neck. He wasn’t alone.

  Content with that knowledge, Eden closed her eyes and let the throbbing pain in her chest lure her away to sleep.

  Chapter Ten

  Zeke woke to darkness, an unending black abyss that seemed to wrap around him. It left him cold and he shivered. The idea that he’d died flitted through his head. He remembered the blood, the woman. Fuck. A vampire? Maybe he’d gone off the deep end in a big way. He felt himself breathe and cool air washed down his throat, filling his lungs. It revitalized him.

  Not dead then.

  A vibration rippled through his body and somewhere in the distance Zeke heard a sinister growl pierce the shadows. He stirred, trying to move, but his body didn’t respond. Panic wedged into his throat, only to feel the muscles in his thighs tense and flex. Suddenly Zeke was moving, a fast, jaunty movement like a jog but he had no control.

  He struggled, panicking, and for the first time he felt something else in his head with him. It felt sticky, wrong. Malevolent. Suddenly, Zeke felt his body jerk to a halt, the darkness unwavering, but he strained to see, to move out of the shadows and back into control. A blood thirsty bitch, wolves the size of small cars, fuck, at this rate he’d probably been possessed.

  It would have been laughable, crazy, except Zeke wasn’t sure of anything at the moment. He’d lost his mind or, hell, he didn’t even know. Some wicked fairy tale book had finally spewed out into reality?

  “Bali,” a woman said and he recognized the voice. The vampire-bitch from the other night. At least, he thought it was the other night. At this rate, he wasn’t sure how long he’d been out of it. “Come here.”

  His body obeyed even as Zeke scrambled to put the brakes on. Didn’t his stupid ass body have any sense of self-preservation? She’d tried to kill him once, and here he was, waltzing up to her without a care in the world. He was dead now. No escaping or fighting it this time, not when he couldn’t even control what his body was doing before she got a hold of him. He was definitely possessed then.

  A hand landed on his shoulders and Zeke wanted to tense, to flinch away. Instead, he found himself leaning into her touch, her fingers stroking through his fur. Wait. Fur? Zeke concentrated and sure enough, he could feel the soft caress of her hand down his side, stroking through thick fur. The angles were all wrong too, his body was different.

  Then the demon in possession of his body seemed to relax, the malice rippling off the other spirit eased, and Zeke saw a light in the darkness. It flickered, like candlelight in one of those old street lamps, flickering under a heavy night wind. Zeke mentally stretched towards it, not wanting to push too hard and let the demon know he was still alive in his own head.

  Snow and trees flitted past his vision and then, finally, Zeke could see out. He could see a slumbering white wolf curled up at the base of a pine tree, the snow-heavy branches curling down towards the ground. Zeke found himself leaning into the woman’s touch, a pleased rumble sounding from him and the knowledge startled him. Pleased?

  But
the moment he thought it, he knew it was true. The demon was happy.

  Emotions wafted off the other thing inside him and this close to the surface, Zeke could feel them. Then his head tilted back and he stared up into the eyes of Hell herself. Satan wasn’t some pitchfork-tailed, red-skinned devil that cartoons had made him out to be. He didn’t even have a dick.

  He was a she, Zeke decided. With blood that dribbled out of her lips, and eyes the color of coal. Pitiless, black. She smiled down at him.

  “Sweet Bali.” Her hand curled into the fur behind his ear. “I thought it would take longer to wake you. My power was so weak.”

  She leaned down and laid a kiss across his muzzle. Then, as if seeing it for the first time, Zeke became aware of the long black snout sprouting from his face. He remembered the other wolves, all white, circling her that night. Was he one of them too?

  And wake him?

  She’d tried to kill him.

  Branches snapped and Zeke found himself spinning, every muscle in his body suddenly lock-tight. Rage spilled out from the demon and it moved to stand between the thing crashing through the trees and its mistress. With certainty, Zeke felt the knowledge sink through him. This demon, it was the woman’s protector. Her guardian.

  Her weapon.

  The last thought flitted through his mind in a cold certainty that left him bone-chilled. She’d used this demon before and it’d done vile things. Things Zeke couldn’t see, but he could feel the black taint that leeched upon the demon’s soul. So she’d what? Killed him so that she could bring this black demon wolf back to life?

  And why wasn’t he dead?

  Then a huge white monster broke through the trees, blood streaking down its side, and Zeke felt the demon relax, drawing Zeke’s attention back to the here and now. It was a friend then, at least to the demon. But, still, his body didn’t move from his position in front of her, fully prepared to take on the danger—if any arrived.