Violet (The Silver Series Book 4)

by Cheree Alsop

  He laughed and pulled me into a hug so tight and fierce that for the first time since I phased under Tannin's supervision, I finally felt safe and wanted, not a problem for people to solve in Roger's case, or a sister to protect because I had been let down before, but as someone with needs and wants and feelings of my own. I hugged Rafe back as fiercely and felt him smile against my hair.

  He finally let me go and fell back on the bear skin. “Loving you is exhausting.”

  I laughed and pushed his shoulder. “Then sleep, you baby.” Dark rings circled his eyes, disclosing how late it truly was. After not sleeping last night, I realized I must not have looked much better.

  “I'll sleep if you sleep,” he said, pulling me down next to him.

  I shook my head. “Insomniac, remember?”

  He sighed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a close embrace I never wanted to break. “Then I'll sing and force you to listen until you want to escape my voice so badly you'll sleep just to get away.”

  I laughed. “You have a wonderful voice. I'll take you up on your offer just so you have to sing to me again.”

  He breathed into my hair. “I'll sing to you every night for the rest of our lives.”

  “Promise?”

  He nodded, then began a soft song about wolves disappearing into shadows and the moon searching for her lost children.

  ***

  I opened my eyes to find Rafe sitting cross-legged on the bearskin across from me and watching me with a very pleased expression on his face. Sunlight filtered through the cave entrance around him, casting him in an other-worldly glow.

  “Sleep well?” he asked with a smile.

  I sat up and felt more rested than I could recall being since I was turned into a werewolf. “Very well.”

  “Think it was the singing?”

  I thought about it for a minute. “I think it was because for the first time, I finally feel safe.”

  He gave a thoughtful frown, then nodded. “I'll take that as a good thing.”

  I crossed the bear skin and kissed him; he jerked back, then stared at me in surprise. “That's a very good thing,” I said.

  He smiled and kissed me again.

  A soft snort at the front of the cave made us turn. The alpha wolf was watching us, his pale golden eyes calm.

  “I guess we're up,” Rafe said with a laugh. He rose and helped me to my feet, then we followed the alpha into the sunlight.

  ***

  It was easy to lose track of time in the forest. Days flowed together until at least two weeks had passed since we left the rehab center. I found I could control my phasing in the open forest as long as I spent enough time in both my wolf and human forms. The wolves accepted me in both, so it didn't matter unless we were hunting or eating.

  Rafe gave me the cave and slept outside near the entrance no matter how much I protested that I wouldn't mind if he slept inside away from the changing weather. Leaves fell in great piles and the pups spent most of their time in the clearing outside the den chasing each other and invisible enemies through the trees.

  Rafe and I wandered high through the hills. One such occasion found us in craggy outcroppings of rock that stuck out of the earth like the spine of a dragon. We were both in our wolf forms and I loped through one small valley of rocks intent on surprising him on the other side when a strange scent touched my nose. I stopped and looked around. I had smelled it before in the forest, but it had been days old and faint; I didn't know what caused it.

  The scent was definitely a predator, musky and strong with the iron-tanged smell of a fresh kill. I turned and followed it between two large gray boulders.

  A hiss made me spin so fast that the cougar’s claws missed my back by inches. I backed up, my heart racing, and felt another rock behind me, trapping me effectively between the cougar and my exit. The animal's ears flattened and his lips bared in another low hiss that made my fur stand on end. The cougar swatted at me with outstretched claws. I backed against the rock as far as I could. The animal advanced, a low rumble rising in its throat.

  A dark shape flew over the cougar and landed in front of me. Rafe let out a threatening growl that sounded more like thunder. The cougar jumped at his sudden appearance and backed up a few feet. Rafe took advantage of the opening and leaped for its throat.

  The cougar was pushed onto its back legs. Both animals rose, Rafe biting at its neck and the cougar clawing his back. Rafe pushed forward with his back legs and the cougar fell over, dragging Rafe with him. The cougar's back feet clawed deep into Rafe's stomach. Rafe refused to let go of its throat.

  I didn't know what to do. Every instinct screamed for me to dart through the opening they had made and run as far and as fast as I could. But Rafe was being torn to pieces by the cougar’s sharp claws.

  A moan of pain escaped him and unfroze my feet. I ran around the cougar and grabbed its throat just above Rafe's hold. I bit down as hard as I could and felt my teeth tear through flesh. Beside me, Rafe struggled as the cougar's claws dug deeper into his stomach. Its front paws had wrapped around his shoulders and the claws drove into his back.

  I bit down as hard as I could and pulled away from Rafe. Flesh tore, then blood gushed over both of us. The cougar gave two futile jerks, then his paws went limp and he fell back to the earth.

  Rafe collapsed on top of the animal, his chest heaving. I phased and fell to my knees next to him. Blood ran from Rafe's stomach down the cougar's tawny body to the ground. I tried to move the massive paws from Rafe's back, but the claws were still sunk into his skin.

  “Hold on,” I said as calmly as I could. “I'll get you free.”

  Rafe held still while I pulled each claw from his torn back. Blood ran from each tear and colored my hands dark red. Tears rolled down my face, blinding me while I worked. “It's alright. We'll get you back to the cave. You're going to be alright.” My voice shook, but I kept speaking to distract us both. “We're almost done, then we'll work on your stomach.”

  I pulled the left front paw free, then focused on the right. Two of the claws were stuck deep and I had to pull hard to get them out. I winced along with Rafe and had to blink away more tears. “You're going to be alright. I'll take care of you. Don't worry.” The second paw fell to the ground, leaving Rafe's shredded back clear. His dark gray fur was almost black with dark blood that slicked both sides down to his stomach.

  I knelt down to look underneath him and my heart turned over.

  Rafe's stomach had been sliced open by the cougar's hind feet and his stomach contents showed through the tattered flesh. I gritted my teeth and forced out, “You're going to be fine. This'll heal quick and we'll laugh about it later, you'll see.”

  I took a calming breath, then began to work the right hind paw from his stomach. It was easier this time because the stomach tissues were so torn. The hind paw fell to the ground and the second one soon fell with it.

  Rafe rolled before I could catch him and landed on his side on the ground. He let out a pained moan and tried to turn over, but I hurried to him and held him down. “You have to listen to me, Rafe.” His eyes rolled back and he let out a whimper. I shook my head. “You're stronger than this, and you can make it through, but I need you to trust me.”

  He looked at me, his golden eyes glazing.

  “You can't phase; it'll kill you. You need to stay in wolf form while I call Kaynan.” He made a weak, protesting growl, but I shook my head. “You have to trust me on this. You can't heal by yourself; you're too messed up. We need to get help.” My voice cracked and it took me a moment to calm myself. I took a deep breath. “I'm going back to the cave to get the phone. Stay just like this and don't move a muscle.”

  I rose before he could protest and cupped my hands to my mouth. I howled with the notes of warning and calling that Rafe had taught me, then waited, feeling more alone than I ever had in my life. The alpha wolf returned my cry and I breathed a prayer of thanks. He appeared around the boulder with his mate a few minutes lat
er.

  “Watch over him,” I begged the wolf, unsure if he would understand.

  The wolves looked from me to Rafe, then trotted to his side. I took that as an answer and started running.

  Chapter 7

  It felt like it took hours to run down to the cave, reach the backpack, and to return to Rafe, but in reality only minutes had passed. I pulled on my clothes from the gas station and hurried back as fast as I could. He hadn't moved a muscle and when I reached him my first terrified thought was that he was dead. I knelt at his side and touched his shoulder. He opened pain-wracked golden eyes and breathed out a slight huff, then closed them again. I quickly wrapped the shirt and shorts we had brought from the rehab center around his back and stomach and tied them in place with Rafe’s rope.

  The alpha wolf stood over Rafe during all of this, his gaze attentive and concerned. I pulled out the phone and dialed the numbers, surprised at how close I had come to forgetting them in such a short period of time. It felt strange to hold man-made metal and plastic in my hands again.

  “Hello?”

  “Kaynan?”

  “Colleen?” Kaynan's voice was thick with relief. “Colleen, is that you?”

  “It's me. Kaynan, listen. Rafe's been hurt, I mean really hurt. He needs help or he's going to die.” My voice cracked and I had to blink tears free to see the trees again.

  “Okay. Tell me where you are.”

  “I don’t know where I am,” I said, trying to keep calm.

  He turned away from the phone and his voice was muffled as he spoke to someone else, then he came back on, “Jaze is having Mouse trace your call. Don’t hang up.” Several strange clicks sounded and I waited with a pounding heart. “Got it?” Kaynan asked whoever was with him. Someone replied and he let out a breath. “Okay, Jaze said we can reach you by helicopter. You’re a long ways off, so we might be a while, but we'll hurry, I promise.”

  Relief flooded my body and threatened to buckle my knees. “Thank you, Kaynan, thank you so much.”

  “I love you, Colleen. We'll be there, don't worry.”

  I hung up the phone, then knelt by Rafe. “They’re coming. Don’t give up on me.” His body burned with fever and he didn't respond when I tried to get him to drink water from one of the bottles in the backpack. Blood had soaked through the shirt and shorts I used as bandages. I wrapped the backpack around his stomach to protect it, then eased his head into my lap and gently smoothed the soft hair between his ears. The alpha's mate settled down next to me while the alpha kept watch over us all.

  ***

  A patterned hum filled the air. I squinted to see the trees brush wildly from the beat of air. The wolf pack crowded around Kaynan and me, blocking us from view as a black and red helicopter landed in a clearing about a hundred feet away. Rafe was so hot I wondered how he kept breathing. His lungs moved almost imperceptibly beneath his fur. He refused to drink and barely opened his eyes when I spoke to him. The wounds from the cougar were too great for his body to heal and blood matted his thick fur. He was slipping away.

  “Kaynan, we're here!” I shouted.

  “Colleen?”

  Kaynan pushed through the trees and his face lightened in relief when he saw me. The wolves around me started to growl and the alpha lowered his head, his ears held tight against his skull as he bared his teeth. Kaynan slowed, his eyes wide.

  “They’re here to help,” I called to the wolves. “They’re trying to save Rafe.”

  The alpha glanced at me. I didn’t know if he would listen or attack my friends to protect the injured werewolf. “You can trust them,” I said softly. “They’re friends.”

  The alpha looked from me to Rafe, then back at Kaynan and the others who now followed him from the clearing. “Please,” I begged quietly. “Trust me.”

  He trotted slowly back to my side and the others followed to sit in a half-circle around us. Kaynan approached slowly, his gaze wary, but the wolves made no move to stop him. Jaze followed with Nikki, his girlfriend. Jet, their dark-haired, silent friend, came close behind with his girlfriend Taye who carried bandages and wraps. They greeted me warmly, something I felt I didn't deserve after leaving so abruptly.

  “He's real bad. A cougar attacked me and he saved my life,” I explained quickly.

  Taye and Jaze knelt by Rafe. Taye lifted the backpack slowly and Rafe groaned but didn't open his eyes. Taye looked up at Kaynan and Jet. “He's in bad shape.” She met my eyes and said honestly, “I've never seen a werewolf recover from wounds like these. He'll be lucky if he makes it to Meg's.”

  “Roger, Charles, and Dr. Benjamin will be waiting for us,” Kaynan said, helping me stand up while the others slid Rafe onto a blanket and lifted him. “If anyone can save him, they can.” His gaze slid to the form of the cougar lying a few feet away. “That’s what did it?”

  I nodded. “The cougar attacked me and Rafe saved my life. I had to kill it to get it to let him go.”

  My brother opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again and shook his head. He kept an arm around my waist and guided me to the helicopter. “I can walk,” I protested.

  He gave me a serious glance. “Have you looked in a mirror lately? You look ready to drop dead from exhaustion, there's dried blood in your hair, and your clothes smell like they're growing their own forest. You can use a little help.”

  Nikki climbed into the helicopter first, then took the corners of Rafe's blanket along with a scrawny, brown-haired werewolf I hadn't met before. After they had Rafe settled as comfortably as possible on the floor, the pilot maneuvered the chopper away from the trees. I had one last glimpse of the wolf pack before they were lost beneath the branches and pines I had come to think of as home. I sat down next to Rafe and ran a hand gently along the soft fur at the top of his head while the others sat around him and on the other seats.

  “Take us straight to Roger's,” Jaze said into his headset. The pilot nodded and the scrawny werewolf named Mouse gave Jaze a thumb’s up from the copilot seat.

  No one spoke above the pounding of the blades. Nikki and Taye wrapped new bandages over the makeshift clothing I had used, but other than that, there was nothing they could do until we reached the others.

  Rafe didn't move the whole trip home. We landed in an empty parking lot about a block from Meg and Roger’s as the sun was starting to rise. Jaze’s neighbors barely waited for the skids to touch the ground before opening the door. The others hurried around and carried Rafe straight to the house. I followed them through a living room, down a hallway, and into a small operating room that looked like it had once been a garage. They set Rafe on a stainless steel table and two other men came from the hallway.

  “Colleen, this is Charles and Dr. Benjamin. Charles is a veterinarian who has treated werewolves, and Dr. Benjamin helps us out on serious cases at the hospital,” Jaze explained quickly.

  Charles gave me a warm smile. “He's in good hands,” he reassured me.

  “I don't know if I'll be of any help here,” Dr. Benjamin said. He cast a quick glance Jet's way and I know I didn't imagine the bone-chilling look the werewolf threw him back. Dr. Benjamin turned to Jaze. “I didn't realize he'd be in wolf form.”

  “We thought it best that he stay that way so that he didn't do more harm to himself phasing,” Taye put in before I could say anything. I threw her a grateful smile and the doctor turned away grumbling about treating an animal.

  Meg lifted the backpack gently from Rafe's stomach, then cut the clothes I had wrapped around him. She gasped when the makeshift bandages parted to reveal his stomach organs partially obscured by torn skin and blood-caked fur. Dr. Benjamin quit complaining and began to work beside Charles. Roger gathered the equipment they needed while Taye escorted us from the room.

  “Less chance of infection, and they need the space,” she explained, her expression apologetic.

  “I need to be in there,” I protested. “He needs me if he wakes up.”

  “They're administering a heavy sedative
now. It would be detrimental if he moved during the surgery. He'll be under at least until they're done,” Taye explained gently. She led me to a couch in the living room. Kaynan followed close behind, his hands out like he wanted to help, but didn't know what to do.

  I felt so helpless. “He should have healed by now; how is surgery going to help?”

  “They’ve got to clean the wounds and close them to give his body the chance to heal,” Taye explained gently. Her blue-gray eyes were soft with understanding. “He might need a transfusion, so Roger or Meg will be out to see if anyone is a match. If his condition changes, I’ll let you know right away.” I thanked her and she disappeared back down the hall to help with the surgery.

  I sank onto the couch and buried my face in my hands. Soft fingers touched my shoulder and I looked up to see Grace run her hand along the cushion next to me to make sure it was empty before she sat down. Her sightless blue eyes stared vaguely in my direction as she gave a reassuring smile. “He’s got the best team in the country working on him,” she said. Kaynan stood behind her and set a hand on her shoulder in a familiar gesture. She smiled and tipped her head toward him. “Kaynan’s told me so much about you. I’m sorry we have to meet under such horrible circumstances.”

  I nodded, realized she couldn’t see me, and set a hand on hers. “Me, too,” I said as warmly as I could under the circumstances. “It’s all my fault.”

  Her smile deepened and a strand of her dark brown hair brushed across her face. She pushed it back and squeezed my hand reassuringly. “Kaynan said you would take everything on yourself. He says you’re the selfless sibling.”

  I glanced at my brother and couldn’t help the small, teasing smile that came to my lips. “And what does that make him?”

  Grace laughed, a light sound that reminded me of Dad’s wind chimes on the porch. “The selfish one, I guess.”