I spoke, ignoring my dry and scratchy throat. “Levi. You’re here, but how?”
He touched his finger to my lips. “Shhh, don’t talk now—just rest.”
“But how did you find me?”
“That’s not important right now. You need your rest.”
“Levi, please.”
He sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue. “Well, Hector was watching over you. When he saw all the food on the picnic table his hunger got the best of him, so he left briefly to get something to eat. He made it back to your cabin just as they were running off. He caught and killed them. After your call, I was frantic. I was about to shift and hope my wolf could find and follow your scent until Hector called me. I made it to the hospital shortly after you arrived.”
Suddenly I remembered my mom. “Levi! What about Mom?! Is she all right?! And Frank?!”
His eyes lowered in pain as he carefully took my good hand in his. “Charity, look at me. Everything is going to be all right, do you hear me?”
I nodded slowly, feeling the panic seeping in.
“Your mom is in intensive care. She’s lost a lot of blood and her injuries are severe. They have her heavily sedated, and she hasn’t yet woken.”
I began to cry. “And Frank?”
“I’m sorry, Charity, but he didn’t make it. He was killed instantly; a fatal blow to the neck.”
“My mother’s going to be heartbroken—again.” I began to cry uncontrollably. In a flash Levi was in the bed with me, taking me carefully in his arms and cradling me against him.
“I’m so sorry, baby. But you’re safe now.”
A thought came, and I jerked up and peered at him. “Levi, you can heal her! Oh, Levi! Please heal her! You have to heal her!”
He took my face in his hands and stared down into my eyes. “I need you to calm down, okay? I’ve already been thinking about that. And if we can find a way to get to her without getting caught, I would be honored to heal her—but on one condition.”
“Levi—anything you want, just please do it!”
“Do you promise?”
“Yes, of course. Anything you want. I’ll gladly give it to save my mother.”
“Okay then. I’ll start making arrangements right away.”
“Thank you so much. I love you.” I put my good arm around his neck and squeezed.
“Baby, I love you too—so very much.”
“Do you think I can see her?”
“I’ll make it happen, whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m ready right now.”
“Okay, but before we go there’s something I have to say. I need to beg your forgiveness for locking you away. I should’ve handled that differently. I know that now. After what Raven did to us I guess I was afraid he’d take you again. I couldn’t take that chance. I’m so sorry. Please say you forgive me.”
“Of course I forgive you, but only if you’ll forgive me too. I overreacted, as usual, and I took punishing you too far. I’m sorry, Levi. And if it makes you feel any better, I was miserable without you.”
He smiled softly. “I forgive you—always. And—being without you was unbearable. Please don’t leave me again.”
“I don’t think I could ever do it again. But there’s one thing I don’t understand, why aren’t my mom and I healing? After all, we survived an attack from werewolves, and their saliva is running through our veins. Shouldn’t we be healed by now?”
“Well, Doc and I have come to a conclusion about that. Werewolves don’t just attack people. The only thing that could’ve caused those werewolves to become crazed like that is an injection of silver nitrate. And if that’s the case then the silver nitrate temporarily damages the healing properties. Eventually our bodies overpower it and the healing process takes over, but since neither of you have healed, it’s obvious the silver nitrate is the only explanation. What we don’t know is who did it, and why. We have blood samples from the bodies. Doc will run tests on it and then we’ll know for sure. Now let’s go see your mom.”
I woke in the night, screaming and confused. Levi was instantly by my side, soothing me. I’d been there again, in the backyard of the cabin, reliving every moment of the attack. I wondered then if I’d ever sleep peacefully again. After a few minutes, Levi smiled down at me, but the worry was there, deep in his purple eyes, eyes so purple that in that moment they seemed to actually glow in the dark. I’d never seen them do that before. Was his worry for me causing it? He stroked my hair and whispered sweet words of prayer over me as I drifted back to sleep.
In the morning, my room was flooded with activity. Hector was there, along with Levi’s parents, Joseph and Irena, his sister, Tara, and of course, Ashley.
Levi and Joseph were discussing ways to get into Mom’s room and heal her without being noticed, since she was being watched closely. See—werewolves, when in their wolf forms, have healing properties in their saliva. If they bite into the injured person’s flesh, while they’re werewolves, the person will heal quickly. The only thing it doesn’t work on is broken bones. I, for one, had made Levi promise never to bite me in an attempt to heal me. He knew I was frightened of him in his wolf form. And seeing as how vicious werewolves had attacked me, I was even more terrified.
The doctor entered my room, and everyone except Levi excused themselves.
“Charity, I’m Doctor Cramer. How are you feeling this morning?”
“I guess I’m okay. It hurts when I move too much. My whole left side hurts.”
“Yes, well that’s to be expected. You’ve received pretty severe tissue and tendon damage to your arm and shoulder. The police are interested in talking to you about the attack, but I’ve persuaded them to allow you a little more time.”
“Thank you, Doctor. I don’t think I’m ready for that right now.”
“Well, they’ll want to talk to you soon in order to catch the animals responsible before they attack anyone else. But about your injuries, we need to perform surgery to repair some of the damage done. It’s very likely that you may even regain full use of your arm again.”
“You mean there’s a chance I might not?”
“Yes. As I explained earlier to your husband, there is a small chance that you may have limited use of your arm. However, I’m confident that we can repair it.”
I glanced up at Levi and he was frowning. He didn’t like this news at all.
The doctor took his precious time leaving but once he did, I leaned over and whispered, “Levi, why did you tell him you’re my husband? No one’s supposed to know that.”
“Well, we’re in Virginia. No one knows us here, and they wouldn’t let me stay with you any other way.”
I thought about that for a minute and then said, “What are your thoughts about this surgery? Can you be away from the pack long enough for me to heal from something like that?”
“Josh is taking care of things, but because it’s a dangerous time for us right now, I shouldn’t be gone long. If we were to be attacked the pack would need me. But I’ve found a way for you to avoid surgery and come home with me.”
“Really, how?”
“I’m going to heal you.”
I sat up in alarm. “Oh no you’re not!”
“Yes I am. You promised. When you asked me to heal your mom. You said you’d do anything, so you’re going to let me heal you. Then we’ll be home with your mom within a day or two from now.”
“Levi, please no! That’s not what I meant at all! You know how I feel about that! I’m terrified of you like that! Please, Levi!”
He sensed my alarm and stroked my face reassuringly. “Charity, calm down. It’ll be okay, you’ll see. It’s the only way. You heard the doctor. There’s only a chance that you’ll regain the full use of your arm. Are you going to tell me that because of your fear you’re going to risk that?”
Tears welled in my eyes, but I couldn’t answer him, because I knew he had a valid point. It was the only way. Why does he always have to be right?
&nb
sp; “Don’t be afraid, baby. I’ll take care of you, I promise. I’ll drug you if that’s the only way. And I’ve found a way to erase your memories of the attack.”
“How?”
His jaw grew tight and his face hard. “Raven’s going to help me,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Raven, what’s he got to do with this?”
“Vampires can manipulate emotions and even memories. He’s going to make you forget about the details of the attack, and if you want, my healing you as well.”
“Oh,” was all I could say.
“Charity, don’t you have any faith in me? Don’t you trust me?”
I peered into his eyes and answered with sincerity, “With all my heart.”
Later, I woke to find Hector and Ashley sitting by my bed.
“Good, you’re awake,” she said. “I had an idea. I think you could use some pampering.”
“Pampering? What kind of pampering? And where’s Levi?”
“I was thinking that I could wash and roll your hair, and paint your finger and toenails? Levi left to go find Raven. I think they’re planning the healings for tonight.”
“Tonight?!” I sat up straight on the bed and felt the onslaught of a panic attack.
“Charity, it’s okay. Levi’s got all the details worked out. Hector, help me.”
Hector came and knelt on the other side of my bed, taking hold of my free hand. “Now, Mrs. Charity, you know that Levi will take good care of you. He would never want to scare or hurt you. He loves you so much. I think he’s hooking up with Doc to get something to give you to keep you calm. He can’t drug you completely because the nurses would be alerted to a problem. But, like Ashley said, he’s got it all handled. Just trust him.”
At that, I began to calm down some. I knew Levi would never hurt me, and he was probably as anxious as me knowing how scared I was about it. He’d want to do everything in his power to lessen the ordeal.
“Are you ready for your pampering?”
“Ash, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m not really in the mood for pampering.”
“Oh come on. Humor me. It would make me feel a lot better. And look at poor Hector.”
I peered up at him and he quickly made a sad puppy dog face, which looked more creepy than anything.
“See how pitiful he looks? He’s been punishing himself for letting you and your mom get hurt. It’ll make him feel better too. Pleeease.”
I sighed. “Fine.”
“Goody.” She was beaming, and for that I guess it was worth it.
After she had my hair done, she pulled out her nail polishes. “Okay, which one, Gloriously Grape, or Ridiculously Raspberry?”
“Let’s let Hector decide.”
She turned to him. “Okay, Hector, which one?”
Hector raised his hands in protest. “This is clearly out of my field of expertise.”
“Come on, Hector. It’s for Charity.”
“Um, okay, that one looks more like what she would like.”
“Great choice. Ridiculously Raspberry it is. He knows you so well. Now, Charity, relax and prepare to be pampered, Ashley style.”
Chapter Six
Later that afternoon the police visited, and I was both disappointed and concerned that Levi hadn’t made it back yet. I would’ve liked to have him by my side during the questioning, but Hector and Ashley stayed with me. I told the officers I didn’t really remember much, which would be true soon enough, just that some wolves attacked us. I was surprised when they said that there were no other reports of attacks. Why only us? They said they were searching the forests, but they wouldn’t find what they were looking for. Hector made sure of that. I suddenly found myself wondering what kind of awful men they must’ve been and cringed, remembering the wild look in the one’s eyes.
After the officers left, the nurse came in to change my bandage. It was a gruesome sight and I had to work hard at not crying, not to mention vomiting. I tried to remember that soon Levi would heal me and my mom, and we’d go back home to the safety of our lives, if you could call my life safe anywhere. But then the thought of Levi healing me brought on a terror of its own. I really wished I wasn’t so afraid of him in his werewolf form. Why couldn’t he be furry and cute, like a real wolf, instead of hairy and scary? I’ll never understand it. But I knew he would never hurt me, so I focused my thoughts on that fact.
It was dark when Levi finally arrived back. He brought Doc and Raven with him. I was shocked to see that Raven actually came. It was odd seeing the two of them occupying the same space, but I could feel the tension radiating from them both. I wondered what Levi had done to get him to agree to such a thing.
“Charity, are you ready?” Levi asked me.
“No! Please heal my mom first.”
He laughed softly. “Okay. If that’s what you want. We’ve got it all planned out. Doc is going to pretend to be the doctor called in by the family to examine her condition, which is true. Once we’re alone, it’ll only take a few minutes. Then I’ll be in here for you. Doc’s going to give you something. It won’t put you out, but it’ll take the edge off. Okay?” He squeezed my hand reassuringly.
“Okay.” I smiled, but he didn’t buy it.
Once they were gone I began to panic, but within minutes the drug began to take effect and I felt my body totally relax.
Ashley was holding my hand, Raven was pacing around the room, and Hector was standing at the door listening. Even though Raven’s presence was requested, I still sensed everyone’s unease at having him involved, even Ashley, but it didn’t seem to bother him as much, that or he masked it well.
It felt like they were gone forever and when they finally entered Levi was smiling. I returned the smile instantly.
“Everything went according to plan,” said Doc. “She’ll take a little longer to heal than you since her injuries are more extreme, but soon she’ll be fine. We’re having the two of you transferred to our local hospital, and I’ll take care of the paperwork since you’ll never actually arrive there.”
“Thank you, Doc, for everything.”
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s get you healed so we can get you home. Okay?”
I took a deep breath and reached for the table and my lip balm that lay there. Once a generous coating was applied, I felt ready. “Okay, I think I’m ready now.”
I noticed Ashley slipping out the door. Good for her.
Levi came and knelt by me, and I noticed at once, he looked pale. “Levi, are you all right?”
“Yeah. Your mom was heavily sedated, so the drugs are starting to get to me a little, but I’ll be fine.” He turned to Raven. “Be ready. As soon as I’m finished I want you to do your magic. I don’t want her to remember any of this, you got it?”
“I will be ready. You just do your part. I will take care of the rest.” There was cockiness to his tone.
Levi stood and went to stand in front of Raven, their chests touching as Levi towered over him, his jaw clenched tight. “If you so much as touch her, you’re mine.”
“Break it up boys.” I barked, but then giggled. The drugs made me do it, I swear.
Hector stepped between them and Levi turned reluctantly and came back to my side. “Are you ready?”
“Um, I think so.”
He took off his shirt and shoes, and after kissing me on the forehead, began to shift into his wolf form.
I fought the tears as I peered up at him, hairy and towering over me. I at once remembered the werewolf from Van Helsing and shuttered. Then the image of the ravenous werewolf and his wild eyes came to me. Levi’s eyes were gentle, but I still couldn’t shake the image. Raven, sensing my alarm, came and knelt by me, taking my hand in his.
Levi growled.
Raven ignored him, of course. “Charity, look at me.”
I turned my head away from Levi and peered into Raven’s dark but gentle eyes. As I felt something at my neck, I cringed and held my breath, squeezing my eyes tightly shut. Levi w
as breathing heavily as he ever so gently bit into the flesh on my shoulder above my bandage. I bit down on my lower lip as I squeezed Raven’s hand. I started to turn and look at him, but Raven stopped me.
“Keep looking at me, Charity. It is almost over.”
I muffled a scream as his fangs sank deeper into my flesh. Doc had numbed the area, but I still felt it. I also felt a trickle of blood escape down my gown, but then, I could feel him licking my shoulder, an intimate gesture that instantly soothed, and, just like that, he let go.
It was over.
When I finally glanced over at Levi he was already his human self, shirt on, rolling his sleeves up, and smiling down at me. He picked up a wet rag from the side table and dabbed at the bite, wiping the last of the blood clean. The discomfort had already begun to subside. “See, nothing to worry about. I took care of you just like I promised.” He swayed on his feet, but quickly regained his balance.
I instantly noticed he looked paler than before and began to worry.
Raven wasted no time, taking my face in his hands. “Now, Charity, this will not hurt at all. Just look into my eyes and forget about everything that has happened. Concentrate only on my eyes. You are forgetting about the details of the attack along with Levi biting you just now. You remember none of it.”
His pupils shifted in a strange way, moving in and out so quickly I almost didn’t see it, and then, just like that, my scary memories were gone.
I was in a daze for a few minutes, and by the time I started to come out of it Raven had joined Levi at the foot of my bed. I was confused at the sight before me. Levi didn’t fight him as Raven grabbed his head, tilted it to the side, and opened his mouth wide, exposing his sharp, ivory fangs, and bit into Levi’s neck.
“What are you doing?!” Neither one noticed as I forced my way to the foot of the bed. “Raven, stop! Hector, make him stop!”
“It’s okay, Mrs. Charity.”
“No it’s not!” With my good arm I tried to pry Raven away until his hand shot up and clamped around my wrist, freezing it.
“It’s okay, Charity,” Levi said in a strained voice.
Raven kept drinking and drinking until Levi’s body began to tremble. It must’ve been painful.
Charity Rising (Charity Series Book 2) Page 4
