Something inside Jonathan assured him that the wolf wouldn’t harm River, but could he trust his instincts? No. Not when it came to River’s safety.
Jonathan ran until River’s trail inexplicably disappeared into a jumble of paw prints. He was no tracker, but even a novice could tell that she’d fallen in the snow—and that a wolf had been there when she’d done it. The only thing that consoled him was the complete lack of blood and the fact that his own close encounter with a wolf had been more magical than terrifying.
Jonathan searched in ever widening circles but found no sign of human tracks. The black wolf trotted out of the trees and yipped at Jonathan then disappeared back into the forest. Jonathan felt compelled to follow the animal. With no other trail to guide him, he decided to follow his instincts. He soon realized that he was following two sets of wolf prints, not one.
The aroma of a green-wood fire teased Jonathan’s nose. He recognized Gabriel’s voice.
“If you don’t let me—you’ll die.”
“I want Jonathan.”
The sound of River’s voice stopped Jonathan’s heart. Relief purged the adrenaline from his blood. The energy he’d gained from the wolf encounter was long gone. He leaned over and braced his forearms on his knees, too spent to do anything other than breathe.
“Jonathan isn’t here.” Gabriel sounded more angry than concerned. “I am.”
“You haven’t merged yet.” River’s voice was quiet.
“I don’t care.”
“Without your spirit guide, you’ll age and die before your first century.”
“And you’ll die within the hour.”
River was obviously still in danger. Jonathan stumbled out of the trees into a sheltered clearing and found her on Gabriel’s lap, sitting on a buffalo robe by a small fire, tucked inside his coat.
“River?” Jonathan was so out of breath, his voice was barely audible to his own ears, but somehow, River heard him.
A smile of pure joy spread across her face as she jumped to her feet. She didn’t look like she was dying.
An inappropriate blast of jealously clawed its way out of Jonathan’s chest, into his throat.
River was alive and that’s all that mattered. So what if she’d been sitting on Gabriel’s lap, buck naked. At least the boy still had his pants on. He was just sharing body heat to keep River from freezing to death. That’s probably what she was throwing such a fit about. She wanted Jonathan to warm her up, not Gabriel.
He opened his arms.
River flung her naked body against Jonathan’s chest.
He still had his bow attached to his prosthesis but he managed to wrap both arms around her. Wisps of steam floated off her head and shoulders. He buried his face in her hair and breathed her in. “What’s going on?”
“I merged with my spirit guide!” She palmed his cheeks with fever hot hands and smashed her lips against his.
He kissed her back then pulled away and gazed into her glowing, purple eyes. He’d never seen them shine so brightly. Their brilliance put the moon to shame—and warmed his entire body, heart, mind and soul. “Are you sick?”
“I smell your wolf!” She grinned at him. “Did you merge?”
“I petted him and he licked my face.”
River’s smile disappeared. “We need to find your wolf so you can merge.”
Jonathan glanced at Gabriel and caught him brushing tears off his cheeks. He returned his gaze to River’s pulsing eyes. He’d never seen anything like it. “Did you guys hear the wolves howling?”
River laughed. “One of them was me.”
“One of them was tracking you. But I took care of it.”
River’s laughter died.
The color drained from Gabriel’s face. “What do you mean you took care of it?”
“I shot it.”
PROXY
RIVER’S VISION TUNNELED. NO. THIS isn’t supposed to happen. The son of Ephraim would never shoot a wolf. Had he shot his own spirit guide? She swayed on her feet. If Jonathan’s arms hadn’t been wrapped around her, she would have collapsed.
Jonathan tightened his hold. “Gabriel, bring me that buffalo pelt. I think River’s going into shock.”
“What did the wolf look like?” Gabriel’s voice was strained, but he sounded much calmer than River felt.
Jonathan wrapped the buffalo robe around River then sat down and pulled her onto his lap. “We have to get her back to the hut.”
Gabriel leaned over and grabbed Jonathan’s shoulders. “What color was the wolf!”
“Take it easy, kid.”
Tremors shook River’s body, making it hard to talk. She locked her jaw and spoke through clenched teeth. “Answer him.”
Jonathan stroked the hair off her face and kissed her forehead. “I’m not even sure it was a pure bred wolf. It had black fur with a white stripe between its eyes.”
River and Gabriel spoke at the same time. “Eli.”
“Excuse me? What does Eli have to do with anything?”
Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut, as if he were in pain. “Where’s the body?”
“When I said I took care of it…that might have been a bit of an exaggeration.” A crimson flush raced up Jonathan’s neck. “I only wounded it. Once I get River back to the hut, and I’m sure she’s okay, I’ll hunt it down and put it out of its misery.”
River and Gabriel both shouted, “No!”
“That’s cruel.” Jonathan shook his head. “It could take days for it to die.”
River grabbed the strap of Jonathan’s quiver and pulled it around so she could examine its contents. Relief flooded her veins. “You only have practice arrows. Unless you hit a vital organ, and the wolf bleeds out before it can heal, he should be able to dislodge the arrow and survive.”
Jonathan frowned but he didn’t argue with her. Now, all she had to do was persuade Eli not to tell anyone that Jonathan had shot him.
“I didn’t use a practice arrow. I had one of Gabriel’s hunting arrows in my quiver.”
Gabriel dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands.
A twig snapped. River froze. Neither Jonathan nor Gabriel reacted. Another twig snapped, followed by a groan and the swoosh of something crashing through the underbrush. She recognized Eli’s voice as he muttered under his breath. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.”
Now that she’d merged with her wolf, River’s hearing was much more acute, even in her human form. “Gabriel, I think I heard something.”
She nodded towards the noise and prayed he’d understand what she was getting at.
“I’ll go check it out.”
“Take your bow.” Jonathan reached around River and grabbed Gabriel’s arm. “An injured animal is extremely dangerous. But if you see a solid black wolf, don’t shoot it. He’s tame.”
Gabriel was gone for less than ten minutes. When he returned he stopped on the other side of the fire and motioned for River to join him.
She squeezed Jonathan’s arm and stood up. “I need to speak with Gabriel for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Yes. Soon. Just…be patient a little longer.”
River wrapped the buffalo robe more securely around her body, even though merge fever scorched her veins. She knew how much it upset Jonathan for anyone to see her naked.
Gabriel gripped River’s shoulders and gazed into her eyes. He reminded her of Reuben as he spoke with quiet authority. “It’s not bad. The arrow’s lodged in Eli’s butt. He’ll be sore for awhile, but he’ll live.”
“At least we’re under quarantine. Eli will have time to heal before he has to report for patrol duty. No one needs to know about this.”
Gabriel dropped his gaze to his boots.
“What’s wrong?”
“Aunt Shula’s at the ranch. She wasn’t happy when she found out that you’d left with Jonathan.”
“Shula won’t care if Jonathan is a son of Ephrai
m. She’s not going to let this go unpunished.”
Gabriel quirked the side of his mouth up into a crooked grin. “It’s my arrow in Eli’s ugly ass. I’ll tell everyone that it was an accident. I got so excited when I saw a buck in the forest, I didn’t take the time to be sure I had a clear shot. I didn’t see the wolf lurking in the underbrush. It’s a simple case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“You know there’s no excuse good enough to escape punishment for shooting Eli, even if they believe that ridiculous story.” The penalty for injuring another through carelessness was twenty lashes. “I can’t let you take the blame for this!”
“Jonathan’s life is already in danger. Shula will see to it that his beating will be so severe he can’t survive it.” Gabriel pressed River against his chest. “Your fever’s climbing. You need to persuade Jonathan to mate with you.”
“He needs to merge with his wolf first.” River disentangled herself from Gabriel’s embrace. “Have you seen him? A solid black male?”
“He’s waiting for something.” Gabriel nodded towards the forest behind Jonathan. “Probably for Eli and I to get out of the way.”
Merge fever was scrambling River’s brain. She couldn’t think. “Doesn’t Eli know who shot him?”
Gabriel nodded. “But he agreed to go along with my plan.”
“Why? He hates Jonathan!”
“He hates him even more now.” A smile flickered across Gabriel’s face. “You’re Jonathan’s sponsor. Eli doesn’t want you to be punished any more than I do.” Gabriel wiped a tear off River’s cheek with his thumb. “If the whipping doesn’t kill you, Jonathan’s execution will.”
River’s hand shook as she wiped the sweat off her brow. “Jonathan is my responsibility. I’ll claim that I shot Eli. Reuben knows that I borrowed some of your arrows for this hunt. The evidence will support my claim.”
“No.”
“But…twenty lashes!”
“I’m stronger than you. I can handle it.”
“Oh, Gabriel.” A sob escaped River’s throat. She threw her arms around his waist and kissed his neck, the only spot she could reach. When had he gotten so tall? She stepped back and wiped her eyes with a corner of the buffalo robe. “How will you get home?”
“Saucy knows Sugar and Red are at the hut. I’m sure that’s where he’s headed. But just in case he decides to go all the way back to the ranch; Eli and I will double up on Old Red. That’ll leave Lightning and Sugar for you and Jonathan.”
Gabriel smiled. This time it was genuine. “Since he’s got an arrow in his ass, Eli’s going to have to ride draped over Red’s back like a dead man. That alone is worth a few lashes.”
River’s eyes filled with tears. She appreciated his attempt to make light of a very serious situation. “Thank you.”
Gabriel leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You’re running out of time.”
“Where’s he off to?” Jonathan nodded at the spot where Gabriel had disappeared into the forest.
“He’s going to take care of the wolf you shot.” The forest tilted sideways. River’s fever was progressing faster than she expected.
Jonathan tightened his grip around her waist. “Whoa. Are you okay?”
“I need you to merge with your wolf and mate with me.”
Jonathan swept River off her feet. But instead of going to the spot of ground that Gabriel had prepared in front of the fire; he carried her to Lightning. “We need to get you back to the hut.”
River squirmed in Jonathan’s arms. “Put me down.”
“Okay, okay.” He set her on her feet then kissed her forehead.
She grabbed the laces of his breeches and untied them with a single yank.
“Whoa!” Jonathan grabbed her left wrist and jumped back. “What are you doing?”
Panic and shame burned through River’s fever-addled brain. She couldn’t let him mate with her before he merged. She dropped her gaze to her feet. “I’m sorry.”
Jonathan hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face. “I can’t wait to make you mine completely. But I won’t do it out here with nothing but a buffalo hide between you and the cold, hard ground. And definitely not while you’re sick. I want your first time to be special.”
“I smell your wolf.” River smiled. He was downwind, but close enough that she could still detect his scent. She pushed Jonathan in the right direction as her vision greyed.
Jonathan
JONATHAN CAUGHT RIVER AS SHE fainted. He carried her to the buffalo hide next to the fire and laid her on it. Something told him to take off his clothes and hold her against his naked body. That’s crazy. He would never take advantage of an incapacitated woman whether she was drunk, high or delirious with fever. But he needed to do something. He needed to take her back to the hut.
He leaned over to pick her up, but he smelled something unusual on her skin. He kissed her forehead and tasted fear.
Okay, that’s even crazier. Animals could smell fear, not people. Was he getting sick, too? He felt hot. His eyes burned. Jonathan reached up to rub them and noticed a green glow on his palm. Holy shit. Were his eyes glowing?
He slipped the gold chain off his neck and used the reflective back of the medallion to check. It wasn’t as good as a mirror, but there was no denying the fact that his eyes were lit up like a lightning bug’s ass.
His skin was on fire. He shrugged out of his coat but that only gave him a moment’s relief. His vest and shirt hit the ground but he was still hot.
The black wolf crept out from behind a tree. It laid down and rested its chin on its front paws then looked at River and whined.
River. Jonathan couldn’t believe he’d forgotten about her for even a second. What the hell was wrong with him?
He laid down next to her on the buffalo pelt and wrapped his arms around her limp, naked body. She didn’t feel quite as hot as she had before but that was probably because of his own fever. “River? Can you open your eyes for me? Are you okay?”
She didn’t respond. She’d said that she would die if Jonathan didn’t mate with her. But that was crazy. People didn’t die from a lack of sex. It only felt that way.
River had also told Jonathan to follow his instincts. But which ones? He wasn’t aroused. Although he could be if he focused on the feel of River’s soft curves pressed against the hard planes of his body—and ignored the fact that she was unconscious.
Right now, all he wanted to do was hold her and protect her. But from what? His wolf wasn’t showing any signs of aggression. When did he start thinking of it as “his” wolf?
It whined again and inched forward.
“River, please wake up. Tell me what to do.”
She whimpered.
Jonathan rose to his knees and moved his fingers to the pulse point on her neck. It was weak and rapid. He turned his head and placed his ear above her softly parted lips. She was hardly breathing. Nothing but quick, shallow gasps that barely stirred the air. She was in trouble.
“River, don’t you dare leave me. I can’t lose you, too.”
Jonathan hardly ever cried. He’d shed a few tears when the mine had caved in on him and Franklin and he’d thought they were going to die. But he didn’t cry when he woke up in agonizing pain and learned that they’d amputated his left hand. He didn’t cry until they told him that Franklin had died in Afghanistan. He’d bawled like a baby the night before Franklin’s funeral then vowed he’d never cry again. And he hadn’t. Until now.
The wolf shoved his nose between River and Jonathan. He felt a strong desire to wrap his arms around the wolf. What the hell? He shoved it away and lifted River in his arms. Her body was completely limp. Dead weight. All the tears Jonathan had been unable to shed burst through the dam of his scarred heart. They ran down his cheeks and fell onto River’s throat like rain.
Jonathan buried his face against her shoulder and sobbed. He begged her to come back to him, but she didn’t respond. He lifted his head and screamed at God. �
��You can’t take her, too! I won’t let you!”
River’s head lolled to the side, exposing the bite mark on her neck.
An overwhelming urge to bite her again slammed into Jonathan. A primal growl rumbled out of his chest. “I love you and I will not live without you. I forbid you to die.”
River’s blood filled Jonathan’s mouth before he even realized what he’d done.
River
RIVER FLOATED IN A SWIRLING pool of heat, consumed by fever. She heard Jonathan’s pleas for her to open her eyes. She wanted to, but her body refused to obey. The scent of the black wolf comforted her. He shoved his cold nose between her and Jonathan’s chests, demanding that Jonathan merge with him. But he refused. She wasn’t destined to be his mate after all.
Jonathan pressed her body against his bare chest and rocked back and forth as he sobbed. His tears fell on her face. She wanted to reach up and wipe them from his eyes, but she had no strength. She should have told him everything last night. He wouldn’t have believed her, but the information might have helped him follow his instincts instead of his conscience. She wished she’d at least confessed her love to him. Now, he’d never know. That regret pained her more than her imminent death.
Jonathan growled. It was deeper and fiercer than anything River had ever heard. The vibrations from his chest shook her entire body. “I love you and I will not live without you. You can’t die. I forbid it.”
River thought she’d been past feeling, but she felt it when Jonathan bit her. She felt the heat of his mouth on her skin. She felt his teeth sink into her flesh. She felt his power resonate in the marrow of her bones.
Her body exploded in a flash of pain. Fear grabbed her by the throat and squeezed. She felt as if she were merging again, but instead of finding herself in a new body, there was nothing. No sight, sound, or smell. No sense of touch or taste, or even pain to ground her. Nothing but fear.
A pinprick of light appeared. Her wolf’s spirit recognized it first and flew towards Jonathan’s life-spark. River cried out with relief and joy as her soul merged with his. Love filled her entire being, stretching and growing and binding her heart to his. If this was death, she welcomed it.
Believe: The Complete Channie Series Page 131
