by Leia Stone
I frowned. A medic started to look at a gash on my elbow and his words pinged around in my head.
How did I save him? Maybe this had to do with the brokenness I saw inside of him the day we met, the heaviness in his deep blue eyes that sometimes came to the surface to signal that he was dealing with too much.
“You’re going to need surgery,” the medic said to Sawyer. “A skin graft, and then your healing should take over from there.”
He shook his head. “No. I’ll be fine.”
The medic, a blond female about thirty, frowned. “It will scar, it will take days to heal.”
He looked at her with hard eyes. “I’m not leaving her side.” The wolf threaded into his voice and the woman lowered her gaze.
“Sawyer—” another medic said, but his wolf was out, there would be no reasoning with him and that was obvious. Eugene jumped into the helicopter and we took flight.
“Witch is on the way. Will meet us at your place. I thought you might like to be discreet,” Eugene told Sawyer.
He nodded. “And call Doctor Berns to look over Demi. He can meet us at my apartment too.”
Eugene’s eyes widened. “Your father’s private doctor is for the alpha family only. I don’t think—”
“I wasn’t asking, Eugene.” Sawyer’s voice was short and clipped.
With a nod, Eugene dialed another number and I reached out to stroke Sawyer’s face, pulling him down to look at me. His eyes were blazing yellow. I was guessing his wolf didn’t like being in such a small space with other people and a bad injury, but I knew his wolf was also protective over me. More than human Sawyer was.
“I’m okay. You did good, and I’m okay now,” I purred into his ear, trying to soothe his wolf.
He held up my arm, putting the cuff in full view of my face. “Nothing about this is okay.” His voice cracked with emotion. “I basically left you human, you could have been—”
“But I’m not.” I ran my thumb over his bottom lip and he shuddered, eyes flashing yellow to blue and then back to yellow.
“I fucked up. Demi, I’m so sorry I fucked up.” His grip around me tightened and I winced because it hurt my injuries a little, but at the same time I needed it. I needed him, I wanted to be closer. I couldn’t get enough of this feeling that he provided when he held me.
I felt safe.
I felt adored.
I felt like I was falling in love.
All of it scared the shit out of me and filled the holes inside of me at the same time.
“Shhh,” I soothed in his ear. “I forgive you.”
He nodded, his dark hair splashing across his forehead. “Never again.” He tapped the cuff. “Never again.”
And I believed him.
“I need you to lay her on the bed, Sawyer.” A tall man in a white doctor’s coat peered at Sawyer with a slight look of alarm. Sawyer hadn’t let me down since we left the Wild Lands. He’d held me to his chest in the helicopter. He’d carried me through campus into his house. And now a bunch of dominant males wanted to examine me and his wolf was back, glaring at the men with yellow eyes.
The bed had been stripped and covered in plastic sheeting, then a white gauzy linen. We didn’t go to his old house where the vampires attacked like I thought we would; he must have moved after that incident. We were in a giant glass house that was slightly more off campus but surrounded by open green grass and men with machine guns monitoring the perimeter.
He just glared at the doctor, chest heaving, arms snuggled tightly around me.
“Sawyer…” I pulled his face to mine and met that blazing yellow gaze. “I’m in pain and I’d like the doctor to help me. I had a really bad fall down the mountain. I need you to put me down.”
His eyes bled into blue and his face contorted in agony, as if thinking of me in pain caused him to also feel discomfort.
With a nod, he lay me on the bed and then hovered six inches over me.
The doctor cleared his throat. “I need space to examine her.”
With a growl, Sawyer pushed off the bed and stood behind the doctor and his female assistant and they immediately went to work.
The female clicked her tongue as she pulled up my shirt to look at my stomach. “Does it hurt when you breathe in deeply?” she asked.
I looked down at the purple splotching bruises on my ribcage and nodded. I’d been taking shallow breaths this entire time.
“Broken ribs,” the doctor typed into his tablet.
I could hear Sawyer’s jaw clamp shut from here; his teeth clacked together. He started to pace the room as they continued to inspect me. Flashing a light in my eyes, they had me follow their finger.
“Concussion,” the doctor said.
“Motherfuckers!” Sawyer growled and the doctor flinched but carried on.
The doctor inspected my bleeding and crusted elbow. “She’ll need sutures for this laceration on the elbow.”
The woman frowned. “Why isn’t she healing?”
Sawyer’s growl turned into a whine. “Where’s the witch!” he cried into the hallway. “Get these fucking cuffs off her!”
Eugene’s voice came back: “She’s on her way.”
The two doctors shared a look, and then Sawyer swallowed hard. “Her … the cuffs basically make her human. She can’t heal until they come off.” There was so much gut-wrenching guilt in his tone that it brought tears to my eyes. I reached out a hand for him but he faced the wall, head down as if he couldn’t even look at me in that moment.
The woman raised her eyebrows but said nothing while the male doctor let his eyes roam over Sawyer’s naked back. “Let me look at that nasty wound on your flank.”
“I’m fine,” Sawyer growled, spinning back around with yellow eyes. “Demi first.”
The doctor shook his head. “I can see your ribcage, Sawyer. Werewolves are not impervious to infection, my duty is to the alpha fami—”
“Your duty is to follow orders.” Sawyer looked murderous, and I just wanted to fall asleep, everything felt so heavy. “Help. Demi. First. She is my family.”
She is my family.
Were there ever four more powerful words? I wondered if I’d even heard him right.
The doctor sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’ll need to get a CT on her. And I’d like to x-ray her spine and ribs,” he ordered, and the woman typed up something on her tablet. “Even if we can get her healing back, she’ll heal all wrong and have a permanent injury without the bones being set properly.”
Oh God.
I tried to focus on his words but everything in the room spun and I started to feel nauseated.
“I feel sick,” I told them both.
They shared a look. “Could be a brain bleed. Order that CT scan stat, and where is this witch? We need those cuffs off now before damage begins to become permanent,” the doctor barked to the female and Sawyer simultaneously.
Sawyer fell to his knees, leaning over me at the bed, his face contorted into absolute misery. “Demi?” His voice was a hoarse whisper, fading in and out with warbled tones.
“Hmm?” I tried to focus on staying awake, but everything was too bright. Too loud. Too heavy.
Leaning in, he whispered in my ear. “I don’t deserve you.” His breath feathered over me. “But I don’t think I can live without you … assuming you’ll even have me.” My brain was too slow in trying to process those words. Everything felt so heavy and sluggish and loud and painful.
Did Sawyer just … I couldn’t think any more about it because a tide of black water yanked me under and everything drifted away.
When I came to, I felt warmth beneath my cheek. Then the rise and fall of someone’s chest. Cracking open my eyes, I let the sunlight filter in and looked up. Two burning blue eyes stared down at me.
“How are you feeling?” Sawyer’s arms wrapped around me tighter, as if he were afraid I was going to run away.
I took in a deep breath and felt no pain. My eyes flicked do
wn to my wrists—no cuffs.
Oh thank God. My wolf stirred at the thought of freedom.
“I’m okay.” I tried to sit up and there was a moment when Sawyer held on, not letting me go, but then it passed and I pulled myself up to a sitting position as he released me.
We were silent, just looking at each other, unsure what to say. My eyes ran over a bandage at his ribcage. “You okay?”
He shook his head. “My wolf. I … when I heard the Ithaki took you—” He sighed, running his hands over his face. “I need to tell you something, Demi.”
My heart hammered in my chest. I’d forgotten all about his promise to give me answers, to tell me what he knew about me or whatever it was he seemed to be hiding. We were supposed to have some romantic dinner where he cooked for me. Sage had some surprise. Everything got messed up. I didn’t even know what day it was. I’d clearly had some kind of procedure, because my right foot was in a walking boot.
“They called me a demon.” I frowned. “The Ithaki.”
He nodded. “They think split shifters are demons. They say that whatever caused your soul to split is too dark to be allowed to live.”
My throat went bone dry as I thought back to my rape. Is that when it happened? I blacked out and when I’d woken up…
My mouth popped open. The attack on the vampires who assaulted me … they’d said it looked like they’d been mauled by a bear or wolf, but what if … it was me? What if my wolf split off to protect me? With the cuffs on, was that even possible?
I was so in shock that I’d forgotten Sawyer was speaking. “The Ithaki are monsters. They harvest organs, capture animals and torture them for their essence and sell everything to the Danai.”
I frowned. “Danai?”
He nodded. “A band of seriously dark and evil witches who live in the Wild Lands.”
Dawning shone in my eyes. Raven used to speak of them but never said their name. She went all Harry Potter and just called them “the nameless.”
He got quiet and reached out to touch my cheek. “What happened to make your soul split?”
I stilled, swallowing hard. I should probably tell him, especially if we were going to be intimate, and I had no idea how I would react to sex after my attack. I blew out a shaky breath and—
Someone pounded on the door.
“Sawyer!” It was his mother. My eyes widened as I realized we were in his bed together, him with his shirt off.
Soooo not appropriate.
“Open the door, son!” his father growled.
“Shit,” I hissed, and jumped up, but then winced as I realized I came down on my walking boot and my ankle throbbed.
Sawyer’s eyes widened. “Whoa. Go easy. Why don’t you take a relaxing shower and I’ll get rid of them? Then we can have some breakfast brought over and talk some more?”
I nodded and the banging got louder. “Sawyer James Hudson!” his mother roared. “Did you fight the Ithaki last night? Open this door right now!”
He groaned and then stood, looking back at me. “Don’t worry about them knowing you’re here. It’s not a big deal, they know how I feel about you.”
They know how I feel about you?
I just nodded and slipped into his bathroom, shutting the door behind me and resting my head against it.
Muffled shouting made its way back to me as his father’s voice filtered through the room. “I go out of town for one day and you kill the Ithaki leader?”
“He kidnapped Demi, was five seconds from skinning her alive,” Sawyer growled.
“Oh fate.” His mother gasped. “Why … why would they want Demi?”
Silence.
“She fell. Who knows. The Ithaki are sick. They’ll do anything to make a few bucks from the Danai.”
Oh. I’d forgotten for a second that he didn’t tell his parents about my … issues. No longer wanting to hear this conversation, I started to run the shower.
Looking at the countertop, I grinned when I saw a brand-new toothbrush, floral girly coconut shampoo and conditioner, and even fresh new clothes. Sawyer was so thoughtful.
I stripped out of my bloody, dirty, disgusting clothes, pausing when I remembered my walking boot.
Ugh.
Slowly peeling the Velcro straps back, I slipped a purple bruised foot out of the boot and then hobbled into the shower, careful not to bear weight on the healing ankle. When I looked down at the blood-splattered, purple-blotched skin of my naked body, tears formed in my eyes.
Holy shit.
That was so close. I almost died. I tried not to think about falling down that fucking mountain, Walsh running after me, and the sweet Paladin man who tried to help me before the Ithaki killed him. Shaking the thoughts from my head, I started to soap up, watching the red and brown-tinged water pool at my feet as I scrubbed clean. I wanted to stay in here forever and not deal with telling Sawyer I was raped, but it was time to get all this shit out there, especially if I was serious about being with him.
I quickly brushed my teeth, slipped into the new clothes, including the walking boot, and towel dried my long blond hair. Then I stepped out of the room and froze.
“Sawyer, are you sure? If we call off the mating selection and she’s not the one—”
“She’s the one,” he growled, and my stomach bottomed out. A huge grin swept across my face and I wanted to run out there and jump into his arms, but I was totally snooping so I stayed where I was.
“Meredith is a safe bet,” his mother said, and the grin fled from my face.
“I don’t love Meredith.”
There was a deep long sigh as his mother seemingly weighed his words. “You don’t have to love them back, son. Our entire family is depending on you—”
“I’d like you to go now, Mother. I’ve made my choice. It’s Demi, it’s always been her.”
Holy fuck.
This conversation was so confusing but I didn’t care. The only part that mattered was that Sawyer basically just said he chose me.
“If you’re sure, I’ll call an early announcement for a few days’ time.” She sounded dejected.
“Thank you,” Sawyer responded, annoyance in his voice.
The clipped sound of high heels fled down the hallway and then the front door shut.
“You can come out now,” Sawyer spoke into the room and I flinched. How did he know I was there? Hopefully his mom didn’t.
I stepped out gingerly, limping on the walking boot, and Sawyer let his gaze rake up and down my body. It wasn’t his usual hungry gaze, he was searching for wounds.
He tipped his head to the door. “Did you hear all that?”
I shrugged. “Just the part about you choosing me … no big deal.”
A slow grin pulled at his mouth and he stepped closer to me and released a shaky breath. “From the moment I first saw you … I knew you were mine.”
It was like time stopped; my breathing definitely did; and maybe even my heart too. I think I actually died for a minute when he said it. It wasn’t in a possessive way, it was just matter of fact, like we were made for each other.
I swallowed hard and he stepped closer. “Well, my wolf knew. I didn’t want to freak you out, and I’m not sure if you feel the same because your wolf and you are so separate…” His face faltered. “Come to think of it, I’m probably freaking you out right now.” He ran a nervous hand through his hair. “I, uh … I dunno, Demi, I just … what I’m trying to say is—”
I cut his words off with a kiss, pressing my body flat against his, and was rewarded with a moan. His fingers gently came around the back of my neck to cradle my head as my lips parted and our tongues slid against each other. Sawyer thought my wolf and I were separate, and in a way we were, but I’d felt the same from day one about him, I just never wanted to admit it. Survival instinct, or whatever you want to call it, I just didn’t want to get hurt. Knowing that he felt the same, it smashed every wall I had built.
His hand trailed up the back of my shirt and I raked my fi
ngers down his back, causing him to freeze. He pulled away and looked down at me and I frowned.
“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, I just … we need to talk about something. Can you come sit down?” He pulled away from me, taking the heat of his body with him, and I frowned.
Fuck. This was not what I expected we’d be doing right now after he all but declared his love for me.
Talking.
I sat on the couch next to him and he faced me, mouth in a hard line, eyes distant. His brokenness was close to the surface, and I knew whatever it was, it would be bad. But I wouldn’t judge him for it, Lord knew I had my own issues.
“I don’t know how to say this, it’s been a secret for so long … I don’t even know how to vocalize it.”
Okay … I was getting more scared by the moment. “Just tell me.” Because I was imagining the worst. He’s already mated and has a kid. He can’t marry me because of what I am. Out with it! I wanted to shake him, but it was clear he needed a moment.
“There’s … there’s a curse over my family,” he breathed, and I frowned. That was not what I was expecting him to say.
“Okay, like how?” Did he turn into an ogre at midnight, because not gonna lie, that would suck.
He chewed his bottom lip. “Sage doesn’t even know this, okay? It’s like top secret. I’m only supposed to tell the woman I choose on our wedding night.”
Whoa. The entire atmosphere in the room shifted and everything felt really scary all of a sudden. “Sawyer, just tell me, I’m freaking out.”
He grabbed my hands. “Okay, sorry, I mean, it’s not that big of a deal. Just … about a thousand years ago my great-great-great-great grandfather pissed off a Danai witch and she cursed our entire family line.”
I nodded, needing him to get on with what the actual curse was! My mind ran wild with fairy tales I’d heard as a kid. Did he turn into a frog? Would he die on his thirtieth birthday? What?
He swallowed hard. “By my twenty-third birthday, I have to find a wife to marry me who actually loves me for me.”
He breathed out like he had been holding in too much air.
