by A Lonergan
Granny had told me to get some rest, but just like Tracey and the mysterious wolf, we wouldn’t be leaving her side any time soon. Tracey yawned on the couch across the room and the wolf shifted away from her. He slept on the floor and his chocolate-colored fur would ruffle every time Tracey moved.
“Who’s the wolf?” I finally asked as the sun took a peek through the windows. Jade still hadn’t woken but her skin didn’t look so green anymore and the scent of infection didn’t linger in the air.
Tracey shrugged as she eyed him suspiciously. He smelled familiar but I couldn’t place it. It probably had something to do with my mate’s scent covering him from head to toe, but I chose to ignore that for now. There would be a lot of questions when and if he decided to transform back into his human form. Though, he looked rather content to keep his identity a secret. “He won’t leave her side and he won’t shift back.”
I ran my tongue over my teeth. “I thought Micah said no one was coming back with them.”
Tracey ground her teeth together. “He did. He was very adamant on that.”
“What happened then?” I leaned back in my chair as I watched the wolf. His brown eyes never left Jade and my eyes didn’t leave him. I didn’t like how much he smelled like my mate and how much she smelled like him. But if she had found a friend in there that had helped her escape all of the pain, then could I really be that mad?
Tracey leaned her elbows on her knees. “We ran into a hiccup with Damian, he didn’t want us to leave without a fight. He wanted to relay a message back to you. He knows we were the ones that freed the children. His witches came at us full force and honestly, I don’t know how we even got out of there.” Her eyes went distant. “It was bad. Knox was shot first then wolves poured into the hallway. One minute we were there and the next we were out in the middle of the yard.”
My brows furrowed. “Did you use magic?”
She shrugged her shoulders up to her blood-splattered ears. “I have no idea. I don’t know what the hell happened. Then we were running for our lives and wolves continued to pour out from the woods. He has an army bigger than I have ever seen before.” She gulped. “If the witches don’t get out of there, then we are done for. Granny and I can’t hold off those numbers. We need help from Pack Law.”
It was the last thing I wanted to do but if Tracey’s account checked out with the rest of the men, then she was right. We wouldn’t be able to do this on our own. But why did this Damian character want to do this at all?
“How did you get to Jade?”
Tracey tucked her chin against her chest. “We literally ran into each other. Micah was nowhere to be seen. There were wolves everywhere and then there was this wolf,” she nodded her head at the stranger. “With freaking Jade on his back running like I had never seen before. It was something from a movie, I swear.”
“Why didn’t you transform?” The details were the only thing keeping me sane.
“Someone had to drive,” She grinned with triumph. “I knew that our cars would be our only hope. The other boys had already thrown themselves into their wolf forms. I really didn’t have much of a choice then I saw Jade slipping from consciousness. She couldn’t hold onto the wolf’s back anymore. I had to carry her the rest of the way while the boys fought off what they could.”
I nodded my appreciation. “Go take a shower, get some food in you then check on the rest of the Guardians.”
She went to object. I held my hand up. “I will not leave my mate’s side, especially when we have a stranger wolf that won’t leave even though he doesn’t seem to pose a threat. I need the men checked on and you’re one of the only ones I trust to do it right. See if they need anything from Granny while you’re at it.”
Tracey nodded before she disappeared. I looked at the wolf curled up in the corner. “I know you aren’t going to speak back to me, and that’s perfectly okay. But here are some ground rules.” He perked up his head. “You will not harm my mate. If you do, I will rip your throat out before asking Jade if it’s okay. I do owe you a life debt for saving my mate’s life but I’m not sure if I want to offer it to you just yet.” He dipped his head in understanding. “Thank you for getting her out or helping her get far enough for my people to help her. Until we know who you are, you aren’t permitted around the people here. You will not leave my home. This place is under constant surveillance too. Don’t try any funny business.”
He nodded his head again before he laid it on his front paws and his eyes went back to watching my mate.
Chapter 54
Jade
There was a thick coating on my tongue when my consciousness returned to me. My lips smacked together for a brief moment before I tried to sit up.
“Don’t try to be strong, you can remain resting,” Granny’s voice wrapped around me in a warm embrace. I opened my eyes to come face to face with her. She smiled warmly and tears sprang from my eyes. She dabbed at my face with a tissue that materialized out of thin air. “None of that. You must reserve your strength for healing your body. You still have large amounts of wolfsbane in your system and your body was cut open with a blade dipped in it.”
I leaned back into the fluffy pillows at my back. The room I was in was beautiful. The walls were a white shiplap and the bed I laid in was a massive four-poster that was distressed with ivory. Dark brown peaked out from beneath the paint in small slashes. In front of the windows was a light grey couch and a glass coffee table in front of it. Across from that was a recliner that looked out of place with its worn leather. Where was I?
Next to the couch was a familiar chocolate wolf. “You still haven’t transformed back?”
Granny followed my gaze to the wolf that looked more like an overgrown puppy. “He refuses to leave your side.”
“How long have I been asleep?” My stomach was still tender beneath the massive white bandages around my middle.
“Four days,” She pressed his lips together in a grim line. “Your body needed the rest.”
I couldn’t wrap my head around that time frame and the fact that Lucas still hadn’t left the room. How was he still alive?
“You can go relieve yourself or something,” I snickered as his ears lifted from his head. “I’m sure you have to go like something bad.”
He let out a wolfish laugh before he bounced up and out of the room. I doubted he would stay gone for long.
Granny checked my pulse before she leaned forward and pressed her ear against my chest. “You sound better than you have in days. Do you want to try to walk?”
I nodded my head and she gave me her hand for support. I could do this. My knees wobbled before I put any weight on them. Granny’s fingers grasped mine in a hard grip. My weight shifted as I leaned forward.
The bedroom door opened. Instead of standing up on weak legs, my head snapped in the opposite direction. Rafe stood in the doorway with a tray of food in his hands. Granny let go of my fingers and shot me a timid smile. “I will leave you to it, I’ll come back in a few hours to change your bandages and make sure everything is still healing properly.”
I didn’t take my eyes off of the man standing in the doorway as Granny ambled around him. He wore a black v-neck t-shirt that seemed to be a little too small and his jeans were worn at the knees but there were no holes. It was odd to see him without shoes on, only wearing black socks. His hair was even longer than it had been last time. It was tied back at the nape of his neck with a ponytail holder.
My fingers curled into fists as I had the unnatural urge to pull the band free and run my finger through it. I wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked.
I closed my eyes briefly as I mentally reprimanded myself. His voice was rough in the empty bedroom. It didn’t belong in the white open space. “I didn’t think you would be awake yet.”
I could have tried to stand on my own, except I didn’t want Rafe to see me weak. I didn’t want him to see me fall. “That smells good.”
He climbed up on the other side of the bed
with ease. The orange juice in the clear glass cup sloshed sideways but didn’t escape onto the tray. On the plate in the center of it was toast, waffles, different kinds of fruit, and a hefty pile of bacon. My stomach grumbled in approval. He sat the tray across my lap, careful for my stomach, and leaned back into the pillows on the other side. He looked so comfortable and at ease.
The bacon was cooked to perfection as I bit into it. Not too much crunch but not undercooked. A flashback had me choking on the bite. The inside of the cafeteria when I wondered when was the last time I had enjoyed food. I washed it down with the OJ while I ignored Rafe’s questioning gaze.
“Where’s-” I cut myself off before I said Lucas’s name. I couldn’t give his identity away until he was ready. “Where’s my friend?”
“He’s eating breakfast downstairs like a dog.” Rafe’s lips turned down in disgust. “He won’t change back.”
I knew it had something to do with how scared he was of what they would think of him. He had been gone for so long. Five years. What would they think of him now? I hummed in the back of my throat while I avoided the bacon and ate everything else on the tray.
“He smells like you,” His voice was soft, softer than it had ever been. Why was he here? Didn’t he have Alpha things to do?
I nodded my head. “We have been together since Damian kidnapped me.”
“Together?” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yes, we shared a room. He’s been my best friend this whole time. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”
Before I knew what was happening, Rafe brushed his fingers across the bare skin of my neck. I had forgotten about the bruising there. “Did he do this to you?”
I snorted before I pulled away from his touch. “No, he would never. He cares about me a lot more than many others do.” Rafe nodded his head like he could understand. “Where’s my phone?”
He frowned. “When you got here, they had stripped most of your clothes from you. They needed to see the extent of your wounds.”
My phone was gone, which meant that Damian could get to my parents. Before I could mentally prepare myself, I launched myself from the bed and about face-planted. Rafe had his arms braced around me carefully, keeping me from hitting the floor. “Where are you going?”
“My parents,” I gasped out against the pain in my middle. “They’re going to be targeted by Damian next if I don’t protect them.”
His smile about broke my heart. “You aren’t going to be protecting anyone in this state. Gabriel is posted at their home and we have some reinforced magic helping, as well. Good thing they moved so close to our property.”
My hands clenched his biceps against my better judgment. His gaze darted down to my lips and somehow I managed to scramble from his grip without hitting the floor. I crossed my feet beneath me and scowled up at him. “I need to do this on my own.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Of course.”
Lucas came bounding through the door a few minutes later, right on time to rescue me.
Lucas and I were sitting beneath the trees outside when I finally brought it up. “You have to tell them who you are.”
He didn’t say anything and instead tucked his head into my lap. I ran my fingers through the fur at the base of his skull and felt a wave of contentment wash through me. If only every day could feel like that. He had helped me down the stairs and out the house that I had later discovered was Rafe’s home. For whatever reason, I had thought he lived at the main house. His home sat beautiful and bright in the distance from where we sat with our picnic. The basket was full of fruits and vegetables. I was thankful for the array. I didn’t know if I could stomach meat anytime soon.
“I know you’re scared, but you have to know that they miss and love you so much. I know my family would want me back no matter what.”
He picked his head up and I could practically read his expression. Then you tell your parents what you are.
I rolled my eyes. “It isn’t as easy. Your family is supernatural already. Plus Tracey is a witch now. Weirder things have probably happened.”
This time he rolled his brown eyes.
“I’ll be with you every step of the way but they aren’t going to continue to let you stay here if they don’t know who you are. They’re going to think you’re a threat. I would rather them know you.”
He sighed and laid his head back down. My eyes sought out the windows on Rafe’s home and for a moment, I swore I saw the curtains flutter and a man disappearing from sight.
Chapter 55
Jade
It took Tracey longer than I expected to come find me. As soon as Lucas saw her or scented her approach, he was up and gone. He couldn’t stand to be near her for too long. I wondered if it was because he was desperate for her approval and knew he couldn’t get it yet.
She sat down across from me. Her wiry curls were somewhat tamed in a braid down her back. Her skin was scrubbed clean and she actually wore a pink long sleeve top with black pants. I didn’t think I had ever seen her in pink before. It complimented her skin tone nicely.
I grinned at her. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”
A little smile materialized onto her face. “I missed you.”
I leaned over to pull her into my arms for a hug. Her hand brushed my stomach and I winced. She pulled out of my embrace and worry took over her features. “Do you need anything? I’m so sorry!”
I held my hands up. “I’m fine, it was only a little pain.”
Tracey looked around us in panic.
“Don’t be like that.” My voice broke.
Her brows pulled together. “Like what?”
“Like I’m going to break at any moment.”
She shook her head. “You just might.”
“I promise you, I’ve been through worse.”
She didn’t look so convinced.
“Okay, maybe not,” I shrugged. “But I will get better and when I do, I’ll be stronger for it.”
Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine. “All of this is my fault.”
“Is that why you won’t look at me?”
My friend didn’t answer but instead watched the woods. “Who is the wolf?”
I let out a groan. “Don’t go about changing the subject on me.”
She leaned back onto her hands. “It’s bothering me too. All of this is bothering me. I have never felt so out of control in my entire life and I just need things to start making sense again.”
I scooted closer to her and picked up her hands in mine. They were scarred and callused. “None of this is your fault. They would have come after me at any time. They are the ones to blame. Okay? Damian is. Not you. Never any of you. Could we have all done better? Absolutely but I know without a shadow of a doubt that we are stronger now. We will be better now.”
A tear streaked down her cheek. “I just wish none of this had happened.”
Tears threatened my eyes. “Me too, but its okay. I value my pack a lot more than I did before.”
Tracey perked up. “Your pack?”
I smiled. “I guess I need to tell the alpha-hole that, huh?”
Tracey snickered. “I’m sure he will be thrilled.”
“Let’s not hold our breath. I’m sure he’s still the asshole he was before I was kidnapped.”
Rafe wasn’t at his home when we finally got up to go inside hours later. The fresh air and sunlight did me wonders and I didn’t want to go inside. But eventually, both of our stomachs grumbled and there wasn’t anything left in the picnic basket.
There also wasn’t any food in Rafe’s brand new fridge either. When we got in Tracey’s car, Lucas hopped right into the trunk. All Tracey did was frown.
“My friend has been with me since the beginning, I love him more than I think I’ve ever loved a friend.” Hurt flashed across Tracey’s face at my words. “He was there for me in a time and place that no one should have to be. I love him in a different way but that
doesn’t mean I love you any less.”
Tracey looked at him in the rearview mirror. “There’s just something about him that I can’t quite put my finger on. The webs of magic around him tell a story that I can’t decipher. Did you bring home another hybrid?”
I changed the subject instead. “Did you check on Knox?”
Tracey gave me side-eyes. “Yes, he’s recovering at the training grounds.”
“I have a feeling this land is a lot bigger than what I think it is.”
Tracey laughed and the sound made me feel whole again. It made me feel like the last few months hadn’t happened. A few flurries hit the windshield and I gasped as snow fell from the sky. Children flooded the woods and the manor as we pulled up. Everywhere I looked there was magic happening. The children rushed to Tracey’s car as we pulled up. Lucas flattened his ears to his head in nervousness.
The trunk opened up but all he did was try to make himself smaller against the backseat that had been put back into the car. “You’re the one that decided to come with.”
He shook his head once. Tracey giggled as she went to close the trunk. At last second, Lucas changed his mind and barreled into her. She fell onto her ass, laughing, as he ran right for the woods.
“Who knew kids could be so scary?” Tracey giggled again. My eyes snagged on something behind the manor. I tried to step around Tracey but she blocked my path.
“I need to see something,” I said as I tried once again to get a better look at the cottage I would eventually call my home again. That is, if I still had a job. I had disappeared for a long time.
Tracey blocked me again. “I think we need to get inside to get some food.”
