Page 60 of Wolf's Forbidden Curse

I broke the staring contest with Nic and glanced back at Daphne. She was standing off to the side with Matt, who hadn’t shifted. He was holding her up, and even though she looked like she was mere seconds from passing out, she was still able to communicate some emotion to me through just a look.

She was terrified, but whether she was scared of me or just what I was about to do, I couldn’t tell. Either way, I never wanted her to look at me like that again.

I hadn’t come here to kill Missy. I came here to save Daphne. That’s what really mattered.

I stepped back, removing my paw from Missy’s chest and allowing her to sit up. She was far too injured to make a run for it, and when I released her, she was sitting for all of two seconds and then fainted, probably from a combination of blood loss and fear. I licked my chops and paced around her a few times to shake the rest of the rage off, then padded over to where Daphne was and shifted back into my human form. Her head lolled back against Matt’s shoulder, and she stared at me with glassy eyes. Clearly, she had been drugged again.

“Rory?” she whispered.

I smiled. “Yeah. It’s me.”

“You’re a—a—wolf?”

But before I could answer, Daphne’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she passed out. I reached for her in time to keep her up, along with Matt’s help. “Here, let me take her,” I said. “You stay here with the others and figure out what to do about Missy and her friend.”

“Where are you going?”

“There’s a hospital down the road,” I said. “I saw a sign for it while we were driving. I want to make sure that whatever Missy used to drug her wasn’t dangerous, and then, hopefully, the two of us will get a quiet moment to talk.” I laughed under my breath. “We have a lot of stuff to go over.”

Matt nodded as I scooped Daphne off her feet and headed for the door. Before I left, I looked back at all three of them and smiled. “Thanks for helping me rescue her. I never would’ve made it in time if it weren’t for you.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Matt. “You know we always have your back.”

Nic was still in wolf form, but she nodded approvingly. Cornelius had shifted back as well, and while he acknowledged my thanks with a wave of his hand, he was far too focused on examining the tools that had been laid out on the table.

“It’s a good thing we were all here to see this,” he said. “Because whoever she was going to sell Daphne to isn’t just a collector of creatures.”

Matt went to his side. “What do you mean?”

“They must be some sort of werewolf expert. All of this stuff is pure copper, and some of the weapons are laced with herbs that are known to make shifters very sick.” He looked up at me with a grim expression. “We saved Daphne, and I’m happy about that, but the threat is still out there, and somebody has to warn the packs around here.”

“I’ll leave that up to you to figure out,” I said. “At least for right now. I have more important matters to attend to.”

The man I’d punched out on the road must’ve woken up and run from the car because he was nowhere to be found when I brought Daphne and laid her in the back seat. I could’ve probably tracked him with little effort—there’s no way he got far on foot—but I would let one of my friends or the police handle it. Daphne was the priority now. I threw my clothes back on and jumped in the driver’s seat. It took me a little while to navigate the dark road that wasn’t well-marked, but eventually, I found the hospital. It was small, fitting its rural location, but it had an ER, and thankfully, nobody else was waiting when we got there.

“What’s wrong with her?” The nurse on duty launched right into action when I walked in with Daphne in my arms.

“She’s been drugged and kidnapped,” I said.

“Oh my god.” She gasped.

“I don’t know what they used to put her out, but it seems like strong stuff.” I cursed myself for not thinking about grabbing the vial before I left. “I think someone should check her vitals or whatever.”

“Follow me. We’ve got an empty bed right here.” She pulled back the curtain, and I gently placed Daphne down on top of the blankets and pillows. “Did she sustain any other injuries that you know of?” She checked underneath Daphne’s eyelids and listened to her heart.

“No,” I said. “But she was definitely tied up. I saw some ropes where I found her.”

“I see the burns,” she said, pointing to Daphne’s wrists. Seeing the evidence of what she’d been through was almost like watching it happen. I fought the urge to return to the schoolhouse and finish Missy off.

“Other than that, I think she’s alright. Just in a deep sleep.” She frowned up at me. “Now you have to start over. You said she was drugged and kidnapped?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m calling the police.” She started to walk away, then spun on her heel and shot me with a mean look. Perhaps she thought there was something I wasn’t telling her, but I didn’t care what she thought of me as long as she took care of the woman I loved. “Don’t you go wandering off, okay? You are the first person they will want to talk to.”

“I understand.” I took Daphne’s hand in mine. “And don’t worry—I’m not going anywhere.”

CHAPTER 26

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