Page 54 of Wolf Crowned

A tendril of fear zipped an icy finger down my spine. Pain sliced through me. But it wasn’t my own. It was Sawyer.

Nineteen

Sawyer

I was on fire. Everything burned. My limbs were leaden, refusing to move.

I coughed. My lungs wheezed. I fought to draw in a deep breath. I blinked my eyes open. Darkness surrounded me.

Was I still unconscious?

I shouldn’t hurt this bad if I’m knocked out.

I gagged, sputtering. My chest ignited. I grunted. Why did I hurt so bad?

My injuries weren’t that severe. Tingling pinpricks shot from my shoulder to my fingers. It was the same one Drake had scratched and Fiona had thrown wolfsbane tainted water on.

Shit.

Dad was always trying out new things with the wolfsbane. What if he’d developed something new? Something worse? I wouldn’t put it past him.

Cool hands pressed against my face, like someone was running an ice cube across my skin. “Sawyer. Sawyer, can you hear me?”

Sloane’s voice cut through the haze. I blinked rapidly but everything was a blur.

I groaned and shifted, trying to sit up. A strangled gasp crept up my throat, sending me into a coughing fit. I couldn’t catch my breath. My chest rattled.

Sloane pushed on my shoulders, shifting me so my head was in her lap. “Don’t move, Sawyer. Shhhh. It’s okay. I’m here.” She combed her hand through my sweat slicked hair as she made shushing noises.

I inhaled her sweet vanilla cinnamon scent, letting it wash over me. My eyes slid shut. “You’re not really here are you?” I croaked out.

She trailed her fingers over my cheek up to my hairline, slicking my hair back. “Not yet, but soon. I promise.” She pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I just need you to hold on and be strong for me a bit longer, okay?”

It sounded so easy when she said it like that. She didn’t know my whole body was paralyzed and an inferno.

She put her other hand on my cheek. “You’re burning up. How are you feeling?”

I answered her with a cough. It was like I was drinking needles. The fire scorched through my chest, making me wheeze.

She held me close. “Shhh, shhh. Don’t try to talk. It’s okay.” She rocked me gently. “Just relax and try to get some sleep.:

Her cool fingers trailed over me. I winced when she touched my shoulder. A curse escaped her lips. I’d never heard her swear before. It must be bad.

I reached out to her through our connection. Sweetheart? Can you hear me?

My mind was wishy washy. The ground lurched beneath me.

Sloane gingerly touched my shoulder. “I can hear you, Sawyer. It’s going to be okay. We are going to get you help?”

How? You aren’t really here.

I held my breath. Maybe I’d been out for days instead of hours. No. She’d already said she wasn’t really here.

She muttered as she shifted so my head was on what I thought might be her leg. “No. Not yet. Soon.”

She trailed her fingers over my chest. I hissed when she grazed one of my deeper cuts. Funnily enough, I remembered thinking they were all superficial.

Her hand went back to my cheek, and she rocked softly. “I’m done looking at your wounds.”

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