Page 63 of Wolf Crowned

My pulse spiked. I closed my eyes and reached out for Sawyer. The office disappeared, and the cave took shape.

The water lapped against the rocks, and Sawyer’s wheezing echoed off the walls. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

I knelt next to him and placed a hand on his cheek. He was burning up and sweaty. “Hey, I’ve been worried about you.”

His eyes rolled shut. “Been here the whole time. I’m fine.” His words slurred together like he’d been drinking.

“You don’t sound fine.”

I gingerly grazed my fingers down his jaw to his chest where the scratches were. The infection looked about the same. Pus oozed out of the wounds and red welts formed around each scratch. “How are you feeling? Any better?”

He coughed, his eyes remaining shut. “Just tired. Can’t move much.”

“Because it hurts?” I traced on the outside of some of the swollen scratches, making a mental note of where they were so I’d know if they got any worse. He could go septic.

He mumbled something I couldn’t understand.

I put my palm back on his cheek and gave him a soft pat. “Sawyer, I need you to stay with me.”

His eyes fluttered open. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Just tired and everything feels so heavy.”

I pressed a kiss to his forehead. It was slick with sweat. “I need you to keep holding on for me, okay? We are coming soon.”

I hugged him as carefully as I could. “It’s less than twenty-four hours. Just hang in there.”

“Okay.” He croaked out. “I’ll be here...waiting for you, Sloane.”

His head turned to the side, and the connection broke, returning me to my chair in the office.

Tears pricked my eyes. My heart thudded in my chest.

It was less than twenty-four hours, but as bad off as he was, did he have that long?

Twenty-Two

Sloane

My mom was a blubbering mess. Tears streamed down her face. She sniffled and dabbed at her face with a handful of tissues.

Brandon hugged her tight, rocking her gently. “It’s going to be all right, Mom. I promise.”

I rubbed her back and bit my lip to keep it from trembling. Emotion clogged my throat, and I shifted my gaze away and blew out a long breath, hoping I didn’t burst into tears too.

I swallowed hard. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.” I hugged her from behind. “We’ll call as soon as we have the pack secure and in our control.”

I wish I had a way to tell how long that was going to take. Minutes? Hours? I hoped not days.

No, it wouldn’t be that long. For better or worse, it would all come to a head in the morning.

Mom turned so she could embrace us both. “Take care of each other. And Mark too. Luna, I’m so worried, sending my babies off to battle. I never thought this would happen in my lifetime.”

Same.

But here we were.

I rested my head on her shoulder and breathed in her scent one last time. How many times was I going to have to do this? This was the last time I was saying goodbye like this. Her vanilla scent reminded me of her buttercream frosting that I loved so much. I’m sure she’d bake anything we desired when we got back.

I wanted to linger, to hold her until she was calm, but we had a timeline to keep. I kissed her cheek. “We have to go, Mom. We will check in as soon as we can.”

---