Page 113 of What a Wolf's Heart Decides

Haley ducked and threw both arms over her head. Glass pelted her hair and the sleeves of Bard’s coat, raining over the conservatory in a million pieces. It hit the ground all around her, scattering the tile with rose-colored shards.

It was still falling when an inhuman growl ripped through the conservatory.

Haley whipped her arms from her head just in time to see Glenna lunge at Bard, her fangs bared, the tendons in her neck straining as she screamed, “YOU ARE UNWORTHY AS AN ALPHA. I CHALLENGE YOU!”

Things seemed to happen in slow motion.

Bard staggered back, his bad leg collapsing under him.

He went down.

Ben jumped in front of his mother, knocking her away from Bard with a punch to her shoulder.

She went airborne, slammed into the wall of roses, and hit the ground. She stayed still, her eyes closed.

For a second, Haley was too stunned to move. Then she sprang into action, racing across the tile toward Bard. Glass crunched under her bare feet, but she didn’t care. She reached his side and fell to her knees.

“Are you all right?” She grabbed his face in both hands and searched his face. “Are you hurt?”

He gasped. “Haley.” His hand brushed her side, then moved up to hair that had fallen over her shoulder. “Go . . .” He seemed to struggle for air. “You have to go.”

“Shut up.” Tears dripped down her face, which was dumb. His leg was acting up. He wasn’t dying. “I’m not going anywhere. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

He smiled, the scarred side of his mouth pulling up. “I’ve figured out there’s no arguing with you.”

A laugh escaped her, and she wiped at some of her tears that had fallen on his face. “That’s exactly right.”

His fingers found her cheek. “Beautiful,” he whispered, his good eye intense as he looked at her. “And so easy to love.”

Her heart leapt. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

But there was time for that later. They had all the time in the world.

“Here,” she said, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Let me help you up.” As she tried to pull him onto his side, he cried out, his voice pitched low in anguish.

She yanked her hand back. Her palm was covered in blood.

Panic gripped her in icy claws. “Bard?”

His eyes were closed, his breaths shallow.

“Help!” She patted at his chest, her hands shaking. She didn’t know what to do. What should she do?

Glass crunched and then Ben was on Bard’s other side, his face pale and his hazel eyes stark as he regarded his Alpha.

“He’s bleeding,” she told him. “There was a thorn, but—”

“It’s coming from underneath,” Ben said. Without preamble, he rolled Bard to his side. “Jesus.”

Blood soaked Bard’s back from his neck to his waist. A shard of rose-colored glass protruded from his shoulder. The piece was long and thick, the visible end poking from his muscle like the tip of an iceberg. It was in the same spot the thorn had lodged.

For a second, Haley could only stare. Blood was everywhere. It puddled on the floor under his body and even coated the back of his head, red staining the silver in his hair. But he only just fell. How could there be so much blood?

“This isn’t normal,” Haley couldn’t help but wonder out loud as blood continued to pump from the wound. “Glass shouldn’t do this much damage to a werewolf.” She looked up at Ben. “Should it?”

“No, but . . .” He gazed at Bard’s face, his expression the same as Glenna’s a moment before—like he struggled to make sense of something deeply puzzling. “His scars . . . I don’t understand . . .”

Goosebumps formed on Haley’s arms, the unsettled feeling washing over her even more intensely. It was like being in wolf form and having her fur brushed the wrong way.

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