Page 80 of The Wolf's Mate

Rip is fighting consciousness. His eyes are swollen shut. His busted lip is still bleeding from the cut, but he wears a smile. Or what I interpret to be a smile, at least.

His face is bad, but it’s the rest of his body that scares me. Long, deep gashes cover every inch of him, exposing red tissue. Most are still bleeding profusely. I don’t know how he hasn’t passed out from loss of blood. The strange hitch to his breathing also tells me his ribs might be broken.

Smoke fills the area, making it harder to breathe. Where is the fire coming from? Did Michael decide to torch the area? My mind desperately tries to come up with a plausible reason when the sky darkens above us.

I lift my head and gasp. I don’t know what I’m expecting, but it isn’t the black-scaled dragon hovering fifty feet above us. It’s massive, probably the size of a commercial airplane. A terrible sound, almost like a growl, emits from the dragon, followed by red flames. Heat from the flames warms my body to an uncomfortable level.

A soft, feminine voice makes me jump. “Luna Hettie?”

I protectively angle myself over Rip’s body. A wet nose presses against my forearm, and I sigh in relief that Grass is here.

I take a moment to allow my brain to process the woman standing before me. She’s beautiful. Reddish-brown hair with pale skin. Her choice of clothes is interesting. She wears a full black leather dress that looks tailored perfectly to her skin. The sleeves extend to her wrists, where she wears black gloves. Her kind eyes stare at me before dropping to Rip on the forest floor. He’s gone unusually still. If it wasn’t for the faint rise and fall of his chest, I would think he’s dead.

Despite her lovely appearance, she’s a stranger, which makes her dangerous. “How do you know my name?”

“A friend sent me.” She smiles.

“A friend? Who?”

“Hettie, it’s okay,” a new voice sounds behind her. I squint to see past the smoke, but soon I catch sight of a familiar face.

“Thorne,” I sob, never so thankful to see a friend. “How are you here?”

Thorne kneels down next to me, gently taking my hand. I didn’t know how much I needed comfort until it’s freely given. My relief only lasts a moment until I realize Thorne doesn’t know his mate is sick. Cursed because of me.

My smile fades instantly. “Thorne, I need to tell you something.”

“Later,” he says. I know this isn’t the time to bring it up, but it still bothers me that he doesn’t know.

“This is Queen Rose,” he explains, gesturing to the pretty red-headed woman. “She’s married to King Malix, the dragon king.”

My lips part in a surprised O. “You’re the one from Grym Hollow. You’re like me.”

The woman—Rose—smiles. “I am, and I sensed you needed me.”

“You did?”

“She did,” Thorne answers on her behalf. “Rose and Malix were already halfway to Lycan Forest when we found them. Said she knew we needed their help. We’ve been on our way back since last night when we caught sight of Nephilim movement.”

“Nephilim? They’re here now?” I expect one to appear in front of me. The smoke and flames make visibility near impossible, so even if one stood near, I probably wouldn’t see it until the last possible second.

“They are. Not many, but enough to be a problem. My dragons and your wolves are in battle now,” Rose says.

“Then we should help them. We…we should?—”

“Hettie, I need you to take a breath for me, okay?” Thorne moves out of the way so Rose can crouch down next to me. It’s silly, but I want to tell her not to get her dress dirty on my account.

“Go help your people, Alpha. Hettie and I will be okay,” Rose assures Thorne.

The man hesitates, not sure if he should stay or join in the fight happening around us.

“It’s okay, Thorne. We’ll be fine,” I say, though I’m not sure if I’m telling the truth. It seems to calm Thorne, though. He nods once and shifts before running off to join the others, but not before he casts a pained expression to his fallen friend.

“Now, let’s heal your mate, shall we?” Rose smiles, reaching for my hands. Under different circumstances, I think Rose could be my friend. I instantly like her. She has a warm, calming presence to her.

“I hear you were able to cure your people. Is that correct?” she asks.

Realization is slow to dawn, but when it does, I shake my head. “Not really. I just found the cure to help them. It wasn’t actually me.”

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