Page 29 of Wolf Chosen

The bushes rustle and the leaves part. My heart lodges in my throat, my pulse a deafening roar in my ears. I raise the branch, ready to swing with every ounce of strength left in my body.

But it's not Rowan who steps into the moonlight.

It's a wolf. A huge russet wolf with a white star on his forehead and white-tipped paws. A choked sob escapes my lips, the branch tumbling from my numb fingers. I watch, scarcely daring to breathe, as the wolf shifts and then Mitch stands before me, his face a mask of concern. Another shape detaches from the shadows, a gray speckled wolf with a luxurious white ruff. He shifts and Zane stands there a moment later.

Relief hits with a blow that drives me to my knees. I crawl back to Liam, gathering him into my arms. The last of my composure shatters, my words dissolving into helpless, hiccupping sobs.

“Help him. Please. He won't wake up. I don't know what Rowan did to him, but it's bad. It's so bad,” I rasp.

“It’s okay. We’re here now. We’ve got you,” Mitch says.

Mitch and Zane crouch beside us, their faces grim. A glance passes between them, heavy with unspoken meaning. “We need to get Elara to see to him,” Mitch says, his voice tight with worry. His gaze finds mine, softening with understanding. “Thankfully, our cruiser isn’t far. Zane will carry you.”

I want to protest, to insist that I’ll walk, but my body betrays me, my limbs trembling with penetrating exhaustion. The adrenaline that's kept me going is fading fast, leaving me hollowed out and aching. I won’t slow them up. Liam needs our help as fast as he can get it.

Mitch lifts Liam in his arms with a gentleness that belies his strength and positions him over his shoulder as Zane slides his arms beneath my knees and my shoulders. He lifts me effortlessly, pulling me securely against his chest. He doesn’t smell right, but the warmth of his body seeps into my chilled skin, chasing away the cold that's settled in my marrow.

“We’ve been looking for you everywhere. Most of the pack is. Cindi alerted us when you didn’t return from your hike,” Zane says.

“How long have we been missing?” I ask.

“You don’t know?” Zane asks.

I shake my head. “We were in a cell. No windows. Nothing to gauge time.”

Zane’s mouth turns down and his hands shake where they hold me. “It’s been five days, Taylor. We’ve been looking for you for five days.”

Chapter Fifteen

Taylor

Oh God. Five days! Although it felt like five years. Despite my exhaustion, I have to tell them everything. They have to know the truth. They have to know what happened so they can help Liam.

I clutch Zane’s shoulder and choke back a sob. “We found a hut in the forest. Rowan compelled us to go indoors... Did unspeakable things to him with…with magic. To his human side and also his wolf and…” I take a deep breath of air, forcing out more words. “This is all my fault. I saw the hut in my dream. Liam told me to be careful and I wasn’t. All I could think about was that I had to see the hut. I was so curious and then Rowan saw us and made us go inside even when we didn’t want to. We didn’t have any control. I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t do anything.”

It all comes out in a flood. I don’t know if I’m making sense but my head is spinning and my stomach is churning and I’m just so damned worried about Liam because the bond is static in my chest and—

“Take a breath, Taylor.” Mitch says, crouching over me. I read the concern on his face, realizing it’s for me.

I blink back to the moment. Zane has put me on the ground and I’m leaning against a police cruiser. Liam is inside, bundled in blankets. His head rests back, a hunk of bloodied, matted hair hanging over his forehead. His eyes are still closed. He’s not moving.

“Oh God!” I have to get inside. Have to be with him.

Hands grip my shoulders. He ducks his head so he can look into my eyes. “We’ll get him some help, but I need to ask you how injured you are. I smell blood on you and I can see you’re covered in bruises and scratches. I’m assuming he’s told you about his wolf and that’s why you didn’t freak out when you saw us shift, but if you’re injured, you’ll need different medical care than Liam.”

I feel my body, now becoming aware of various sensations all over. My muscles are stiff and I’m covered in bruises, but they're not significant. “I’ll be fine with some rest. Please, I only care about Liam.”

“Spoken like a true mate,” Mitch says.

Mate. The thing in me lifts its head and an extra level of my consciousness awakens. I don’t think about that now because I am Liam’s mate and that should mean that I feel a bond. I did. It was a hundred times clearer than it is now. I clutch Mitch’s wrist in my shaking grip. “Rowan did something to our bond. It’s…changed. Different.”

Mitch flinches and his expression turns even more serious. “What do you mean, your bond is different?”

I shake my head, growing more desperate by the second. “It’s more distant. Like there’s static there getting thicker and thicker. I don’t know what Rowan did. He took Liam away when he did…what he did.”

“We don’t have time to waste, Mitch,” Zane says.

Mitch gives a curt nod. “Agreed.”

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