Page 72 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

The Mordeka uses the moment to her advantage and lunges toward me, and I barely get my arrow off in time. It lodges in her stomach as black sludge oozes from the wound, but she just rips it out, as if it had absolutely no effect on her. I nock another arrow and take aim at her heart, but she only smiles at me, her ghostly lips peeling back to reveal her disgusting, jagged teeth as her blood-red eyes focus on my face. She sniffs the air then whips her head to the side, noticing Shadow in the cover of trees, deciding my pegasus will be an easier target for her meal.

Faster than I can blink, she lunges toward Shadow, and I loose my arrow, but it misses completely this time. Shadow rears to stave off the Mordeka’s advance, and Shepherd uses the opportunity to take the hideous creature down, barreling into her from the side and clamping his jaws down on her neck. She screams again but the alpha holds fast, refusing to let go despite the damage to his sensitive ears.

The rest of the pack all grab a limb and tear, sending blood spurting as they rip her apart. She screams so loudly it shakes the ground, and the wolves let go and whimper as they try to cover their ears with their paws. I drop my bow and sink to my knees, clamping my hands over my ears, but it doesn’t do much to help with the pain that’s piercing my eardrums, making my brain pound painfully. I can feel blood trickling onto my hands, the result of her deadly screeching.

With the singular arm the Mordeka still has attached to her body, she reaches out in a final attempt at violence and tears into Shepherd’s side, clawing open his torso, cutting so deep I can see his ribs through the fur that’s now soaking with blood.

“Shepherd!” I scream as he whimpers and writhes in pain, unable to stand. Rowan, recovered enough to finish the job, pounces on the mordeka and tears her throat out, silencing the last of her screams as air gurgles through the bloody mess of flesh that used to be her throat.

Unbeknownst to me, Ekko and Lyker have shifted back to their human forms, their bodies completely naked as they drag Shepherd’s limp wolf body away from the demon who injured him.

“Fire,” Lyker pants.“Light it on fire.”

I quickly light a stick from the pile we had near the campfire and bring the small flame over to the bloody corpse. It lights instantly, flames quickly consuming whatever was left of the monster, a final assurance that she’s truly dead; Though I know this encounter will haunt me for the rest of my days.

I rush over to Shepherd who’s panting rapidly, finding him in my mind.Talk to me, Shep. What do you need? How can I help?

The alpha's voice in my mind is weak, distant, like he’s several yards away instead of right next to me.I’ll be fine.But he doesn’t move as blood continues to seep from the open wound on his flank. His eyes roll back in his head and his sound that’s connecting us fades away until his drumbeat is barely there.

“Shepherd!” I scream again, and Rowan comes up beside me, also now completely nude in his human form.“Why isn’t he healing?” I ask Rowan, panicked.

“He’s losing too much blood,” Rowan tells me, his own face slick with sweat and fear.

“I can heal him,” I say, sounding much more confident than I feel.

“Auri, you have no idea if that will work,” Rowan says, searching my eyes.

“I have to try.” Determined not to let him die since he was protectingme, I lay my shaking hands on Shepherd’s side, quickly coating them in his warm blood. I think about the wound closing, about his skin knitting itself back together. I’m hit with a sudden, sharp ache in my torso, the pain so acute it feels like I'm being sliced open with a hot knife. I cry out and double over, but keep my hands on Shepherd, willing his wound to heal. Rowan’s hands are on me the same second, steadying me as I heal his friend, his pack leader. While I was suspicious of the idea that I had somehow absorbed Leo’s pain when I healed him in the street, I know without a doubt that’s what’s happening now, as the flesh under my hands starts pulling itself together. The sharp pain in my side is fading, and Shepherd’s wound closes before my eyes. In a matter of minutes, Shepherd's body is as good as new, and I’m left feeling completely drained, seconds away from losing consciousness.

“Auri…” Rowan breathes, sounding astounded at what he just witnessed.

Shepherd’s eyes flutter open, and a moment later his body starts to shrink down, his grey fur and deadly claws retreating as his human form is brought back to the surface. He’s lying on his side, naked like the others, but his amber eyes lock with mine and hold my gaze. We stare at each other for several moments, neither of us saying anything as Shepherd breathes heavily and recovers from his injury and the shock of that injury being healed. He finally breaks eye contact and looks down at his side, eyes going wide at the sight of completely normal flesh, not a trace of the fatal wound to be seen.

“I owe you my life,” Shepherd says in disbelief, running his hand over his ribs.

“And I owe you mine.” I swallow thickly.“She was coming for me. You all defended me like I was one of your own.” I look at the rest of the pack and make eye contact with each of them.

“Guess you proved me wrong about your skill with the bow.” Rowan winks at me, but I’m still too overwhelmed to appreciate his humor right now.

I shake my head.“I didn’t even slow her down with the first shot, and I missed the second altogether.”

“You stayed cool under pressure. You looked evil incarnate in the face and still managed to do something, even if you don’t feel like it did much. It bought us all time.” Rowan encourages me, and I try to smile. He reaches out and ruffles my hair, furthering that brotherly bond that I feel with him. I breathe a sigh of relief, grateful to know that I contributed to the fight, even minimally.

Lyker, who is definitely the most timid one of the pack, clears his throat as if to remind the rest of us that they’re all stark naked. I carefully keep my eyes up and go to check on Shadow while the pack puts some clothes on. I look her over for injuries, but she’s unharmed; spooked, but otherwise in good health. I’ve already put her through so many dangerous encounters just in the short time we’ve been together; sometimes I wonder if she would be better off without me. She nudges me as if to sayyou’re stuck with me,and I lean against her, taking a moment to gather my thoughts and strength.

I feel a hand on the small of my back and turn to see Shepherd, now fully clothed. His face displays several different emotions; awe, gratefulness, curiosity, and even a hint of fear.“I heard you cry out,” he says, never taking his eyes off me.“Did you get hurt?”

“No,” I tell him sincerely.“I mean, not really.” He quirks a brow.“When I first touched you, I think I felt what you were feeling. Like I was absorbing some of your pain so that your body could heal itself.”

He looks down at me and brings a hand to my cheek.“You felt what I felt?”

I nod, leaning into his touch involuntarily as a wave of dizziness rolls through me.“Only for a moment. And gods, I do not envy you.” I joke, trying to lighten the mood.

“I was prepared to die,” he tells me seriously as he drops his hand from my face.“I’ve never been injured that badly before. It’s like I could feel my soul separating from my body. But you brought me back.” Shepherd smiles at me weakly, and I return it.

I jerk my head in the direction of the creature, now reduced to a pile of ash.“Was that a Mordeka?”

Shepherd nods gravely.“I’ve never seen one in person, but I’ve heard the stories.”

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