Page 4 of Fated to the Feral Wolf

I had to see him, make sure he was okay. Then it was the small matter of getting him out of the freakingcellthey’d thrown him into. Uncharacteristic fury rose in me at thethought. I shook my head, trying to shake the rage physically loose.

Getting hotheaded about things wouldn’t help me spring him from wolf jail.

Leigh had her arm wrapped around my shoulders, carefully guiding me toward the door, when it flew open, nearly cracking us both on the nose in the process.

“Where is she? I’m going to skin whoever didn’t tell me about this alive!” Brielle’s furious tirade ground to a halt as soon as she saw me up and on my feet. “Shay! Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay! You’re not supposed to be up yet, though.” She shot Leigh a pointed look for helping me break the rules as she stepped forward to wrap me in a hug. Bri hesitated at the last second. “Is there any way I can hug you without hurting your side?”

I shrugged my left shoulder, careful not to zhuzh the right side, which still ached from the bullet. She moved more slowly, carefully wrapping her arms around my shoulders and giving me a steady but gentle squeeze.

“Now, why are you out of bed? John Henry told me he was recommending two more days of rest. Since hefinallygot around to telling us this happened!” She shot an angry look over her shoulder, where both Kane and a browbeat John Henry stood in the doorway, watching our reunion.

“She’s not supposed to be out of bed,” the pack healer grumbled. “And you weren’t supposed to be disturbed until seventy-two hours after your mating ceremony. Early interruptions usually end in bloodshed, and we took a vote. It was unanimous that any interruption before you two left the cabin on your own would be seen as a challenge for mating rights.”

“I have to go get Dirge. They put him in a feral cell,” I insisted, ignoring the hovering males. My hands shook as the awful thought came back to the forefront. I had to get him out of there. Confinement was no place for a wolf.

“A cell? Wait, you want to spring himbeforehe’s turned back?” Bri shot a concerned look at Kane, who stayed silent except for one lifted eyebrow, which was very loudly conveying his disapproval of my plans.

“He can’t stay in there. Please,” I added, not caring if I sounded pathetic.

“You may see him, but he may not leave the cell until we know he’s not a danger to any member of the pack, and that includes you.”

Kane’s words hit me like a ton of bricks. They were laced with an undercurrent of Alpha command, and it felt like someone rubbed their hand the wrong way up my wolf’s back. Although… Where was my wolf?

I reached for her but found only silence. I tried again, shutting my eyes and digging deep, but again, there was no familiar tingle of the change starting, no pleasure-pain of her bursting free to go for a run. There was just… emptiness.

Dread climbed up my throat, its sickly fingers holding me frozen in a choke hold.

“M… My wolf,” I stuttered, letting my hand float to my neck, as if I could wipe away the dread.

“I know, you think he may be your mate. That iswild. I mean, what are the odds?” Leigh cast a glance at Brielle for backup before continuing. “However, if it’s not safe for him to be out?—”

“No,mywolf,” I said again, clutching the front of the oversized black tee. There was no fire, no magical light in my chest. Just darkness where my wolf should be.

Leigh sucked in a shocked breath, while Brielle launched into doctor mode. “How high was the dosage of wolfsbane?” She launched the question at John Henry like a torpedo.

“Seven point five ccs,” he answered without missing a beat.

“And how long after exposure was the antidote administered?”

“Eight minutes.”

“Eight minutes?”

“Give or take about ninety seconds.”

“That’s not a lethal dosage, but it’s close.” Bri frowned, her fingers drumming anxiously on her jeans-clad thigh. “You probably just need some time. You went through a major injury, even without the added complication of the wolfsbane. Your small intestine was clipped, and apparently, the bullet missed your ovary by less than half an inch.”

I knew I should be grateful that the bullet hadn’t mangled my ovary or poisoned me with fecal matter from an intestinal wound. But all that felt insignificant in comparison to being unable to contact my wolf. Without her, I was alone.

Weak.

Vulnerable.

And with a brand-new feral mate, that was the last thing I could afford to be.

FOUR

Dirge

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