Page 16 of Fated to the Feral Wolf

“Leigh, let me go. I have to help him, please,” I said, my hands shaking. I didn’t care, though. I couldn’t see him in pain. I had to go to him.

“We’ll do it together. Come on.” She bore most of my weight as we crossed the small space, and she carefully lowered me to the linoleum next to my shaking mate.

I lifted his head into my lap, gingerly stroking his fur as Kane dressed Gael down not two feet from where we sat. Brielle was at my side in a blink, focused not on Dirge but on my bullet wound.

“Gah, the stitches are out again. You’re bleeding, and I’m going to have to get you back on the bed and close this back up,” she murmured, clearly upset as she pushed back to her feet and rounded on Gael. But Leigh was already there, a furious blonde tornado.

“I don’t care what you thought—we spent one night together.One. And whatever your pea-sized caveman brain might think, we are not together. We are not a couple. You’re not my mate, and you don’t get to sayshitabout where I am or what I do. Are we clear? I’m not part of your pack. I’m not your girlfriend. Hell, we aren’t even friends. Capiche?” She jabbed a finger into his naked, naked chest, and layered one last insulton the pile. “Now get the fuck out of my sight before I shift and finish what he started.”

“Fine. You want it that way, princess? You got it.” Gael’s tone was so cold, it scared me as he turned on his heel and marched out of the room, all military precision and no feeling. Kane exchanged a few whispered words with Brielle before following him and shutting the door behind them.

I sagged against the bed as the alpha dominance left the room, replaced instead by a soothing surge of energy I couldn’t place.

“Okay, now. Everyone’s okay, and Kane will see to Gael. Dirge, I need you to hop up for me. Can you do that?” Brielle used her doctor voice, no-nonsense but kind. “Shay shouldn’t be out of bed yet, and Leigh and I need to get her settled again so I can fix her stitches and put a new bandage on.”

He stilled under my touch, then heaved himself upright with effort. Relief washed through me, but it was replaced by wonder when he turned toward me, and I saw his eyes.

His gorgeous, green eyes.

The feral red was gone.

TWELVE

Dirge

Iwas hesitant to sleep again after my mate’s wound was stitched back up. Adrenaline ran through my veins at top speed, whispering that danger was near, even as the long hours of the night stretched on. Her pack mates—her family, I corrected myself with a glance at the blonde and brunette heads tilted together in sleep in their chairs—stayed with us, meaning I had not just my precious mate to protect, but them as well.

What was precious to her was precious to me. And after seeing them interact today, I had no doubt that they were precious to Shay. So I kept watch, doing the only mate thing that was left to me in wolf form: protecting her.

Brielle groaned softly in her sleep, clutching her stomach and curling tighter into Leigh’s side. That concerned me, but she settled after a few moments. Still, I stayed vigilant.

So it was in the very early morning, when the sun’s rays had only begun to crest the horizon, I was awake and felt a strange power flood the room.

It was unlike anything I’d ever sensed before, and the flashthat accompanied it had me on my feet, a low growl in my throat.

“Dirge? What’s wrong?” Shay’s sleepy voice was soft and rough, her hands in my fur gentle, soothing. “I don’t sense anyone nearby who shouldn’t be. Can we rest a little longer?” She dropped her forehead to my shoulder, stroking my ruff lightly as she waited for me to decide.

I had no way to tell her what I’d felt or to find out if the magical surge had invaded the whole area or just this room. I hoped for the former, but feared the latter. Still, though, as we sat and quietly watched the sunrise together, there was no sign of anything amiss, and gradually, the tension eased from me.

“I wish you could talk to me,” Shay murmured, twisting a lock of my fur around her fingertip. “There’s so much I want to know about you, but I can’t, like this. Like, why did your eyes go back to normal? Can the man hear me, or are you all wolf now? Are you trying to shift back? Do you need something from me to do it?” Frustration leaked into her tone, and I whined as I leaned my head against her chest.

I couldn’t answer her. And while it was a sorry situation for her mate to be confined to a wolf’s body, that was the only way it could be between us.

And so I swallowed down the pain of not being able to give my mate exactly what she wanted and let a low, soothing rumble vibrate from my chest. She sighed when she felt it, hugging me a little too tightly to her chest for comfort, and fell back asleep.

I relished every second.

“Good morning!”Brielle’s singsong voice elicited grumbles from the other two women in the room. “Oh, come on. It’s afternine. Even I’m awake and caffeinated! Plenty of time for us to be up and check that wound again. May I?” She directed the question to me, where I still lay clutched in Shay’s now-loose grip. I gently nosed her hand, and she released me so I could sit up and allow the exam.

“Excellent,” Brielle said with a smile, her efficient hands already shifting the blankets and Shay’s shirt so she could access the bandage. “Okay, good news—there’s no fresh blood here, which means your stitches did their job overnight. Now let’s just peel this off and see— Holy hell in a handbasket!”

I stiffened, nosing her hand aside to see what had alarmed her about my mate’s condition.

But what I saw was nothing. Smooth, brown skin stretched over a taut stomach. The stitches were gone; the wound was gone. Shay’s scent was stronger there, brightly floral with tart fruit, as if it was concentrated on the area where she’d healed miraculously overnight. I snuck in a lick, but she batted me away with a laugh.

“Don’t try anything, playboy. Now is not the time to get frisky.” My mate tried to sound stern, but the warmth in her touch as she pulled me back toward her shoulder and away from her bare stomach was undeniable. It stoked a warm coal of feeling in my chest. I couldn’t place it in this form, but it fueled me nonetheless.

“I’ve never seen anything like this—especially not with wolfsbane,” Brielle whispered, eyes round with shock as she looked from Shay to Leigh and back to the nonexistent wound. “Wolves heal quickly, but thestitchesare gone. Where did they go? I need to palpate your abdomen. Tell me if anything hurts.”

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