Page 35 of Blood and Roses

A howl went up in the distance, and her heart leaped to her throat. Rosa could wait until morning for someone to find her, but she couldn't run from wolves. Crawling about in the dark, she searched through the grass for a rock or stick, anything to defend herself with. She found a rock the size of her fist and held onto it.Would they smell the blood?

Panic seized her as something moved through the trees. A set of yellow eyes fixed on her, quickly joined by two others. Rosa crawled until she had her back against one of the stones. She gripped the rock tightly in her hand as their feral eyes started to move towards her. A low growl echoed through the grass and seemed to come at her from all sides.

A black wolf appeared on the other side of the circle. Its teeth flashed in the dim light as it snarled. Rosa had just enough time to raise her arm as the wolf leaped toward her. She screamed as its teeth ripped through her coat and into her arm. She tried to smash its head with the rock as it dragged her, her broken leg sending flashes of red light in front of her eyes. She raised her arm to hit at the wolf again when it was lifted off her and thrown into the woods. It hit the trees with a yelp, and it went sprawling amongst the leaf litter. The other two wolves pounced, but their attacker disappeared at the last moment. One of the wolves' necks was snapped from behind and the other bolted before it suffered the same fate. Through her tears, Rosa saw her rescuer turn. Even in the dark, she knew that posture and the upturned collar of his great coat.

"What are you doing here?" Rosa wept as he crouched down beside her.

"I couldn't very well leave you here to die of exposure and be food for wolves now, could I?" Balthasar asked, touching her face lightly. "Who'd cook my breakfast tomorrow?"

"You are such a jerk," Rosa half-laughed, half-whimpered. "If I were feeling better, I would give you such a kicking."

"Don't worry, you're going to be okay, and then you can kick me as much as you like. May I?" he asked, and she nodded as he unzipped her boot and eased it off. She bit back a cry of pain as he took the hem of her jeans leg and tore it to expose her broken leg. Before she could guess what he was about to do, he bit into his wrist and held it out, so his blood dripped onto her open wound.

"What the hell are you doing!" she demanded as she tried to move her leg.

His spare hand went down on her like a vice. "Do not move, Rosamund Wylt, or it will heal crooked. I'm not going to hurtyou.Trustme this once." Rosa's whole body stilled. The heat was spreading up her leg in a wave. "How bad is your arm?"

"I don't know. Everything hurts. It's bleeding, but I don't know how bad the bite is."

"I will wait until I get you home before I heal it. I don't want to be healing a wolf's tooth in it by mistake. Your leg was protected by your jeans so it should heal quickly and cleanly." With her good hand, she did her best to wipe away her tears. There was blood on her face from another scrape. "How is your leg feeling now?" he asked.

She tried to move it and winced. "It's killing me, but not as badly as a moment ago."

"Good. It means I can shift you now."

"I don't think..." she tried to protest as he lifted her up as easily as if she was a child.

"Please do not argue with me tonight, Rosa. I've had a very trying evening," Balthasar said as he carried her into the forest.

He never calls you, Rosa, she realized dimly through the pain. Caesar was pawing the ground uneasily. Balthasar made a soft whistling noise, and the black stallion lowered himself to the ground. Still holding her tightly, he mounted Caesar who rose slowly back to his feet and began to walk.

"Something to say?"

"Only that you're missing your true calling as a horse trainer," Rosa said, her voice uneasy. She was starting to tremble and couldn't stop.

"Easy now. You're going into shock," he said tucking the sides of his coat around her. "Everything is going to be okay. I have you."

The coat enclosed her tightly in his warmth, and the smell of his aftershave surrounded her in a pocket of comfort. She fought the urge to put her arms around him. She felt weak for being so relieved that he was there.

"I'm sorry," she said against his collarbone.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. None of this is of your doing."

They rode in silence until they got back to the cottage. Roger ran from the stables to meet them as Balthasar lifted her down.

"Tell Cecily that Rosa is home safely. She is shaken up but resting," Balthasar said calmly. "She is not to be disturbed tonight."

"Of course, Mr. Vane," the stable master replied before heading across the grounds.

"Thank you. I doubt I could've handled Cecily's fussing tonight," Rosa said as she tested her foot. "I'm sure I can walk from here." He placed a strong arm around her to take the weight off her foot and helped her through the house and into the kitchen. Sitting her down at the table, he took off his jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves.

"We need to heal that arm of yours," he said as he put the hot water kettle onto boil and found a glass bowl in the cupboards.

"How long did you live in here?" Rosa asked as he moved about finding antiseptic and sterile cloths.

"It was about a month before the attic was ready. I wanted to build another house on the grounds, but Eli made me compromise. He likes to have his children readily accessible."

"He seems to like everyone readily accessible," Rosa said as she took off her filthy coat. Her arm was a bloody mess. "I can't remember the last time I had a night this screwed up. Not the worst date I've had by a long shot."

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