Page 1 of The Healer

Chapter One

A MEAN BASTARD

WhenRhyssteppedontothe splintered wooden porch, the familiar stench of blood hit him—salty, tangy, but with a wealth of wet fur and fish. He stilled and sniffed, allowing the miasma of colors to saturate his nose. The sharper the odor or emotion the brighter the color.

A sunlight yellow ‘smoke’ trail slipped under the door. Blood laced with bear meant one thing. Roaring, he burst into the cabin he shared with his brother, tearing the door off the hinges.

“Aiden!” Bounding up the stairs leading to their bedrooms, he jerked on the balustrade, almost ripping it from its base.

“He’s fine.” Noah, Rhys’s best friend and beta, filled Aiden’s bedroom doorway, blocking the path.

“Move, Noah.” Rhys tried to shove past, but Noah stood firm. Short of shoving him against the wall and injuring a brother-in-pack, Rhys spun away to pace. His bear snarled, threatening to take over and bowl Noah out of the way.

“Calm your bear, Rhys. He’ll agitate Aiden, and we just got him to relax.”

His vision tinged with red, focused, blurred, then sharpened. “What the fuck happened?”

“We think Alrik sent you out on a food run for this reason.” His brother-in-pack Jase peered over Noah’s shoulder, his dirty-blond hair disheveled, with blood smeared across his temple. “Aiden’s usual disrespect didn’t help the situation.”

“Might have been the trigger.” Noah dipped his head. “With a little tact, he might have avoided this.”

“Fuck.” Rhys yanked his bun loose to run his fingers through his hair, hoping to calm his bear and ease the tension tightening the muscles in his neck. “Go on. Tell me what happened.”

“It wasn’t a fair fight, but Aiden should have seen this coming. You know how much he wants you to lead.” Noah held out his hands, palms out to prevent Rhys from barreling him over. “Alrik and his sycophants cornered Aiden in the gym.”

Rhys’s breath caught and seared his lungs. Gym equipment could kill if used with brute force. “Is he…?” The lump in his throat strangled his voice. Ice drenched his scalp, sliding down his spine to his fingertips. He shoved them into his pockets, hoping to hide their trembling. “Can I see him now?”

Noah studied him for a long-drawn-out moment. “Don’t mention his face.”

Rhys halted mid-stride. “Why?” He gripped the door frame and splintered the wood beneath his fingers, fear and fury pummeling his thoughts, his senses. “I’m going to fucking kill Alrik.”

“You could take him on, Rhys, but winning means becoming the alpha.”

Rhys shot Jase a sharp glare. “Like I don’t fucking know that.”

“It’s just a reminder, brother-in-pack.” Noah thumped his back, trying to calm Rhys.

He was far from it. His bear paced inside him, whining for release. Rhys snorted and flicked his head side-to-side, cracking his neck.

“I’ll see Aiden first. Alrik’s death can wait.” One step into the room petrified his muscles. His bones locked, and his bear clawed at the walls, roaring in despair. The stench of antiseptic, blood, and the burned ozone of pain hit him.

The man in the bed wasn’t the Aiden Rhys had seen at breakfast. The youthful skin molded over his features was blue, black, swollen, and mottled. Both eyes were sealed shut, his eyelashes like the legs of a squashed spider. His nose was broken, and his lips split and bleeding.

Sure, shifters healed fast, but in the meantime, he would be in fiery agony while his muscles and bones reknitted. Aiden lay like an ironing board, his arms bandaged in place, and one leg in a worn orthopedic boot.

“Sans was here?”

“ He is our doctor.” Jase nudged his chin at Aiden. “Sans snuck in to tend to Aiden. Said he saw it go down. I asked my brother to escort him home.”

“Good.” Rhys grunted. Jase and his brother Sawyer were the best trackers in the pack.

At least, Rhys had one ally from Alrik’s camp. Taking their alpha on wouldn’t be easy, and despite knowing it was the right decision, Rhys didn’t like the risks if he failed. The Knights Ridge pack would continue to suffer without him to shield them. Cast out, exiled, he would have to head north to Dane’s pack. That wasn’t fair on his old college friend. An alpha shouldn’t have to tolerate another alpha in his pack, and Rhys wasn’t designed to be a beta.

He slumped. “Alrik has to know what this means.”

Noah spun a chair and squatted on it, folding his arms across the back. “He was tired of waiting for you to make your move, Rhys.”

“Well, by attacking the ‘last’ member of my family, he made sure I would react.” He smiled, but it was nothing more than a tightness across his mouth. There was no mirth, no eagerness behind it. “I won’t give in to him.”

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