Page 61 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part One

Despite the fact I could feel the wolf’s massive teeth tearing through my tendons and sinking down to the bone, I stopped screaming long enough to close my mouth and press a kiss to his dry, cracked nose.

The force in my arm let go as I was enveloped by an explosion of steam and fur, my vision completely obscured. I took the opportunity to crawl away until my back hit the bars of the enclosure, the door a few feet farther to my right.

My first instinct was to run, but I tamped that down and focused on ripping off one of my sleeves and hurriedly wrapping it around the bite wound in my arm.

I nearly blacked out from the effort, but somehow, I managed to tie a knot with my other hand and my teeth. When I looked up, there was no sign of the giant wolf, no steam, no fur.

A filthy, haggard-looking man was on his knees, an utterly shocked expression on his features. He let out a startled sound, barely even human, and quickly crab-walked backward. I wasn’t surprised—Leo had been kinda the same when he’d regained his human form.

Still, relief washed over me. Somehow, despite all odds, I’d found the first member of Leo’s pack. He’d have a family again.

“Hey there,” I said, speaking softly as I slowly, slowly raised my hands. “I’m a friend of Leo’s. I’m here to help.”

At that, his look of shock turned into one of awe. “L-L-Leo?” he sputtered, his voice gravely from disuse.

“Yeah, Leo. I’m his friend. I’ve come to take you home.”

The man continued to stare at me, and for a moment, I worried he’d have a hard time to comprehend the situation, but then he nodded and got to his feet, swaying slightly.

“Hurt?” he asked, casting a guilty look at my arm.

It hurt like an absolute bitch, and I was dizzy enough that was I afraid I might pass out, but I wasn’t about to admit that to him. He had enough on his plate, and besides, it wasn’t his fault. As far as I was concerned, everything was Chadwicke’s fault, may he Rest in Piss.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, using my uninjured arm to push myself up. I was unsteady, but not so much so that it would stop me from getting us the hell out of Dodge. “Come on, we can help each other along.”

He watched me warily but eventually took my hand. With our arms over the other’s shoulders, we slowly made our way the entrance of the zoo.

But we had hardly even left the abandoned guard area at the front when I saw a staff member sprinting toward us. Sighing internally, I prepared myself for a fight, but I hoped they would be friend rather than foe. After all, everyone who wasn’t security had been pretty receptive to me all night. Granted, none of those people had been sprinting toward me at full speed with a look of determination in their eyes.

To my immense relief, they skidded to a stop a few feet in front of us to catch their breath. I doubted someone who was about to throw down with us would do that.

“You’re the wolf!” she exclaimed once they had caught a bit of their breath.

We both nodded, and a wide grin broke out across her features.

“I don’t know how you’re here, but thank God! Things have really gone to hell. I’ve been wanting to get out of the contract that asshole tricked my family into for ages.” Her bright blue eyes landed on me. “Do I have you to thank for all of this?”

I wasn’t quite sure how much I wanted to reveal about Leo to this stranger. There was always a chance she was tricking me. “I had help.”

“Ah, I suppose that’s the feral wolf out front who’s handing the entire security force their own asses?” Another nod from me, and the woman’s grin spread from ear to ear. “I thought as much. Here, let me help with him. I pulled a truck up in case I could find anyone else who needed help splitting. I can lead you to it.”

The prudent thing would have been to remain suspicious and tell her to buzz off, but I wasn’t exactly in a position where I could refuse allies. Besides, it wasn’t that hard to believe that the insidious warlock had entrapped multiple people. That was the whole reason why I hadn’t wanted to go in guns blazing in the first place. It would have been so easy for the young woman in front of me to end up dead when she had done nothing wrong. Allegedly.

Still, I needed the help, so I let her take over with Ricky.

His legs were shaking, and his body was so frail.

Leo had been wounded when I’d met him, but otherwise, he’d been in good health. That was not the case with Ricky. Poor guy. Already, I was thinking of different ways to help him get back to normal. Maybe that was a bit ridiculous, but it helped me deal with the impossible storm of pain I was trying to ignore.

I had expected the sound of battle to have faded, because how many security guards could there be? But it was still going, although there was less gunfire and more hellish noises I couldn’t identify.

I ignored it and focused on getting to the truck. The compost truck I had used earlier was pulled a few yards or so behind the manor. We limped over to it, and once Ricky was safely inside, the stranger tossed me the keys.

“Do you mind driving? I figure I should keep my hands free in case it comes down to a fight.” She grinned, not too differently from Chadwicke, but her teeth were a whole lot pointier, and her eyes had started to tinge yellow.

“No, I don’t mind.”

Still a bit dazed, I got into the truck and put the keys in the ignition. We were so close to leaving, and the reality of everything hit me all at once.

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