Page 16 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part Two

She had several points, and I did feel quite a bit guilty for assuming she would be difficult about retreating rather than practical. But as much as I respected where she was coming from, there was a deep truth that neither of us were acknowledging.

“I’m sorry I went behind your back, Ven. However, I do have to ask…” I reached over and put my hand on her wrist. Althoughso much of her was soft, large, and lovely, I couldn’t help but marvel at how small and delicate her hands were compared to my massive palms. “Can you honestly tell me you would have been able to leave me behind?”

I appreciated that Ven didn’t scoff and immediately rebuff my question. I hated when people did that in a discussion, because it usually showed they weren’t really hearing what I was saying. But Ven remained quiet, and I watched a litany of emotions cross her beautiful features. Although she might not have agreed with me, I could tell she was truly pondering what I’d asked. That meant a lot to me.

“I...”

My senses pricked, and I lurched to my feet, arm out as if I was going to protect Ven even in my weakened state. An eagle spiraled out of the sky and crashed in front of us. Ven was on her feet in an instant, running over to the animal as it quickly shifted into a battered-looking human.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?”

The shifter looked woozy as she tried to sit up, so Ven and I knelt on either side of her. Our conversation definitely wasn’t over, but even in its interrupted state, I felt like we were one step closer to getting it back to our normal rhythm.

“Hey, don’t move. Let me take a look at you, okay?”

“America…” the girl wheezed. I had no idea how old she was, but she looked like she was barely out of high school. “She told me not to go. She told me.”

“That’s okay, honey, we got you,” Ven said. “We’ll call America and have her come pick you up. But let me take care of you first, okay? Keep you on track until that healing of yours kicks in.”

The girl shook her head. “No. I went there, you see. I got in and out. I did it!”

Even though she was half delirious, I could hear the steady conviction in the young girl’s voice.

“Did what?” I asked, adding a rumbling subharmonic into my alpha voice. It wasn’t a command, more of a soothing mechanism. It didn’t always work, especially across species, but I figured it was worth a shot.

“One of the brothers’ compound. I found out what he’s planning.”

Ven and I exchanged concerned glances, wondering how much of what the girl said was true and how much was delirious rambling.

“He’s gonna auction us off. Like fucking eBay.”

Ven gently stroked the young girl’s head, and the eagle shifter’s pale and clammy skin pinked up a bit. “Auctionwhooff?”

“Shifters and other magic folks in various states of enthrallment. They’re going to sell us like cattle to the highest bidder.”

I swallowed hard as I thought back to the first time we’d encountered the enthralled harem of our kidnapped people, and the idea of more victims like that being sold to anyone with a fat wallet made me physically ill. Once more, I exchanged a heavy look with Ven.

It was time to start planning again.

5

VANESSA

Idabbed at my forehead, commanding myself to calm down before I drew attention.

After two weeks and two days of planning, I’d thought I would be a bit more assured in our plan. I’d learned a lot since I first looked up Chadwicke on the internet to see how I could help Leo, but I was still very much a novice.

Even though I wasn’t a spy, I kind of felt like one. We’d reached out to America, who hooked me up with a mindwalker who helped magical people running from bad situations get somewhere safe.

Mindwalker was basically a catch-all term for anyone who had magical abilities that manipulated the mind or came from the mind. So, telepaths, telekinetics, mesmers, oracles, mediums, psychics… all that stuff. It was crazy to me that on top of shifters there was an entirely different class of magical people who were basically akin to the omega-level mutants fromX-Men. Considering how powerful they were, I didn’t understand why they weren’t ruling the world.

I’d waited until we were in private before asking Leo that very same thing, and he’d explained there were far too few ofthem. Apparently, magic users like witches, warlocks, wizards, and the like were very adamant about holding the majority of what little social power there was amongst different sects.

I really didn’t understand the world I had stumbled into. Maybe I was naïve, but shouldn’t all magical folk want to be a united front against the ever-present encroachment of humans and our technology?

“Hey, Glenda. You mind grabbing that box of glasses and hauling them back to the kitchen?” My team lead’s voice jerked me out of my contemplation. I hastily tucked my hanky back into the pocket of my server uniform.

“Not at all. I’ll get right on that.”

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