Page 30 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part Two

I kept that thought to myself, however, and waited for Ven to initiate conversation. I had expected her to relax once the sound of rushing water became audible—it was one of her favorite sounds—but even when we were close enough for a human to hear it, she was still agitated. My concern grew with every passing second, and I couldn’t help but wonder if something terrible had happened while she had been on her own in the mansion.

I cursed myself because I had been worried about that possibility. I hated the idea of putting Ven in any danger, but I had to respect that she was one of the few people in our group who could do what she did, and she did have an incredible knack for getting others to safety. She’d definitely proven that time and time again.

“Ven, you don’t have to tell me anything, but I can see something is bothering you. I hope you know you can trust me with whatever it is. I’m here for you.”

Although words were still very much not my thing, they always came easier whenever Ven was involved. Her very presence made me a more insightful person. Or maybe it was just that it was so easy to communicate with her. I didn’t know which it was, but I wanted her to talk to me.

“I…” She swallowed hard. While normally I would watch the column of her throat bob up and down, now was not the time for it. “Do you not remember what happened?”

What happened?

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific than that. It was a long fight, and I was in really rough shape there at the end.”

“Yeah, you were,” Ven agreed, although she didn’t sound happy about it. “He was going to tear you limb from limb.”

Oh, wasthatwhat she was so upset about? It probably said quite a bit about me that her concern made my inner wolf preen. I didn’t exactly enjoy being in danger or being hurt, but I was incredibly lucky to have a partner who was so torn up about it. Ven truly did care for me. To her, I wasn’t just an alpha who had to protect the entire pack. To her, I wasLeo.

“But I’m here now, and I’m safe. I know I got a little hurt, but not nearly as bad as at the medical facility.” It had taken me more than a week to recover from that. While all my joints werepretty sore, I would be right as rain in maybe another day or two. “And I’ve got you to take care of me.”

“Of course, I’ll take care of you,” Ven said, but she sounded defensive instead of relieved. Or maybe not defensive, but… guilty? It wasn’t a tone I was used to. Maybe I hadn’t hit the nail on the head like I had thought I did.

“Ven, did something happen when I was unconscious?”

“You really don’t remember?”

She sounded so tortured that it was my turn to feel guilty.

“I remember being surprised to see you in the hallway when we took down Nikolas. And then I remember ordering you to go before I had to deal with another wave of Alric’s personal security detail.” I racked my brain, trying to put the foggier pieces together. I used to pride myself on my sharp memory even in stressful situations, but ever since the curse, recall wasn’t nearly as easy as it used to be. It was frustrating, and I hoped I could get it back in time. Whole chunks of that night were gone or obfuscated by an impossible-to-navigate haze.

But I kept trying, because something was clearly bothering Ven, and it seemed like she expected me to know what it was.

“Wait, you came back, didn’t you?” It was barely there, but I felt like there was a mental image of her standing in the middle of what had once been a wall. “I... I think I remember you trying to distract him.”

“I did,” she said, still so softly. “Because he was going to kill you.”

“Clearly it worked. I’m here and all in one piece.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Suddenly Ven whirled to face me, tears shimmering in her eyes. “He was going to kill you right there in front of me, and then kill everyone else he didn’t take as a slave. Ihadto stop him.”

Had to stop him? “I… I’m not following. What am I missing, baby?”

“You really don’t remember at all? You don’t remember his pipes wrapping around my ankle and yanking me up into the air? You don’t remember offering to trade yourself if he let the rest of us go?” Her voice grew more high-pitched as she spoke. “You don’t remember that he was literally tearing you limb from limb and making all of us watch?”

Oh.

Now that she mentioned it, I could see how it would be upsetting.

“I’m sorry,” I said, ardently trying to access those memories. They had to be somewhere in my cavernous head. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the picture she was painting, and to my surprise, some blurry moments rose to the forefront.

I had been so shocked when she showed up again that I’d mentally begged her to run. There were flashes of metal chasing me, catching me. Alric’s malevolent sneer, so sure he had all of us dead to rights.

Because he did. Faintly, I recalled saying something when I saw that Ven was strung up like the rest of us, hanging upside down like a fish about to be gutted at the market. Panic had swamped me, and I’d outright begged because nothing mattered as long as Ven was safe.

And then… I remembered waking up.

Clearly, I had missed a lot. Like what had actually happened to Alric? How had we all escaped? How was Alric even dead? Because the last thing I remembered was him not only alive and well, but kicking our asses.

“I had to save you, okay? I need you to understand that. I didn’t do it on purpose. I just wanted him to stop.”

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