Page 15 of Wolf Bitten

My eyelids became heavy, and instead of fighting to keep them open like I usually did, I slowly succumbed to sleep.

The doorknob turned,and my eyes fluttered open.

“Let mego!”

The familiar male voice had my heart squeezing.

Slade.

“Shut up,” Warin snarled. “And get in there!”

The door swung open fast and hit the wall with a bang. Light from the hallway streamed into the room, and Slade stumbled inside. Blood poured from his nose, and he was hunched over, clutching his stomach. “You damn bloodsucker, you won’t get away with this!”

Warin blurred inside and kicked Slade in the stomach. A strangled scream lodged in my chest as Warin spun and exited, slamming the door and locking us inside.

The drug was halfway burned off in my system. I moved more sluggishly than normal, but I sat up. Even in the darkness, my eyes adjusted, and I could see Slade slumped against the wall. “Slade,” I whispered, my voice hoarse from sleep.

His head snapped toward me. “Sky?” His emerald eyes bulged, and he clambered to his feet awkwardly. “Is that really you?”

The two of us shuffled toward each other and embraced.

Tears poured down my face. Finally, someone I trusted was here with me.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re not alone anymore.” He rubbed his hands up and down my arms. His dark-blond scruff prickled my cheek, and the deep void inside me ached.

I wanted Raffe.

This moment suddenly felt wrong, and I stepped backward with a bitter laugh. “That’s notokay. You shouldn’t be here.” I stared at his face and noted that his spiky blond hair was full of dirt, and blood had dried on his lip and congealed at his nostrils. “We need to clean you up.” I took another step back and almost lost my balance.

“Whoa.” He clutched my arms, stabilizing me, and winced. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I straightened, not wanting to put more weight on him while he was injured. “Just drugged. Didn’t they do the same to you?”

He smiled then wrapped an arm around his waist and groaned. “They think they did. Warin snuck up on me on campus while we were searching the woods for you, and he tried to inject me with the drug. I managed to kick him away before he could empty the entire syringe in me, but it was enough to impact me. Then he beat the shit out of me.” He rubbed his ribs and winced. “I’m pretty sure he broke a fucking rib. I can’t breathe without my ribs hurting worse at this point.”

There wasn’t anything you could do for a broken rib other than rest. “You should lie down on the bed.” I pointed at the spot where I’d been lying. “That should take the edge off the pain.” At least, I hoped it would. I needed him to heal before Warin came back.

He shook his head. “I’m good. I don’t want to lie down.” He scanned the area.

“There’s no way out.” I shook my hands to help the drug wear off. “The door has a perimeter spell we can’t cross.”

Slade froze. “Perimeter spell? Vampires can’t use magic.” He turned to me, his face strained. “How is that possible?”

I swallowed uncomfortably. He didn’t know. “A witch is involved. Her name is Glinda.”

His face fell. “No fucking way.”

Something like a faint eggy fart hit my nose. I held my breath, not wanting to smell it. He’d broken a rib and got kicked in the gut—he probably didn’t realize he’d passed gas. The last thing I wanted to do was call him out on it, so I tried to focus on the conversation. “Yeah, why are you surprised by that?”

“She’s Mom’s most trusted priestess. No one’s been able to reach her since before you disappeared.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Why would she do this?”

I filled him in on everything I’d learned, leaving out the pictures of Raffe and the wolves killing vampires.

When I finished, noises sounded outside the door.

Slade and I stared at one another, waiting for the door to open, but the faint scuffle of footsteps headed away.

Slade shook his head. “Shit. This isn’t good. This must be why Warin took me. We’ve got to alert Mom and Raffe.”

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