Page 43 of Wolf Touched

Blood coated Raffe’s pants, and I wanted to scream. Instead, I had to channel that exertion elsewhere, so I linked with Lucy and Josie,Raffe needs new clothes too, and I need you to get some alcohol and tons of bandages.

On it,Lucy replied.Let us know if you need anything else.

Pain medicine.Raffe would be hurting, even with his rapid healing, and I wanted something to take the edge off.Advil—the biggest bottle you can find.That was the best we could do under the circumstances, unfortunately.

Octavia hurried around the vehicle, and I ripped Raffe’s shirt from his body as she opened his door. She pressed the lever and leaned him back, and I continued to shred the material so I didn’t have to jostle him more. He needed to lie as still as possible to prevent further damage.

Any other time, I’d have taken a moment to admire his muscles and how cut he was, but not this time, with his life on the line.

I wadded up his shirt and pressed it against his wound. He grunted and flinched, but I kept the pressure on.

Dammit, that fucking hurts,he groaned, despite his eyes remaining closed.

I’ve got to stop the bleeding, so deal with it. I’d rather you whine than die,I shot back, increasing the pressure.You need to stay awake.

Can’t … sle—His head turned to the side and hung limply.

When he was nearly flat, Octavia stopped pressing the button and straightened. “What do I do now?”

I wished there was something else, but this was all we had. I had to believe it was enough. “Hope this is enough for him to heal.” My voice cracked on the last word. “I need him back to his normal healthnow.” My vision blurred, andbefore I could stop them, tears trailed down my face. We’d finally gottenourshit together, and now we kept facing threat after threat. Something had to give because I needed way more time with him.

“He’ll be okay,” Octavia murmured and reached over, placing a hand on my bare shoulder.

It would have been odd and uncomfortable under any other circumstances, but right now, I needed comfort, even if it was from her. I needed someone to promise me that he’d be all right and I wouldn’t lose him. “You can’t know that.”

“You’re too strong to let him. Push your power into him, and see if that helps.”

Wait.Can I do that?I wasn’t sure if it was possible, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. If sending Raffe some of my strength would help him, I’d give it freely. “Okay.” I sniffed.

Closing my eyes, I tugged on my wolf. My arcane-born power was pure chaos, but maybe my wolf-shifter magic would know what to do. My wolf naturally wanted to protect my mate.

She uncoiled inside me, springing into action. I opened the bond between Raffe and me wider, allowing my magic to flow into him. In his slumber, he didn’t reciprocate, but my wolfy magic surged through the bond.

As the bond warmed, I allowed my wolf to funnel whatever she wanted over to him. Even if I wound up passing out, as long as Raffe survived, that was all that mattered. If saving him meant that Octavia got away, so be it. It’d be one less mouth to feed.

I laid my head on the side of Raffe’s seat, enjoying his amber scent as my eyes grew heavy. Still, I continued to place pressure on the wound, making sure I kept him from bleeding out as Cat-Keith curled into my lap.

I wasn’t sure how long I stayed like that, but a handtouched my shoulder, and Octavia said, “Your friends are here.”

I blinked, trying to remember where I was. Memories crashed back over me. My arms ached, and I sighed with relief when I saw that I’d continued to place pressure on Raffe’s wound despite falling asleep.

Our connection was still open, but my wolf was tired and back in her place in my chest. We’d given him as much of our magic as possible.

Josie and Lucy pulled up behind us, and Lucy got out with two bags and darted toward me. She jumped into the back seat.

When she reached Raffe’s side, she frowned. “How’s he doing?”

His color seemed slightly better. “I don’t know. I’ve been putting as much pressure on the wound as I can.”

“Here.” Octavia held out her hands. “Let me do it so you can get dressed.”

Even though she hadn’t tried to escape, that didn’t mean I trusted her. “No thanks.” She’d abandoned me, and then she’d shown up at the university with suspicious timing. She hadn’t proven we could trust her.

“Let me.” Lucy tossed both bags at my feet. “You can trust me. Besides, if Raffe finds out that Keith and Adam saw you naked, neither of them will live once he gets better.”

Snorting, I nodded. I’d needed that laugh. “Fine. But keep pressure on it.”

Carefully, I pushed the cat from my lap, and Lucy took over. I grabbed the underwear, bra, jeans, and lavender shirt she’d gotten me. Realizing that Lucy had taken the time to get a shirt close to my favorite color—lilac—I smiled and felt my heart slow to a more normal beat.

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