Page 75 of Wolf Unleashed
“Your strength could be what her wolf needs to finally escape,” Tiernan agreed. “And when she does, she can save Alyssa.”
“She’s burning up. And her eyes are dilated,” Adeline said as she placed her hand against Alyssa’s sweaty forehead. “No more blood-bonding. Adding more DNA to her system might magnify her body’s reaction to the serum.”
“Might,” Maddox repeated. “You don’t know.”
“No, I don’t know. We’ve never done this before on a half-shifter.”
Rafe held his anger in for what Adeline had done. For as much as the woman wanted to rid her daughter of her wolf, she didn’t want to kill her. Her actions, though warped, were done out of love.
“Do it,” Tiernan said, more assertive than Rafe had ever seen him. “Blood-bond her. It could weaken your abilities, but—”
“She’s dying,” Maddox finished his thought.
Rafe could tell from Maddox’s expression that his bond with Alyssa was unraveling. “If the blood-bond is too much for her, instead of helping her, we could lose her as Adeline said.”
“We’re already losing,” Tiernan replied.
“My abilities mean nothing without her,” Rafe mumbled. “But it would be a forced bond. She’s not conscious to consent. Similar to what happened with you, Tiernan. That’s why your first bond with her fell apart.”
“I knew of the risk to her at the time, so I fought it. She’d want this, Rafe. She loves you. Talk to her as you blood-bond her. Even though she’s unconscious, she’ll hear you. Her heart will give consent even if her body can’t.”
Maddox kissed Alyssa’s forehead, then looked at Rafe. Rafe had never seen such desperation in the shifter’s eyes. He loved her. “You have to try, Rafe. Whatever it takes. I’ll be your muscle with your pack. Anything.”
“This isn’t about my pack. It’s about her. I vowed never to take her choices from her.”
Adeline stroked Alyssa’s hair. “I never thought I’d say this, but she needs her wolf, Alpha. There’s nothing I can do for her. She doesn’t have long.”
Maddox picked up a knife he found in the dirt and cleaned it the best he could against his skin. They couldn’t worry about infection. And if her wolf healed her of the serum, an infection would be nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
When Rafe held out his hand, Maddox sliced across his palm. Then he gently turned Alyssa’s palm and cut a line parallel to the scar from her blood-bonding with Tiernan.
Rafe clasped their palms together, twining his fingers with hers as he prayed for the blood-bond to work. And that she’d forgive him if she didn’t want this.
He could feel his blood mixing with hers, feel the bond forming, taking hold. It felt surreal, like nothing he’d ever imagined, and yet a cloud of darkness surrounded it.
“I’m sorry, my precious,” he whispered in her ear. “I should have asked you before this, when you were awake. I never meant to take your choice away from you. I’ve always wanted to blood-bond you, but feared what it would do to my pack. I should have been thinking of you first. Your needs are as important—more—than my pack. The pack will always survive. Which is what you must do now, my sweet Artemis. Fight. Live for me. For us.
“Dying on the bed of an abandoned cabin is not how your story ends. You are meant for greatness. You are the key to bringing humans and shifters together. I know this in my heart. I don’t know how or when, but I know that is your destiny. One we will support, because we love you. Wolf or no wolf, we love you, Artemis. Do you hear me?”
“Yes,” a soft voice squeaked out, so low he barely heard her. In that same moment, he wondered if his shifter abilities had been weakened by the blood-bond, but he realized he truly didn’t care. She was alive, and that was truly all that mattered. An alpha, a true alpha, would figure out how to rule, even if he no longer was physically the strongest in his pack. Strength of character and conviction were as important as the ability to fight. Perhaps more. He had strength in Maddox and heart in Tiernan. And passion in Artemis… everything he needed as an alpha to rule. He had his pack, the shifters he loved, tied to him. They were a part of him now.
Alyssa’s eyes fluttered.
“Her forehead is cooler,” Tiernan said. “Her wolf is healing her.”
“You hear that, precious? Your wolf is healing you.”
No reply.
Rafe looked to ask Adeline another question about the serum, but the woman was gone.
“Forget her,” Maddox said.
“She’ll bring back more mercenaries,” Rafe said.
“We’ll be gone long before then.”
“Come on, angel. Talk to me,” Maddox asked while stroking her arm. “You said she was cooler, but she’s ice cold.”
