Page 48 of Hunted By Wolves and Shadow
A woman approached. She was about my age, shorter, with light brown hair that framed her rosy cheeks. Her gaze switched from me to Wolf. “You know what you’re doing, Wolf? That hood—”
“Yes,” Wolf said quickly. “Emi is Ruby's granddaughter. She's a gemstone witch. Everyone, meet the Emerald Witch. Emi, meet everyone.”
Harsh whispers and movement rippled through the gathering, but all I could focus on was the way Wolf had said Emerald Witch like he was in awe, not with the distaste of a despised enemy. Some of his people ducked away, others towed friends behind them. A fresh-faced man with pure white hair wrapped his arm around a fine-boned woman and tugged her close.
The big man in front glanced between us, and suddenly I knew who this was.
I glanced to Wolf, and he gave me the encouraging nod I needed to step out from behind him. “Bear, right?” I watched surprise flicker through the honey brown eyes of the large man. Then I turned to the woman who’d questioned my presence and between her attitude and round, red cheeks, I knew who she was too. “And you must be Robin. I've heard a lot about you. I'm not here to hurt anyone.”
They were just being cautious. They were ready for violence—too ready, after annums living inside the threat all around them—but they weren't eager to start it.
“I’m aware of what my grandmother did to all of you. I’d…I’d like to help, if I can.”
Bear side-eyed me while checking Wolf's reaction. When the big man finally turned his gaze fully on me, his expression broke into a dazzling broad smile. He gave me a supportive nod as if to say, “If Wolf trusts you, that's good enough for me.”
I practically fell over in shock. But he meant it, because he turned his back on me, exposed and vulnerable, and ambled over to Robin. Her arms were folded over her chest as if she was still deciding what she thought of me. Bear might have decided to trust me, but she’d take a little more convincing, even if she seemed willing to follow Wolf’s lead
Proving I was right about who she was, Wolf called out to her. “Relax, Robin. Emi's not like that.”
She continued her steady assessment. I wanted to wilt, but I was wearing Grandma's red hood and she wouldn't have wilted for anyone. It was enough to stiffen my backbone and hold Robin's gaze. Finally, she dropped her arms, shrugged, and went back to a pile of fabric on the ground that she must have been working on before Wolf and I burst in.
“See? All good,” Wolf said close to my ear. He placed a warm hand on my back, and the small gesture comforted me. That hand told me he was by my side, and it shouldn’t have felt so very good. “Come meet the others.”
Chapter 22
Emi
Over the course of the evening, I met the people in the enclave. Some were wary, hanging back around the edges by the tall thorny walls, but others were downright welcoming when Wolf introduced me.
My thoughts were swimming by the time I came to where the delicate woman was bent over a young man with bright ginger hair. The white-haired man who’d sheltered her earlier stood guard over them, eyeing my approach carefully.
“Easy, Lynx,” the woman said to her protector. “She seems all right, let her be.” She kept her head bent to the young man's shoulder. There was a gash across the skin there, still bleeding slowly as she cleaned it. The redhead’s face was tight, but his eyes were keen and his body perfectly still as she worked. “That's the worst of it, Fox,” the woman said, “but it needs a few stitches.”
Wolf came up beside me, and I could feel him stiffen. “Fox, what happened? Is that a bite?”
“Nah,” the young man said with a shy smile, “just a scrape. Took a dive through a gap that was a smidge too narrow.”
“You do like to get into tight spots.” Wolf shook his head at Fox's grin, then he moved to place a hand on the back of the other man—Lynx apparently. “Everything good while I was gone?”
Lynx still looked tense, but he nodded. “No sign of Fen.”
“Oh. He’s…uh, he won't be…” Wolf looked shaken at the memory of what happened when Fenrir attacked him, and maybe at what he’d had to do to survive it. Had Fenrir sat around this very fire with them?
“I could help,” I interrupted, my eyes on Fox, “if you'd let me.”
The redhead looked to Wolf, who settled his doubts with a nod. “Let her. She healed me from a lot worse.” He pulled down the collar of his shirt to reveal the jagged scar across his neck and shoulder, and it was clear from their reaction that they hadn’t seen it before he’d pulled clothing on. “Fenrir,” was all he said when Lynx made a small shocked sound. If the man thought it was bad now, he should have seen it gaping and ragged.
“Fox, is it?” I knelt in front of where he was sitting, leaving Lynx and Wolf staring with some sort of silent conversation behind me. “I’m a witch, yes, but my magic is healing. Will you let me?” I gestured to his wound.
After another moment watching Lynx and Wolf, who were deep in hushed conversation, Fox nodded.
The wound was small and already clean, and it didn't take nearly as much effort to push my magic out to heal it as it did with Wolf. Maybe I was already growing more comfortable with my new power.
At a small weight on my shoulder, I looked up to find the woman smiling kindly down at me, her hand resting on me. “That's amazing. It's like it healed a whole moon ago.”
“Thank you,” Fox said quietly, then he rose and left us.
I stood, and the woman took my hand in hers. “I’m Fawn.”
