Page 61 of Wolf Fated
The wolf that was me backed away from Axel. She didn't want to be confined to a human body.Why couldn't we be wolves forever?All four of us chasing rabbits and squirrels. Living in the forest and away from the stink of humans with their noise and pollution that choked the land. Plus, if I was a wolf, then I couldn't get hurt again. Didn't have to worry about being betrayed or lied to or any other human vice.
Drake pulled out clothes from a backpack next to Axel and dressed, tossing shorts and a shirt for Nathan to put on as well. The two quickly dressed, then looked at me expectantly.
"Brook," Drake said. "We need you human. Fight your wolf. Tame her enough to follow your will not hers alone.”
"You can do this." Nathan nodded like he believed in me.
But why should I?I was free this way and safe. All there was to do was hunt, eat, sleep. Simple. Free of pain or emotions or anything bad.
No. That was the old me. The one who believed in Stephen when I shouldn't have. When I should have told him to fuck off and leave me alone a long time ago. The one who hid and buried her head in the sand rather than face trouble.
My muzzle shortened and the fur sank into my flesh. I screamed as my muscles and bones reformed. For a few moments, I laid on the grass, panting like I'd completed a triathlon. "Why... why is this so hard?"
"Than when you changed into a wolf?" Nathan asked. "Because calling your wolf is easy. Returning human is much, much harder."
Drake dug through the backpack and handed me a shirt. My own clothes were torn and bloody and I remembered the shirt I'd found behind the washer. It had to be one of theirs from shifting and I'd freaked out about it. Now it seemed so silly. I put on the T-shirt that stopped at my upper thighs like I was wearing a mini-skirt. Better than being naked out here in the middle of nowhere though.
I moved to Axel on shaky legs, and needed to see about my gunshot wounds, but that could wait. "How do we help him?"
"All of us need to touch him and feel the bond. It'll take most of our concentration and strength."
I swallowed, sparing a glance at Stephen who was pale and stared up at the sky without blinking. And I wasn't sad that he was dead. I was only sorry that he'd lived his life the way that he had rather than doing something good.
"Okay." I knelt beside Axel and placed my hand over his heart.
Drake touched his right arm and Nathan his left. A throb pressed against my chest, and I closed my eyes. I willed Axel whole. Willed him awake and healed. I couldn't lose him or any of them. They'd fought for me and now I was fighting for them—for us—for a chance of happiness.
White flashes pulsed behind my eyelids, and I felt like I was being drained dry. I tried to open my eyes to find out what was going on, but they stayed glued shut. My head pounded like someone was hitting it with a hammer. I couldn't concentrate, couldn't think. From far away I heard Drake and Nathan calling my name, but then there was nothing but darkness and silence and pain.
* * *
I woke in my bedroom at the mansion. Wind chimes tingled outside the window with the sun peeking behind clouds. My head felt better and when I sat up, I found my leg and shoulder were bandaged. I probed the areas which were tender but seemed like someone had dug the bullets out and patched me up.
"Hello?" I said, my voice hoarse like I hadn't used it in a day or so. How long had I been out? Was Axel all right? I raised my voice and called again, "Hello?"
Several sets of heavy footfalls sounded outside my door. Then Drake and Nathan opened the door with expectant looks on their faces. I couldn't stop smiling when I saw them.
"You're awake," Drake said.
"What happened? What about the hunters?" I sat up straighter in the bed, leaning up against the headboard. Didn't want to think about Stephen and how he had nearly cost me everything. As much as I thought I cared about him, I wouldn't spare him a tear. He got what he deserved. No. What he deserved was being torn apart by wolves, but he was dead all the same. He'd never be able to hurt me or my men ever again. But what about Axel? "Where's Axel?"
“One thing at a time.” Drake held up his hands. “We took care of the hunters, they’ll never hurt anyone again.”
I shuddered, but I couldn’t feel sorry for them. They attacked us and we defended ourselves. But I was sure that wasn’t all of the hunters in the world.
"And you overdid it with the healing," Nathan scolded. "Put too much into Axel and us when he only needed a little."
"I don't understand." I shook my head. Surely, they weren't saying that I hurt him more. I needed our pack to be whole.
Axel leaned against the doorframe and my heart skittered at seeing him. At all of us being in one room together. "He means you not only healed my wounds, but even any cavities I had and old injuries and even several of my scars."
"Oh." That sounded different. "Has that happened to anyone before?"
"If you ever do anything like that again," Axel stalked toward me, sitting on the bed, and taking my hand. "I'm going to bend you over my knee and spank you until your plump ass is red from my hand."
"And when he's done, it'll be my turn." Nathan touched the brim of his cowboy hat.
Drake blew me a kiss. "You have to deal with my punishment too. And I'll have you begging for more."
