Page 35 of Married to the Wolf

“Exactly.”

She bit her lip. Her husband was so powerful he could affect the minds of his men. She couldn’t comprehend it, but she believed what Alex was telling her. “Where’s Tom?”

“Dead.”

She sagged against the wall.

“Sophia…” He panted. “Go back. Please. Before he cries out again.”

“How can I help him?”

“If you don’t know anything about digging bullets out, try to reach him through the pain. That might help. And don’t worry. It’s impossible for him to hurt you.”

Easy for you to say.

She headed back to the room and stood in the doorway. Sebastian’s gaze locked with hers. He’d been waiting eagerly for her to come back and seemed relieved that she returned safe. Regardless, the glassy quality of his eyes worried her. She could still feel the crazy heat coming off his body. Hopefully, it was natural in the healing process.

“Sebastian, I’m just going to get the basin of water from Ava, okay? I need to wipe you down and try to get you cooler. Hang on.”

He moaned, and she ran down to grab the basin. All the water had spilled onto the floor so she hurried back to their room and used their bathroom to refill it. At Sebastian’s bedside, she sat down and began ringing out the cloth in the water. She ran it across Sebastian’s damp forehead and then set it aside.

“Let’s get this shirt off you.”

He roared in pain when she lifted him just a little. She clenched her jaw, but tears streamed down her cheeks, blurring her vision. After she got the material off him and tossed it aside she saw where he had been wounded. The contents of her stomach threatened to come up into her throat, but she swallowed again and again. Gashes in his side and his back bled out, and she had to choke off a sob.

“Oh God, Sebastian, I don’t know what to do. All I know about is applying pressure. Please be okay. They say you can heal yourself. Do it. I can’t lose you.”

He tried opening his eyes wider, but his lids were heavy. When she did get a glimpse of the golden depths, they were filled with misery. “So…ph…”

She ran back for the small case Ava was carrying and opened it to find bandages. Working clumsily, she cleaned away the excess blood and wrapped his wounds the best she could. At the worse spot—just behind his right shoulder—she pressed hard and kept her hands in place.

“I love you so much, Sebastian,” she whispered. “I don’t say it enough, but I do. You told me how you felt almost right away. My big macho man, who leads so many people and runs a corporation, you never felt too proud to admit how much you care. I admire that in you, and it’s what won my heart.”

His eyes shut, and he didn’t try to open them again. She leaned closer as his breathing grew shallow. The heat hadn’t lessened one bit, and she worried she was losing him. Out in the hall, someone screamed in pain. She dared not leave Sebastian to investigate.

“Sebastian?”

He didn’t move.

She leaned closer. “Sebastian, you’re hurting them. Baby, try to rein it in. I don’t know how it works with you all, but I know you wouldn’t want them suffering like this. Try, please.”

He didn’t answer, but his ears grew fuzzy with animal hair and changed shape so that the top edges grew pointed. Was he going to completely shift? She wasn’t sure if she should keep talking to him or just wait. The transformation continued but slowly. A rippling of something under his skin startled her, and she looked on in fascination.

Her fingers ached from holding the same position so long. She ignored the pain, knowing he experienced far worse. If this little bit helped him, she was all for it.

“Sebastian, are you still with me?”

The door burst open, making her jump. She looked around to find Alex and Michael. They stumbled into the room and hit their knees, heads bowed. Behind them were Ava and the girls. The women didn’t venture farther than the doorway, but they too took the floor. Sophia and the rest of them sat in silent vigil.

Sophia’s head began to dip. She struggled to keep her eyes open. Her arms quaked and almost gave out, but she held on. An eternity passed, and exhaustion stole over her. She dipped her head, woke, dipped again. When sleep would no longer be put off, she fell forward, eyes closed, and fell face first into soft fur.

Chapter 10

Sophia sat bolt upright and looked around. She was still in her bedroom, but at some point someone had cleaned up all the mess from Sebastian’s injury. Her husband lay on the bed sleeping, but he was back in his human form. She carefully climbed over close to him and listened to his breathing. It sounded steady.

Something moved in her peripheral, and she turned to find all of the Guard lying in wolf form on the floor. They completely surrounded the bed. All slept except one half white half gray one. He kept watch, sitting up, and she marveled that his head reached higher than the bed.

“Which one are you?” she whispered.

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