Page 30 of Mates for the Rejected Wolf

I know I won’t have a message from Fern yet—she’s barely had enough time to get home—but I check my cell phone anyway. If Roddrur is there, just hiding away and licking his wounds, then I can get out and join them.

Something I’m keen to do before those sirens arrive. Once officials turn up, I am going to be stuck answering a whole bunch of questions that I don’t have the answer to. I can’t explain why I’m here and what I’m doing. I can’t explain everything that’s happened. Not without putting everyone in danger. Since I’ve never been the best at lying, I would rather be gone.

I hear what sounds like my name and turn towards the direction it came from.

Oh my God, it’s him. It’s Roddrur. He’s collapsed in a heap in the middle of his own fire. I rush to his side quickly and pull him out of his flames. He’s a little run down and not in the best condition, but I think he’ll be just fine.

“I’m getting you out of here,” I insist as I step backwards to shift. “Get on my back, okay?”

It’s a struggle, but, thankfully, Roddrur hauls himself up onto my back just in time. As I soar up out of the building I see the emergency vehicles pulling up, ready to put an end to the blaze.

Fuck, that almost didn’t work out. There were so many times when it almost went very wrong, but Roddrur was right. They needed us and I’m glad we risked everything to save Fern and the wolves. Now we just need to make sure they’re alright.

* * *

Roddrur has pretty much passedout by the time we arrive at Jace’s home, so I don’t think he hears the cries of agony coming from the small house in the woods. Again, I’m glad Jace lives in such an isolated area or we would never be able to keep ourselves a secret.

“What do we do?” Fern screams as I come through the door. “Slane, I don’t know what to do ease the pain Jace is in. It’s too much…”

“Hold on.” I flop Roddrur down on the couch, hoping all he really needs is to sleep it off, before I go get and dive into his bag of remedies. “I don’t know what Roddrur has here, but he might have something to help heal Jace.”

“Isn’t that stuff just for dragons, though?” Slane asks, panicked. “I don’t think it’ll work.”

“Do you have something else you want to try?”

He remains silent because he knows there is nothing that we can do. We can’t even risk bringing a doctor here because they would ask too many questions that we can’t answer without putting ourselves at risk again.

I’ll admit it, but only to myself, that I don’t know if this will work either, but Jace’s screams sound agonizing. It’s killing me to hear him this way. It must be absolute torture for Fern and Slane. At this point, I will try anything to help him.

“Ah, here we go.” I grab a bottle of Roddrur’s most powerful stuff. If anything is going to have any kind of impact on Jace, it will be this. “Try it.”

“What do I do with it?” Fern is shaking as she takes the bottle from me. “Does he drink it?”

“Pour it over his wounds. Once you have done that, we will see…”

Jace is covered in cuts and bruises. Digby must have been fucking vicious during the fight. I want to tear that asshole’s head from his body. I didn’t cause him nearly enough damage when I pulled him away from Jace after I entered the warehouse. Unfortunately, he was able to run away. Someone like Digby doesn’t deserve to live. He is a waste of air, working only to make the world a worse place. It’s hard for me to remain still while Fern pours Roddrur’s concoction over Jace’s body. The screams quieten, but I’m too afraid to be sure if that is a good thing.

“I think…I think it might be working,” Fern says, desperately hoping for the best, like we all are. “Don’t you think?”

Slane and I don’t answer, but I do take the bottle from her to heal Roddrur’s wounds. At least I can be sure that this will work on him. I then hand it off to Slane, and he pours it over his own wounds. Probably in solidarity with Jace, to show that he believes everything will be fine.

Exhausted, we all slump to the floor and wait. I don’t knowwhatwill happen next. I just want this nightmare to end.

* * *

I blinka few times. trying to I didn’t even realize that I’d drifted off, but I guess at some point I must have fallen asleep. It takes a couple of moments for me to remember everything that’s happened recently. When, I do, I jump to my feet, ready to seek out Roddrur and Jace to see if they’re okay.

Fern’s arms loop around me from behind, immediately making me feel a little calmer. I’m still worried, but my sunshine is back and making me feel okay.

“Jace is still asleep, but doing much better now,” she whispers in my ear. “The potion worked. I don’t know what it was, but it was freaking magic. Slane and Roddrur are on the terrace outside getting some fresh air. They are doing much better too.”

I spin around and kiss her, tasting her delicious lips with my own. I can’t believe how lucky we are to be here now. It was very touch and go there for a while and I didn’t know if any of us would make it, but here we are. I pick up Fern and twirl her around as we kiss, letting out a little laugh of joy. Right now, I feel like I’m the luckiest man alive.

“So, what now?” I ask curiously as she slides down to the floor in front of me. “What happens next? Do we know what the damage is?”

Fern shrugs. “A little. I mean, we know that the stash house is gone. Or mostly gone anyway. There might be some of it left, but nothing solid and meaningful. The cops have already raided it, so even if they are being paid by the Nightshade Hunters, they will havehadto confiscate everything to make a good show for the town. That will mess up the dealing for a while and will hopefully set them back financially. There haven’t been any reports of Harley’s body being found in the fire yet, so he might have escaped. I’m sure he will do something to get them back on track in no time if he’s still alive.”

“That’s okay. We will be there to stop them again,” I say reassuringly.

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