Page 50 of The Wolf Slayer

The shadow came closer and spoke with a soft voice.

“Niev, it’s me, Seth. We won’t hurt you.” Seth’s voice was the last thing she heard before losing consciousness.

As the darkness faded and her mind cleared, she felt warm arms holding her. Still fighting the fatigue that had overcome her body, her eyes remained closed. Yet she still knew those arms holding her weren’t Blake’s. Blake smelled different, like a rainy day in the forest, but these arms smelled like a wet dog drenched in blood. She started to move, but the arms wouldn’t loosen their grip. She started kicking and pushing whoever was holding her.

“Niev, it’s me, Seth. I won’t hurt you, but I need you to stop moving. Your wounds are deep.” Seth’s voice was shaking. Hearing how terrified he was, she finally opened her eyes and met Seth’s fearful ones.

“Let me go.” Her voice was weak but nonetheless demanding. Seth didn’t move, which made her furious. “Now! If I survive jumping off a cliff a few scratches won’t harm me. LET GO!”

In his confusion, he subconsciously loosened his grip. Before he could realize what he’d done, she freed her arm and punched him in the face. The unexpected pain made him let her go. She rolled off his lap and quickly tried to get up while looking around for Blake. That’s when she realized they were moving.

She was in the back of the pickup truck driving through the woods. She tried to locate Blake, but she couldn’t see him anywhere. She turned around to see where they were and saw the big rusty metal gate that guarded the entrance to the village.

She looked back at Seth, his eyes now wide open. With a shaky hand he pointed at her back and started stuttering his next words.

“How? You were slashed open. You lost so much blood. I was able to see past your broken bones.”

“Surprise! You’re not the only one with a secret. Now tell me where Blake is!” She didn’t mean to be bossy, but the urge to find Blake was stronger than ever.

“They are taking him to Christa.” Still pointing at her back, his face paled even more. “How did you heal so fast? I was sure you would die in my arms.”

“How is he? Those wolves were ruthless. He was in really bad shape. The white wolf clawed me before I could do anything to help.” She leaped toward Seth and grabbed him by his shoulders. “Seth, tell me he will survive because I won’t if he doesn’t.”

She knew her words were true. Her heart ached as if something was tearing it apart. She wouldn’t be able to survive his death. She needed Blake to live.

“Niev.” Seth’s voice was somber, a sound she was terrified of. “I don’t know.”

She was about to jump off the moving truck and run down the road herself, but Seth grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to his chest while she tried to fight him.

“No, you’ll get there faster if you stay on the truck.”

She couldn’t defy him if she wanted to. His strength effortlessly overpowered her. She admitted defeat by relaxing her body.

“Good. Now tell me how you healed so fast.”

“I don’t know why. Whenever I get hurt, no matter how severe, I heal–even if the injuries should’ve killed me. I still feel pain though, even lose consciousness. When I wake up, I’m fully healed from whatever injuries I’ve endured.”

The truck slowed down and drove around the corner, stopping by the path that led to Christa’s house. Seth let go of her and Niev jumped off the truck, running as fast as she could down the path toward Christa’s cabin. Mayra, Tanner, Bill, and a few others she didn’t know stood in front of the house. They looked at her as if they were seeing a ghost. Niev ignored each and every one of them and burst through Christa’s front door.

Blake had shifted back into his human form and was lying on the examination table with Christa leaning over him. Niev slowly walked toward his blood covered body, gaping wounds all over his body. The worst was his shoulder. It was so deep she could see shattered bones and torn muscles.

“Oh, my sweet Blake.” She was too afraid to touch him. Instead, she gently kissed his forehead while watching his chest, wanting to make sure he was still breathing.

“Niev, I need to take a look at you. They said you were attacked too.” Christa’s voice was soft but full of worry.

“I’m fine. Could everyone please stop worrying about me and start worrying about Blake?” She was angry. All she cared about was Blake.

“I promise you, I’ve done all I can for him. Now please let me check on you and your baby.”

Christa gently grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Blake, leading her toward the couch. Suddenly, Niev felt a heavy weight on her heart as she touched her belly and rubbed over the spot where her unborn baby would be.

During the whole ordeal she hadn’t once thought about her little gift growing inside of her. The guilt of forgetting her child and putting it in such great danger was an unbearable weight on her soul. Her legs started to shake, and tears ran down her cheeks. Christa wrapped her arms around her waist, helped her to the couch, and gently sat her on it. She lifted Niev’s shirt and inspected her stomach closely.

“Was your womb punctured or hurt?”

“I don’t think so.”

Niev was questioning herself. Up to that point, she thought the wolf had only clawed her back, but now all she could remember was the awful pain.

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