Page 77 of The Wolf Slayer

Christa was right, Niev wouldn’t stop till Tristan was safe.

She tried to stay calm and steady for as long as she could, but Blake noticed far too soon that she was beginning to feel the blood loss and the pain getting to her head. He laid his arm around her shoulders and took the scalpel out of her hands.

“You did all you could.”

“I promised him,” she mumbled, her voice much weaker than she’d expected.

“And you kept it–you did all you could. Now we wait and let him heal.”

He picked her up, carrying her inside the cabin. Niev could see Tristan’s mother hesitantly walk over to her son, her face a mixture of anger, hate, worry, and fear.

Blake walked inside and sat her on the couch. He walked to the back of the cabin and returned with a glass of water and a plate of sandwiches. Niev emptied the glass with one gulp, and it only took a few more moments for the sandwiches to be gone too. Blake sat next to Niev, and she laid her head in his lap.

“He never told me about the fight with Terra. I’m his best friend and he never told me. We used to share all our worries with each other,” Blake muttered, utterly devastated.

“I’m sure he didn’t want to worry you.” She reached her hand up and caressed his face. “Tristan and I agreed that my promise would be between us. He didn’t want anyone to know how scared he was. He didn’t say it, but I’m sure he was afraid that others may deem him weak if they knew how he truly felt.”

Blake fell into a deep silence in which he rubbed over her lower stomach where their baby was growing. He was exhausted, his eyes tired. She wanted to cheer him up, or at least give him something less worrisome to think of.

“I’ve thought about baby names. I know it’s probably not the right time, but I wanted to think of that rather than having to worry about you out there.”

A smile lit up the darkness in his face. “Did you find any you liked?”

“I’m not sure. I thought maybe a name that carries the meaning of wolf, night, or moon. Is that weird?”

“No, beautiful, but if you’re at it, maybe a name that resembles a warrior would be fitting too.”

That made Niev blush. She didn’t see herself as a warrior. Warriors were strong, powerful, and respected unlike herself.

“What names have you come up with?”

“Aruna which means the moon love, Ayla which means halo of light around the moon, Luna which is obvious, Lelou and Waya which both mean wolf, and maybe Silver but I’m not sure about that as a name.”

“Some packs call the mate of their Alpha, Luna. She’s the moon on earth to their pack.”

“That’s beautiful. So, Luna is off the list then.”

“Silver is a strong name for a wolf–let’s keep it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, beautiful.”

She was surprised. It was a good name for a wolf, but a unique and unusual name for a human. The door opened and Christa stepped in, she looked as tired as Niev felt. Christa came over and sat down in her armchair.

“How is Tristan?” Blake’s voice was shaking as he mentioned his best friend’s name. “Will he survive?”

“Thanks to Niev, he will. He is still in his wolf form and Seth is watching over him. His mind is slightly clouded but he will stay in his wolf form until he’s healed just in case.” She then turned to Niev. “That is two lives our pack owes to you.”

She sighed, got out of her chair, walked to one of the cabinets, and came back with a doppler in her hands. Kneeling in front of Niev, she turned it on.

“Let me try and see if I can hear your baby’s heartbeat. You have been under a lot of pressure lately, more than any pregnant woman I know. I want to make sure everything is good.”

Niev lifted her shirt and held down the elastic band of her pants. She watched as Christa placed the doppler on her lower stomach, just above her pubic bone.

“Isn’t it still too early to hear the heartbeat?”

“For a normal fetus yes, but your baby has wolf blood. They are stronger and grow a little differently. Sometimes I’m lucky, and I can find the heartbeat this early in pregnancy. I know Blake can hear it otherwise he wouldn’t be this calm, but I would like to try and hear it for myself. I want to hear with my own ears that everything is okay.”

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