Between Two Wolves (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Menage Werewolf Romance) Page 7

  “There. Just lie there and die.” He pushed off of me. I wanted to sit up, to scream, to do something. But a tiny part of my brain told me I was probably better off just being still, and for once I listened to that little voice.

  I reached up, almost tenderly, touching my neck. When I pulled my hand away, there was blood, so much blood. Too much blood, it seemed. I closed my eyes, putting my hand over the cut, praying to every deity I could imagine to let me live, to end this nightmare.

  The door crashed inward, and I opened my eyes, watching as it shattered into a thousand rotten splinters. Behind it was Colt, as wolf, followed by Jericho, as human. Colt shook himself briefly, eyes locked on Weatherly. Weatherly still held the knife and he rushed the wolf, bring the knife around in a big arc. It all looked like slow motion. His footing is off…wild punch…won’t connect…

  It didn’t. Colt ducked easily, coming around, snapping at Weatherly’s legs. He bit hard, teeth sinking into Weatherly’s thigh. Blood ran down his dirty uniform, mixing with old blood and dirt. I took grim satisfaction that Weatherly was bleeding too. But I didn’t have the energy to do much more than think about it.

  Jericho circled Colt and Weatherly, kneeling beside me. Weatherly’s grunts, and Colt’s growls filling the air. Jericho met my eyes, and it was pretty clear from the look in them that what he saw frightened him. I smiled, or tried to, tried to sit up.

  “Stay still.” Jericho’s voice was low. “Just stay still.”

  There was a crash behind Jericho, and I didn’t stay still. I wanted to see, to watch Colt. To know he was okay. Jericho sat down near my head. He’d torn off his t-shirt, and held it to my neck. I wasn’t sure if it was to stop the blood, or keep from having to look at whatever damage Weatherly had inflicted.

  Weatherly was down on the floor, Colt standing on his chest. One massive front paw held down Weatherly’s arm, now a bloody and torn appendage, but still clutching the knife. The other paw was on Weatherly’s neck. I gave a silent cheer at the sight of it.

  “Give it up, Weatherly. You’re done for.” Jericho’s voice seemed far away, really far. The room’s perspective seemed stretched somehow. Blood loss…you’re losing it…hold on…

  “Fuck you. Fuck both of you. And your hell cat.” For being pinned by a wolf, the man had spunk. Colt growled, shoving his face into Weatherly’s. I was pretty sure the growl was a returned “fuck you.” Then he lunged.

  “Don’t watch.” Jericho reached down, covering my eyes. I closed them, not because he said so, but because it seemed easier this way, to just lie here and rest. Suddenly I was tired. Sleep…just go to sleep…

  There was a terrible crunching sound, and a gurgle that filled my ears. Then there was nothing, just the sound of my heart beating out its last rhythm. At least you met some cool guys…had a good weekend…

  “She’s not going to last long. We can’t take her back to the cabin.” That was Jericho. My blonde Viking…

  There was a snuffle, and a wet tongue licking my hand. I opened an eye, almost on the same level with Colt. He nudged me again, whining low in his throat. I wanted to tell him I was sorry, that I wished I’d met them under better circumstances. Maybe when I wake up…

  “Colt…you gotta do it. Before it’s too late.”

  There was movement, someone lifting me, holding me upright. I opened my eyes to see Colt beside me. He nuzzled my face, his wet nose in my ear. I wanted to laugh because it tickled, but it seemed like a whole lot of work. So I tried to smile.

  I was cold, bone cold. I knew I was more or less sitting on Jericho’s lap, that his arms were around me, but I couldn’t feel anything. Not the warmth of his embrace, or the solid presence of him behind me. It seemed like everything was growing colder around me, and I half expected to see my breath. But it was still summer.

  Colt’s muzzle brushed against my neck. He whined again, a tentative sound.

  “Do it…now, Colt.”

  There was a blinding flash of pain. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to scream, succeeding only in making a muffled groan. Then again, more pain, and Colt’s body pressing me back against Jericho. What the hell were they doing to me? They were supposed to save me!

  Heat flooded through me, intense, almost unbearable. I could feel everything, arms, legs, fingers, toes…in a way that I really didn’t like. It was like being dumped head first into one of the steaming hot springs. I wanted out of my skin.

  “Red? Hey…can you open your eyes? Look at me.”

  I forced my eyes open, looking up at Jericho. “Yeah…okay.” The room was brighter now, things coming into focus. But there was a roaring in my head that made his words garbled, indistinct.

  “Can you hear me?”

  I nodded. “Yeah…shhh…” His voice only made the roaring louder. “I’m okay. Just don’t talk right now…”

  “You’re not okay. But we need to get you to our cabin. I’m going to pick you up now, okay?”

  I really didn’t have a say in that decision. I was lifted in the air, flying I thought, even though I knew that was impossible. People didn’t fly. But then we were out in the forest, the cool air a blessed relief against my feverish skin. Maybe I was dead, and an angel, flying through the forest. I closed my eyes again, or they were still closed, I wasn’t sure. I decided I’d completely lost it, and that taking that nap now might be a good idea. I let go of reality, and let myself go someplace else, someplace far away. The roaring faded, and everything went silent and black.

  Chapter Six

  Everything was silent. The roaring in my head was gone, replaced with a migraine. I could tell, without opening my eyes, that it was light outside. But eyes closed were fine for right now.

  I was in a bed, so that must mean I was in Jericho and Colt’s cabin. Some snippet of conversation came back, something about bringing me here, after…after what?

  “Oh, geez…”

  After Colt had killed Weatherly. After Weatherly had tried to kill me. And come damned close. I reached up, touching my neck. There was a bandage wrapped around my throat, a really big bandage. Weatherly must have done quite a number with his knife. I let my hand fall back onto the bed.

  “Hey…you awake?”

  I opened my eyes enough to look toward the voice, toward Colt. He stood in the doorway, hair pulled back in a low ponytail. I smiled.

  “Yeah.” My voice came out a weak little croak. “I’m awake.”

  He crossed the room and sat on the bed. “You’ve been out for a few days.” He took my hand, chafing my fingers in his. “We’re glad you’re back with us.”

  “Me too.” I tried to sit up, but my body didn’t really want to cooperate.

  “Here…you’re going to be weak for a while.” Colt helped me sit up, propping pillows behind me. “Better?”

  “Yeah. Better.” A wave of vertigo sent my head spinning. I swallowed, my dry throat clicking. “Can I have some water?”

  “Yeah. Okay. Here…” He poured a glass from a pitcher on the bedside table. “Drink slow. Your throat’s probably a little bruised.”

  The water was cool, felt like heaven, but he was right. It reminded me of having my tonsils out as a kid. All the ice cream you want…except you can’t swallow it.

  “What happened?” I handed him back the glass.

  “Hey, you’re awake.”

  I looked past Colt at Jericho. He smiled, crossed the room and sat on the other side of the bed. Same thing, took my hand, held me as if I was made of fine china.

  “She wants to know what happened.”

  I wasn’t that out of it that I didn’t catch the glance between the guys. There was a long moment of weighted silence. Jericho finally blew out a sigh.

  “Yeah. Okay. It’s complicated. I don’t know what Weatherly told you…”

  “He said a lot of stuff about you guys, none of made much sense though. I got the feeling he thought you two had something he wanted. And then…” The feel of the knife was back, the pressure, the non-pain of the cut.
“He wanted me, but then he didn’t.” I shrugged, at a loss to really explain anything else. Colt nodded.

  “Weatherly’s been after us for a long time. We live here, on family land…Jericho’s family to be honest; the land that’s not part of the park. I was raised on the other side of Black Wolf. The mountain’s named after my clan. But shifters lead a very dangerous life, even on land that’s pretty inaccessible. Weatherly’s from north of here. Long story short, clan rivalry, clan betrayal. Jericho and I teamed up; Weatherly decided he’d rather be the proverbial lone wolf, than join a clan that’s not his.”

  “So he’s…was…a shifter too?” I was relieved that I used the right term this time.

  “Yeah. We’re all that’s left of three different clans. I think being alone took a toll on Weatherly, sent him off the deep end, into some dark place that he couldn’t get out of. There was some really nasty stuff that happened in his clan, near the end. It wasn’t good, from what we heard.”

  “What happened to your families?” It hurt to talk, but there were questions I wanted answers to. “You’re the last of your clans?”

  Jericho nodded “Yeah. We’re it. We decided a long time ago that two against the world was better odds than going it alone. This land…my clan’s land…has never been part of the park. It goes back a long, long way in my family, further than even Colt’s claim to his lands. The deed’s structured in a way that whoever occupies the cabin, as long as they can prove they’re part of the family, owns the land. Someone was smart, a long time ago.” He gave me a crooked smile. “Smarter than the average wolf, I guess. Colt wasn’t so lucky though. Or Weatherly.”

  “My family’s land ended up being taken over by the state. Eminent domain. Turned Black Wolf into a park. I still think of it as my land, even though it’s full of hikers and backpackers. Ruffles my fur to see them, present company excluded.” He squeezed my hand and smiled at me, and I squeezed back.

  “Thanks for that. So he’s been after you just because…”

  “Because he could, because he’d gone round the bend? Because he was jealous, wanted something he thought was better than what he had? Who knows? Weatherly was just plain crazy, either from isolation or because he drove himself there, on his own. The man was full of hate.” Colt shifted on the bed so he was sitting beside me. I moved a little, sharing the pillows. Jericho took the cue and sat on the other side. Sandwiched between them, I felt safe and warm and less out of my body than I had. But something was still off.

  “So Weatherly tried to kill me, right? With a knife?”

  “Yeah,” Colt said. “We got there too late…”

  “And saying we’re sorry is never going to make that better.” Jericho squeezed me, hard enough to almost pull me over. “We messed up, big time. But we’ll never do that again.”

  “You didn’t get there too late. You got there in time, or I wouldn’t be here, right?” I touched my neck again. “You saved me.”

  From the silence between them, I knew there was more to the story. Colt was the first to say anything.

  “About that…you’re right…we saved you. It wasn’t exactly what we’d planned, but it was the only way to save your life.”

  Something inside of me clicked, words that Weatherly had said coming back to me.

  “He said he was going to bite me…bite me, mark me, make me his.” It sounded like a demented chant. “What did he mean?”

  “Red…” Colt coughed, started again. “Red, to make someone who isn’t a shifter into one, we bite them. Bite them while we’re shifted. It…does more than just make you one of us. It also can save someone. Like you.”

  “Save me? From Weatherly?”

  “No. Save you from dying. Weatherly cut your throat. You were bleeding to death when we got there. The only way to save you was to change you.”

  I twisted around, ignoring protests from both of them. I faced Colt. “You bit me? In that shack?”

  I’d never had anyone look at me like Colt did. There was a hopelessness to that look, but there was something beneath that, a stubbornness that said he’d do it again, given the chance. And a lift to his chin that dared me to challenge what he’d done.

  “You saved my life.” Not a question about it. No challenge to his actions. His face relaxed, his smile returning. “I’m one of you now. A shifter?”

  “Yeah. I did. You are.”

  I looked at Jericho. “I’m part of his clan, right? Not yours. Does that change anything between us?”

  Jericho shook his head, and chuckled. I could see the look of surprise and relief on his face that of all possible questions, that was my main one. “It doesn’t have to. I really don’t mind. I just want to be with you…I don’t care about anything else.” He looked a little confused. “You seem awfully calm for someone who’s just been told she’s been bitten by, mated to, and turned into a shifter. Most people, from what I’ve heard, tend to be a little more…agitated, maybe…with that much information.”

  I sat for a minute, looking out the window. I could see trees and what I thought was probably the top of Black Wolf. It was nice, this room, this view. I could do worse.

  “Red? You okay?”

  I looked back at Colt and Jericho. The guys I’d met yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that. I wasn’t sure when, really. My head hurt, worse than any migraine I’d ever had. But I knew they’d risked their life for me, and they’d taken it on faith that doing what they did was the best thing for me. It seemed only logical that I take it on faith that it was the right thing.

  “If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m not like most girls.” That got a laugh from Colt, and a sound from Jericho that just made me shake my head.

  “Could be that I’m a writer. I’ve written stuff that’s stranger than fiction. Although this is right up there with strange. But I’ve thought about what other kinds of lives would be like. Obviously I thought they were all fictitious, just stuff I made up. This is like finding out the fairy tale is real.”

  I sank back against the pillows. Exhaustion swept through me like a summer breeze. I yawned, a rather inelegant gesture, considering.

  “I’m tired. Is that normal?”

  Jericho slid out from beside me. “Yeah. You did lose a lot of blood. And Colt’s bite was on the aggressive side.”

  “Hey…I’ve never done this before. And it wasn’t under ideal circumstances.” He sat up, easing me back onto the pillows. I sank into them, breathing out a sigh. I could feel consciousness dissolving, sleep taking over.

  “Just rest, Red. We’ll be around, checking on you. If you need anything, just let us know.”

  “How will you hear me?” I closed my eyes. Hands tucked the blankets around me, pulled the curtains, and doused the bedside light.

  “Red, we’re wolves. We can hear you breathing.”

  I smiled, imagining them sitting somewhere close by in the dark, counting my breaths, my heartbeats. For others it might seem creepy. But it put my mind and heart at ease, and I fell asleep knowing I was safe.

  Chapter Seven

  There were noises…crashing...things breaking. The scent of rotten wood, splinters in my fingers. Splinters in my neck. Clawing to get them out…someone cutting them out with a knife. My Dad used tweezers…when I was a kid…

  Everything hurts…my neck…my body. I want Colt…Jericho…teeth.

  I thought I was awake. Or that I was dreaming.

  I screamed. And again. And then fell into something not really close to sleep, but further away from death than I had been.

  * * *

  The next time I woke up—really woke up—it was dark. Someone was sitting in the chair in the corner, snoring softly.

  “Jericho?”

  “Hey…” He sat up, the chair creaking. “How do you feel?”

  “Tired. But better. Not so wiped out though. My head is all fuzzy. I think I had a bad dream.”

  “You mumbled a lot, screamed sometimes. We’ve been taking turns sitting with y
ou, to wake you up. But you were really out of it.”

  I nodded. Out of it was a pretty good description.

  “Are you hungry?”

  I sat up, adjusting the pillows. Jericho turned on the lamp beside his chair. There were dark circles under his eyes, and I wondered how long he’d been sitting there, watching me sleep.

  “No. I’m good. Maybe later. What time is it?”

  “Late…not far off dawn, I think. I lost track of time. I do know you’ve been sleeping for the better part of twenty-four hours.”

  I stretched, easing the kinks out of my shoulders and neck. “You know how you feel when you go to the movies in the afternoon, and it’s dark when you come out? Kind of disoriented? I feel like that.”

  Jericho laughed, stood up and crossed the room. “Yeah. It’s been a long time since I’ve been off the mountain, but I know what you mean.”

  “Can you get Colt? I want to talk to you guys. Together.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  I sat in the dim light, listening to Jericho going downstairs, then outside, to his and Colt’s voices. I could hear them, from up here. The guys came in, and then there were footsteps on the stairs, louder as they came down the hall.

  “Red. You okay?”

  “I could hear you, hear almost everything you said, even outside.”

  Colt broke into a big grin. “See? You are one of us now.”

  I started shaking uncontrollably, my mind spinning. “One of you? I thought…that was all true? I thought I dreamed all of that…stuff about being bitten…being changed.”

  Jericho sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s true, all of it. Do you remember the rest of it? Weatherly…”

  “Yeah. I remember him…the knife…blood…” I touched my neck. There was a bandage…really just a big bandage, nothing like I thought I remembered. There had been something bigger around my neck.