The Wolfborne Saga Box Set

by Cheree Alsop

  I turned my head to give her a small smile. “No. I came up against a ghost eater who wanted to have Ceren for breakfast.”

  Mrs. Willard’s gaze searched mine. “And you say you found her body?” Her tone was level as though she fought to hide how she felt about it.

  I could understand her fear. “She was trapped from the earthquake. I think that’s what made her come find me, but as a ghost, she didn’t know what had happened to her.” I rubbed my forehead. “She was pinned in water. It may have kept her alive, but barely.”

  “She’ll be alright,” James reassured me. “She must be stubborn to have put up with you.”

  That brought a smile to my lips. “True.” My smile quickly faded. “But she was bad, James, really bad.”

  I was about to say more when the cellphone in my pocket rang. The noise was so unexpected I jumped.

  “Whoa!” James said, holding up a hand. “It’s just a phone.” He shot me a surprised look. “When did you get a phone?”

  I pulled it out of my pocket. “It’s Alia’s,” I explained. “Virgo’s supposed to call when they find anything out.”

  Virgo’s name appeared on the screen. I tried to push the button to answer it, but my hands were shaking to a comical degree. Blood loss, a long trek through the woods, and the stress of not knowing whether the girl I cared about was dying had an impact on my nervous system my body didn’t apparently care for.

  “I’ve got it,” James said. He took the phone from me, pressed one button and then another one with a speaker symbol. “Virgo, what’s going on?” he called out.

  “James, thank goodness,” the warlock replied. “So Zev’s not dead?”

  James shot me a look. “Almost,” he said. “But he’s too obstinate.”

  Virgo’s laugh was one of relief. “And the werewolves?”

  “Present and accounted for,” Virgo told him.

  We both looked at where Mrs. Willard was busy wrapping bandages around Mitch’s shoulder.

  “They’ll survive,” she said.

  “Mitch is alright?” I heard Alia ask.

  “Sounds like it,” Virgo told her. “They’re all at your house.”

  “Tell Mom I’ll come back as soon as I can to help,” Alia replied.

  Virgo relayed the message. Mrs. Willard gave a grateful sigh. “Stitches aren’t my strong point.” She gestured to Mitch. “At least in this form they can’t tell me how bad I am at it.”

  I couldn’t hold back my question any longer. I grabbed the phone from James. “Virgo, how’s Ceren?”

  Virgo’s voice was quiet when he said, “Not great, to be honest. The doctor said if she had been there any longer, we would have lost her.”

  I sat back in the chair. The reality of what he was saying struck hard. She wasn’t dead. If the doctor said that, then she was still alive.

  “What else are they saying?” James asked while looking at me.

  “That she’s weak enough to lose a fight to a mouse. One of her legs was crushed under that beam, but they have to wait until she’s strong enough to survive surgery. They’re giving her fluids and meds.”

  A rush of talking crowded the background so that we couldn’t hear what else Virgo was saying.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” James asked.

  Virgo’s voice came back muffled as though he had a hand over his mouth. “Her family just showed up.”

  Demanding voices, sobbing, a myriad of questions, and the crackle of a police radio took over.

  “Are you the one who found her?” a man’s voice asked.

  My heart slowed.

  Virgo mumbled something that sounded like, “Yes, with my friends.”

  “Thank you so much, oh thank you,” a woman said. “How will we ever thank you enough?”

  “We’re just glad we could help,” Alia replied.

  More crying was followed by other words of appreciation.

  “Virgo?” James said.

  The sounds faded as though the warlock had left the room. He sniffed a few times before he spoke again.

  “She hugged me so tight,” Virgo said, his voice thick. “I didn’t think she’d ever stop. Zev, you should be here.”

  I shook my head, realized he couldn’t see me, and said, “No. Not in this shape. There would’ve been too many questions.” I glanced at James. “And I had a run in with her brother the other day.”

  James stared at me. “You did?”

  I nodded. “I saw Ceren’s missing poster on a gas station wall and took it to ask her about it, but then I found the khavis and….”

  “And almost died,” James put in helpfully.

  I sighed and ran a finger along the edge of the table. “Yeah, then she saw it and got mad that I didn’t tell her about it. That was the last time I saw her until….” My throat tightened and I couldn’t speak any further.

  “Well, she’s hanging in there,” Virgo said. “You did a good job. Her family is really happy and the cops say they’re going to have the construction company fill in the tunnels so they aren’t a hazard to anyone else.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Mrs. Willard agreed. “Somebody needs to do something about that area. It’s completely hazardous.”

  The fact that Ceren was alright for the time being made me weak with relief. I lowered my head back to the table and listened to Virgo and James talk until their voices no longer made sense. Ceren was in the hospital surrounded by her family. They had their girl back. Her room would no longer be a shrine. The missing posters could be taken down.

  Mrs. Willard’s footsteps approached the table. “Let’s have a look at that side.”

  I untied the tee shirt with some effort and grimaced at the mess.

  “Dang,” James said. “Did that khavis have a machete?”

  “Close enough,” I replied.

  Mrs. Willard surveyed my pathetic, torn stitches and clucked her tongue with a chiding, “I’ve seen better work from Aspen, and she’s only eight. Who did this?”

  “I did,” I admitted.

  She exchanged a glance with James.

  “Don’t judge me,” I said with a tired smile. “I didn’t have a whole lot to work with. And you should see the other guy, or creature, or pile of bones. I think Professor Shipley’s going to have nightmares for a year.”

  Mrs. Willard motioned for me to stand up. “Let me finish patching the other werewolves while you shower. I’ll be able to work on that side better once I can figure out what’s what.” She gave me a worried, motherly look. “Think you can do that?”

  I nodded. “Of course. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  The fact that she didn’t believe me was obvious when she sent James along. The human made a pretense of checking for towels and setting more shirts and pants in the pile Mrs. Willard kept there for our use. I watched him until he ran out of things to do. It nearly made me laugh to see the way he looked uncomfortably at everything in the bathroom except me.

  “You can go,” I told him.

  He shook his head. “Mom threatened me with my life if I left you and you fell and hit your head or something.”

  I laughed at that. “I’ll be alright. After everything that happened today, I really doubt I’ll die in the shower.”

  “You sure?” he asked.

  At my nod, he grabbed a few hand towels from beneath the sink.

  “These should help scrub the worst of it. Mom won’t care. I’ll throw them in the washing machine when you’re done.”

  “Thanks,” I told him, taking the stack.

  When the door closed, I twisted the faucet. The warm water stung at first, but as I used the rags James had given me to clean my side, it started to ease the pain away into a comfortable numbness. The red blood turned the water pink in a hypnotic swirl. I saw Ceren’s face, the face of her brother, and heard the grateful cries of her family. I felt the body of the dog I carried off to safety and saw his tail wag when Alia spoke to him. I saw the khavis and the jakhins along with the ghost t
he bus swerved to avoid. I closed my eyes and remembered the feeling of holding the little boy as the bus careened around us into the bus stop. His mother’s gratitude rung in my ears along with the amazed shouts from the other humans.

  The rightness of it all shrouded me in a cloak of comfort. The things I had done may have been little, but they had made a difference. I highly doubted I would find my purpose at Professor Shipley’s college. The few days I had spent there were eventful, but I felt out of place as though no matter how hard I tried, I would never be satisfied going to classes and finding a career in this confusing world.

  That left a strange emptiness in the pit of my stomach. I wasn’t sure I could make a big enough difference in Brickwell to make up for the decisions of my past. Saving a toddler and rescuing a ghost and a dog were one thing, but lives had been ruined. There had to be a way to make up for that, I just didn’t know how to find it.

  A knock sounded on the door.

  “Zev, you alright?” James asked.

  I turned off the water. “I’m fine. Be right out.”

  “Okay, just wanted to make sure,” the human replied with relief in his voice.

  I held one of the rags to my side as I fumbled with a pair of loose pants that weren’t covered from top to bottom in blood. I grabbed another shirt, thought about the logistics of putting it on, and settled for throwing it over my shoulder for after the bandaging. A shudder ran over my skin. Stitches weren’t my favorite by far, but like Alia had said, at least they would keep me alive until nightfall. I opened the door and made my way down the hall.

  I found Alia, James, and Mrs. Willard sitting at the table. When I entered the kitchen, I fought back the urge to look behind me to see if their welcoming smiles were for someone else. It was still strange to feel as though people were happy to see me instead of afraid. At the Lair, being one of the top werewolves meant the others saw me as either a threat or someone to be fawned up to for protection. True, pure enjoyment of another’s company didn’t exist. It still took some getting used to in this different world.

  “You don’t look half-dead anymore,” Mrs. Willard said by way of a greeting.

  “I feel a lot better,” I told her.

  Alia motioned for me to use the chair she had pulled out next to the table. “I promised Mom I would take over,” she explained. “She’s a little frazzled from patching up the others.”

  Mrs. Willard shot me an apologetic look. “These hands were meant for cooking, not stitching. If I wanted to be a nurse instead of a chef, I would have made a few different life decisions.” She pulled on the apron that hung from the refrigerator door. “As it is, you all look famished. I’m thinking a big pot of chili mac will help with the healing process.”

  “Yes!” James exclaimed. He shot me a look. “You should fight paranormal creatures more often.”

  I chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Alia sorted through her supplies. The sight of the curved needle, sterilized thread, and bandages made my stomach turn over. I sat where she indicated and kept my gaze averted.

  “We’ll get it over as fast as possible,” she said quietly. “I know you’d rather be out there with the others watching the moon come up.”

  I glanced down at her understanding tone. Her gaze held mine, her hazel eyes warm. Hers had been the first expression of kindness I had ever seen. I felt the urge to take her in my arms and kiss her the way I had seen in movies. Perhaps then she would know how my heart rose whenever I saw her. Maybe she would leave Mitch and realize that she belonged with me.

  She looked away and reached for a set of plastic gloves.

  “Mitch was pretty banged up. I’m glad you guys made it back here safely.”

  The sound of my friend’s name shattered the longing that had fallen over me like a fist through glass. She didn’t belong to me. Nobody did. She had chosen Mitch and I needed to respect that decision.

  I turned my gaze out the window as the bite of the needle tracked fire along my skin. The first light of the rising moon peered through the trees. It held my attention, promising relief, strength, and recovery. I let it lull me into calmness with my fist clenched beneath the table where Alia couldn’t see it, and my muscles at a self-controlled relaxed state.

  “Wow,” Alia said a few minutes later. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”

  I looked down to see four sets of small stitches lining my side, holding the wound together. Sometime during the process, sweat had broken out across my skin. Relief washed over me with a comforting coolness. I pushed up to my feet and attempted to put the tee shirt on without pulling too hard on the stitches. I stilled when Alia’s gentle hands worked the opening over my head and slid the soft fabric over my arms.

  I cleared the tightness from my throat. “Thank you. I’m going to head out,” I told her. “Catch the moonlight for a bit.”

  “Maybe in a little while we can go to the hospital?” Alia suggested. “I think it would be good for you to see Ceren in person and have closure. You went through a lot for her.”

  I hesitated at the door. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I said even though my heart lifted at the suggestion. “It could be dangerous.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  A few hours later found Virgo and I walking through the hospital hallways. Talking the others into staying at the Willards’ hadn’t been difficult. Everyone was exhausted and needed to sleep. The realization that I wouldn’t be able to rest until I saw her had eventually driven me to call the warlock. I was almost surprised at how quickly he had accepted.

  As we made our way through the long, sterilized corridors, my heart began to race.

  “Just remember, if you see her family, run,” the warlock told me in a hushed voice.

  I shot him an exasperated look fueled by the tiring day. “You don’t think that’d be a little suspicious?”

  “More suspicious than you showing up here after her brother caught you taking her missing poster?” Virgo shot back.

  I had to admit that he was right.

  “Maybe we’re making a mistake,” I told him, slowing.

  He shook his head. “Nonsense. Let’s go see her. You sacrificed a lot to save her life. It’d be nice for you to see that it was all worth it.”

  I didn’t have an argument for that. Maybe if I could see her, the worries that had chased themselves continuously through my thoughts after listening to her dying heartbeat would stop. It was worth the peace of mind if nothing else.

  I looked down each hall we passed, expecting some nurse or doctor to chase us out; but it was after regular hospital hours and the skeleton staff appeared to have better things to do than worry about security breaches.

  “This way,” Virgo whispered.

  I followed him up another hall. The scent of antiseptic stung my nose. The odor of bandages, cleaners, medicine, and plastic made an unpleasant cacophony that cluttered my senses.

  “Her room is in there,” he said quietly, pointing. He held up a hand and motioned toward a room on the other side of the hall. “Last time we were here, they had the family wait in there. Her parents said that we were family because we helped to find her.” He gave me a little shrug. “I might not have had a lot to do with it, but it’s nice to be acknowledged once in a while.”

  That brought a wry chuckle from me. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  “Immensely,” he replied.

  We peeked into the room across from Ceren’s. The sight of her family sprawled out on the uncomfortable chairs, a couch, and even the floor made my heart twinge. They looked as exhausted as I felt. Ceren’s mother rested her head on her husband’s shoulder. She stirred slightly and we jumped back. When we looked at the sleeping family again, they were still.

  “Let’s hurry,” Virgo whispered.

  We rushed across the hall and slipped into the darkened room. I stopped short. Virgo ran into my back and nearly bowled me into the nurse who was checking Ceren’s vitals.

  She
turned in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  “We’re, uh…,” Virgo stammered.

  “Are you family?” she asked with a suspicious expression. “Because only family can be in here.”

  “We’re not family,” Virgo began.

  I was about to leave when he grabbed my arm.

  “But Zev is the one who found her. Her, uh, family doesn’t, uh, like him, so he couldn’t come see her.”

  I stared at the warlock. He elbowed me in the ribs.

  I winced and lowered my gaze. “Yeah,” I said quietly.

  “Oh, that’s so sad,” the nurse exclaimed. She looked from me and Virgo to the door behind us. “Well, I’m not supposed to do this, but I don’t see the harm in letting you say hi.” She gave me a warm smile. “It’s the least we can do for the one who saved her life.”

  Amazed that Virgo’s story had worked, I thanked her.

  “I’ll give you five minutes,” she said, excusing herself. She gave me another beaming smile. “And thanks again. By the sound of things, you saved her from something terrible.”

  I waited until the door closed before turning back to Virgo. “The family doesn’t like me?”

  He held up his hands. “It’s not a lie! Besides, this might be the only chance you’ll get.”

  “Chance to what?”

  The sound of a very familiar, weak voice made me turn.

  “Ceren?” I said.

  She looked so small and frail on the stark white bed. Tubes ran into her arms and another went to her nose. Her head wound had been cleaned and bandaged and her leg was suspended in a sling. When her eyes met mine, I didn’t know what to say or do. Her gaze moved between me and Virgo.

  “Who…who are you?” she asked.

  Virgo shot me an apologetic look. “Just some friends,” he said. “We won’t be long. We just wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

  Ceren blinked slowly. It looked as though it took an effort for her just to open her eyes again. “Well, thank you,” she said.

  Virgo gave me a little shrug with a sad smile. “I’ll, uh, keep watch,” he told me.

  He turned away before I could stop him and slipped out the door.