by Dakota Brown
"We'll need to talk to Ed, but if it means we can protect her and keep her, it might be the best option."
Allan nodded. "We'll have to talk about it." He smiled slyly. "So, who's a better kisser, Ash or Nikolai?"
Doc sputtered.
"No really, I kind of want to know," Allan surprised himself by saying.
"Uh, probably Nikolai."
Allan laughed. "You both looked like you were enjoying yourselves."
Doc shivered and folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah."
"If you're worried about Sofia, I don't think she'll be mad."
"No, she'll probably understand."
"Nikolai was worried you're mad at him," Allan added.
"Not mad."
"Good. Why don't you go take a shower and change? You can't avoid everyone forever, anyway."
"I just needed a minute alone to calm down."
"Good, well, I think Ed and I are going to go run. If we don't see you before we leave, we'll see you when we get back."
Doc surprised Allan by pulling him into another hug. This one was a proper hug, and he squeezed tightly.
"Whatever did I do to deserve the two of you in my life?"
"Pissed someone off, I'd imagine," Allan replied with an amused smile.
Doc looked at him. "You know that's not what I meant."
"I do. We're grateful for you, too. We're pack."
Doc nodded. "Go run. I'll see you tonight. Be careful."
He tightened his grip for a moment before releasing Doc and leaving the room.
Ed had already changed and was waiting for him by the door. He went into the smaller bedroom he currently shared with Ed and shifted into wolf form. The forest called to him, and he intended to answer.
Chapter 11
Doc
Nikolai sat in the armchair, staring at the tablet they had given him. He looked up when Doc scuffed his foot so he wouldn't startle the mage as he returned to the living room.
He was surprised when the mage blushed, but Nikolai didn't say anything when he stretched out on the couch. Doc wasn't even sure how to define his feelings at the moment, but the mage still pulled on him in a way that was more than the delicious taste of his blood.
"I'm sorry," the mage finally admitted, touching his neck. "I pushed you harder than maybe I should have."
"I'm not mad, though I was pretty rough with you." He didn't quite apologize for it. The mage's neck was bruised, but it didn't look as bad as Doc had feared it might.
"I will heal quickly." He shrugged. "So, now you see why I should not teach Sofia. I would never do anything she didn't want, of course." Nikolai hunched his shoulders. It was obvious what he meant.
"We will have to talk about it more," Doc replied. "There are a lot of things we need to consider, but the most important thing is her safety." He hesitated. "We share her with each other. Maybe we need to expand our pack a little more."
Nikolai's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I had not considered that possibility."
"We would have to talk to Ed and Allan." Doc said. "Then Sofia, if we're all in agreement."
"I will think on it."
He nodded. "Of course." Doc's cheeks flushed as he pushed further. "And you'll have to ask Sofia if she's willing to share me."
Nikolai's jaw dropped for a moment, but he knew he hadn't misjudged the other man, especially when he smiled. "I may have to do that."
They fell into a relatively easy silence after that. Nikolai surfed the internet, and Doc finally pulled out his school tablet and tried to focus on grading papers. He had actually drifted off to sleep when the front door banged open. He was on his feet before he was fully awake.
Allan barked urgently, a sound he had never heard either of the werewolves make. The darker blond wolf collapsed to the ground and shifted back to human form.
Doc had seen them shift many times, but the process always fascinated him. It looked painful, but neither of them had complained as bones reformed, fur receded, and muscles pulled their shape back to a human one. It was different when he did it while borrowing their powers, so he didn't know how it felt for the wolves.
He looked around for Ed but didn't see the other wolf. Something must have happened. Especially if Allan was forcing himself to shift back to human form. It was easier if they just let it happen naturally while they slept.
Once he was done, he lay there, panting. "Follow my trail back. Ed's caught in a trap. It's bad," Allan gasped out.
Adrenaline surged through Doc, and he rushed to the door.
"Stay here," he ordered the exhausted werewolf.
"I am coming. I will slow you down, but you may need me," Nikolai insisted.
He nodded, and they ran out of the cabin and into the night. Using his nose, he followed Allan's trail, fighting against panic and forcing himself to keep to a pace Nikolai could match. The fear in the werewolf's scent made tracking him easier than normal. Especially since the wolf's scent covered Doc's land.
Nikolai managed to keep up reasonably well, and they both nearly skidded to a stop when they saw Ed.
The light blond werewolf had his front leg caught in what had to be a bear trap. Ed was lucky the thing hadn't taken his front leg clean off. He growled at the two men, lips pulled back to reveal long teeth.
Doc took a step forward, seeing red, but Nikolai put his hand on his chest to stop him, ignoring his angry snarl. "Look at his eyes."
Normally, Ed's eyes in wolf form were the same as his human eyes, sky blue. Now they looked like actual wolf eyes, dark brown.
"What did they do?" There was no question in his mind that the Andersons were behind this.
"Somehow, they blocked his humanity. He may be aware, but only the wolf has control. An injured werewolf could hurt you. I need to restrain him first."
"Go ahead."
Nikolai held his hands out, and blue motes filled the night, sinking into the ground. After a moment, vines twined out of the ground, growing quickly and encircling the wolf.
Ed fought, snarling and biting at them, but one wrapped up around his muzzle, and the vines trapped him to the ground.
The wolf glared at Nikolai, but couldn't move.
Doc stepped up to the trap and studied it. He knew how to open them, but Nikolai stopped him before he could try.
"Doc, there is a spell that steals humanity on this trap. Imagine what would happen if it stole yours."
He paled and stepped back.
"They are trying to hurt you, and they know what they're up against. They aren't aware you have a trained mage. Let me handle it for now."
"Thank you."
"Of course, now move."
Ed growled when Nikolai knelt near the trap. The Russian mage ignored the werewolf and held his hands over the trap. Blue motes sank into the spelled metal, and Nikolai muttered angrily in Russian.
After a short time, the trap snapped open and then disintegrated. Then Nikolai turned his attention to Ed.
"This is bad," he admitted.
"How bad?"
"It is a good thing both of us are here, or you would lose him, either to infection, or to the wild. Let him have some of your blood. It will stabilize his leg. It will be easier to combat the other spell if he is no longer in extreme pain."
He called his fangs back and, after removing his bracelet, sank his teeth into his wrist. He let the blood drip into Ed's muzzle. The vines loosened enough so that the wolf could lick the blood and swallow.
"That is probably enough," Nikolai said.
He nodded and licked the excess blood off of his wrist, which also helped to seal the wound, though it was closing quickly enough on its own. He put his bracelet back on and knelt next to Ed and Nikolai.
The mage muttered to himself for nearly half an hour, pouring magic into Ed. At some point, the wolf lost consciousness. "This is a nasty spell. It has the touch of demon magic to it, which is why it's so difficult to combat."
"Ash."
"Unless they have another pet
demon."
"We're trying to prevent that."
"I know. There, it is gone. He will recover. He just needs to rest. Can you carry him back?" Nikolai banished the vines holding the wolf down.
"Yes."
"Good. I will check for other traps and meet you back at the cabin." Nikolai stood, though he leaned against a tree for a few moments before he was able to stand on his own. "This altitude…"
"Be careful, Nikolai."
"Yes, of course. Watch your step on the way back. This is still your land?" He gestured to the ground where they stood.
"Yes, it is."
"Hopefully, they would not set such traps on public land, but it is hard to say what they are capable of."
"Yeah," Doc replied. He knelt and gathered the light blond wolf into his arms, trying not to hurt him any further. Nikolai had done a decent job with the wound. The wolves healed nearly as quickly as Doc did, but something like this would take a while.
He walked carefully, all senses alert, as he carried Ed back to the cabin. Allan was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and looking both terrified and miserable, when Doc made it back to the cabin.
"Is he going to be okay?" Allan cried, his voice catching.
"Yes. Nikolai was able to reverse all of the spells, and we healed him enough to stabilize his wound."
"Those bastards," Allan growled.
"They're going to be sorry," he ground out.
"Damn straight they are." He followed Doc back to the bedroom and crawled into the bed next to where he laid Ed.
"I'm going to clean this wound. We'll clean it again and really bandage it when he shifts back," he said. "Get some rest, Allan. You look like hell."
"Feel like it. You're sure he's going to be okay?"
"There is a spell for that." Doc imitated Nikolai's accent, and Allan sort of laughed.
"Good. Hopefully there is also a spell for kicking the Andersons' asses."
"Yes, there is a spell for that, too," Nikolai said as he came into the room. "Many spells. I am battle mage. I believe I mentioned that. When we finally meet in combat, they will not know what hit them."
Chapter 12
Sofia
"What happened to your neck?!" I blurted when I saw Nikolai the next morning. He and a very subdued Doc met me outside my dorm room when I went down for breakfast.
"It is long story," he answered, cheeks coloring. "Later."
"I'm surprised to see you two."
"You're sick." Doc twisted his lips wryly. "And so are we. We need to talk, and we can't do it here, so I canceled my classes for the day, and you have a doctor's note if you need one for any of yours."
"I only have two today, and I'm caught up. Let's go." I wanted to ask what had happened, but I knew we couldn't talk about it until we were someplace safe.
I fell in beside Doc, Nikolai trailing behind us. I reached for his hand, but managed to remember at the last minute that I couldn't while we were around other people. At least, not yet. I shoved my hands in my pockets instead.
The parking lot was full of vehicles, but there weren't many people, so no one would see us leave together.
Nikolai opened the passenger side door of Doc's truck for me.
"Thanks." I grinned at him.
He smiled, looking pleased about something.
I glanced at Doc, who frowned slightly, watching us. I wondered what bothered him. Something had upset him the night before, too, but I hadn't had a chance to ask him what was up.
I pulled out my phone and texted Victoria, letting her know I would probably be back the next morning and not to worry. She replied with a winking smiling face and a thumbs up.
"We need to get Nikolai a phone," I stated, not sure how that would work.
"I already did," Doc replied. "I haven't had a chance to teach him to use it yet. We'll get his number programed into yours today sometime."
Once Doc had pulled out onto the road, I twisted around in my seat and repeated my earlier question. "What happened to your neck?"
"Eh, vampires. You know how they are."
My eyes widened, and I turned to Doc.
His cheeks were red, even over his darker skin, and he looked seriously embarrassed.
"Do I even want to know?" I didn't think Doc would try to hurt Nikolai unless the mage was actually attacking someone he cared about, and I didn't get the impression that the Russian was inclined toward random violence. Especially since being surrounded by werewolves and a half-vampire, he was physically outclassed.
Doc looked like he was going to say something, but then he shook his head and sighed.
"It is not his fault. I was trying to explain to them resonance. They required a demonstration."
I twisted back to study the mage. He shrugged and also looked embarrassed.
"I am afraid I took a bit of advantage of your boyfriend. My apologies."
My eyebrows rose as what he meant dawned on me. "Uh, sure. Apology accepted, I guess." I did not even know how I should actually respond to that revelation.
Doc glanced at me before returning his gaze to the road. He didn't say anything.
Maybe I was a little jealous. But jealous of what? I was quite certain I could imagine what had happened, especially with the fading bruises on both sides of Nikolai's neck. Doc wasn't usually rough, so the mage must really have provoked him. Did I even have cause to be jealous? I mean, I was dating three guys. It wasn't like they were hiding anything from me. I sighed. This was so complicated. Maybe I was just jealous that I hadn't been there?
"Do not be mad at Doc. It was my fault." Nikolai leaned forward until he was close to me.
"I'm not mad. I'm just…well…this is really complicated."
"Yes," the mage agreed.
Doc looked relieved, and that made me think for a minute. I knew Allan was interested in Doc in a more than brotherly fashion, and Nikolai had to have known what he was doing. Was there any way I could ask them to keep their hands off of each other when I wasn't around? Or even when I was around? It wasn't fair, especially when they shared their blood with Doc. And the thought kind of turned me on.
"You know." I smirked at Doc. "Whatever you guys want to do with each other is completely fine with me. I don't really feel like you need my permission, anyway, but seriously, enjoy yourselves. There's only one of me, and I'm not always around."
Doc's eyebrows rose, and he stared at me in surprise, perhaps a bit longer than was strictly safe while driving, before tearing his eyes off of me and focusing on the road.
"Just, you know, try to keep it in the pack."
I winked at him when he glanced at me again. He nodded ever so slightly back toward Nikolai.
Twisting around in my seat, I studied the mage. His face was a mask right now, and I wasn't sure what he was thinking, though I thought I saw a little relief. Probably that I wasn't mad at him. "That could include you. If the guys agree."
His mask broke, and his eyebrows rose. "I see." He opened his mouth as if he were going to say something else, before snapping it shut and nodding.
"We do," Doc said quietly.
I hesitated, surprised they had already discussed it without me. Of course, if Nikolai had been making out with one of my boyfriends, the subject had obviously come up.
"Good. Well, as interesting as this development is, it can't be why you pulled me out of class." I was worried about what possibly could have happened to concern everyone that much.
"Ed was hurt pretty badly last night," Doc stated. "While they were out running."
My heart clenched. "Is he okay?"
"He will be soon. He needs you," Nikolai said.
They filled me in on the details as we drove.
"Shit," I snarled when they finished. "Why didn't you call me?"
"He was fine last night. We thought today would be early enough to fill you in. He's not nearly as okay this morning."
I glared at Doc.
"Yeah, so we needed you to talk with Ed, and we all
needed you with us so we could feel safe for a while," Doc wilted under my gaze. He turned off the main road down the narrow dirt driveway.
As soon as the truck was stopped, I jumped out and went into the cabin and headed back to Doc's bedroom. Light from the open window filled the room. Allan and Ed lay in the middle of the large bed. Allan was lying on top of the covers, dressed for the day, and pressed up against Ed. Under the blankets, Ed lay on his back, probably still not dressed, his left arm wrapped in bandages. He stared at the ceiling.
Allan looked over at me when I came in. "I'm so glad you're here."
Ed had to know I was there, but he didn't react.
Doc had told me that Ed was in a strange mental state, but I hadn't expected him to ignore me. I kicked off my shoes, crawled onto the bed on the other side of Ed, and pressed up against him.
"Hey, you."
He sighed in response. I glanced at Allan. Allan's eyes were wide, and it was clear he didn't know what to do.
"Ed, what's wrong?"
He didn't answer.
I didn't want to do the wrong thing and push him further into his strange frame of mind. He was usually so cheerful, like a giant blond puppy, even in human form. This was so different from normal, I didn't even know where to start.
"Allan, has he ever been like this before?"
He shook his head.
I put my arm across his chest and hugged him close, resting my head on his shoulder. It would have been more comfortable if he had put his arm around me, but he tensed instead.
"Ed, talk to me." Fear colored my voice, and that got him to turn toward me slightly.
He still looked vacant, but he sort of paid attention to me.
"Has he spoken at all since he woke up?"
"A little. He seemed pretty with it until this morning." Allan swallowed nervously.
I kissed Ed on the cheek and snuggled him closer.
Doc and Nikolai came into the room. Doc hung back, but Nikolai came over to us and studied Ed.
He put his hand on the werewolf's chest and pushed a little magic into him.