by Young, Mila
“Little lamb.” Nero’s voice strained, and he dropped to his knees. “I’m removing the blade.”
“No!” I managed. “I’ll bleed too much.” Were my words slurring?
Blood streaked his cheeks, and a deep gash ran down the side of his face, droplets falling against my skin. The wound seemed to almost knitted back together before my eyes. Oh hell, how fast did these wolves heal?
But how many wolves and people had died because of the priestess?
“Go,” I stammered.
He lay a hand against my collarbone. “Don’t you dare leave us! Hold on.” His eyes glistened and right then, his genuine love for me shone through his actions, his words, his warmth.
He yanked the knife out, the sucking sound sickening to my ears.
I yelled, my body thrashing at the terrifying sting stabbing me.
Nero placed his palms against my wound. “Transform, little lamb.”
His words floated through my brain, torn away by the torture owning me. I cried out.
“I read the letter from your grandma. You’re part hunter. Change and you will heal quicker. You’re only part shifter and need the wolf side to help you.”
“I… I.” Nothing made sense when it felt as if someone had ripped me apart.
Nero’s lips were on mine, stealing my breath. Something warm dripped on my face, my body, and into my mouth. His blood.
A surge of energy flashed over me, and my skin prickled. My insides stretched. Each exhale was a knife slicing me. I writhed and a violent scream tore past my mouth. Bones cracked. My heart banged in my ears.
I was dying.
“Stop fighting it.” Nero’s voice found me, but my vision had darkened.
“Nero!” I called for him, but moving my arms now seemed an impossibility.
Energy jolted along my skin, and I gulped for air.
“Open your eyes,” he said.
I did and gawked at Nero kneeling next to me. The forest had grown sharper in color. As it had back in the prison. Grunts, whines, and the dull impact of punches reached me, each sound precise.
But the earlier stabbing in my chest had eased, and the agony disappeared. How?
Nero rubbed my head. “You look beautiful in your silver fur. And it looks like you’ve healed faster than I’ve ever seen anyone do.”
Fur! I opened my mouth to protest, but a yelp came out. I froze. Was that me? Whispers murmured calmness in my ears.
I scrambled to my feet… all four of them, scanning the area. So many sounds hit me—from the battle to the river in the distance to the songs of birds. The smell of blood engulfed me.
The piercing pain in my chest came and went, paralyzing me on the spot when it shook me at the core.
Nero was there, his arms around my torso. “I’ve got you. Now you need to run from here. Let us finish this once and for all.” He patted my rump and nudged me toward the front gates.
But I couldn’t move when I’d just turned into a wolf. The realization locked me in place, not a muscle moved, not even the panic jammed in my chest stirred.
Nero rushed into battle, and mid-launch, his body shifted with the grace of an eagle swooping through the air. Within moments, he landed on his paws, his white fur fluttering as he charged two guards holding down a wolf.
Bodies lay everywhere, both human and wolf, and it killed me. Dread punched me in the gut. Hollow and barren, reminding me of the stories I’d read about the different races in Haven fighting to the death. That was why the world had been divided into seven realms. To create peace—the opposite of what the priestess had done.
Toward the castle, I spotted her, holding her skirt and running into the manor. Before I could stop myself, I went after her, each step slow. Every now and then, my shoulder stung as if someone tossed boiling water over it. Obviously, healing as a wolf took time… A luxury I didn’t have.
I pushed one leg forward, and then another, gaining speed.
A dark wolf blur whizzed past me and thundered into the courtyard.
Oryn?
My legs refused to fall into a rhythm, and I stumbled into a tree. Heavens, how did anyone walk on four paws? Okay, one at a time.
Someone screeched from the manor, and I sped up. The moment I entered the cobblestone yard, I gasped.
Six guards cornered Oryn, while the priestess held a thin, long knife in one hand, poised in a striking pose above her shoulder.
“Grab him and hold him down,” she yelled.
My stomach somersaulted, and a guttural snarl rolled through me, shaking me. No one touched my shifter. A sense of possessiveness claimed me.
All gazes turned in my direction, and I lunged at the priestess, hating what she’d done to Terra, the fear she’d inflicted, and the merciless deaths.
She whirled around, her blade pointed at me.
Everything happened too fast, and I swore the wolf side of me pushed forward, reaffirming we had this. To trust her.
Nearby, Oryn jumped into his own assault, battling the guards. But one turned toward me.
Just out of reach of the priestess, I swung around her in a wide berth, then pounced up against the wall for leverage. The pain increased in waves, but I drove it back. I twisted and pivoted midair, hurling myself toward her.
She jerked around as I crashed into her, my mouth latching into her neck. We both fell to the ground, her blade falling, and me biting down.
Her cries meant nothing.
Blood hit my tongue.
Kill. My wolf bellowed. For my parents’ deaths. For Dagen’s brother. For Oryn’s pack members. And for the countless other wolves and humans.
A guard charged and kicked me in the ribs.
I crumpled, writhing, my pain deep, stinging and burning.
He hovered closer, his knife ready.
My blood painted the cobblestones as I teetered upright. Exhaustion crashed over me.
“Kill it,” the priestess shouted as she climbed to her feet, crimson coating her neck and gown.
I growled. No more backing away or feeling sorry for myself. I’d fight for what I believed in, stand up to the enemy.
Right when the guard lunged, I ducked and looped around him.
I bit into his arm, the one clasping the weapon, and tore through bone.
He grunted and collapsed to his knees.
Something flashed into the courtyard in my peripheral vision.
More guards? I spun to see two wolves! Nero rushing to Oryn’s aid, while Dagen slammed into the back of the guard I’d just bitten.
Now it was just me and the priestess.
I inched closer, my head low. Short, sharp throbbing settled over my shoulder blade as if someone poked me with a fire stick.
But no more hesitation. I’d heal if I survived.
When she ran across the yard to a set of doors, her gown swooshing at her feet, I leaped after her and head-butted the back of her knees.
She tripped and hit the ground face-first.
Oryn’s black wolf burst free from the scuffle and flew past me toward the priestess.
She swung in his direction, cowering, her arms covering her head.
Oryn attacked. Teeth slashing her neck, blood spurting. Her pleas and cries echoed, as did the hungry snarls and ripping of flesh.
I turned away, unable to watch the atrocity, kicking myself for ever thinking I was capable of such a kill.
Maybe that came with time, considering I hadn’t even gotten the whole walking on four legs thing perfected yet.
When someone brushed my arm, I flinched and whirled.
Oryn was there, blood matted in his fur and around his mouth, but he rubbed against me, releasing a low grumble. Behind him lay the priestess, unmoving, her legs twisted at wrong angles, her head facing the sky with dead eyes.
I should have cheered, but I couldn’t bring myself to celebrate. A life lost was still a wasted soul.
Nero closed in, his white fur tarnished, both shifters close.
Guards lay strewn
across the ground, dead.
Dagen approached me without hesitation in his step. A wave of joy flooded me at knowing my three shifters remained safe and by my side.
Dagen nuzzled my arm when more wolves entered the courtyard and fanned out as a protective army.
Oryn broke into a piercing howl, and everyone else raised their heads, unleashing a cry of triumph. My wolf simmered in my chest, and I tilted my chin up, my contribution streaming past my throat.
Our songs intertwined, blending into the most incredible tune. For the first time since losing my parents and grandma, I no longer felt alone.
Chapter 23
I turned to my three wolves traipsing alongside me as we strode in beast form toward the border between Terra and the Den. Oryn carried my bag in his mouth, the one with the ingredients to remedy the toxic river. He’d killed the priestess, done what I probably couldn’t have. But he’d had his own reasons for finishing her off, and I couldn’t deny the world was a better place without her.
Walking through the woods was a million times easier this way, light and swift. I was a wolf! With a gorgeous silver coat too.
Behind us, a dozen wolves trailed; a few carried their fallen warriors in human form on their backs. My heart bled to know their families had lost a member. These hunters had given their lives to eliminate the monster ruling Terra. Who knew how the royal family would react to discovering her dead. But we weren’t hanging around to find out. Considering no guards from the battle had survived, I prayed a search party wasn’t coming for me. But then again, other guards could have been patrolling the markets or the woods. Still, they’d have no clue it was me who’d spurred the killing. Could just have easily have seemed a random wolf attack, and that was why we’d leave Terra quick. Still, the priority was helping Oryn’s pack.
I stepped over foliage, the prickly forest floor not hurting my paws. What amazed me more was how quickly my body had healed from the knife wound in my chest once I’d changed into my wolf. Heavens… Me, a shifter. That part still dominated my mind, as I couldn’t believe it.
We made a small detour to Bee’s place and dropped off Santos. He’d fainted from a knock to the head. But other than a few cuts, he was fine, which made me all kinds of happy. Now he had to keep a low profile for a few weeks.
At the border, several wolves worked as a team and pushed two dead logs over the wolfsbane shrubs, flattening the plant. They’d created a narrow passage in no time.
Their strategy told me so many things. Like how the shifters could have easily crossed into Terra whenever they’d wanted, but they hadn’t because they’d had no intention of fighting or killing us. The real maniac was the priestess, and just knowing she was out of the picture eased the heaviness from my shoulders. Sure, the danger wasn’t gone, but it was a reprieve to catch my breath, work out what I’d do next without her death sentence for me breathing down my back.
Besides, I now had a family to consider.
Wolves crossed over into the Den, followed by Oryn and Nero. Once Dagen and I passed through, he stood in my path, blocking me.
He shifted into his human form, his sizzling energy caressing me, and as if my wolf sensed the change, already I felt her retreat inside me, vanish. My legs wobbled and I fell on all fours, fur retreating from all over my body with haste, my limbs shortening. But this time, the agony of a transformation no longer hurt but felt like I’d pulled off a raincoat stuck to my skin with sweat.
Dagen lifted himself to his feet and took my hand into his, drawing me to my feet.
I glanced at the rest of the pack, heading onward toward the open field, while we remained beneath the shadows of the pines.
“Now that we’re alone, I need to apologize,” he began.
I shook my head. “No, you don’t. For what?”
With a kiss to the back of my hand, he drew me closer, our naked bodies plastered tougher. “For doubting you and scaring you earlier. And mostly for calling you ‘vile.’”
My mouth opened, but he pressed his mouth against mine, and my world faded beneath his heat.
“You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever met,” he said, our foreheads touching. “I want you in my life, if you’ll have me.”
I stared into his gaze, lost, and my heart drummed with the excitement that Dagen had offered himself to me. “Hell yeah. There was never any doubt in my mind.”
He laughed. “I know. Just wanted to hear it from your sweet voice.”
A howl came from across the open field, and I snapped around, only to find the wolves strolling, while Nero stared back at us. Dagen took my hand and we hurried to catch up with the pack. With so many of us, any wolves we encountered should have proven easy foes to beat, but still, we moved at a swift pace.
By the time we reached the top of a cliff near the river with mountains behind us, we stopped. I was out of breath, but then again, we’d been rushing up and down slopes.
Oryn transformed with such ease, it looked graceful to me. He approached me. “Sharlot, the river flows downstream from here, and it’s the best location to ensure we cleanse the source of the river.”
I nodded, but exhaustion washed through me. What I wouldn’t give to sleep a whole week. Cuts and bruises littered my body, blood still dribbling from the wound on my chest, but it amazed me how little pain remained. No wonder wolves kept fighting with their endless stamina. Yet my job wasn’t complete here.
I crouched near the edge of the river and Oryn brought me my bag.
“What can I do?” he asked.
I collected the parcel I’d prepared in the store and turned to him. Desperation crammed behind his eyes. “Bring me an affected wolf so we can try to see if this will work.”
He nodded and vanished behind me past where the other wolves stood.
In all honesty, if this didn’t prove the solution, I was lost. I’d scanned Grandma’s book and no other cure offered a solution to the poisoning. The priestess had said she’d bought the toxin from the Darkwoods realm. Heavens, that could be anything, and with her dead, we’d never find out. My stomach knotted, but I had to think positive.
Pulling out a bowl from the bag, I bent toward the current and scooped water into it. Around me, nature was at its most glorious. The sun might have been descending, but the golden hues lit up the pines and glistened across the river.
I lifted the pouch with prepared herbs and opened the tied cord. With no idea how much was needed to cleanse such a large pool of water, I’d tripled the quantities. But rivers were enormous and what if the cure washed away before the wolves drank it? That was why only the wolves in a certain part of the Den had been affected over a specific period. The poison washed downstream. And what if my quantities weren’t enough?
“Time to do this,” I whispered to myself before pouring the contents into the bowl. They floated across the surface of the water, and I placed my palms over them, needing to inject a huge round of energy into them. Enough that it covered the waters, maybe even lingered on the banks and affected the stream for a few days.
A snap of energy rolled down my skin. It zapped out from my fingertips, infusing the contents. I poured my power into the mixture, never stopping, imagining wolves drinking it and healing at once.
A wave of dizziness captured me, and I stopped. Okay, I’d pushed myself, so I climbed to my feet and tossed the amplified water from the bowl out across the river.
The moment it touched the water, a sizzling spark snapped across the surface, as if it had been struck by lightning.
Someone gasped behind me, and Nero was there, whispering in my ear. “What was that?”
“Hopefully the solution to help Oryn’s pack.”
An aggressive snarl erupted, and I spotted Nero and Dagen carrying a thrashing wolf. Dagen held a hand around its mouth.
I snatched my bowl and filled it with the cleansed water, then rushed towered them. “Put him down,” I said. “We need him to drink this.”
Oryn held his head. Jaws snapped. The a
nimal growled, his throat rumbling, saliva frothing at the sides of his mouth.
I leaned closer and poured the solution into his jaw. He shook, spat it out, spraying all of us.
“Keep trying,” Oryn said.
Once again, I dribbled more down his throat, and that time he swallowed. So I kept feeding him mouthfuls.
But when the wolf’s eyes rolled upward, I said, “Release him.”
And we all stepped back as the afflicted wolf shuddered.
I held my breath, and I reached over, grabbing Oryn’s hand.
Within moments, the animal’s body trembled. One leg kicked outward, stretching, then the others, his spin elongating, ears shortening.
“Yes, it’s working,” I called out.
No one moved, the four of us staring as the former wolf now resembled a female who had to be in her forties. Well, she was a female, not a male, as I’d referred to her earlier. She glanced up at us, panic gripping her features. “Oryn?” Her voice squeaked. “What’s happening?”
He knelt near her and helped her up. “Nexy, you are okay and safe now.”
Joy beamed in my heart because it meant the remedy had worked.
Nero was by my side and lifted me into his arms, spinning me. “Little lamb, you did it.”
I laughed, unable to stop because for the first time in too long, something had gone right. “Now we get all the affected wolves to drink the water.”
Oryn reached me as Nero dropped me to my feet. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“You owe me nothing,” I said.
“Yes, I do.” He reached over and kissed me. “I owe you my life, my future, my love.”
It hurt to smile so much and having three men stare at me with admiration left me jittering with excitement.
“Me too,” Nero added.
“And me.” Dagen squeezed my hand.
“Each and every one of you are mine,” I said.
Nero burst out laughing. “So now you know what we’ve been talking about earlier, hey?”
I nudged him in the gut. “It feels incredible. But what now?” I asked.
“Well,” Oryn began, “I will get as many of my pack to drink the water as I can.”