“If you kill him, then you need to kill me too. I can’t live without him.”
“Bree!” Corra took at step toward her, one hand raised as if to calm Aubrey down. “You don’t know what you’re saying.” She took another step.
With a shuddering sob, Aubrey quickly slipped her arms from Jaylon, retrieved her bow and readied an arrow…then leveled it at her sister. “Stop, Corra.”
Corra gasped, clearly horrified and yet a Huntress through and through. She drew her blade and gripped it, ready to throw. “That beast has bewitched you.”
As if her words triggered the magic, Jaylon’s wolf contorted, a low growl slipping on a long breath as the magic that made him beast reversed the transformation, and in her lap was the human, his head resting against her thighs. With his eyes closed, he looked so at peace she had to release her arrow so she could lay her hand on his chest to feel the slow rise and fall of his breath, the almost imperceptible beat of his heart.
“I am not bewitched.” She nocked the arrow again, met her sister’s eyes boldly.
“The prophecy…I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. You haven’t been listening to the messages I left have you. Your Hunter is here. The prophecy read that he would come for you and he did.”
“What took him so long?” Aubrey whispered, confusion rolling through her. “Why didn’t he come sooner?”
“He was overseas, didn’t know how to reach the Order by phone. It doesn’t matter, he’s here now. Come to claim you. His name is Derrick.” Corra smiled. “Help me fight the wolves that keep him from you now. We’ll be together, Bree, with the Order, fighting side by side. What we always dreamed of…Huntresses together. Isn’t that what you want most?”
Aubrey shook her head but her hand wavered, unsteady, the bow suddenly a heavy burden, the tension on the string loosening. “Jaylon…”
“Is the enemy. You’ve been bewitched, Bree. This is not you talking. Your free will has been compromised. Come with me.” She lowered her blade, sheathed it and extended both hands to her, inviting her to come. “Claim your destiny, sister.”
Aubrey shifted the bow down, releasing the arrow and dropping both to the grass at her side. She stared at Jaylon, so beautiful and at peace. Dying.
“I love him, Corra,” she whispered.
“You don’t.”
But she did—she knew this in her soul. Jaylon was meant to be hers. “I do.” Tears spilled from her eyes, dropping on Jaylon’s face. He sighed, tried to move, grimaced and then was still again.
“Oh, Jay.” Panicked, she shifted him from her lap to the grass, then laid her head on his chest, pressing her ear to his flesh. His heart still beat, slow, stuttered, unnatural. “Don’t leave me.” Meaningless words. He’d been shot by a Huntress—a fatal blow.
The silence stretched as Aubrey lay on him, awaiting the moment his heart give its final beat, ready to attack her sister the second he died, force her to throw that dagger. Instinct driving her. Jaylon in the afterlife. Her destiny stayed with him.
“Bree.” Her name was a whisper, but it startled her all the same. “He’s dying.”
Aubrey lifted her head to look at her sister. “I’ll die with him.” Crazy words. Die for a wolf?
“No.” Corra breathed the word out, horrified.
The sound of tree branches crashing, thundering roars, the shaking ground brought the conversation to an end. Aubrey jumped to her feet, her bow in hand, ready to fire.
Corra spun to greet the battle. Two wolves crashed through the tree line, corralling a Hunter. It was Corra’s mate, bow slung on his shoulder, a dagger in one hand, a lump of a human thrown over his shoulder, blood covering most of his body. Aubrey realized it was Chris. Unconscious. Badly injured. Aubrey’s heart constricted. So much blood.
“What are you waiting for?” He backed up to Corra’s side. “Take the shot, love.”
Corra ripped her gaze away from the threat to look at her Hunter. “Where is Derrick?”
The Hunter cut a hard look over his shoulder at Aubrey and she knew the answer before he said it. “Dead. Now take the shot. Drop the wolves.”
“No!” Aubrey yelled as she took aim at Corra’s Hunter.
The wolves held back, circling, trying to get close to their fallen pack mate.
Corra and her Hunter pivoted, angling themselves so they were almost back-to-back. Corra facing off with Aubrey, blocking a clear shot. “You don’t want to do this, Bree. I’m your family. You belong with the Order.”
“Leave!” Aubrey yelled. “Just leave.”
“I can’t leave you here with them.”
“What future do you see for me, Corra? What will I be at the Order? The widowed Huntress, not yet bonded? How can you condemn me to that?”
“The beast is not your mate!”
“He is! My only one now, you heard it yourself. The Hunter is dead. Leave me.” She pulled back the string, aligned it with her nose. “Leave me or I will make you a widow too.”
“You’ll have no one, Bree. You forget, your beast is dying.”
Tears burned Aubrey’s eyes. “I love him. Whether you want to accept it or not. He’s my destiny. Here or the afterlife, we will be together.”
Corra stared, her face contorted as the reality of Aubrey’s words seemed to filter into her brain. A range of emotions flashed across her face. “Has he bitten you yet?”
Aubrey shook her head. No, he hadn’t claimed her.
“You never asked me what I gained from my Hunter. You don’t know what you’ll gain from yours.”
“Corra!” her Hunter warned.
Aubrey frowned. “Gain?”
“Your power. Your Hunter, his skill was as a healer.”
Aubrey blinked, her confusion muddling her brain. “I don’t care.”
“You should care, Bree.” Corra nudged her Hunter, motioning for him to move backward, away from the wolves. “Your Hunter was a powerful healer, Bree.” Her words caught on a sob.
Aubrey looked up, realization dawning.
“If your beast claims you, you’ll be a healer too. The magic of the bond doesn’t discriminate. You’re a Huntress who is endowed by a special ability. All you need now is your bond to bring it forth.”
Without lowering her bow, Aubrey dropped down to Jaylon’s side, the pack joined her, facing off with Corra and her Hunter.
“Your word that we have safe passage, Bree,” Corra demanded, her bow still raised as she and her Hunter continued to walk backward out of the clearing.
Aubrey gulped back tears. “Goodbye, Corra. I love you, but I truly hope we never meet again.”
Chapter Fourteen
The pain was a smoldering fire deep within his chest. For a time, he was only aware of that burning hell, radiating from a central point, his heart beating so slow that he knew he would be dead soon. Hoped he would die anyway, the pain was that bad. But he lingered in life, raging to the point of violence, a vague memory of lashing out, biting something that tasted of sweet nectar, something he wanted to taste again.
His thoughts were muddled, his dreams bizarre. Flashes of her face, the feel of her hands. Something began to ease the burn, soothing like a dousing of cold water, submerging him in calm tranquility where he could float, buoyant and at peace. He thought he was dying finally—that the bliss he entered was a gift from death.
But then he opened his eyes and found darkness. He felt weight across his stomach. As his eyes adjusted, he craned his neck to look down. Aubrey was sprawled there, head on his abs, one arm flung over his body, the other resting along his side, like she had fallen asleep trying to hug him. Or hold on to him.
“Aubrey,” he whispered as he ran his fingers through her hair, loving how thick and silky it was. He did it again, just because.
She stirred to life, pushed herself up, eyes wide as she scrambled to turn on the bedside lamp. “Jay?”
He ran his hand over his chest and winced, a dull ache still there, bandages covering his flesh.
She gripped his hands, her eyes full of tears, making them sparkle like blue sapphires. “How do you feel? Are you in pain?”
Jaylon swallowed, shook his head. “Not much, no.”
She lowered her gaze forcing a few tears to spill. “I’m so sorry.”
Jaylon ran his hand through her hair again, rested his fingers under her chin and nudged her to look at him. She pulled her face back, shook her head, reached up and wiped away some tears.
“Aubrey…”
“If I had known…” She choked on a sob.
He brought his hand to the back of her neck and forced her head to his chest, curling his arms around her as best he could, ignoring the pain the movement caused. He kissed the top of her head. “I’m okay, Aubrey. I don’t know how but I feel pretty good considering I was shot by a Huntress.” He chuckled lightly. He should be dead. “You got any idea how I survived that shot?”
“I’m a Huntress.” Her words were muffled against his chest. “I healed you.”
“You did what?” He released his hold on her and she pushed herself back up, wiping more tears as she did. “You healed me?”
Aubrey nodded. “That’s my gift.”
A healer? Jaylon frowned. “Did I bite you?”
Aubrey blushed, averted her eyes. “Yes,” she whispered.
He rolled back his memories, vaguely recalling a flash of anger, lashing out, attacking. “That actually happened? I thought I was dreaming.”
She looked at him again, her hand on her cheek. “I punched you.”
“You punched me?” His eyes grew wide. How could he have missed all of this?
She nodded, a small smile creeping across her lips. “Mayhem thought that would be the best way. It made you mad, and so you bit me.” She lifted her arm, showed him a deep bite just beneath her elbow. It was healing but still angry looking, red welts with stitches holding the flesh together.
“Oh, Aubrey.” He pulled her closer, lifted her arm to his lips and kissed her there. “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t supposed to be like that. Not from what he’d witnessed when Raven bit Darcy while fighting those witches. And according to his pack brother, every bite thereafter had healed instantaneously. The bite for his mate was meant to be pleasurable, maybe not always gentle but causing no pain or aftereffects because it was done with love.
Love.
Jay’s heart roared.
She giggled, twisted her arm to place her hand on his cheek. “You have nothing to be sorry about. Without your bite, I wouldn’t have been able to save you, or Dyami.”
He pushed himself up, his heart thudding painfully. “Dy! How is he? Did he survive?”
Aubrey’s bottom lip trembled and more tears fell. “I don’t completely understand how my powers work and they aren’t that strong yet. He’s in a coma, not responding to any kind of stimulus. I try to treat him at least once a day.”
Jealousy rattled through him and he fought it back. “You’ve done your best. He’s alive at least, that’s something. That shot should have killed him.”
The unspoken words hung heavy between them. Her shot. Aubrey had dropped Dy.
She sighed, laid her hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back. “I’d like to give you some more treatment.”
He nodded. Curious to see her gift at work.
“It’s going to make you sleepy.” She gingerly lifted the bandage that covered his wound, pulling the tape as slowly as she could.
“You should just rip it off.”
She chuckled, shrugged, then tore the bandage off.
He yelped, sucked in a deep breath. “Motherfucker!” Looked down at the gaping wound that was still weeping blood. It didn’t look good.
“Your heart was nicked. The poison of Huntress magic was already seeping through your body. It’s been slow but I feel like I’ve gotten most of it out.
“What does it feel like?” He swallowed back some bile, never one to be squeamish about blood…but when it was his own, coming from what should have been a fatal wound, things changed.
She shrugged again as she bridged her fingers over his wound, gently, barely touching his skin. “I can’t explain it. I feel like I’m a part of you, hunting through your body for the poison, knitting flesh back together, taking away the pain. Sometimes it gives me a headache. It always makes me tired.”
She’d been asleep on him when he woke, probably because she’d been healing him while he slept.
“How long have I been unconscious?”
She’d closed her eyes, was frowning slightly. “Two days. We were going to hook you up to an IV drip later tonight.”
Two days of recovery time and he was healed beyond what even made sense. Her power was incredible. She was incredible. His heart surged with pride, with love, with possession.
Her fingers warmed against his skin, a cascading jolt of power entering his wound, making him tingle in a strange way. He understood what she meant—he could feel her inside, poking at the places that hurt, testing the edges of his tolerance, easing the pain a moment after the sting. It made him dizzy with amazement. His heart swelled again. He wanted to say so much, his emotions overflowing.
“When I’m well I’m going to mark you properly,” he said, his voice gruff, coming out harsh. He cringed—he was such an ass.
She cracked her eyes open, smiled shyly. “You bet your ass you will.”
Chapter Fifteen
She’d done what she could for Dyami, visited every day to give him jolt after jolt of her power and yet he lay there still and silent, hooked up to a multitude of machines that beeped and whirred and basically kept him alive. The wound had healed where her arrow had struck but the poison of her Huntress magic was embedded in him so profusely that she doubted months of treatment would rid him of it completely. He should be dead. She wondered if keeping him alive was even humane.
She closed the door to his room, shutting out the whoosh-whoosh of the breathing machine and dampening the guilt she felt when she looked at him. She shouldn’t have taken that shot, but years of conditioning had kicked in when her brain was too stunned to process what was going on. Now Dyami suffered unimaginably for it.
Mayhem and the pack had granted her forgiveness but she wouldn’t feel atoned until she heard it from Dyami’s lips.
Guilt and sorrow rested permanently on her shoulders. Until, that was, she opened the door next to Dyami’s room where Jaylon recovered. Love could vanquish anything. It really could, at least for a while. Jaylon’s love for her, although he never said it, was like the brightest light—so warm, so tender, tethered to her by the unbreakable bond that came with his bite.
He was sitting up in bed, propped on pillows, smiling slyly. “What have you been up to?” she asked as she quietly shut the door behind her.
“Me? Nothing?”
She frowned, put her hands on her hips. “You’re lying.”
Jaylon’s smile grew. He patted the bed. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“How are you feeling?” She moved to the bed, ignoring his request for her to come up as she felt around what was left of his chest wound, now only a faint pink scar. “Any pain tonight?”
She’d been spending a lot of time with his wolf during the day, the magic of his transitions moving him through the cycles from beast to man whether he was conscious or not. In some ways, the wolf was easier to understand. Without language, it just felt and its feelings overwhelmed her at times. Desire, belonging, possession, tenderness, even love.
The man just spoke in circles, never wanting to tell her how he felt, what he thought. It was frustrating, to say the least.
Jaylon patted the bed again. “I’m not answering you until you get up here.”
She snapped her gaze to his, meeting a look of cunning determination, one eyebrow cocked, a smile still on his lips. She sighed in resignation. “Fine.” Then eased herself onto the edge of the mattress, not wanting to jostle him too much.
Once her body was within reach, he yanked her onto his lap
with ease. She yelped, and his smile grew wider.
“There you are.” He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck, running his tongue along the column of her sensitive flesh, making her shiver. “I missed you.”
She pulled back, looked at him. He never said anything like that to her. “You feeling okay?” She raised her hand to his forehead. No fever.
He chuckled, pulled her hand away, leaned forward again and kissed her tenderly on the lips. “I know I’m not the best with this relationship stuff.” He reached under his pillow and pulled out a ring box. “I had Mayhem pick this up for me.” With a wink, he opened it.
Aubrey stared, her mouth dropping open slightly. Nestled in the plush box was a ring, the cut making its surface sparkle. It was the head of a wolf, delicately wrought, tiny yellow gems decorating the eyes. It was beautiful.
He pulled it out, turned it on its side to show the engraved band, all Celtic swirls of black designs. He tilted it to show her the inscription on the inside.
My heart is yours.
She gulped back her tears. “It’s gorgeous, Jay,” she croaked.
He pulled it from the box, and motioned for her to lift her left hand. “I may not be great at communicating my feelings with words, but every time you look at this you’ll know that it’s a symbol of my feelings for you. The deepest, truest feelings I possess.” He slid it onto her ring finger. “You are my destiny. You are my life.”
Aubrey touched the finger with her other hand, lifted it to her lips and kissed it, then leaned in and kissed him. “I love you too, Jaylon.”
He ran his hand along her thigh and kissed her again, pulling her closer so that her ass rested against his hard cock. “Mmm, I like the feel of you there.”
She wriggled teasingly and laughed. “I bet you do. But you haven’t yet answered my question. Are you feeling any pain tonight?”
He sighed. “Yeah, yeah I am.”
When she made to pull away, trying to scramble off him, he slipped his hand between her legs and rubbed her, abrading her clit with his fingers against her jeans. “I’m aching to be inside of you, Aubrey.”
She moaned as he latched onto her breast, the cotton of her T-shirt and bra doing nothing to keep the heat of his mouth from penetrating to her skin. And suddenly, she couldn’t get naked fast enough.
Wolf Slayer (The Order of the Wolf) Page 7