Lindy and Faith mostly listened to the young girls chatter about the cute males in the pack while they ate. The girls reminded her of her own friendships with Faith and Mac, when they’d been young and excited about the future.
When the meal was over, she and Faith walked with Sunny to the full moon meeting place. Cades and Jason stood near the roaring bonfire and called for the pack to shift and hunt. Tina, Jason’s mom, came over and said, “I’m going to help guard tonight. Do you mind if I hunt with you two later on?”
“Not at all,” Lindy answered, dropping her shorts and T-shirt to the ground.
“Thanks. Usually, Peter guards with me so we can go hunting together afterwards, but Jason asked Peter to hunt with him tonight.”
Lindy nodded. “We’d be happy to have you along.”
As she shifted to her wolf form, she shook herself out and sat down on her haunches, waiting until the others had followed suit.
“It’s times like this that I wish I could shift,” Cades said with a wistful sigh. Lindy and the others followed Cades back to the house where Karly, Shyne, Reika, Jenna, and the kids were waiting.
Lindy spent the next few hours watching the woods from the back of the house while the others guarded different sections of the house. The mates were inside along with the children. When she finally heard the call of the males coming back, she barked to her fellow guards, excited to get to hunt while the moon was still overhead.
Once the males were back with their mates, Lindy, Faith, and Tina took off to hunt. They raced off in search of game to chase. Her wolf hadn’t minded watching over the mates, but now she was happy to be free. They chased rabbits and birds and found a few deer. She raced with the two females, enjoying the freedom that came from running in her shifted form.
Faith barked sharply in alarm, and Lindy spotted a trap hidden under some leaves and twigs just ahead. She tried to turn, but her paws slipped on leaves, and she skidded toward the trap. With a sickening crack, the trap snapped down on her back leg, and she howled in pain.
Tina darted off immediately, howling in alarm, and Lindy struggled, trying to get on her feet and move back to the safety of her alphas’ house. The trap was staked into the ground with a chain, so she didn’t get far, and each time she moved, the trap bit into her leg, and she screamed in her mind at the pain.
Slumping to the ground as pain washed over her in hot waves, she felt her eyes roll back in her head as Faith shifted into her human form and tried to pry the trap apart.
“Shit, Lindy, shit! I can’t! It’s too strong! Stay with me. Lindy? Linds?” Faith screamed her name, but Lindy was beyond the pain, beyond answering, and sinking down into darkness.
Chapter 7
Faith Radcliffe’s fingers cut and bled as she tried in vain to pull the trap apart. Lindy had gone very still, and Faith worried that her friend was either passed out from shock or from blood loss. The fur on Lindy’s leg glistened in the moonlight as blood welled from the wound and pooled around her on the ground. Tears fell from Faith’s eyes as she gripped the iron trap in her hands and tried once more to open it.
“Help! Someone, please, help!” she screamed, praying that Tina would bring help quickly.
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and the air seemed to shimmer around her. What first looked like a ray of sunshine just feet from her and Lindy spread until a hole opened, and she swore she could see a house on the other side.
An enormous white wolf leapt through the hole, and Faith screamed in alarm. It was like nothing she’d ever seen. It was the size of a small horse, with long, deadly looking fangs and thick black claws. It sniffed the air and stared straight at her. Her body shook in fear as she sat frozen on the ground. It seemed to dismiss her with a chuff, turning its attention to Lindy. The great beast nuzzled her and made an almost gentle, purring sound in its throat, snarling when it scented down her body and found the trap.
The creature’s body twitched and jerked, and within seconds, the wolf had transformed into a man with white-feathered wings sprouting from his back. He waved one hand over the trap as he whispered a few words, and it fell apart. Then he lifted Lindy into his arms.
“What is her name?” he asked gruffly, cradling her close to his bare chest.
It took a moment for Faith’s mouth to work, but finally she was able to say, “Lindy.”
He smiled down at the wolf in his arms. “Lindy.” Faith had never heard a more reverently spoken word.
The man moved toward the hole in the air.
“Wait! Where are you going with my friend?”
He turned enough to look at her. “To take care of her.”
Without another word, he stepped through the hole, and it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Faith rubbed her eyes and stared at the place where the hole had been.
The sound of rushing feet alerted her to her pack coming, and the reality of the situation finally sank in. Lindy was gone. And Faith didn’t know where she’d been taken.
* * * * *
An hour later, Faith was still sitting at the spot where the hole had appeared, waiting for Logan and his fairy mate, Jenna, to come. The highest ranking members of the pack stood around her and Tina, who had brought her clothes from the full moon meeting place and knelt next to her, one arm around her for comfort. Flashlights helped illuminate the area.
Jason and his second, Michael, were discussing the trap with Linus and Bo, who were pack third and fourth. They were all furious that another trap had been found. Unlike the previous trap that had been right on the edge of the territory, this one had been at least a hundred yards inside.
“Was the trap baited with meat of any sort?” Linus asked, rubbing his knuckles across his jaw in thought.
Faith shook her head. She’d answered questions about the trap since they’d shown up.
“It was covered with leaves. I saw something metal glint in the moonlight and I barked to warn Lindy. She tried to turn away from it, but her paws slipped on the leaves, and she landed right on it.”
Logan and Jenna came through the trees. Logan said, “Sorry for the delay. What happened?”
They all looked at Faith expectantly, and she told the story once more.
Logan looked down at Jenna. “Sounds like a portal to me. But I didn’t know that your people had werewolves.”
Jenna shook her head and walked toward the trap. “We don’t.”
The trap lay in several pieces like someone had taken a hammer to it. But Faith had seen the man break the trap with his hand. And with those wings, he looked like an angel. A really pissed-off, naked one.
Jenna closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Her wings slid from her back, the loose tank top allowing them to slide free without tearing her shirt. The pale blue and silver transparent wings looked very different from the feathered ones the man had. Her eyes were bright like silver coins, and she stood slowly and turned toward where the portal had been.
“I don’t know why, but a portal to my realm was opened here. Someone very powerful came here. Even without my wings, I could feel the remnants of his power. He used a spell to open the trap, and then he took her through the portal. What did you see when you looked through the portal?” Jenna looked down at Faith.
“A house. It was dark there like it is here, but there was a light over a door, and it looked like the house was made of black stone.”
Jenna looked at Logan and said, “It was a wulfen.”
Logan’s brow arched. “I thought you said that you didn’t know of any wulfen alive today.”
She shrugged. “I don’t. But the Fae Realm is enormous, and although it’s ruled by one governing body, there are many different armies that protect the various glens. Only warrior fae have feathered wings, and the only fae that can shift into large, white wolves are wulfen.”
Faith shivered. “Why did he take her? What’s going to happen to Lindy?”
Jenna’s wings slid back into her body, and her eyes dulled slightly. She
moved to Logan, and he pulled her into his arms.
She said, “A wulfen is a highly skilled, powerful warrior for my people. I don’t believe that he took her to hurt her. There’s no reason for a fae to randomly come here and happen to stumble upon a wolf in distress. I think that he spelled for his truemate and found her.”
Everyone went quiet.
Bo said, “You were really far away from Logan when you spelled for him, though. Why wouldn’t the spell have brought you straight to him if that were the case?”
“Well, first I didn’t travel through a portal on my own; I was kidnapped. And second, I heard that when wulfen spell for their truemates that their power is so great that they are able to pinpoint where their mate is and go straight there.”
Faith said, “He was huge. I’ve never seen such a terrifying wolf in my life.”
Jenna smiled softly. “I’ve only seen pictures of them. They’re very rare among my people, but I have no doubt that he was frightening.” She looked up at Logan. “Let’s go home. The sun will be up soon, and I can portal-call my parents.”
Turning her attention back to Faith, she said, “I’m going to ask my father to find out where this wulfen male is, and then Logan and I will go speak to him and find Lindy. Rest easy. She couldn’t possibly be in better hands than those of her truemate.”
Tina helped Faith to her feet and hugged her. “Come back to my house and have some coffee. The sun will be up soon.”
Jenna nodded. “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”
Linus picked up the broken trap, and Jason said, “Bring that back to my house. Logan, take your mate home and then call me so you can be conferenced into the discussion. We’ve got to find out who is planting these traps and stop them before someone else gets hurt.”
Faith was numb from head to toe with worry over Lindy. Jenna said not to worry, but until Faith could see for herself that Lindy was okay, she was just going to keep on worrying. Lindy and McKenna were like sisters to her.
Once back at Tina’s home, Faith called McKenna, who came straight over with Drake and sat with her in Jason’s parents’ home, waiting to hear from Jenna.
It had been a very long, horrifying night, and it wasn’t over yet.
Chapter 8
Lindy. His mate’s name was Lindy.
After assuring the woman that he would take care of Lindy, he raced through the portal, sealing it behind him as he darted into his home. He tugged a thick blanket from the back of the sofa and laid her on it. Her wound was still bleeding. He called the lights to come on in the room, and the lanterns and candles blazed to life. Moving to the kitchen, he opened a temporary portal and called one of the military healers who lived nearby.
A bleary-eyed Viscount stumbled into view. “You bellowed, Crimson?”
“I found my truemate, and she’s seriously injured.”
Viscount’s eyes widened, and he snapped to attention. “I’ll be right there.”
The connection broke, and Crimson grabbed a pair of trousers from his bedroom and tugged them on, picking up a towel from the bathroom and going to Lindy. He pressed the towel to the wound and settled his ear on her furry chest. Her heart was beating slowly, and her breathing was shallow. He didn’t know if a werewolf from the Mortal Realm could actually die from blood loss, or if her accelerated healing would stop the wound before that happened. His heart clenched as worry settled over him. He’d just found her. He didn’t know what would happen to him if she died.
The door burst open, and Viscount strode in, a leather satchel slung over his shoulder. Crimson was surprised when Riyad and Merik followed close behind.
“What are you doing here?” he asked the brothers.
Riyad jerked his head toward the healer. “He told us to come along. We were just on our way home from the tavern when he came rushing by like his ass was on fire.”
Viscount said, “Hold him while I check her out.”
Before he could blink, Riyad and Merik pinned him to the wall opposite the sofa, their bodies pressed against his and their hands gripping his shoulders. “What the fuck?”
Viscount looked over his shoulder. “I’m going to have to examine her and possibly hurt her so she can heal. I don’t want you ripping my head off, Crimson. You’re a wulfen, and this is your truemate. You have no idea how protective you’re going to be.”
The healer turned his attention back to Lindy and put his hands on her body. Everything in Crimson’s world narrowed down to Viscount’s hands on his mate. He growled and tensed his body, his claws springing free from his fingertips as his fangs descended.
“Hades, Crim,” Riyad grunted, “calm the fuck down!”
Viscount pulled the bloody towel away from her leg and began to stretch the damaged leg out. Blood dripped onto the floor, and she whimpered in pain. Crimson roared. “Don’t touch her! I’ll kill you!”
“Keep a good hold on him,” Viscount warned.
“If he kills me when he shifts, I’m going to haunt you forever, Visc,” Merik snarled angrily.
“It’s about to get worse,” Viscount warned.
Crimson’s shoulders were shoved hard against the stone wall, the rough material cutting his flesh.
“Calm down! He’s helping her!” Merik said harshly.
Crimson struggled. He knew that Viscount was helping Lindy, but his beast didn’t want anyone touching her, let alone hurting her. The sight of her blood on the floor, coupled with the sound of her pained whimpers, was driving him insane. His beast was rolling and twisting under his skin to protect her at any cost.
“Hurry up, Viscount!” Riyad yelled.
Rage colored his vision red as the healer put one hand on her hip and the other on the paw of her injured leg and jerked hard. There was a snapping sound, and she whined in pain, her body twisting and writhing as she shifted from her wolf form to her human form. Still unconscious, she rolled to her back, her face ashen and her leg covered in blood.
Crimson felt his skin prickle as his fur sprouted. He fought not to shift, knowing he would hurt his friends, but the urge to protect her was almost overwhelming.
Viscount poured clear liquid from a bottle over her leg and cleaned it up with a cloth. The scent of antiseptic filled the room, and slowly his rage began to ease as he realized that her leg was now entirely healed.
His beast retreated some, and he relaxed with a sigh, his head slumping forward.
Before Merik and Riyad relaxed, Merik asked, “Are you resh now, Crimson? Can you control yourself and your beast?”
“He’s good,” Riyad said.
“I want to hear it from him. There are certain parts of my body that I’m fairly fond of, and I don’t want him to suddenly shift and slash off the protruding parts.”
Crimson swallowed thickly and shuddered violently as his beast settled finally. “The female population can rest easy. I’m not going to tear off your cock.”
They relaxed and moved away from him. His body sagged slightly, but he was too determined to get to Lindy to take care of her, so he stumbled forward. Viscount tossed the cloth and bottle into his bag and stood up, moving to the other side of the sofa. Riyad and Merik joined him. He snorted inwardly as he knelt next to his mate and pulled another blanket from the back of the sofa to cover her body. As if the sofa would stop him or his beast if he wanted to tear them apart.
“She’s okay?” He looked up at Viscount.
“Her leg wasn’t going to heal in her wolf form; it was broken and bleeding too fast for her healing to stop it completely. If she’d stayed in her wolf form, she might have remained lame for the rest of her life. I pulled the leg straight to align the bones and the pain forced her to shift back into her human form. That shift sped up her natural healing, and her bone is now completely healed and her leg is fine.”
Relief flooded him.
“Thank you for coming so quickly.”
All three men nodded. Viscount said, “She’ll probably sleep for a few hours. She will most
likely be starving when she wakes up, so make sure she eats and drinks plenty. If she has any lingering pain, give me a call, and I’ll drop off some medicinal herbs to help, but she should be fine.”
He watched his friends walk out and close the door, and he slumped against the sofa, his head resting on Lindy’s bare shoulder.
“Hades, Lindy,” he took a few deep breaths and the scent of her calmed him, “let’s not tempt fate again.”
He pressed his lips to her cheek and got up, going into the bedroom. He pulled the covers back on the bed and willed several candles to light. Returning to the front room, he lifted her gently into his arms and carried her to the bed, laying her down and tossing the blanket from the sofa on the floor. He pressed the back of his hand against her forehead and decided she was a little on the warm side, so he only pulled a thin blanket over her before pressing a kiss to her cheek and going out to the front room to clean up the mess.
He marveled at the events of the evening. It had happened so quickly. He’d known that he would go through the portal somewhere in the vicinity of his mate, but he’d never imagined that his first interaction with her would be so stressful. He didn’t think he’d ever been quite so worried for one person’s well-being in his whole life.
After the wood floor was free of blood and he’d washed the blanket and towel and hung them to dry in the backyard, he went into the kitchen and opened his cooling unit. From inside the rectangular, metal-lined box, he pulled out packages of meat and set them on the marble counter, along with vegetables and fruit for juicing. He’d never cooked for anyone but himself before, but pride flared through him as he lit the thick ring of oil underneath the metal burner on his cooker and placed a pan on top to heat. After coating the pan with wials oil, he placed two thick blue-furred boar steaks in the pan and listened to them sizzle. He turned his attention to the fruit and sliced apart the green-fleshed yumonmi, twisting each half on the wooden juicer that drained into a small stone jug. When he’d juiced enough for several glasses, he set the jug in the cooling box to chill and flipped the steaks. He chopped vegetables, and after removing the steaks from the pan, he tossed the vegetables into the hot pan and cooked them until they were tender.
The Wolf's Mate Book 7: Lindy & The Wulfen Page 6