by Kym Grosso
The split second reprieve was all Dimitri needed as he lunged for the Alpha’s throat. His teeth sunk deep into Chaz’s fur. The beta thrashed, gnarling, until he’d ripped out his opponent’s trachea, tearing at the tendons. Blood sprayed as Chaz hit the earth and Dimitri howled in victory.
Killing Chaz would have been cause for celebration if it hadn’t been for the burning hole in Dimitri’s gut. The grief from his mate flowed through him. He transformed, Gillian smashing into his embrace. Her tears warmed his wet skin. Taking her by her shoulders, he gently pushed her away so he could look at her. She gasped, crying and shaking her head.
“What is it?” he asked, his eyebrows drawn tight in concern.
“Nick, it’s Nick,” she cried.
“No.”
“He was behind us. I don’t know what happened.”
“Fuck,” Dimitri grunted. Something else ate at him. He’d seen Logan lope off, having been hit by a bullet. He scanned the woods, searching for his Alpha and Jake. “Jake. Logan. Where are they?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see…”
“Logan! Jake!” Dimitri called, his voice bellowing across the bayou.
He began to run on foot, sniffing into the air. Within seconds, he’d managed to find Jake lying up against a Cyprus tree. Dimitri closed his eyes, willing himself to remain calm. A hole the size of his fist had blasted through his friend, blood painted over the large man.
“Jake, can you hear me?” Dimitri knelt, taking Jake into his arms. Unconscious, Jake didn’t move. Like a ragdoll, his arms fell open, his head rolling side to side as Dimitri lifted him.
“Logan’s coming.” Fresh tears came as Gillian took Jake’s hand in hers.
“Logan…Oh Goddess. Logan, please. He’s not doing so well.” Dimitri’s voice wavered as he pushed the hair out of Jake’s eyes.
“He’s gotta shift,” Logan said.
“He’s been out before. Remember that time with Leo. Just tell him to shift. Command him.”
“Shit, I can’t believe this. Nick is dead. Now Jake,” Logan lamented.
“Jake isn’t fucking dead. Come on, Logan. We need to do this,” Dimitri told him. The only words Dimitri wanted to hear were that Jake was going to live. It had to work.
Logan took a deep breath and exhaled, nodding in agreement. As the pack began to gather, Dimitri gingerly set Jake in Logan’s arms. As he backed away, his mate came up behind him, circling his waist with her hands. She lay her cheek to his back, sniffling.
Logan whispered to Jake, and Dimitri closed his eyes, putting his hands over Gillian’s. He’d been given so much in his life, blessed in many ways. He silently prayed, hoping the Goddess would spare Jake’s life. But when Jake didn’t regain consciousness, his heart broke, the grief pouring like a river into his chest.
Chapter Twenty-One
“I know you were close to him, D,” Logan said, putting his hand on Dimitri’s shoulder. “I care about him too.”
“I am close to him. As in present tense. Jesus Christ, Logan. He’s not dead yet.” Dimitri pushed away from his Alpha. He carefully sat on the bed next to Jake and took his friend’s hand into his own.
Recalling the evening’s events, he sighed. With nearly a dozen Anzober wolves dead, including Chaz, most of the Acadian wolves had stayed to help move the bodies. Dimitri had called Léopold to assist Jax with Nick’s remains. The vampire had known the New York Alpha for years. As much as Dimitri had wanted Léopold to stay, Jax was despondent and Gillian hadn’t wanted him to go alone to his jet.
Dimitri had carried Jake the long trek home on foot. When they’d arrived, he’d taken him to the first available bed, which was in the downstairs guest room. In the open brush and again at the house, Logan had failed to elicit a response from Jake despite repeated commands for him to shift. The fist-sized hole in his chest no longer bled, yet the wound hadn’t healed. With Jake’s heartbeat irregular, they all believed it was only a matter of time before he died.
“Where the hell is Léopold?” Dimitri asked Logan.
“I’ll go call him again. They probably aren’t even at the airport yet,” his Alpha responded.
Gillian exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her. Intent on cleaning Jake, she’d brought warm washcloths to his bedside. Seeing the Alpha, her eyes lowered submissively to the floor. As she padded over to Jake, Logan approached her, cupping her cheek.
“It’s okay, Gilly. You’ll get used to having an Alpha.”
“Sorry, I just…I’m not used to being wolf.” She lifted her chin, looking into his eyes.
“My mate. She wasn’t always wolf either. I promise it’ll get easier.”
“The shifting was easy, but being with the pack. It felt…”
“Overwhelming?”
“Yeah. I’m used to being on my own. My cat,” she looked to Dimitri, “she’s independent. Tonight, I don’t know. I can’t feel her when I’m here, but when I attacked, I felt feline. I felt it in my claws. You saw what I did to Chaz.”
“You’re strong…stronger than most wolves.” Logan wasn’t sure what to say about her transformation. They’d all seen the damage she’d inflicted on the Alpha’s back. The gash had been much deeper than most wolves were capable of doing with their paws alone. “We’ll work it out. I’m here for you if you need help.”
“Thanks.” Gillian gave Logan a small smile, still unsure of how it would be to have to answer to an Alpha.
As she approached Dimitri, he turned and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head against her belly. She dropped the wet cloths next to him and cradled his head in her hands.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice quiet.
Dimitri didn’t respond as anger and grief seized him. He held onto the hope that Léopold could use his ability to materialize back to his home and would agree to turn Jake. However, Dimitri knew that Léopold didn’t give his gift freely. The only wolf he’d ever saved had been Wynter. Logan had told him that Wynter had lingering side effects from being given so much blood. Even if he could get Léopold to agree, he was unsure of Jake’s feelings about being saved by a vampire.
A kiss to his hair brought his thoughts back to his mate. Her presence calmed him, and he held her tightly. His safe harbor, he thanked the Goddess she’d initiated their mating.
“Baby, why don’t you go clean up?” Gillian gave him a squeeze. “I feel better now that I took a shower. I’ll stay right here with Jake. I’m going to clean all this blood off him. You’re covered too.”
They’d been coated in dirt and body fluids from their battle. Dimitri had insisted Gillian go take a shower when they’d returned. Between Nick, Chaz and Jake, she’d been covered in blood. He looked at his own hands, the dried caked grit stuck to his palms.
“Go on. If there are any changes, I swear I’ll come to you,” she promised.
“She’s right, D. You’re wearing Chaz’s scent,” Logan informed him.
Dimitri gave him a hard stare.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Me too.” Logan rubbed at his forearms.
“I’ll take the guest shower,” Dimitri told her. “You sure you’ll be okay alone with Jake? If there's any change at all, come get me.”
“I swear it.” Gillian took his place on the bed and began to gently clean Jake’s face.
“Here’s your phone.” Logan pressed open the door and tossed him his cell. “I’m sorry D, but I’ve gotta check on how the wolves are making out with moving the bodies. I also have to make sure that Wynn and the others are okay. I’ll come back and check on Jake in a bit, see if I can get him to rouse. His wound doesn’t look as bad as it did earlier. He may just need time,” Logan offered.
“I’m gonna call Léopold again,” Dimitri said.
“You know, Leo might not want to…” Logan began.
“I know. I know. I’m calling him anyway.” Dimitri turned his focus onto his phone, leaving the room.
Gillian watched as Dimitri slowly went into the bathroom. His
sadness emanated through her. She shook her head, aggravated that she was helpless to alleviate his suffering. Alone with Jake, she focused on cleaning his skin, hoping he’d miraculously wake. Inch by inch, she worked, carefully navigating around the puncture in his chest.
When she heard the spray of the shower, she finished washing away the last bits of dirt from his body and tossed the dirty linens aside. She hadn’t wanted to give Dimitri or Logan false hope, but she’d set her mind on trying to heal Jake. Prior to mating, she would have easily been able to call her powers, but in the woods with Nick, her healing ability had waned. Given that there weren’t many viable options, she had to attempt it.
Peeling away her towel, she knelt onto the bed, and gently lay on Jake. She closed her eyes, trying to picture her cat, to conjure the magic. A small smile formed on her lips as the first tingle rippled over her. Her hopes were dashed when she was unable to maintain the energy she needed for healing to ensue.
“What’s going on?” Gillian heard Dimitri ask. She cursed, aware that she’d been caught.
“I just…I want to…” she hesitated.
“Want to what? Wait, are you fixin’ to heal him like you did with me?”
“I know it’s stupid, but I had to try. When we ran tonight, I tried to save Nick. I felt a flicker of something, but it wasn’t enough,” she explained.
“But you felt something?” Dimitri approached her.
“Yeah, I could feel a little bit of my cat. And just now, again, just the smallest…I don’t know. I know it sounds crazy. I’m just thinking maybe…if you got my gift, we could heal him together.” Gillian pressed up to look at Dimitri, her forearm on the bed. “Do you feel my cat? Anything at all?”
“When we mated, you got rid of that thing inside me, but I really don’t feel very cat-like. I’m still just me. You saw me tonight. I’m wolf.” He paused, unconvinced it would work. “Listen, cher, I’m desperate too, but maybe we should just wait for Leo. I’ve seen what he can do.”
“As much as I’d love your friend Léopold to show up right now, he’s not here. I know you want him to help but we don’t know if he will. And Jake? Would he want that? I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I’d want all that vampire blood in me anyway.”
“I’m not going to let him just die on me.”
“Then, please. Let’s just try,” she said, her voice cracking. Her heart broke for him. Although they hadn’t said it out loud, they both felt responsible for what had happened.
“I don’t know about this.” Dimitri raked his fingers through his wet hair.
“Please.” Gillian looked to Jake and back to her mate.
“Okay, okay, we’ll try it. What do you want me to do?” Dimitri asked, resigned.
“Get underneath him, maybe if we’re on both sides of him, it’ll be enough.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. I’m telling ya. Since we’ve mated, I haven’t felt special mojo, not like what you did to me.”
“We’ve got nothing to lose. He’s dying. I can hear his heartbeat slowing. Please, he needs us close. Just take my hands.”
Dimitri tore off his towel with a growl. Naked, he slid into bed, lifting Jake so that his back was on his chest. Gilly reached for her mate. Their bodies tangled into one, she took a deep breath, concentrating, and began to direct them.
“Just feel me, baby. You know that special energy we have when we shift?” she asked.
“Yeah?”
“It’s kind of like that, but restrain it. Don’t let it go that far. Don’t shift. When I healed you, I let my energy flow. You need to focus it…focus on directing it into Jake.”
“But I don’t think…” he began.
“Don’t think. Just close your eyes. Feel me. Listen to my voice. Feel your magic. Search for my cat…look for her. You’re my mate. She’s in you now.”
“I…” Dimitri’s voice trailed off as he concentrated. As wolf, he’d never had to think about shifting. Being wolf was as natural as breathing.
“That’s it. I’m going to start, but my energy is weak.” Gillian began to purr, forcing the sound from her throat. It wasn’t organic. As if she were a human mimicking an animal, she allowed the noise to grow louder. Slowly, the hum built, bombarding every cell in her body.
“Oh my God. I feel it,” Dimitri cried out. “It feels…it feels like…electricity.”
“Help me,” she told him. “Find my cat.”
In his mind’s eye, Dimitri saw his wolf. He stood stoic, waiting. Soon the small sizzles going through him became rhythmic jolts. A loud roar sounded, the tiger coming forth. Shocked by the sight of her, Dimitri gasped for air. He’d never seen anything like it. The resplendent animal came forth, driving through pounding pulses of magic.
As if Jake’s pain were his own, he sucked a deep breath, the slicing hot agony of the silver fragments dissolving into his flesh. Darkness began to close in, both animals fading into obscurity. He attempted to speak, but his throat closed, his lips moving without words.
Jake stirred above him, and he heard Gillian’s voice.
“Jake, Dimitri, you okay?” she asked. Dimitri’s eyes fluttered open, with a surreal awareness that told him his friend had survived.
He felt the weight of Jake lighten on his chest as he slid out from between them. Gillian’s soft breasts pressed into his chest, the scent of her shampoo teasing his senses. Her silky palm glided against his cheek.
“Dimitri? Can you hear me? Please, say something,” she pleaded.
“Gil, did you see it?” he asked, still shocked by what he’d seen.
“Did you see my cat, baby?”
“You’re beautiful, do you know that?” Dimitri smiled as she came into focus.
Gillian released a sigh of relief, and they both laughed.
“If I’d known all it would take was getting shot to get into bed with you both, I’d have done it sooner,” Jake joked, shifting up onto his side.
“Jake, oh my God. How do you feel?” Gillian exclaimed. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, her lips lingering next to his.
“Now this is what I’m talking about,” Jake teased, his eyes meeting Dimitri’s.
“Jesus Christ, Jake. You scared the shit out of us. Are you for real? Let me see you,” Dimitri insisted.
Gillian kissed him once more before sitting back on her heels. Both she and Dimitri watched as Jake ran his palms down his chest and patted his abs.
“Not sure what you did, but I’m good as new.”
“You need to be thankin’ Gillian, here. She’s the one who suggested we try to…”
“My cat’s inside him.” Gillian diverted her eyes to her hands, which she held tight. Although she’d willingly given up her ability to shift as a feline, a sense of melancholy filled her chest. She’d been unable to heal Jake on her own.
“No fucking way. You’re a cat?”
“Way.” Dimitri sensed Gillian’s change of mood, and brushed his knuckles under her chin.
“We got lucky. I just wish I’d been able to heal him like I’d done with you,” she said softly.
“Hey, cher. You did this. We’re a team now, you and I. And us, with the pack. There’s no going it alone.” Dimitri took her hands and brought her to him. Gillian fell into his embrace, exhausted from their night.
“Gilly, look at me,” Jake said. His eyes moved from Dimitri and locked on hers. He reached for her, his fingers trailing over her shoulder, down her arm. “We’re all connected. Tonight you must have felt the pack?”
She nodded, grateful for the commitment to Acadian wolves, for helping her and Dimitri kill Chaz. Without reserve, they’d accepted her during their run.
“I feel you. What you did for me. Even though I was unconscious, I knew you were there. When you were healing me, it was you and Dimitri. I felt both of you.”
“But I wasn’t able to do it by myself.”
“Exactly.”
“This may have been an unconventional mating, but it
’s done. We’re one now.” Dimitri took her hand.
“Never alone,” Jake added.
“Thank you.” Gillian glanced at Jake then Dimitri. “Both of you.”
Their heated gaze smoldered, her eyes never leaving his. She reasoned that it may have been the mating or the run driving her heightened libido and emotions. After learning to grow comfortable within her own skin, there was no way she’d ever leave. Together, they’d taken her gift and saved Jake. Dimitri had come into her life like a hurricane, sweeping her off her feet, changing her perspective.
She parted her lips, her eyes focused on him. But before she had a chance to speak, Dimitri wrapped his fingers around the nape of her neck and captured her lips. Aware that Jake had left the bed, she thought for a second to end their embrace, but Dimitri’s fingers speared into her hair, demanding her attention. As he deepened the kiss, she slid her palms up his chest, her fingertips teasing his flat nipples. He growled at the intrusion, flipping her onto her back. She squeaked as she fell back onto the bed, his legs straddling hers.
Frantically, she nipped at his lips. His energy poured into her, and the realization hit her that she was finally free, as was he. Free to love, to live, to begin their future together. A surge of passion coursed through her, her wolf seeking his. His hardened cock lay heavy on her thigh, and the touch of him sent desire to her core.
Aching for him, she strained to bow her pelvis into his, seeking the relief she needed. He wrapped a hand into her hair. Their lips forced apart as he tilted her head, exposing her neck. She bared herself to him, relaxed into her submission.
“Yes, that’s it, my little wolf. Don’t move,” he told her, sucking her earlobe.
She gasped, her nipples grazing his chest. His warm wet tongue traced a small circle behind her ear, slowly making its way down to her chest. A clean fragrance mixed with his masculine scent, brushed by her nose as he buried his face into her cleavage. Gillian moaned as he licked, circling her areola.