My eyes searched for Adam, but I didn’t see him in his wolf form. Instead he had transformed back, riding on the back of one of the wolves with Jasper by his side. He was covered in blood.
I screamed.
Chapter Six
The men shoved past us into the great hall, slamming the door shut behind them. I moved to throw myself against the door but Annabelle caught me, holding me back. I collapsed in her arms, unable to breathe through the pounding of my heart. My blood ran cold through my veins as I gasped for my breath. My whole body shook. The sight would never leave my mind: Adam, naked, blood everywhere. I couldn’t...I couldn’t…
My legs gave out from under me and Annabelle reached under my arms to hold me up. “All right, you’re all right,” she murmured to me.
Was I? I couldn’t think. I needed to get to Adam. I needed to make sure he was all right before I could decide if I was all right. Annabelle continued with a gentled shushing, but it was only background noise to me as my mind spun.
The door to the great room opened again and I leapt from Annabelle’s arms and stumbled inside. Adam was lying on the floor with Conor beside him. I crashed to the floor, knees hitting the stone, and reached out to touch Adam’s face. He was cold, and my heart dropped. He was never cold.
I leaned over him, my forehead pressed to his, tears streaming down my face. With a gentle kiss to his forehead, I sat back on my heels.
“Adam, Adam, can you hear me?” I asked him.
His eyes fluttered. “Hazel,” he murmured, blood on his lips.
I swallowed. “You’ll be all right,” I said. It was probably a lie, but what else was I supposed to say? I looked to Conor for some sort of confirmation, but he was intently examining Adam’s abdomen. Conor was a doctor, someone had told me that. If anyone could save Adam, it was him.
I shifted on the floor, crossing my legs and propping Adam’s head on my lap. My actions had gone numb, my fingers running through his hair. From this angle, I had a clear view of his torn abdomen, a long and deep gash across his muscles. Blood had spilled everywhere, and I knew that if he lost much more he wouldn’t survive, even with his advanced healing skills. His pulse was almost undetectable, and his face had gone deathly pale. I choked back a sob.
I couldn’t lose him. He couldn’t leave me. He was my everything, my whole world. When we were apart, I wanted nothing more than to be with him, and when we were together, I wanted nothing more than to stay there forever.
“Stay with me, Adam. Stay with me,” I murmured, caressing his face. “You’re all right. We’re going to get married in a few months, remember? We’ll get married, and we’ll have babies. Lots of babies. As many as you want, I promise.”
I wasn’t sure if he could hear me, but he offered up a faint smile. “I’ll hold you to that,” he croaked out.
“Try not to talk,” Conor told him, and Adam flashed me a pained glance.
“That’s all right,” I said, a tear slipping down my face. “I’ll just talk, you listen. I love you, Adam.”
Jasper was sitting at Conor’s feet, and Christine came to stand beside him.
“What happened?” she asked, worry wide in her dark eyes.
Jasper shook his head. “We had all separated. Stupid, in hindsight. I met up with Conor and Stephen. We were about to find the others and head back to the house when we heard Adam’s howl. We found him like this, lying at the foot of a tree.”
“Do you know who did it?” she asked.
“We have our suspicions, of course,” Jasper sighed, “but by the time we got to him, his attacker was gone.”
“Seth again?”
“It appears that way.”
“This certainly is his modus operandi,” Conor said.
I swallowed, still crying, my hands brushing away his hair. “I love you Adam. I love you. You’ll be all right.”
“Is he going to survive?” Christine said it quietly, but I could still hear. I waited for his answer, unable to breathe.
“I think so. We need to get him patched up. If we can do that, his body should work quickly enough to do the rest,” Conor said.
I felt myself relax slightly. A good chance of survival if Conor could sew him up. I could live with that.
Christine and Bridget left to gather supplies. My heart thundered in my chest as every moment passed, waiting for the girls to return. I continued running my fingers through Adam’s hair, stroking his skin, murmuring to him. If he was going to die, he was going to die knowing he was loved. I didn’t know how much time had passed, probably a few minutes, though it felt longer, but soon Christine and Bridget hurried back into the room with a tray of medical supplies.
I tried to keep my eyes on Adam’s face, not wanting to watch Conor stitch him up, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Conor dip a cloth in alcohol and apply it to Adam’s skin. Adam’s eyes flew open as he cried out, and my tears fell faster as I did my best to comfort him. Jasper moved to secure Adam’s arms so he would stay still while Christine put ether under his nose. After a moment I felt his body go limp in my arms as the ether knocked him out. Conor got to work making stitches while I stayed focused on Adam. After several minutes he set down his tools and sighed.
“That ought to do it,” he said.
I swallowed. “He’ll be all right?”
Conor nodded. “It might be a few days, but he should be better soon. He lost a lot of blood, but I don’t think it was too much. He won’t be able to run anytime soon, I’m afraid. That could tear his stitches.”
“He can stay here until he’s more recovered,” Jasper said. “We’ll keep a doctor here around the clock for him.”
“I’d be happy to stay,” Conor volunteered.
“If you’re willing to stay, we’d be happy to have you,” Jasper told him. “I would be very grateful.”
“I’ll go tell the maids to make up a few rooms,” Bridget said.
I glanced at the stitches on his torso, neat little stitches across angry tears. “What’s going to happen when he shifts? The full moon is in just a few days. Won’t they tear?”
Conor pressed his lips together. “It’s hard to say. He may be healed up enough by then that they won’t tear. If they do, I’ll be here.”
“What about when you’re both turned, though? What if he begins bleeding?”
“If he’s doing poorly enough, his body will revert back before the moon goes down,” Conor reminded her.
“Yes, but you won’t be changed back!” I knew my voice was getting high, but I was concerned.
Christine spoke up. “I can help. Remember, I can do stitches. They won’t look as nice as Conor’s, but they should do.”
I pushed away tears, remembering the first night we had met. Christine, whose father had been a doctor, took care of the cook after she sliced her arm. “That’s right, I remember, you stitched the cook. That makes me feel a little better.”
Bridget returned to the Great Hall a few moments later. “We have two rooms set up,” she said.
Stephen and Connor carried Adam upstairs, and Christine and Jasper and I followed behind. Adam’s room was down a few doors from Christine’s and on the opposite side of the hallway. They laid him down gently on the bed and I pulled a chair over and sunk down. I reached over to take his hand.
He was still passed out. His hand was heavy and cold in mine, his face still pale. Someone needed to clean up the blood. I’d have to find a rag or something. I stood up from the bed, gently resting Adam’s hand back on the bed. Adam didn’t even move.
I found towels but no rag, so I went to the hallway to find someone. As soon as I was out of the room, away from Adam, I couldn’t hold myself together. I leaned against the wall, tears streaming down my face.
“Hazel?”
I looked up to see Christine coming down the hallway, her face full of compassion.
“Come here, love,” she said, wrapping me in a hug. “He’s going to be all right.”
“But what if he’s not?”
I sniffled.
“He will be. Conor said so.”
I pulled away to look at her. “Christine, I’m just so, so scared. I don’t know what I’ll do without him. He’s my everything.”
“I know, dear,” Christine said, hugging me again.
“How am I supposed to go home knowing that he’s here, dying?”
Christine thought for a moment. “What if you stayed the night here?”
“Really?”
“I don’t see why not. We’ve got plenty of bedrooms.”
“I would really appreciate that. I just can’t go back home and leave him here.”
She smiled. “Of course. I’m going to go tell the servants to make up another room for you, all right? Conor’s got the room next to him, but you can have the one across the hall. This time, it’s not olive green.”
I gave her a small laugh.
Christine promised to get me a few rags, and I went back and sat next to Adam. Conor and Jasper came in to check on him, Conor taking his pulse and Jasper waiting for the result. After a few moments, Jasper walked over to the window, pensively looking out.
Christine came to join him a few minutes later followed by Annabelle. Annabelle motioned to me and I took one glance back at Adam before I left the room to join her. I shut the door behind me and turned to see Stephen and Bridget in the hall as well.
“How are you holding up?” she asked me.
I nodded. “I’m all right.”
“I’ve made up the room across the hall for you,” Bridget said, motioning toward the open door.
I swallowed. “Thank you so much.”
“It’s my pleasure,” she said.
“Would you like us to go tell your family what happened?” Annabelle asked. “I was about to go home anyway to check on Daniel. I can let your family know to bring your things.”
I wiped a tear from my eye. “I would really appreciate that.”
From inside the room, I heard a gasp and a shuffle of feet. I pushed the door open and rushed inside.
“What happened?” I asked.
“He’s all right,” Christine told me.
“He was trying to tell us that Seth was his attacker,” Jasper told me.
“He’s awake?” I rushed to his side.
“He’s passed out again,” Conor said to me. I sighed.
“Why don’t you go rest in your room?” Christine asked me. “Relax.”
I glanced at Adam nervously.
“Hazel,” Christine said gently, “he’s going to be all right.”
Those were the same words I repeated to my brother when he rushed over with my clothes and things.
“Can I see him?” he asked.
I looked over at Jasper and he nodded. “Of course.”
We climbed up the wide staircase. I showed Harry the room that I was staying in and he left my items on the bed.
“How long will you be here?” he asked me.
“Until Adam is better.”
He paused. “Mum and Dad aren’t happy about this.”
“I don’t care.”
He smiled. “I know you don’t. That’s why I brought your things over. I’ll deal with the fallout from them.”
“Thank you.” My voice was scarcely a whisper.
Together we crossed the hallway to Adam’s room. Harry rushed to his side, but Adam didn’t stir. He was still out, whether from the pain or the ether or something Conor gave him, I didn’t know. Harry sat down in the same chair I had been sitting in. I shut the door to give him privacy.
I crossed back to my room. Christine was right; the walls in here weren’t the ugly olive green like the room I had stayed in the last time I’d spent the night at Wolf’s Peak. Instead the paper in here was a deep green with a pattern of pink flowers across the wall, stretching up over a brass bed. Someone had started a fire in the fireplace, the facade marble with veins of pink and gold.
I hung my gowns in the wardrobe and put my toiletries on a shelf in the bathroom. While running a brush through my hair, I glanced at my reflection. Under my eyes the skin had become swollen and puffy and my eyes had turned red. My face was drawn. I looked exhausted.
Harry knocked on my door to say goodbye, and Christine did the same to say goodnight. I changed into a nightgown and pulled back the covers. Under the blankets I curled up into the fetal position, arms around my knees.
I rolled over. I couldn’t sleep. I tried for what felt like hours, tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling. My thoughts were consumed by Adam.
I climbed out of bed and grabbed the candle from the mantel. I stepped out of my room and across the hall into Adam’s. He was still asleep, but the blood had been cleaned off his body and he had been wrapped in a blanket. I set the candle down on the nightstand and slipped under the blankets, curling up next to Adam.
While watching his chest rise and fall, I finally fell asleep.
Chapter Seven
“Hazel.”
I opened my eyes and blinked at the bright light shining through the window. Next to me, Adam gave me a small smile before wincing. I sat up.
“Are you all right?” I asked him.
“I’m in pain, but I’m doing better,” he said.
“Do you remember anything that happened?”
He nodded. “A little bit. We were in the woods, and Seth came at me. I didn’t even see him until he was already on me. He tore at my stomach, but I managed to kick him off. The others came and chased him away before he was able to do any more damage.”
“More damage?” I asked, my fingers dancing along the bare skin of his torso. I pushed the blankets away. Between the rippling of his muscles was a thick bandage, and under that was the angry gash, the skin sewed together by stitches and threads. I wasn’t a doctor, but already I could tell it was looking much better. The perks of being a werewolf, I supposed.
There was a knock on the door, and after a minute Conor opened the door and leaned in. “Good morning. Mind if I come in?”
Adam propped himself up so he could see our visitor. “Of course,” he said.
I looked down and adjusted my nightgown so I wasn’t showing too much cleavage. Conor crossed the room to Adam’s bedside.
“How does it look, Doctor?” Adam asked.
“I’m pleased,” Conor said as he checked Adam’s stitches.
I slid off the edge of the bed, landing on my feet. “I’ll be back in a little bit,” I said, leaving Adam to the exam.
I crossed to my room without seeing anyone. I wasn’t used to seeing the house this quiet. I had only seen it like this one other time, and that was after Jasper had been attacked by his brother. Seth certainly had a way creating a somber atmosphere.
I changed from my nightgown and into one of the dresses Harry had brought me. This wasn’t like being at home, where I had my gowns and shoes and jewelry in one place, where I could choose whatever I wanted to wear. Here I had the few dresses Harry had grabbed, a single pair of shoes, and the jewelry I had been wearing that night. It wasn’t Harry’s fault; he had no idea what went into a woman’s outfit on a daily basis.
A knock on my door startled me from my thoughts. It was the maid, letting me know that breakfast was being served downstairs, or I could eat up here. I chose to take it downstairs, and once I was as presentable as I was going to be, I followed her down to join the duke and duchess.
“Good morning, Hazel,” Christine said as I entered the breakfast room. “How is Adam?”
“Conor says he’s doing well,” I said as I took a seat.
“Have you spoken with Adam?” Jasper asked me.
“A bit. His spirits are up.”
“Wonderful,” Jasper said, giving me an affirming smile.
The Wolfrics were perfect hosts while I stayed at Wolf’s Peak. No one seemed to mind that I slept in Adam’s room every night. They all understood that I was sticking by Adam’s side no matter what. I didn’t want to leave him if I didn’t have to, even if he was getting better every day.
A couple days later, in the evening, the sun was turning the sky a deep pink and orange. I was sitting beside Adam as he sipped at his water when Christine knocked on the door.
“Come in,” I said.
Christine stepped in the room and smiled at Adam. “Hey, You’re looking better.”
He really was looking so much better. He had color in his skin, his pulse was strong, and his smile was infectious.
“I’m feeling better,” Adam said. “I’ll be up and about in no time.”
I frowned. He had been so antsy over the afternoon. “Well, not too quickly, I want you fully recovered.”
“The full moon is tonight. Are you ready?” Christine asked.
Adam nodded. “I think so. My stitches are almost healed.”
“Well, if anything happens, I’ll be here,” Christine said. “I’ll fix your stitches if need be, but please be careful.”
Adam gave her a mock salute. “Yes ma’am.”
Christine rolled her eyes as she left the room.
I turned to Adam. “Are you really ready for tonight?”
He shrugged. “As ready as I can be, I suppose.”
“It’s going to hurt.”
“It always hurts.”
I nodded. “Do you want me here with you?”
“If you’re willing to stay, I would really appreciate it.”
I reached out and threaded my fingers through his. “Of course I’ll stay.”
Before Adam’s transformation, I returned to my room to bathe quickly and change into a nightgown. The moon rose early in the winter, and though I wasn’t ready for bed, I wanted to be with Adam when he shifted. With the twisting of his body, a stitch or several could easily come free. With my nightgown on and a cup of tea in my hands, I crossed back over to Adam’s bedroom.
“Should you be out of bed?” I asked him. He was standing by the window, watching the impending moon rise.
The Wolf's Betrothed (The Wolf's Peak Saga Book 5) Page 5