by C. Larsen
Sniffing, his nose travels down my collarbone, tracing the same path as the dead man who had me pinned.
I shudder, remembering that thick bulge digging into my thigh. Gray immediately lifts off me, a deep growl vibrating through his chest. His eyes glow pure gold, a pulsating rage filling the air around him, so strong I can see it shining like an aura.
Whatever Gray smells on me apparently tells him enough about what happened. In his eyes, I see the same killing rage I saw in Max moments ago. But Gray seems to be holding onto his control, at least for now.
"Gray, its fine." I sit up, burying my hands into his fur, trying to calm him with my touch. "The man is dead. It's okay; I'm okay." I pull Gray to me, wrapping my arms around him. I nuzzle his neck, my wolf eager to replace the dead man’s scent with Gray’s. "Calm down, everything is fine. He's gone. It's okay."
Gray allows me to hold him for a few moments, but I can still sense his rage pounding through his veins.
He pulls away from me and lets out an ear-piercing howl before hunching over to begin shifting back. I don't know if it's the adrenaline coursing through his veins or the fear and rage still strong in his scent, but he completes his transformation in record time.
When he's fully human again, he barely takes a moment to shake off the pain before his arms wrap around me, his face burrowing into my neck.
"Luna," he says, squeezing me so tight I can barely breathe. "Are you alright? What did he do to you?"
"Shh, calm down, I'm fine." His body still trembling, he holds me out in front of him, hands on my upper arms. His gaze travels all down my body, scrutinizing me, searching for injuries. He takes in my swollen lip, then pauses at the drying blood on my face and chest from Max's frenzy, before continuing down, cataloging all of the small cuts and bruises along the way. When he gets to the dark purple bruises ringing my wrists, he freezes, teeth gnashing together.
Then his nostrils flair, panic flashing in his eyes. He spins me around to check my back.
Only then do I feel the pain radiating around my ribs and shoulder blades. I forgot that when the first man knocked me to the ground, his claws sliced into my back. With all the adrenaline during the fight, I hadn't felt it earlier, but now the burning pain is hard to ignore. I hiss in a breath and hear Gray's answering growl.
His hands grab the hem of my shirt, and with one yank, the shirt rips into two, exposing my back to him.
"It's fine," I tell him, worried about the rage pulsating around him.
His fingers gently probe the deep cuts. Then I feel the rough pad of his tongue rasp across one of the slashes. I jump, shocked.
"What are you doing?" I try to wriggle away, but his strong hands hold me in place.
*Clean cut,* he says in my mind. But though the voice sounds like Gray, there's something off about it. It's similar to Gray's, but just different enough to give me pause.
It's his wolf, I realize. Just like my wolf talks to me in my mind, Gray's wolf is somehow speaking to me through the pack bonds, even though neither of us is in our wolf form.
If Gray's wolf is speaking to me, that must mean he's so overwrought he isn't in control right now. I know that thought should scare me, especially after seeing Max's out of control frenzy, but it doesn't. I know that Gray wouldn’t hurt me, regardless if it's him or his wolf in control.
He goes back to cleaning my injuries, the warm, wet strokes of his tongue doing strange things to my insides. I want to push him away, but I know how delicate his control is right now, so instead I do my best to stay still and let him help me the only way he can right now.
I stiffen when I hear other people approaching from the direction of town. I know Gray must hear them, too, but he makes no move to defend against them, so I assume they must be from Ashwood.
Nikolay and Vasily are the first to break through the trees, their golden eyes alert, taking in the scene. Ivan follows closely behind, his gaze darting around until it lands on me, a strange sort of relief going through him.
Odd, I wouldn't have guessed he'd care one way or another if I were killed.
Having assured himself that I'm alive, he joins Nikolay and Vasily in the copse of trees where the blond male lays dead. I watch their expressions as they take in the carnage, both Vasily and Nikolay glancing at Max with something akin to shock, but Ivan regards him speculatively, as if seeing something in him the others don't.
I hear another rustling sound and look up to see Madelyn enter the area with an older witch I haven’t met before. She’s a tiny woman, with long silver hair hanging down past her waist. Despite the gory scene around us, this little witch has a small, slightly bemused expression on her face as she watches me and Gray.
Madelyn’s gaze is much more alarmed, especially when she sees Gray cleaning the slashes on my back. She moves swiftly through the underbrush towards us, the older witch following closely behind.
At their approach, Gray stops what he's doing and leaps in front me, a warning growl filling the air. Madelyn stops in her tracks, eyes widening. Then her face hardens, anger, fear, and determination at war in her expression. She raises her hand in the air, about to freeze Gray in place the way she did to me and Caiden weeks ago.
"No!" I jump up, wrapping an arm around Gray from behind and holding up my own hand, preparing to stop her with force if necessary. She pauses, eyeing me. If she attempts to harm Gray in any way, I won't hesitate to throw her through the air.
"He's not in control of himself, Emerson," she says, eyes fixed on Gray's golden gaze with steely determination. "He's a danger. I'm just going to freeze him. It’ll prevent him from hurting anyone until he calms down."
I know without a doubt that taking control of Gray's body when he's in this state will only make things worse. I remember firsthand how awful it is to lose all control over your own body. If Madelyn does that, whatever small thread of control Gray has over his wolf right now will snap.
"No. Just wait. I'll calm him."
"He'll hurt you," she says. "My way is safer."
"No! I won't let you do that to him. Just wait."
Gray doesn't seem to understand anything being said. His eyes are locked on the approaching witches. He's stopped growling, but, somehow, I know that's a bad sign.
He's going to attack, my wolf tells me. Growl for warning only. When attacking, no growl.
I know Gray—or Gray's wolf; I'm honestly not sure how much of Gray is cognizant right now—is only protecting me. I was just attacked. I'm hurt and scared and Madelyn isn't part of the pack. All he knows is that she's a threat. And he's going to protect me from that threat. I need to calm him down if I don't want this to end in more bloodshed.
"Just back away, Madelyn. Let me deal with him. When he's calm, then you can approach."
"I can't let you put yourself in danger," she says, raising her hand again.
Without thinking, I let out a growl of my own, a warning. She freezes, a hint of fear entering her eyes as she looks at me.
"He's not a danger to me." My voice is lower, more gravely, my wolf closer to the surface than usual.
She threatens Gray, she says in a growl. I feel my eyes flash and I know they're glowing gold.
Madelyn takes a step back, face wary. "Alright," she says, trying to keep her fear from showing. "But if he harms you, he will regret it."
I watch Madelyn until she backs up. But even though she’s far enough away to cease being a threat, Gray still crouches protectively in front of me, gaze locked on her.
I try to distract him, wrapping my arms around him from behind, pressing my chest harder into his back.
Gently stroking my fingers along his bare skin, I wait until his muscles begin to relax. Then, leaning in close to his ear, I say "Gray, can you hear me? It's okay. She's backing away. She's not a threat." I tug at him, trying to loosen his defensive stance. "Come back, Gray," I urge him. "Come back, moyo solnyshko."
On a lark, I use the word Grant taught me for 'sun'. Surprisingly, it seems to get throug
h to him more than anything else. I can feel his wolf pulling back, calming. His back muscles flex, as if working out tension and the rage begins fading from his scent.
He turns slightly to look at me, still keeping Madelyn in his periphery. "What did you just say?"
"Moyo solnyshko?" I say with a smile. "It means sun, right?"
"Something like that."
I give him a puzzled look, but he shakes his head. "Later."
Gray's shining gold eyes keep flicking back towards Madelyn, so I duck around in front of him, blocking his sight of her.
"Ignore her. Focus on me." I wrap my arms around him, running my hands up and down his back.
He shudders and turns his face into the crook of my neck, nuzzling me, replacing the other werewolf’s scent with his own.
I cup the side of his face, running my thumb along his jaw line and watch as the gold fades from his eyes. "So, are you...you again?" I ask.
He lets out a shuddering sigh and squeezes his eyes shut. "Yeah, it's me," he answers without opening his eyes.
"It's okay, Gray," I soothe, still stroking his face. "Everything's fine."
He takes a moment, but finally raises his head to meet my eyes. "Are you okay?" he asks.
"I'm fine," I tell him. "Just a little bruised." I give him a small smile but he doesn't return it.
"That...that werewolf. What did he do to you?" He crushes me to his chest, terror overtaking his scent again. "I'm so sorry, baby. Did he hurt you?"
"No, he didn’t hurt me. I'm fine. He just pinned me to the ground. Gave me a few bruises. No big deal."
"His scent is all over you," he says with a hint of a growl, pulling back to look at me. "His excitement, his arousal..." At this point he has to squeeze his eyes shut again, struggling for control.
"I'm fine, Gray," I hurry to reassure him. "He didn't touch me. Not like that. I'm fine."
"If he wasn't already dead, I'd kill him again."
"It's over, Gray. He's gone, Max made sure of that."
"He didn't die slow enough." His hands cup my face, eyes looking deep into mine. "I could have lost you."
My insides melt at the look in his eyes. Whatever reservations I may have had this morning regarding Gray’s feelings for me, the way he’s looking at me right now leaves no doubt in my mind just how much I mean to him.
Unable to resist, I lean in and kiss him, long and slow. He responds immediately, hands caressing my face, my neck, my shoulders, as if reassuring himself that I’m really here, that I’m safe.
I pull back, leaning my forehead against his, letting his strength seep into me. "But you didn't. I'm fine. I'm right here." I lay my hand over his pounding heart. His hand coves mine and we stay like that, faces so close we breathe each other's air, eyes locked.
"I love you," he says, before kissing me again.
My heart leaps, his words sending a thrill of warmth through me. I get lost in his kiss, his taste, the feel of his lips and tongue moving with mine. My hands slide along the heated skin of his chest, gripping his strong shoulders. I start pushing him down to the ground, needing to feel him against me, needing him to erase the feel of that other man.
A noise from behind us startles me.
Acting on instinct, I shove Gray down and whip around to confront the threat, body hovering over Gray's protectively. Why I think he would need my protection is beyond me—he’s more than capable of handling himself. But instincts are instincts.
My wolf, already roused from Madelyn's earlier threat, rises full force. Golden eyes lock in on the intruders, ready to take them out if they take another step.
Slowly, the red mist of rage clears, and I recognize Madelyn hovering nearby, eyes wide with fear. Yanking the leash on my wolf, I force her to back down.
It's just Madelyn, I tell her. Just my grandmother. No threat.
My wolf subsides, still alert, but willing to wait, to reassess.
I glance down at Gray, still lying partially under me. He gives me a small nod, letting me know he has control of himself and that Madelyn can approach.
Backing up, I give Gray room to get up and then turn to face the witches. "Alright," I say. "It's safe."
Madelyn stays where she is, eyes still wary, but the small witch behind her doesn't have the same reservations. She steps around Madelyn and shuffles toward us, an indulgent smile on her thin lips.
When Gray spots the tiny witch heading our way, his mouth curls up into a small smile. "Margie," Gray says, his voice warm.
"Move over, boy," she says in a gruffly affectionate tone. "Let me take a look at your girl. You should be ashamed, throwing a tantrum like that," she continues. "Scaring poor Madelyn to death, you did."
Gray's face brightens a little more at Margie's scolding. He glances over at Madelyn, who's slowly making her way to us, her face a hard mask.
Margie walks around me to look at my back.
"Ah, tsk, tsk, tsk." Her fingers trace the claw marks. They feel almost numb now, just a slight burn. "Throwing such a fit over nothing. You've cleaned it, and it's already healing. Bah!" She waves her hands at Gray. "She's as strong as you are; you should have known this would heal up just fine. I don't need to trouble myself on such trivial things."
"Heal it anyway," Madelyn says as she joins us. She’s obviously not as amused by Margie's ramblings as Gray is.
"Oh, alright, but it's a waste of time." Warmth tingles down my back, and then the burn is gone. As she heals the cuts on my back, I also notice my energy begins to swell, as if she's replenishing that as well. "See, waste of time. She's fine, boy. Your moon is strong."
"Thank you," Gray says sincerely.
I turn around to thank her as well. I haven't officially met any of the witches from Madelyn’s coven yet, despite living in the same isolated town as them for a month.
"Thank you, Margie, I really appreciate it."
She cocks her head as she gets her first good look at my face. "Elizabeth? What are you doing out here? I warned you, didn't I? You can't be here. You need to run!"
Chapter 25
My blood runs cold. "Elizabeth? My mom?"
"Go on, Elizabeth," Margie says, her eyes glazed over. "Get your daughter out of here. It's not safe!"
"What? What's not safe?"
Margie's eyes clear, and she looks at me as if for the first time. "Not safe? Of course you're safe! You're always safe with Gray. He will protect you." She pats my arm in an affectionate way. "No need to worry. These wolves won't be coming back. Nikolay will make sure of that."
I glance over my shoulder at Gray. What the hell is going on? It's like she doesn't know what she's saying.
Gray meets my gaze and winks. *Don't worry, luna. Margie often jumps around like this. She doesn't mean anything by it. It's just her way.*
*She said I wasn't safe.*
*She said Elizabeth wasn't safe. Not you. She gets confused sometimes.*
"Madelyn! Over here!" Vasily calls out. With one last glance at my fully healed back, Madelyn ushers Margie over to Vasily and the others.
Gray and I look at each other, then we're both on our feet, jogging over to see what all the commotion is about.
A little distance away from the blond man Max killed, the first guy who attacked me is lying in a pool of blood, skin pale as death, his chest just barely moving.
"We need him alive," Nikolay says to Madelyn.
She studies the nearly dead man on the ground, then turns to Margie. "Heal him only as much as you need to keep him alive."
As Margie begins working on him, I turn to Gray. "What about the other three? What happened to them?"
"Dead," he says.
Nikolay and Ivan head over to investigate the other dead werewolves while Vasily stays with Madelyn and Margie.
My gaze scans Gray's body, searching for any injuries. If I said I hadn't noticed earlier that he was naked, I'd be lying. With everything going on, my mind was too busy to process much, but my mind isn't too busy now, and boy, is there a lot to p
rocess...
He’s beautiful, even with blood smeared across his skin. Every inch of him is covered in muscle and smooth, golden skin…
Pulling my mind away from that train of thought, I scan his body, focusing on the bloody claw marks on the outside of his thigh.
"Oh my God, you're hurt! Why didn't you say anything earlier?" I kneel in front of him, checking the wound.
"It's just a scratch," he says, but let's me check it anyway.
The blood is already drying around it and I don't see any fresh blood, which means it's started clotting. Still, I’d feel better if I checked on it.
Placing my hands on either side of the gash, I close my eyes and send my energy into him. I hear a sharp intake of breath, then feel my consciousness begin to enter Gray's body.
It’s always a surreal feeling, entering another person’s body. I feel everything in their bodies as if it’s my own: their lungs filling with air, hearts beating in their chests, their pain from whatever wound I’m healing, sometimes even their thoughts and emotions. Usually the pain and emotions I feel from someone are muted, just an echo of what they’re feeling, but not always.
Caiden told me once during our training sessions that the tighter the bond between you and another person, the stronger you feel their pain and emotions during healing or any other magical work that requires you to link your consciousness to them.
Based on what I pick up from Gray, we must have a tighter emotional bond then I realized. Before I even fully merge with him, I’m bombarded by the residual adrenaline coursing through his veins, his fear and heart-stopping rage at the werewolves who invaded his territory and hurt me.
I try to push these overwhelming emotions aside, but before I can fully get my bearings, another entity surges up, snarling at my intrusion.
I freeze, afraid to make a move as Gray’s wolf flexes and paces around me, warily testing me out. I can feel his uncertainty, his wariness at having my consciousness invade the body he and Gray share.
Deep inside my mind, my own wolf rises, roused by my fear. The moment she breaks the surface, Gray’s wolf immediately settles down.