Page 80 of Rabid
I slam a clawed fist against the driver side window, and it shatters under the force of my vehemence as Burke screams. I look him in the eye, my rabid stare vowing that he’ll see me again, and then I slow my pace, letting the van race away from me as I turn to answer Tyran’s howl for help.
Sprinting back the way I came, I race past the pack house. Part of me is demanding that I turn and finish off the threat to our pack, to destroy the reason why we’re even here, but our pack needs us. Twin Rivers wolves yip in fear as they part and make way for me, quickly backing away as I approach the gathering in the heart of their territory. Just behind the pack house, surrounded by a protective circle of our wolves, I find Tyran, Kier, Vorria, and another male. I don’t know him, but he smells like magic, so I assume he’s Plummet Lake’s healer. Just past them, with a wicked scowl, bruises all over his face, and a makeshift sling on his arm, is Britton.Thank the moon our pack’s Second is okay.
As soon as we’re close enough, Tyran comes over to rub against me and my wolf, not even bothered in the slightest by our new form. His response warms us, and I run my claws through his fur, beyond grateful to have found such a worthy male who understands and accepts everything we are no matter what.
Vorria’s gaze snaps to me. “Luna, we need you,” she barks, her thoughts and actions firmly planted in healer mode. I recognize the strong countenance. I’ve seen it many times from my mother over the years when situations were dire and there was no time to waste. My wolf releases her hold on our form, and our souls drift apart as her wolfish features pull away, leaving only me in possession of our body.
I rush forward and bite back a gasp as I see Harlan and Hess lying before me, both healers scrambling to save them. Harlan’s wolf whines, quietly snapping my attention back to her, and I kneel down and shove my hands in her bloodied fur, knowing healers need contact to do what they do.
Vorria places a hand on my arm and the other against the bleeding hole in Harlan’s side. I keep replaying the image of her jumping in the path of a bullet that could have killed my mate. My eyes burn, and I beg the spark of magic that exists inside of me to help her. The Ruin Falls’ healer chants something so quietly that I can’t make it out. Instead of focusing on the words, I allow the rhythm of how she’s saying them to wash through me, while I try to lend her everything I can to help the wolf beneath our touch.
The telltale coolness of healing magic seeps out from Vorria’s hands, coating Harlan’s body. I add that same heady warmth I felt when Vorria asked me to help with the knife wound in my stomach, hoping I’m actually doing something. The third healer presses sharp looking tongs into Harlan’s wound at the same time, and I can’t help the warning growl that spills out of my lips when he twists them, causing Harlan to yelp in pain.
Tyran steps up, shifted back to his human form as he presses a hand against my back to calm my growl. “It’s okay, Vicious. He has to get the bullet out, or we’ll never be able to heal her completely,” he assures me, and I do my best to swallow down my warning.
With another twist, the other healer pulls the mouth of the tongs out, which are now clamped around a small piece of metal. I stare at the bullet, hating how something so small could cause so much damage. The healer drops it into a pad of gauze, and I focus all my attention back on the she-wolf, making sure we fix her up and get her back on her feet in no time.
Harlan’s bleeding slows, and I watch in awe as the wound slowly knits back together. Her uneven pants begin to even out into steady breaths, and relief hammers through me when Vorria pulls her hands back and nods.
Howls of relief and happiness fill the sky, and my own heart leaps with it too, until the healer redirects my attention to Hess. Vorria pulls me closer to him, his face almost unrecognizable, breaths labored, pallor sickly. Guilt and heartbreak swarm me like wasps, and a hitch in my throat stifles the emotion I feel building in my eyes.
What have they done to him?
A renewed rage sets my insides alight, and I suddenly wish I’d ripped Burke from the van and shredded him when I had the chance. Tyran fits a shirt over my head, and I look behind me, offering him a warm, sad smile before threading my arms through the sleeves. I lean over Hess, placing my hands on his shoulder, terrified that even my light touch could be hurting him. Kier is kneeling by his head, whispering soothing things to his twin, while Vorria and the other healer take their place at Hess’s sides.
The rush of magic that I feel shoved into his body makes even me gasp. It’s less as though the healers are feeding into the male, and more like he’s syphoning it out of them, his body in desperate need of help. I believed Hess was dead, so it kills me to think of what he’s gone through this entire time, all because I didn’t think to come back for him.
Trying to feed my spark into him, I close my eyes, blocking out the view of his beaten face. Instead, I think of Hess laughing with my mom, or the times he just sat quietly next to her as she cried. I think of the moments where he tried to get close to me, and all the times I shut it down. At first, I think I did it out of loyalty to my father. Later, I pushed him away because I was worried what Burke would do to him if he thought we were close, and I didn’t want my mom to lose him. Now, here I am, kneeling next to the male and hoping with everything I have that I can help save his life.
Bones crack brutally into place as the healers’ magic washes through him. It’s a painful, agonizing process, every broken bit of him needing repair. The healers work meticulously to right the wrongs done to his body, and I add my searing heat to their balmy cold. The healers look worn out, their expressions determined but strained, so even though I myself start to feel tired, I keep pushing, keep trying.
Slowly, Hess’s skin grows less clammy and gray, and starts to turn back to a healthy hue as bruises disappear from his body. The Plummet Lake healer next to me crumples over in exhaustion, and a female wolf rushes to check on him.
“He’s okay,” she announces quietly, and two wolves bring a stretcher for the healer and lay him out on it.
Vorria is still focused and stern as she works on Hess, but I don’t miss the bead of sweat forming on her brow. She’s been healing our pack when she could ever since the fight first broke out. I can only imagine how drained her reserves must be right now. I try to pour more of my spark into her, because even though I still have no idea how it works or why my mother never mentioned anything to me, I’m grateful I can at least try to help. It’s so much better than the feeling of helpless frustration that’s radiating off of Tyran right now.
Suddenly, Hess gasps and his eyes fly open, making me flinch in surprise. He sits up with a rush, his face panicked and pained. “Run, Seneca...run!” he shouts, as though he’s still trapped back on the night of my Flux. His words rush through me like a torrent, the plea from him to save myself like a brand to my soul.
How many times did I wish that someone would stand up for me against Burke? There were far too many moments where I hoped someone, anyone, would help pull me from the abyss. To hear Hess try, like it was his dying wish… It feels like something just healed inside ofme.
“I’m okay. You’re okay too,” I reassure him, and my steady, quiet voice instantly makes him sag back in relief.
Hess blinks up at me, and then with a grimace, digs into his pocket and holds out his hand. I look down, my eyes widening when I see the broken pieces of my mom’s hair clip in his palm. With choked tears, I pick up the cracked wooden pin, my thumb brushing over the rose blossom top. Then I curl Hess’s fingers over the rest of the pieces for him to keep. “Thank you,” I whisper, feeling more gratitude than I could ever express.
He lets out a shaky breath, and then Kier pulls him into his arms and hugs him with all his might. “You’re alright, brother.”
I grip my mom’s pin before my eyes land on Tyran’s tawny brown gaze where I see pride and love radiating from his stare. A smile crawls across my face, and I move toward him so he can wrap me up in his strong arms.
We did it.
We got our family back.
We cut out the cancer.
Even though Burke got away, there’s only so far he can run before we find him, and wewillfind him. I don’t doubt it for a second.
Tilting my head back, I kiss my mate’s lips and hold him close. All I want to do is get lost in him, to leave this place behind and truly start our life together, never to look back again.
