Page 24 of Mated By the Alphas
I assume he will turn towards the door. He doesn’t. He runs across the floor, leaps, and kicks off a column with enough force to send stones flying. That gives him enough momentum to carry us to the floor of the cathedral above. I’m sure I scream and clutch both Daisy and Hayden as he lands with a heavy thud, grunts, and then continues on.
I’m riding a wolf. A wolf that was a normal man. Then a giant. I’m… very confused.
But I’m too concerned about Daisy to focus on anything but her.
CHAPTER 10
Hayden
I’m too injured to stay hidden.
Thankfully, it’s starting to get dark. That’ll give me a little cover to hide in. Not much, but it’s better than everyone on the streets of Chicago seeing a bloody wolf carrying two women on his back. That might actually make the news, if it’s a slow day for murder and politics.
My body is cut open, bitten, and bleeding. The bites are the worst part. When a vampire bites someone and their venom mixes with the victim’s blood, it induces paralysis. I’m not immune to it, but it takes a lot of vampire venom to take me down. A few more bites and I would have been feeling it. Every mark already feels like molten lava, gushing and pulsating with fiery, radiating pain.
If the rest of the vampires had shown up, I would have fallen. They would have drained every drop of blood in my body. Ansley would be hanging from a chain, right beside her best friend. Themore distance I put between the vampire nest and us, the less chance they have of tracking us.
To make it more difficult, I smear my blood in multiple directions. I dash through alleys, around buildings, and stay out of sight, but I leave a trail that will just take them in circles before I finally break into a stride.
Despite the pain, I use wide leaps to diminish the trail. Once I’m sure I’m no longer leaving fresh blood every time my paws hit the pavement, I relax. The trail will go cold. That’s good enough. The best I can do under these circumstances.
“Are you still okay?” I ask Ansley, my voice traveling across a mental link.
“Yes,” she answers. “I’m not sure about Daisy, but I’m fine.”
“I can feel her heart beating. She’s still alive,” I reassure her.
It normally takes a wolf a while to establish a mental link with someone, especially a stranger. My brothers and I share one when we’re in close proximity. I shouldn’t have formed one with Ansley so easily, but I will not question it. It just reinforces what I feel. That despite not knowing what she is, there’s a connection. A primal one. She is mymate.
How? I don’t know. So many stories have been twisted into fiction that barely resemble the truth. Maybe the ones that passed down through generations of wolf shifters have lost bits and pieces that were important. Maybe there was a time when wecouldbreed with other Scions.
Or maybe Ansley is just unique. It wouldn’t be the first time something new emerged from a Scion bloodline. Not in recent years, but my father used to tell stories he heard frommy grandmother. Stories about a time when Scions lived in harmony and weren’t so different from each other. I always assumed they were embellished and exaggerated tales, but maybe there is some truth in there. Wyatt might know more. He’s the youngest of my brothers, but he’s the scholarly one.
“We’re almost there,” I growl, turning a corner and making sure I can stay hidden before continuing on.
“Where are we going?” Ansley asks.
“A doctor I trust,” I reply. “He’s a witch, but that’s exactly what we need right now.”
“A witch?” Ansley questions, then she leans closer to me. “Okay.” I can hear her exhale with the bewilderment the last hour has caused for her.
She’s seen so much in such a short time she doesn’t really question it. I guess if you just found out vampires and wolf shifters exist, the existence of witches isn’t that much of a stretch. Let’s hope she never has to see what hunts us. Crimson Templars are scarier than any Scion.
I find the alley I’m looking for and lunge into its protective darkness. Approaching a door, I lower myself to my stomach.
“I need to shift before we go inside,” I growl. “I can’t communicate with him like this. He won’t be able to hear me like you can.”
“Okay,” Ansley says, carefully dismounting me. She keeps a hand on Daisy, then pulls her best friend into her arms. “I got her.”
I walk behind a dumpster and shift into my true Human Form. I’m too weak to maintain my Third Form right now. It’s hardenough around Ansley, without being covered in gashes and bites. Even while I fought the vampires, I felt the overwhelming need. The urge. It’s stronger now, but I have to keep it throttled back.
There’s an old blanket near the dumpster. Probably left behind by a homeless person, or it was meant for the trash. It’s got a foul odor, but I wrap it around me anyway. I hold it in place as I stagger back to the door and knock on it.
“Morgan!” I shout, pounding on the door a little harder. “It’s Hayden! I’m hurt! I need your help!”
I stop slamming my hand into the door when I hear commotion on the other side. It opens with a creak and a pair of aqua-blue eyes that flicker like gemstones peer out. That’s the tell-tale sign of a witch. Not broomsticks or cauldrons. Their fucking eyes sparkle so much you’d think they really were carved from shimmering stones.
“Hayden,” he says, looking me over, then peering at my companions. “You really are a mess, but she needs immediate attention. Come inside. Hurry.”
