This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,54

us leap apart and spin toward the sound.

Helen stands half out of her seat, gasping and clutching her chest. Her plate lies shattered at her feet. She must have knocked it off the table when she stood up.

“Helen!” I shout. My wolf leaps away from my body, separating and racing to her side, reaching her before I do.

The other women remaining in the garden crowd toward her, but my wolf keeps them away with soft growls, herding them back. It can’t hurt them, but they stand clear, allowing me through.

I slide to a stop at Helen’s side with Iyana and Danika close behind me. “Helen! What’s wrong?”

She grips my shoulder, her fingers biting into my arms. “Tristan just broke the lock. He’s already here.”

Chapter Fourteen

I stare at Helen in shock. “How did he break into the house?”

Helen’s face is pale, her dark hair fallen loose from her topknot and the collar of her shirt ruffled, as if the force of the magical break blew through her body.

She leans close to me and all of the sounds around us stop. I suddenly realize that she’s shielding our conversation.

“Remember what I told you about old magic being able to affect old magic?” Her hands shake around my arms and her voice is a hoarse whisper. “Tristan is stronger than you can imagine, Tessa. I think you’ve sensed his power. Even this house can’t control him.”

She releases one of my arms to brush my hair back from my face. “You might be the only one who can truly match him. But he’s not here because of you. Not yet…”

My ears pop as she leans back again before I can respond or ask her what she means. Whatever shield she placed around our conversation is gone in an instant and our exchange is no longer private.

“Tristan needs help.” Helen tries to stand fully but stumbles against the table. I tighten my hold on her while Iyana rounds the table to support Helen’s other side. “I need to get to the medical wing right away.”

Iyana’s eyes are round. “Tristan must be bringing somebody wounded. Help me get Helen upstairs.”

Nobody new has come to the house since I arrived, even though a handful of women have left. If Tristan’s broken through the lock to bring someone who needs help, it must be urgent.

Danika leans forward across the table to me. “I’ll make sure everyone stays safely in their rooms, and I’ll check on Ella to make sure she’s okay. You stay with Helen and help her in any way she needs.”

As the room empties around us, I assist Helen to stand.

“I’ll be fine,” she insists. “My magic just got a shock. I’ll be okay soon.”

“Deep breaths,” I whisper to her as I continue to support her on one side while Iyana holds her other.

Together, we shuffle our way across the floor and up the stairs.

I haven’t been back to the medical wing since I healed after the fight with Cody and Dawson. I shake off the memories while I help Helen into the first room on the right.

She’s standing straighter by the time we get there, regaining the color in her cheeks.

“I’m okay now,” she says, taking her first unsupported step since her shock in the garden. She turns to Iyana and tells her to go help Danika with the other women.

“Make sure they’re all calm,” Helen says.

Iyana gives Helen a nod, but she casts me an uncertain look as she passes me. I take my own deep breaths and fight the impulse to squeeze myself as far into the back corner as I can before Tristan arrives.

Remember, Tessa: Calm. Control.

I remind myself that I’m not the same woman Tristan left here two months ago.

Helen casts me a questioning look, similar to Iyana’s, but I give her a firm nod. “I’ll stay with you. What do you need me to do?”

“Come stand by my side. Remember who you are and what you’re capable of,” Helen says, calling her book to her side. The book flies up into the air, floating on the opposite side of me as I join her at the foot of the medical examination table.

“As soon as I know what we’re dealing with, I’ll ask for your help,” she says.

“Okay,” I reply. “I’ll be ready.”

Seconds later, running footfalls thud in my hearing.

Despite the dulling power of Hidden House, Tristan’s presence is like a dizzying burst of light in my senses. Closing my eyes and daring to expand my senses, pushing against the spells