This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,58
of her book flipping over every now and then until she finishes.
“Well done, Tessa,” Helen whispers to me before she draws back and turns to Jace. “Jace, you can take Becca now. Her arm is healed and she had no other wounds. She’s sleeping. As is Carly.”
With another mutter beneath her breath, Helen spells a chair to appear beside the examination table. Jace wraps his arms around Becca and transports her there, carefully laying her with her head on the armrest and her now-healed arm against her side.
I’m aware of Tristan’s gaze, the same prickly heat that would strip back my defenses, making my breath catch on every inhale.
“I can’t leave the girls,” Helen says to him. “So we’re going to have to have this conversation here. Tell me what happened.”
Harsh growls leave Tristan’s lips. “Baxter Griffin stepped right into the heart of my territory. He sent his men to the north to distract me while he and Dawson Nash attacked Carly and Becca when they were walking home from school. That’s how brazen Baxter’s become.” He casts a hard glance at me. “They know that if they can’t hurt me, then they can hurt my pack. I can’t be in two places at once.”
He pulls away from the wall. “I need Tessa,” he says. “Not in a month. Not soon. Now.”
Helen’s lips press together in an angry line, her response sharp. “Tessa isn’t ready.”
Tristan’s lips pull back into a snarl. “I’m looking right at her, Helen. Her wolf is under control. Like fuck she isn’t ready.”
Helen’s wand smacks the back of her own hand with a crack. I’ve never seen her angry and it alarms me.
“Tessa’s not ready, Tristan. She’s far more vulnerable than she appears.”
I cringe at Helen’s description of me. Vulnerable may be accurate, but it isn’t the descriptor I would have preferred.
“I can see that too,” Tristan says, glancing at me.
I bite my lip. As hard as I try to remain in control, I couldn’t hide my reaction to Becca’s wounds, or my list counting. Tristan doesn’t seem to have missed anything since he arrived.
He shakes his head, a slow, dangerous movement. “We’re headed for war, Helen. Baxter Griffin is determined to destroy me. I don’t have any heirs or an alpha-in-training. He’s taking out all of my possible successors.” He gestures at the girl on the table. “Carly was my next option. If I step aside—or if I die—Baxter will slaughter every member of my pack. I won’t let that happen. I will fight him. I have no choice but to go to war.”
“War is not the way, Tristan,” Helen says. “A war between wolf shifters is bad enough, but conflict in this city will draw in other supernaturals—bounty hunters, assassins. Humans will get caught up in it too. Their law enforcement isn’t equipped to deal with a war between supernaturals. The streets will turn to blood. I won’t let you put Tessa in the middle of that.” Helen’s expression is sharp, and my heart hurts that she’s fighting so hard for me. “Find another way.”
“Tessa is the other way,” he says, leaning against the bench. “The last possible hope for my pack.”
“Can you guarantee that she won’t be killed?” Helen asks.
Tristan exhales. He gives it a lot more thought than I was expecting him to. His gaze lowers to my wolf, who remains at my side. “I can’t.”
“Then I won’t let her leave.”
The corners of Tristan’s mouth rise into a smile while his eyes are hard, the same dangerously threatening expression he turned on Peter Nash before he fought him. “I’m not asking, Helen.”
Helen taps the tip of her wand against the back of her hand. “I don’t take orders from you, Tristan.”
I draw in a sharp breath. “Stop. Both of you.” I exhale slowly. “I’ll go with Tristan.”
Helen takes a quick step toward me. “Tessa, no—”
I hurry to her side, taking her free hand in mine. “Baxter Griffin killed my father. Dawson Nash has tormented me since we were kids. I can’t stand by while they continue to hurt others.”
I spin to Tristan. “I’m not doing this for you.” I point to the sleeping girls. “I’m doing this for them.”
“I don’t give a fuck who you’re doing it for, Tessa,” he snarls. “As long as you follow orders.”
I allow a small smile to rise onto my lips. “I’m coming with you, Tristan, but that doesn’t mean I’ll follow your rules.”
His eyes narrow, but it’s a confident look. “We’ll see.”