Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles) - By Nancy Holder Page 0,117
the fiery bank. She saw the silhouette of a man wearing a gas mask over long, shoulder-length hair. He was standing with a rifle against his shoulder pointed directly at her. An icy tremor rattled her bones. It was Dom Gaudin. Obviously he had known about the silver, and now he was going to fire at Doug and her.
Then he lowered the rifle and blew her a kiss.
She gave him a solemn wave. He watched her for a moment, then the smoke closed over him.
“So sick,” Doug said, gasping.
“Can you walk? We have to get out of here.”
“Go,” he ground out. “Go help.”
She was afraid that if she left him, Dom would shoot him after all. So she crouched closely beside him, acting as a human shield, wondering if Justin was still alive. Now that imminent danger had passed, she began to shake, and Doug patted her hand.
“It’s okay, Kat.”
His words were slurred. He was still out of it, so she wiped her eyes and pulled herself together. Flopping his arm over her shoulder, she tried to lift him up — but he was as limp as a ragdoll.
“Can you change?” she asked him.
“No.”
She could barely hear him.
“Okay, I’m going to get someone,” she said, though where in all the chaos, she had no clue. She wished she had a bottle of water, anything to dilute the effects of the silver in his system. On his skin, in his eyes. He had probably swallowed some, too.
“I’m coming back,” she said.
He didn’t respond. His eyes were glassy and his mouth was slack. He couldn’t be dead. She pulled off her jacket, wadded it up, and placed it beneath his head. Then she took off running, hoping that this side of the bayou would take her to where the Fenners were making their stand.
Katelyn raced through the smoke and gunfire, around burning weeping willows and cypress trees. If either pack had thought to keep this fight off the radar, that wasn’t happening. As she rounded a pine, she heard Justin shouting, and put on a burst of speed.
“Justin!” she yelled, nearly colliding with him as he came in sight.
He made as if to touch her, then jerked back. She knew he could smell the silver from the bog on her.
“Come on!” he said.
Fenners in human form flanked them; wolves bounded past toward a line of Fenner trucks and cars. They were doubled over in pain, gasping and vomiting. From the silver in the air, she guessed. They were retreating.
“Get in, get in!” Justin yelled.
Katelyn jumped into the bed of a truck. Lee Fenner lay sprawled beneath her on a tarp, and Arial was crouched beside him with one of his hands pressed between both of hers. She was crying, and Mr. Fenner’s face was ashen. He was muttering and Katelyn strained to hear.
“I stopped him then, but I couldn’t stop him now. So many dead. So many dead,” Mr. Fenner rasped.
She glanced around, wondering if any of the others knew what he was talking about. No one seemed to be paying attention.
“Where have you been?” Arial demanded, staring at her. “If you’d been there, if you’d shot Dominique Gaudin, Daddy would be all right.”
Katelyn tried to remember the last time she’d had the gun. Justin had shot Luc with it and she didn’t know what had happened to it after that.
“Doug,” Katelyn said to Justin as she set her down. “He’s on the other side of the bayou. He’s hurt.”
“Where?” Justin asked.
“I’ll show you,” Katelyn said.
“No,” Arial insisted. “Stay here and protect the alpha. He’s more important than some bit-in human.”
So that’s how she feels about Doug. And me, Katelyn thought. She knew Arial’s priorities were misplaced. The pack wasn’t supposed to protect the alpha. The alpha was supposed to protect the pack. Someone else needed to stand up and lead. She glanced at Justin, whose face was drawn. His eyes were watering, and he was studying his uncle.
“Arial,” he said, “I’m taking over.”
“Oh, no, you’re not!” she cried, cradling her father’s head. “This is a Fenner pack. My father is our alpha. He just needs a few minutes.” She looked down anxiously at Mr. Fenner.
“I’m a Fenner,” Justin said.
“Don’t even start with me.” She bared her teeth.
“Arial! Justin! Where’s Doug?” Regan yelled hoarsely, coming up behind them. She looked at Katelyn. “Where have you been?”
“Doug’s hurt,” Katelyn told her. “Come with me.”
“We have to get Daddy out of here,” Arial insisted. “He’s hurt.”