said, and fully released me. I wasn’t surprised to see a red ring where his hand had been. Dick.
I looked to where Cal was now hobbling to his feet, the wound in his stomach still bleeding more than I liked. And Adrian’s breaths sawed in and out through his teeth but he remained standing, though I could tell it was taking a great deal of effort for him to keep his spine erect.
“Go to them,” Stella said. “They need you now.”
I needed no more prodding than that. Reinforcing my resolve, I moved further into the meadow to a barrage of whispers. I’d hardly paid any attention to the rest of the pack gathered to witness the severing, but now their voices followed me, and I still had the presence of mind to be more than a little embarrassed by my outburst.
They had to understand, though. Where they may have been used to such blind savagery, this was far from normal to me.
Atlas stalked through the grass toward me. I stiffened as he passed, slowing for an instant to meet his burning stare. I glared at him. I couldn’t help it. If it weren’t for the fact that it would probably hurt me more than it would hurt him, I’d deck the dog in the face.
He passed, and I heard the quick popping and crunching noise, like a zipper made of bone, that meant he’s shifted back.
“They’re your responsibility now,” he said from behind me, a profound sadness tainting the words.
I didn’t dare turn around, afraid one of my clenched fists would fly of its own volition.
“Take care of them.”
My spine tingled as the ghostly weight of his request settled upon my shoulders.
“I will,” I spat.
And then I heard the pack leaving and turned to find nearly forty wolves vanishing back into the trees. Only Stella remained. And Draven. The two waited patiently in drawn silence near the edge of the woods.
I cleared the remaining yards of space between us, approaching hesitantly. I had to assume from the glow of their irises that they were resisting the call of their inner wolves. I didn’t want to be too close in case the animals within got out.
It clicked in my mind that that must’ve been the reason they had to do this whole ridiculous thing in human form. Because their wolves wouldn’t be dominated. They wouldn’t have laid down and allowed Atlas to attack them. Much as I told myself otherwise, in their wolf forms, they could be taken over by their animal urges. They’d have fought Atlas.
“Are you,” I breathed, gagging at the sight of all the blood on Cal. “Are you alright?”
“Stings like a bitch!” Adrian grunted. Now, without the audience, he’d let his shoulder slump and had his bottom lip clenched between his teeth.
“It’ll take longer to heal than a normal wound,” was all Cal said, even though blood still seeped out between his fingers. “It’s alright,” he added. “I won’t shift.”
I ran into his outstretched arm, careful not to touch the wound. I tugged Adrian in, too, needing to feel them both, to know they were okay. That we were okay. And to lend them the strength they always kept reserved for me.
Healing sigils blossomed over both of my palms and I pressed them into the flesh of my familiars. They sighed together, and I warmed knowing I could offer them at least this one bit of comfort. Before my eyes, Cal’s wound began to heal. The bleeding stopped within seconds.
“What now?” Adrian asked, nuzzling into my hair.
I bit the inside of my cheek. “Well, don’t get too excited,” I huffed, pulling away to collect myself. “But I have a surprise for you.”
3
Harper
After a promise from Draven that I’d be seeing him soon, and a warm hug from Stella, the three of us left the meadow in the woods.
When I asked, Cal and Adrian said they’d return to see their mother and friends often. Just because they weren’t pack didn’t mean they couldn’t ever see them again. It only meant they would need alpha permission to cross onto his territory from now on.
For his sake, I hoped Atlas would be amiable about it, or he’d be getting a visit from me.
“So, what is this surprise?” Adrian asked, his arm brushing up against my shoulder as we walked.
Elias, relieved when he saw us, hadn’t been able to help himself and pulled me into him, his racing heart slowing as he realized I was alright. And then he remained oddly