Captive of Wolves (Bound to the Fae #1) - Eva Chase Page 0,119
I wave off his impending objections. “I’m fine. But August and Whitt aren’t. Are they both in the basement?”
“Yes.” Despite my insistence about my wellbeing, he slips his hand around my wrist and mutters a magically-charged word. My skin prickles beneath my makeshift bandage, the ache in my thumb fading as his power must seal the wound. Then he pulls ahead of me, stalking toward the basement stairs as if either of the other wolves might come barging up right this minute to attack me. If taking the lead makes him happier about the situation, he’s welcome to it.
The basement hall has been barricaded at both ends with sliding barriers like the one upstairs, the first by the gym and the second just beyond the entertainment room. Having seen the smashed lantern orb in the front hall, I have to guess the TV and game systems wouldn’t survive a full moon night intact if one of the beasts got at it.
The wolf behind the barrier at that end is clawing at it, letting out a sharp howl when I pause.
“That’s Whitt,” Sylas says. “As much as it actually is him in this state.”
I turn toward the other end. “Let’s start with August.” I’d rather save whatever snarky remarks Whitt is going to make for after I’m finished with this ordeal.
It’s less of an ordeal with the fae lord by my side, though. I insist on standing by the door, but he unlocks it and shoves it aside, braced to shield me if the gambit doesn’t work. August’s ruddy-furred wolf wheels from where he was wrestling with the high, narrow window frame and springs toward us. I barely have time for my stomach to flip over before Sylas has tossed the rag and my blood has touched the wolf’s tongue.
When August shifts back into his usual form, he scrambles to his feet at once, blinking at us. “What— I thought—”
“So did I,” Sylas says, a trace of amusement lightening his baritone. “Our lady had other ideas.” He grazes his hand over the top of my head, rumpling my hair.
Our lady. Not “the girl” or even “our guest.” As if I’m an actual part of this household now. I beam at August, afloat on the pleasure of those words and of seeing him freed, and he grins right back at me. “You’re a marvel,” he says.
“I’m not done yet. Let’s get Whitt.”
I’ve got even less to worry about with two immense fae warriors flanking me, but somehow the sight of Whitt’s wolfish form still sends a jolt of panic through me. Tawny furred and as muscular as his half-brothers, he tears toward us with fangs gleaming. His own blood darkens one side of his muzzle where he must have scraped his flesh raw in his attempts to break free.
When he snatches the tossed rag out of the air and falters, the ocean-blue eyes gleaming in his wolfish face look dazed. He seems to gather himself as a wolf, dipping his head and rubbing his wounded muzzle against his foreleg, before he transforms with a dog-like shake of his frame.
He cocks an eyebrow as he pushes himself upright, ignoring the abrasion still seeping blood over the edge of his jaw. “Change of plans?” His gaze lingers on me.
I smile at him, a little nervously. “We’re all in this together.”
August steps toward him, and after a half-hearted protest, Whitt lets him speak a few words that transform the shallow wound into a patch of solid if pinkish skin. Afterward, the younger man glances in the direction of the outside houses, the muscles in his arms flexing with restless energy. “What about the rest of the pack? They’ll be so scattered by now—and it’d still raise all kinds of questions if we bring them out of the wildness.”
“We’ll have to let them ride out the moon,” Sylas says, and touches my head again. “But don’t think you haven’t given them a gift as well. Now that we have our heads, we can go out and keep some kind of order between them. Fewer injuries to treat in the morning.”
Whitt rolls his shoulders. “Good. I could use a run after being cooped up down here.”
Sylas nudges me around so I’m fully facing the fae lord. “You will remain inside behind locked doors—and actually stay this time. We won’t be able to protect you out there with so many fae roaming around. Understood?”
I nod emphatically. I don’t have a death wish. “I’ll stay inside. I swear it.”