Corrigan Fire Bloodfire - Helen Harper Page 0,69

me. Before she got too far, however, she twisted to Anton and stared at him, horror filling her gaze. I had no idea what he’d just said to her but she’d obviously just twigged that he was now the Cornish alpha. Her faced paled and she pitched forward, the events of the day suddenly seeming to catch up with her. I only just managed to grab her in time before she collapsed to the ground. I circled my arms round her and held on tight. She obviously thought that Julia had died.

‘She’s not dead,’ I said as carefully as I could, gazing into her eyes to make sure she believed me. ‘But her wounds are such that she no longer has the physical ability to manage your pack. Anton’s Voice emerged several hours ago and Mother Nature is doing its job.’ I dropped my voice, wanting to acknowledge to her that things could have been different and that I was honestly surprised they weren’t. ‘Funny, I thought it would be you.’

For the briefest moment, warmth spread across her face. Then, inexplicably, she shut down, pulling away as if I’d scalded her. Trying not to feel hurt at the obvious rejection, I did my best to remain expressionless. ‘We need to leave. The other portal will not remain open for much longer.’

Mack swallowed. ‘Uh…other portal?’

‘How do you think they got through to attack the keep?’ Anton said. ‘The beach portal was already sealed by your friend. There was obviously another gateway.’

I sighed internally. Anton still had a long way to go. ‘There’ll be time to analyse later. You need to shift so all those cuts will start healing and we need to return. I don’t want to spend more time around this plane than necessary.’

Mack squeaked and, incomprehensibly, turned to Anton for help.

‘For fuck’s sake,’ I exclaimed. ‘She’s dead, your alpha’s death is avenged, you can shift. We don’t have time for this.’

Fear flickered in her eyes. ‘Right. Okay, time to shift. Yes, can’t wait to finally shift again. If I go too long I get that itch, you know? So it’s good that I can now actually shift.’

I raised my eyebrows. What on earth was going on? Completely flummoxed, I was about to compel her to shift when her eyes rolled back into her head and she dropped down in a dead faint. I had to spring forward to catch her yet again. Cursing, I adjusted her weight, cradling her against my chest and trying not to notice how pale she looked. Her skin was hot, burning against me. I should have paid more attention. I’d thought she’d been starting to recover. Feeling guilty for being so harsh with her, I glanced at Anton.

‘We need to get back home to Fenewick now.’

He nodded. Without waiting any longer, I took off back for the portal and the safety of the keep. It was awkward trying to move quickly while not jolting Mack’s unconscious body too much. I gnawed at my bottom lip and hoped to the gods that she’d be alright.

‘My Lord, I will take her,’ said Anton, surprising me.

I didn’t want to let her go. I had the oddest feeling that if I did, I might never see her again. While she was next to me, I could feel her heart beating and I knew she was still alive. ‘It’s fine. She weighs nothing.’

‘I am her alpha. It is my responsibility – she is my responsibility. We have not always been on the best of terms but perhaps this way I can demonstrate to her that she can trust me.’

Damn. This was all I wanted from the werebear. Perhaps I’d read him wrong and he really was trying to do the better thing. I had no choice but to give him the benefit of the doubt; I couldn’t pull rank on him now. Very, very reluctantly, I passed Mack over to him. I winced when he slung her over his shoulder rather than gently holding her though.

‘The others will be anxious for news, my Lord,’ Anton continued. ‘I do not wish to move too quickly as clearly Mackenzie has many small wounds from which there is a considerable amount of blood. I have no objection if you wish to move ahead and let everyone know what has happened. Perhaps then you can alert the doctor to move to the portal to help her as quickly as possible. Mackenzie is usually more hard-headed than this. I am concerned that she has