Crescent Wolves - G. Bailey Page 0,64

shifting back into human form, too focused on taking stock of the others to process the fact that I finally managed to transform into a dragon. Shade is groaning as he picks himself up off the ground, while Landon is advancing on Samantha, his song down to a low thrumming as he works to sustain the command. Hunter, who has been watching the fight with wide eyes, shuffles slowly forward. “Is it over?” he asks, but I don’t respond. I’m bolting across the room to the table where Silas is tied down. The dragon shifter’s eyes are closed, and although he’s breathing, he doesn’t seem to be conscious.

“Silas!” I yell, touching his face. “Wake up!” He doesn’t even stir, his complexion still ashy and sickly. Quickly I feel for a pulse; it’s there, but faint, like his heart is struggling just to keep beating. “Come on,” I say, shaking his shoulders. “Come on, wake up. I’m here--we’re here. Silas, please!”

Still nothing. I turn back to the others. Shade’s eyes are wide as he approaches. “What’s wrong with him?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I reply, and I realize that my eyes are brimming with tears. “What do we do?!”

“What are they injecting him with?” Shade asks, pointing to the needles in his arms. I follow his line of sight to the IV tubes, which are hooked up to the monitoring device; not daring to think about it any further, I reach down and yank the needles from Silas’ arms one at a time. A little blood trickles out of the puncture wounds, but otherwise, there’s no response.

A minute passes, and then two, as we all stare at the dragon shifter with bated breath.

At first I can’t tell if I’m imagining it, but it almost looks like his breaths are coming more easily now, and when I put my fingers to his neck once more, I feel his heart beating with a little more strength. Moments later, I feel a warm hand cover mine, and I look up to see Silas’s dark eyes opening. He groans, shifting a little as he stares up at me. “Silas,” I breathe, leaning in closer to him.

He gives me that tentative, crooked smile, the same one he gave me the other night, and says two words: “Hey, Boots.”

Chapter 26

“Would you stop leaning on me?” Landon says, sounding exasperated. “God, Shade. I know I’m attractive, but I have a personal bubble.”

“Don’t stress yourself,” Shade fires back, shifting away. “You’re not my type, anyway, Thyme.”

“Guys, come on,” Silas pleads. “You’re gonna crush me.”

We’re in the infirmary, all gathered around Silas’ bed. He’s being given fluids and anti-inflammatories, and his cot clearly isn’t meant for the number of people it’s currently supporting. Shade and Landon are sitting on either side, their bickering reaching nearly comical levels, while Hunter lingers next to the bedside table with Hazel by his side. I’m at the head of the bed, arms crossed over my chest as I watch the others’ antics, occasionally sharing an incredulous glance with Hazel.

It’s been a day and a half since we broke into the faculty building, and I still feel a little bit surreal about the whole thing. As soon as we stumbled out of the basement, supporting a weak Silas as we went, we found ourselves surrounded by faculty and security. Judging by their horrified reactions, most of them had been unaware of what was going on in the basement--or at the very least, were good at pretending so. The questions are enough to make me paranoid when I think about it too hard.

“I’m glad to see you’re all right,” Hazel said, patting Silas’s shoulder for a moment before taking a step away from the bed. “When are they letting you come back to class?”

“They’re saying they just want to make sure I’m stable, and that I should be clear to go by the end of the week,” Silas replies.

“You’re not worried they’re going to try to kidnap you again?” Hazel’s tone is joking, but there’s genuine worry in her eyes.

“Hawthorne’s claiming it was an isolated incident,” replies Landon, rolling his eyes. “Guess he’s got a handy scapegoat in Ms. Goldstein.”

“Yeah, what’s happening to her?” asks Hazel.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “I saw them hauling her away after our meeting with Hawthorne. She’s being put on administrative leave until the board decides what to do with her.”

“Forgive me if I don’t find that very reassuring,” mutters Shade.

“Yeah,” I agree, turning to him.

“But it seems like the danger is over, for now at least,” Hunter says. “Although whether more students are going to go missing…”

“I don’t know,” Landon says, shaking his head. “Something tells me this is far from over.”

“It is far from over,” replies Silas. “Whatever they were doing to me and Brody, Samantha mentioned that more people were in on it.”

“Poor Brody,” murmured Hazel, shaking her head. “I’m glad they got there when they did, Silas.”

“Believe me,” Silas replies, glancing at me, “so am I.”

“I don’t trust Hawthorne,” I say. I haven’t forgotten the conversation we had in his office, when he warned me to stay away from Silas. It’s easy enough for him to feign concern for us, I think, while behind the scenes he’s working with whoever gave the order to kidnap the students in the first place. It’s not clear to me whether he’s behind it, but one thing is for sure: anyone who believes Samantha was acting alone is naive.

“Me neither,” Hazel says, biting her lip. “But I guess there’s not much we can do, is there? Aside from staying vigilant, I mean.”

“And looking out for each other,” I agree, nodding.

There’s a moment of silence as we look around at each other, me and all these friends I’ve made since arriving at Shifter Academy. Finally, Hazel straightens and says, “Well, I guess I’d better get back to class. I’ve got Houston next period.”

“Damn,” Landon says, laughing. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” says Hazel, grinning. “I’ll see you guys later.” And with that, she turns and walks out of the infirmary.

The five of us are left looking at each other. “You’re right about looking out for each other,” mutters Shade. I glance at him, surprised. “We owe each other that much,” he says. “And I agree--whatever this is, it’s far from over.”

“And there’s still this whole issue of our past,” Landon points out. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I want answers. About all of it.”

“Then let’s find them,” Silas says, and we all turn to look at him. He shifts a little in his bed, sitting up with a grunt. “Together, I mean. Look, I…” He clears his throat. “I know we haven’t always gotten along perfectly, but at the end of the day, this affects all of us. I want to make sure we’re all on the same page, here.”

“You’re right.” Before I really even know what I’m doing, I’m reaching out and grabbing first Silas’s hand, and then Landon’s. They look at me, confused, but it’s almost as if something passes between us then.

Wordlessly, Landon takes Hunter’s hand, Hunter takes Shade’s, and Shade takes Silas’s. We’re left standing there in a circle, looking from one to the next as the invisible bond we share--whether it’s predestined or not--weighs us down. I’ve grown close to these people, and I find myself vowing that I’m not going to let anything happen to them. Whatever it takes. The room seems to crackle with energy, and I meet each of the guys’ eyes in turn, nodding. “We’re in this together.”

“So what now?” Hunter asks quietly.

“We survive,” I reply. “As far as what comes after…” I take a long breath and square my shoulders. “We have work to do.”

Continuing reading Millie’s story in Azure Dragons by clicking here.

About G. Bailey

G. Bailey is a USA Today and International Bestselling Author of fantasy and paranormal romance.

She lives in England with her cheeky children, her gorgeous (and slightly mad) golden retrievers and her teenage sweetheart turned husband.

She loves cups of tea.

Chocolate and Harry Potter marathons are her jam and she owns way too many notebooks and random pens.

About Regan Rosewood

Regan Rosewood is a new author from England, where she lives just down the road from G. Bailey.

She has a cute cat and an addiction to reading.