Fated for Her Wolves - Tara West Page 0,52

bite it off.

“Hurry, Eilea.” Constantine urged.

Andrei felt a pull back toward the mortal plane, like he was a wisp of smoke sucked into a vent. His eyes flew open, and he looked up at Eilea’s serene smile and his brother’s furrowed brow.

“Welcome back, Andrei,” Eilea said, placing a warm hand on his brow.

“Thanks,” he said, voice ragged.

“You both need to rest,” Eilea said to him.

“No time for that,” Constantine grumbled. “Can you shift?” he asked Andrei. “Tatiana needs us.”

Andrei didn’t need to be told twice, for he suddenly remembered her cry for help seconds before he was shot. Damn!

His wolf howled, breaking free of his mortal skin. Following Constantine’s lead, Dejan joined them as they sprinted for the trees. Andrei remembered Dimitri had gone after her, and he prayed he’d made it in time.

Where’s Dimitri? he asked Constantine.

I don’t know. Constantine’s voice was grim. I lost connection.

What? Andrei and Dejan simultaneously asked.

Brothers, Constantine said, his tone even darker than before. I fear they’ve gone into the Hoia Baciu.

Ancients save them, Andrei pleaded, for he didn’t know if he could go on living without them.

TATIANA ACHED IN SO many places, she wasn’t sure where the pain began or ended. She dragged bloody paws across the scorched earth, whimpering with each step. At times she forgot what she was doing or where she was going. She just knew to follow the big protector stumbling ahead of her, dodging petrified tree branches and growling at strange creatures that dared come too near.

Despite the gloom in the forest, they could still see far ahead because of the glare from the mist that hung over the trees like a canopy. The forest felt dark, but she thought perhaps it was her soul that was filled with shadows, as if the taint of the forest was blackening her from within.

She heard a familiar grunt ahead of her. “Dimitri,” she called after she shifted into human form only to wrap her arms around her bare knees and curl into a fetal ball, “we’ve been going in circles.”

He knelt beside her and placed a warm paw on her back. “I know.” Dirt and blood stains marred his white fur. One leg was so swollen, she suspected it was badly infected. She grimaced when something green oozed from the wound.

“We need to stop.” She reached for him. “You need rest.”

He gently hoisted her up. “I will rest when we’re free.” He gasped when he saw her bloodied hands. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She wiped them on her legs. “You have enough to worry about.”

“I am your protector, iubita mea.” He lifted her into his arms. “It’s my job to worry about you.” After taking a few steps, he slumped to the ground, resting against a gray tree stump that looked ready to crumble to ash. “Perhaps just a short rest.”

She curled up in his lap, and memories of their trek returned: Dimitri had gone into the haunted forest and saved her from a demon; they’d been wandering for what felt like days, trying to find their way out.

Thousands of tiny red welts covered his chest. Some had turned to bubbling blisters and were oozing blood. When she gingerly touched one, and it burst, green and red pus splattered, he let out a hiss.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said. “Dimitri, this looks bad.”

“So do yours,” he said.

She looked at her nude body, shocked by the bloody blisters covering one hand and foot. She hurt so much everywhere, she hadn’t realized she also had infected blisters. “We need help.”

He placed a kiss on her forehead. “Which is why we need to keep moving.”

As if to prove his point, they heard a strange howl from somewhere behind them. Growling, he got to his feet with her in his arms and trudged onward.

Arms looped around his neck, she looked over his shoulder to see at least a dozen sets of red eyes. Great Ancients! Even if they didn’t succumb to their injuries, the forest would eat them alive. How were they supposed to escape this nightmare?

EILEA TRIED NOT TO think about her angry mates while healing wounded shifters. Boris sat stoically nearby. He’d held her close after she’d found him, but he’d grown increasingly distant. She could hardly get him to say two words to her. Her other mates were out in the field. Marius and Geri occasionally brought her wounded wolves. They, too, were quiet and distant. Even worse, she’d yet to see Jovan. Boris had told her he was