The Vow (Black Arrowhead #1) - Dannika Dark Page 0,103

and I almost screamed from the shocking sight of it. Lakota arched his back, his eyes rounding and his mouth open in a silent scream.

“Shift!” I pleaded.

His body swirled into Shifter magic, changing form. Normally a Shifter turned their body in such a manner that the garments fell away, but his pants were tangled around him, so I stripped them off.

“Again,” Kaota urged, nudging him. “Lakota!”

His wolf was unresponsive.

Kaota held his hand over Lakota’s snout and searched his eyes. After a pregnant pause, he said quietly, “It’s too late. He’s gone.”

I clawed the earth and swung my gaze skyward. “Don’t you dare leave this body! If you’re watching, I want you to come back to me.” Tears spilled from my eyes, and I shook his wolf.

Kaota placed his hand over my back. “I was there the day my brother was born. And if I had been there the day of his death, I would have sung to him. Do not let the dead see your pain. If you care for Lakota, let his spirit go in peace.” He somberly rose to his feet with the knife in hand and stalked toward Crow, who was struggling with the arrow.

I circled around Lakota and put my hands on his chest, horrified by the absence of breath. Though I’d never done compressions on anyone, let alone a wolf, I couldn’t accept his death and refused to give up without a fight. He was too young, too strong, and had his whole life ahead of him. I imagined the immeasurable grief his mother would experience the moment she found out that her only son had been struck down. All the years his adoptive parents spent loving and nurturing him, reading him to sleep and making him into a man. And for what? So he could die before he’d had a chance to live?

I placed my hands on his side and began compressions. After twenty, I cupped my hands around his snout and blew through his nostrils. Some of it escaped, but I went back to compressions.

“Don’t you do this to me,” I said, my voice broken. “Don’t you do this to your family. They need you.”

I cupped my hands around his snout again and blew out another breath. When he didn’t respond, I rested my cheek next to his, my lip quivering. “I need you, Lakota. I’ve always needed you.”

On the fifth compression, he gurgled and coughed.

I frantically rubbed his face when I saw a flicker of life in his eyes. “Shift, Lakota! Do you hear me? Shift!”

His eyelids fluttered. Unlike the last time, his body morphed very slowly until it took the shape of a beautiful, wounded man. Blood covered his chest, so I used his shirt to carefully wipe it away and examine the wound. It was still fleshy and raw, and there was no way to tell about internal damage. The flashlight beside me shone on my bloodstained hands.

“Please, Lakota. Shift again. I know it’s hard, but you can’t give up.”

Each time a Shifter used his magic to heal, it made him weaker. It was the body’s way of storing energy. I slapped his cheeks and pulled his gaze to mine. When he changed back to wolf form, his fur was too dense and concealed the wound. But he was alive, and that meant he had a fighting chance.

My body trembled like an autumn leaf clinging to a tree. I placed a kiss on his head, my hand tracing his silken fur. He was a magnificent creature—strong and muscular, large ears, dark lines around his eyes, and a silver coat to be envied.

“Don’t kill Crow,” I growled at Kaota. “We need him alive for answers.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

Another scream poured out of Crow.

“Did that hurt?” Kaota asked mockingly.

Relief came over me when a Councilman appeared from the shadows.

“What’s going on here?” It was Jack, the hefty one with the pasty complexion. Beads of sweat were on his brow, and his cheeks were red, as if someone had slapped him.

“Thank God. How did you find us?”

“Saw the light. Heard the commotion.”

“Tak’s not the killer.” I rose to my feet and pointed at Crow. “That’s the man you’re looking for.”

Jack’s gaze darted between Lakota’s wolf and Kaota as he assessed the scene. “On what evidence?”

“My kidnapping and attempted murder?” I offered. “Crow killed all those women. Not the tribe.”

He wiped the sweat from his upper lip. “What proof do you have?”

“What substantial proof do you have that Tak did it? A few arrowheads?