Pack Bound, page 26
Holding Mikey in one arm, she pushed herself up and lurched forward. Her right leg didn’t seem to want to work and she fell forward, hitting her chin. Stars spun in her eyes and shouts erupted all around her.
She pushed herself up again but was flattened as the wolf landed square on her back. Fear paralysed her for an awful, timeless second as she felt its hot breath on her neck, spittle from its snarl landing on exposed flesh.
She was going to die.
The thought triggered movement. She would not die like this—not lying on the ground, exposed and weak. She tried to kick, to flip up, but it was too heavy.
Expecting any moment to feel its teeth sink into her neck, she looked up, hoping Tom had run to get help. But he still stood there, vibrating.
She didn’t want the little boy to watch her die. Didn’t want him to be next. She had to protect him.
Without any thought for what she did, becoming a creature of instinct, she flung her arm out. White light sparkled from her fingers and shot out towards Tom, the magic creating a barricade at the door.
The wolf snarled, the sound a vibration against her skin and the magic sputtered and died. ‘No!’ she cried. She wasn’t strong enough. She didn’t know enough to protect those who needed protection. Her power wasn’t hers to tap into—perhaps it never would be.
Time seemed to suspend again as she waited for the sharp bite of pain that would bring death.
Then bright light enveloped the little boy, his body convulsing so violently she couldn’t understand how it was he was still standing.
‘Tom!’ Jason’s cry tore through the air. She looked up. He was running across the room towards them. Light streamed from him, wrapping around him as he ran. He sprang over Tom’s head, careening right for Skye and the wolf still standing on her back, ready to rip her throat out.
But it wasn’t Jason that descended on them. In mid-air, he turned into the large gold and silver wolf he’d shown her the day before in her bedroom.
Images overlaid the reality of what was happening; her mama and papa dancing in the moonlight, her mother dancing backward, glowing as if she was lit from within, head flung up to the sky as the glow took her over and, moments later, a silver wolf stood baying at the moon; a silver wolf—her mother—nuzzling at her hand, brushing her head against Skye’s face in the softest of caresses; River jerking and quivering in the car, his eyes wild as moondust danced on Skye’s fingers; River laughing as he raced out the door in front of her, light pouring from him as he changed forms before she had the chance to breathe and fly out into the light, running behind him shouting, ‘Cheater!’
It all seemed like a dream. But no dream she’d ever had felt so real or so goddamned painful.
Jason-the-wolf slammed into the attacking wolf-shifter on her back. They tumbled away. Howls of pain, snaps and snarls lit the air.
Stunned, Skye lay there, unable to move to let the wriggling puppy free. Although, she didn’t want to let him free; there was the other wolf-shifter, the laughing one, to consider. It could attack while Jason was fighting the snarling one. She couldn’t allow it near the puppy. Not even if protecting him meant it would attack her.
A sound in front of her caught her attention. She looked up to see shreds of material fall from Tom, his pyjamas now rags, as he transformed into a miniature sandy-coloured wolf. His howl tore through the night air and he leapt over her, taking up a protective stance between her and the laughing wolf-shifter.
Dumbfounded, Skye didn’t even react when Adam joined them, jumping in front of Tom with a snarl, his own clothes falling in a kind of fabric snowfall as he transformed, almost blinding her with the golden-rainbow wash.
Adam-the-wolf, hair as black as night bristling like a mane around his head, snarled and snapped at the laughing wolf-shifter, a definite threat if ever she’d heard one. The wolf-shifter’s lip curled. Adam leapt at it. With a yelp, it turned tail and ran into the darkening night.
Adam-the-wolf gave a wheezy laugh and turned back to her, one eye winking.
Winking! How could he find this funny? Any one of them could have been killed by those shapeshifters.
A howl tore through the night nearby and Adam-the-wolf tensed.
‘Jason!’ she cried. Had Jason been hurt, or had he hurt the wolf-shifter?
Adam-the-wolf turned back to look at her and whimpered as if to say, ‘Don’t worry’. Tom-the-wolf whimpered back at him and they nudged noses, then Tom came and sat down next to her, burrowing his nose under her arms to sniff at Mikey. The puppy squirmed out of her numb arms, licked Tom-the-wolf’s snout and then burrowed into the ruff of fur in the little wolf’s neck.
Seeing they were safe, Skye pushed herself onto her side. The effort brought a grunt and a swaying bout of pain that rushed from her head to her jaw, her elbows then her leg and back up again in an agonising surge. She groaned, not sure which part of her to clasp first. Her leg was on fire, her back clawed and bruised, her forehead and chin felt like someone was still taking to her with a sledgehammer, and blood—her blood—was splashed on the paving stones under her.
A wet nose on her arm made her jump. Jason-the-wolf stood before her, taller and larger across the shoulder than Adam-the-wolf, his piercing blue eyes full of worry.
Her breath shuddered painfully in her throat.
She glanced sideways at Adam and Tom. They whimpered in greeting and almost seemed to smile at her, encouraging. Jason-the-wolf made a strange soft yowling sound and Adam nodded and trotted off into the dark. Jason’s attention then turned to Tom. The baby wolf yipped, the sound defiant. Jason made a different guttural yowl, similar to the tone she used when admonishing a disobedient child, and Tom dropped his head to his paws, green eyes wide as he looked up at his Alpha in submission.
‘Wh—what’s going on?’ Her voice sounded so strange, at first she didn’t recognise it as hers, but thought maybe someone else had spoken her thoughts with some strangled voice.
Jason’s gaze swung back to her and before she could move, his head dipped towards hers and his tongue, like soft, damp sandpaper, licked her face. ‘You okay?’
‘Jason?’
‘I’m right here. Are you okay? You’re bleeding.’
Skye’s heart stopped, breath backed up in her lungs as the wolf edged closer.
‘Skye?’
Jason’s voice in her head acted like a defibrillator. Her heart restarted and raced like a galloping horse across hard turf, returning life to her limbs.
A fragment of memory pierced her, of a wolf-like grey dog, just like the ones who’d attacked her a few moments earlier.
Gasping, she skittered back, gaze searching into the dark beyond the huge gold and silver wolf, right leg dragging behind her until she’d wedged herself between a terracotta pot plant and the glass door.
A flash of golden light made her duck her head and close her eyes.
‘Skye? Are you okay?’
She opened her eyes. Jason crouched before her, blue gaze capturing hers as if he looked into her soul. Fear galloped up from her chest to choke her, making it impossible to answer. He reached out.
‘Don’t touch me.’ The words sprung out of her mouth before she could stop them. Hurt, concern and something else that made her heart ache, showed in his eyes. She hated that she could hurt him like that. ‘Sorry, but … Please. Just give me a moment.’
‘There’s no need to be afraid,’ he said softly. ‘They’re gone.’
She choked on a laugh. ‘It’s not that. Well, it is. It’s just … the wolf-like dog that attacked me when I was younger—it looked like them. And a dog exactly like that was watching me up at the snow.’ Her eyes widened as she stared at him. ‘It was the rogue coven following me up at the snow, wasn’t it? And they must have attacked me when I was younger.’
He moved as if he wanted to pull her to him, to hug her and hold her safe, but stopped halfway when she flinched away again, his gaze raking her face. ‘I won’t hurt you.’
‘I know it’s just …’ She swallowed hard. ‘You were a wolf not a minute ago and I need a minute to process.’
‘But you’re hurt.’ He gestured at her leg. ‘You need tending.’
She laughed again, the sound nothing more than a bark. ‘And you’re naked.’ What that had to do with anything, she had no idea. But words now seemed to be tumbling out of her mouth, beyond her control. ‘You can’t be naked. It’s getting cold. Aren’t you cold? You’re naked.’
A quizzical smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. ‘I know. The downside of transformation, remember?’
She nodded slowly, her thundering heart changing to another kind of beat as her gaze skimmed over him. ‘Not so much of a downside. It depends on where you’re sitting.’ Oh God! What the hell was she saying? She sounded like Bron for fudge-sake!
He stared at her for a moment and then laughed. ‘That’s my girl.’
Her mouth twitched. ‘I don’t know why I say things to you I’d never say to anyone else.’
‘I don’t mind. In fact, I like it.’
‘You do?’
‘I do.’
She stared into his eyes, her heart thumping, but no longer from fear. How could she be afraid of the man standing in front of her? A man who had done nothing but try to protect her. A man who held her heart, even though he didn’t know it. There was so much she needed to say to him. He still didn’t know that she’d decided to stay, and not just until the Curse was broken.
But instead of saying any of that she murmured, ‘Beautiful. Your wolf is beautiful.’
His mouth turned up into that lopsided smile that made her insides curl with desire, her blood turn molten and her heart thump thick and heavy in her chest.
‘Thank you.’
‘That golden-rainbow glow. I remember that. I remember River and Mama changing.’
‘Do you remember anything else?’
‘No. Not much. Just the occasional flash, but enough to tell me that hearing you in my head is not usual. How did you do that?’
He hesitated before saying, ‘The Alpha–Pack Witch bond gives us the ability to mindspeak when needed. It also does so much more.’
‘Like what?’
‘When you connected your mind to mine and called to me, you shoved power through the connection and into me, enabling me to control the change. I sent power through to Adam so he could change. I still had residual magic left over from when we bonded at the snow and could probably have changed for a while without more, but Adam’s connection to you is not as strong and the extra boost helped him to change quickly so as not to be left vulnerable to whatever those things were.’
‘Shapeshifters. Warlocks and witches using dark magic.’
He nodded, not asking how she knew, simply accepting that she did.
A whimper from the left had her head snapping around and she gasped as her gaze fell on the little sandy wolf crouched on the paving tiles, Mikey curled into the ruff at his neck.
‘Tom.’ Jason’s tone was low, firm. ‘Take Mikey inside. I told you I’ll talk to you later.’ Tom whimpered, his liquid green eyes dripping with worry as he glanced at Skye.
Jason inclined his head, his expression inscrutable. ‘I’ll take care of her. You do what you’re told. Now go up to your bedroom. Suzie will help you to change back. You’ll need guidance the first time.’
Tom clattered to his feet, nudging Mikey with his nose, and headed inside. At the door, he stopped and looked back, whimpering again.
‘She just needs a moment. I promise, I’ll tell her.’
Tom nodded and headed through the door, Mikey a scrabble of little legs behind him. ‘Did I turn Tom into a wolf?’
Jason smiled, his hand hovering over her again. ‘Yes. He’s never changed before. It’s a bit of a shock.’
‘I thought I could only channel my energy into you and you channelled it into the others.’
‘You wanted to protect him. You gave him what he needed to make him less vulnerable to those who attacked.’
‘I didn’t mean to frighten him. Or hurt him.’
Jason’s eyes creased with his laughter. ‘You didn’t. You did what only a Pack Witch could do. He’s exhilarated. Our children haven’t been able to change so young for many years. Not even under influence of the moon. He thought there was something wrong with him.’
‘Doesn’t he know about the Curse.’
‘Of course. He knows it affects the young, the old and the weak first, but he doesn’t truly understand. All he knew was the wolf inside him wanted to get out, to run, to bay at the moon, to play, and he could never manage to let it. It’s been killing him by slow increments, turning him from a laughing, happy boy into someone so shy and withheld, he no longer seems like a child.’
‘He has seemed happy at childcare.’
‘That’s in part because of the environment you created there and partly because of his friendship with Andy. It’s done him some good; kept him from going rabid as many of our other young over the years have done.’ He took her hand, fingers twining around hers, thumb brushing over her skin in a way that made her insides heat with a slow burn.
‘What you did tonight, it was a gift. The greatest gift you could have given him. It’s a gift you give to all of us. You have no idea how special you are. Or what you mean to us.’ Staring into her eyes with a solemness that felt like a vow, like a promise he would never break, he said, ‘I will never stop trying to show you how special you are to us. To me.’
24
Skye’s free hand clenched on the pavers, the roughness tearing at her fingernails, her skin. But that little pain wasn’t enough to take her attention off the ache Jason’s words caused. She wanted them to mean so much more; but knew they never could.
She couldn’t let them.
‘Don’t say that to me,’ she whispered, the words torn from her throat.
‘Why not?’ he asked, taking her bruised hands in his. ‘It’s true.’
‘For the pack. I’m special because the pack needs me.’ She said the words, trying hard not to see the light shining in his eyes that spoke of something else entirely, something she wanted with every fibre of her being, but could never have. ‘No more and no less than that.’ She tried to free her hands from his, but he wouldn’t let go.
‘It is more. You know it’s more than that. I would never have slept with you if it wasn’t.’ He sighed. ‘But now isn’t the time for this conversation. You’re hurt. We need to get you inside and patched up.’
‘Where’s Shelley? She was in the lounge room.’
‘She’d gone into the study to video conference with Cordy—she had some questions about what she was reading—and because she had headphones on, she didn’t hear the attack. But Adam’s taking her to your house to get her first-aid kit. Bron is at her shop—she’s getting some of her healing powders. They’ll be back soon.’
‘That’s good.’ Bron and Shelley would act as a barrier against these unwanted feelings his presence created. She tried to stand, but her leg gave out. He caught her, held her upright against his naked body.
It was too much.
She leaned into him, couldn’t seem to help it, and words exploded out of her mouth as she stared up into his beautiful eyes, words she never meant to say. ‘I feel you inside of me …’ Her fist curled over her chest. ‘I feel you inside of me here and I can’t get you out.’
‘I feel you inside me too,’ he whispered, head lowering to hers as his arms went around her. ‘I don’t want to get you out.’
She pushed back against his chest so that he stopped, her fingers leaving bloody smears on his smooth, golden skin. She couldn’t let him kiss her. If his lips met hers, then she’d be gone. ‘I have to hope that you do,’ she whispered, tearing her gaze away from his so she wouldn’t be tempted to caress his face, his body.
His expression was puzzled as his gaze captured hers, but before he could ask his question, she tried to move away.
She’d forgotten about her leg. Pain shot through her and she began to fall, only to be caught by him again.
Jason hissed, ‘I’ve had enough of this,’ and scooped her into his arms. She stiffened as she slammed against his muscled chest; tried to push away. But he held her too tightly and as he moved, her head spun nastily. She had no choice but to give in and let him carry her inside.
She closed her eyes against the rising nausea the movement caused. But she refused to lay her aching head against his shoulder.
‘Where are you taking me?’
He made a huff of exasperation. ‘To the study. It’s the most protected room in the house. Your leg needs to be taken care of. And your face. You’re bruised and bleeding.’
‘I heal fast.’
‘Not fast enough,’ he growled. ‘I’m going to find out who those fuckers were and I’m going to kill them.’
She shuddered, certain in this moment that he was capable of doing just that. ‘Don’t go after them. Not for me.’
He shot her a look that seemed more animal than human, but didn’t respond—he didn’t need to; she could see his response clear in his eyes.
It made her shiver; the kind of delicious shiver she couldn’t let take hold.
He moved swiftly through the lounge and down the hall, taking her into a room filled with comfortable smells: the dusty musk of old books, leather and furniture polish.
Skye would have loved to spend time in this room, exploring, but Jason marched to the worn leather couch and lowered her onto it as if she was something precious.
Looking down at her, his expression stern, he said, ‘I will do everything I need to keep you safe.’ He touched her cheek, his fingers circling the bruise on her forehead, the cut on her chin. She could still feel blood dribbling from the gash and down her neck. ‘They will pay for this.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t want you—or anyone—to be hurt because of me.’
‘We will fight for you, Skye, whether you want us to or not.’ He bent, kissing her lightly on the lips. ‘I will fight for you to my last breath. You are mine.’
His words whispered over her, creating a rising warmth inside.
She pushed herself up again but was flattened as the wolf landed square on her back. Fear paralysed her for an awful, timeless second as she felt its hot breath on her neck, spittle from its snarl landing on exposed flesh.
She was going to die.
The thought triggered movement. She would not die like this—not lying on the ground, exposed and weak. She tried to kick, to flip up, but it was too heavy.
Expecting any moment to feel its teeth sink into her neck, she looked up, hoping Tom had run to get help. But he still stood there, vibrating.
She didn’t want the little boy to watch her die. Didn’t want him to be next. She had to protect him.
Without any thought for what she did, becoming a creature of instinct, she flung her arm out. White light sparkled from her fingers and shot out towards Tom, the magic creating a barricade at the door.
The wolf snarled, the sound a vibration against her skin and the magic sputtered and died. ‘No!’ she cried. She wasn’t strong enough. She didn’t know enough to protect those who needed protection. Her power wasn’t hers to tap into—perhaps it never would be.
Time seemed to suspend again as she waited for the sharp bite of pain that would bring death.
Then bright light enveloped the little boy, his body convulsing so violently she couldn’t understand how it was he was still standing.
‘Tom!’ Jason’s cry tore through the air. She looked up. He was running across the room towards them. Light streamed from him, wrapping around him as he ran. He sprang over Tom’s head, careening right for Skye and the wolf still standing on her back, ready to rip her throat out.
But it wasn’t Jason that descended on them. In mid-air, he turned into the large gold and silver wolf he’d shown her the day before in her bedroom.
Images overlaid the reality of what was happening; her mama and papa dancing in the moonlight, her mother dancing backward, glowing as if she was lit from within, head flung up to the sky as the glow took her over and, moments later, a silver wolf stood baying at the moon; a silver wolf—her mother—nuzzling at her hand, brushing her head against Skye’s face in the softest of caresses; River jerking and quivering in the car, his eyes wild as moondust danced on Skye’s fingers; River laughing as he raced out the door in front of her, light pouring from him as he changed forms before she had the chance to breathe and fly out into the light, running behind him shouting, ‘Cheater!’
It all seemed like a dream. But no dream she’d ever had felt so real or so goddamned painful.
Jason-the-wolf slammed into the attacking wolf-shifter on her back. They tumbled away. Howls of pain, snaps and snarls lit the air.
Stunned, Skye lay there, unable to move to let the wriggling puppy free. Although, she didn’t want to let him free; there was the other wolf-shifter, the laughing one, to consider. It could attack while Jason was fighting the snarling one. She couldn’t allow it near the puppy. Not even if protecting him meant it would attack her.
A sound in front of her caught her attention. She looked up to see shreds of material fall from Tom, his pyjamas now rags, as he transformed into a miniature sandy-coloured wolf. His howl tore through the night air and he leapt over her, taking up a protective stance between her and the laughing wolf-shifter.
Dumbfounded, Skye didn’t even react when Adam joined them, jumping in front of Tom with a snarl, his own clothes falling in a kind of fabric snowfall as he transformed, almost blinding her with the golden-rainbow wash.
Adam-the-wolf, hair as black as night bristling like a mane around his head, snarled and snapped at the laughing wolf-shifter, a definite threat if ever she’d heard one. The wolf-shifter’s lip curled. Adam leapt at it. With a yelp, it turned tail and ran into the darkening night.
Adam-the-wolf gave a wheezy laugh and turned back to her, one eye winking.
Winking! How could he find this funny? Any one of them could have been killed by those shapeshifters.
A howl tore through the night nearby and Adam-the-wolf tensed.
‘Jason!’ she cried. Had Jason been hurt, or had he hurt the wolf-shifter?
Adam-the-wolf turned back to look at her and whimpered as if to say, ‘Don’t worry’. Tom-the-wolf whimpered back at him and they nudged noses, then Tom came and sat down next to her, burrowing his nose under her arms to sniff at Mikey. The puppy squirmed out of her numb arms, licked Tom-the-wolf’s snout and then burrowed into the ruff of fur in the little wolf’s neck.
Seeing they were safe, Skye pushed herself onto her side. The effort brought a grunt and a swaying bout of pain that rushed from her head to her jaw, her elbows then her leg and back up again in an agonising surge. She groaned, not sure which part of her to clasp first. Her leg was on fire, her back clawed and bruised, her forehead and chin felt like someone was still taking to her with a sledgehammer, and blood—her blood—was splashed on the paving stones under her.
A wet nose on her arm made her jump. Jason-the-wolf stood before her, taller and larger across the shoulder than Adam-the-wolf, his piercing blue eyes full of worry.
Her breath shuddered painfully in her throat.
She glanced sideways at Adam and Tom. They whimpered in greeting and almost seemed to smile at her, encouraging. Jason-the-wolf made a strange soft yowling sound and Adam nodded and trotted off into the dark. Jason’s attention then turned to Tom. The baby wolf yipped, the sound defiant. Jason made a different guttural yowl, similar to the tone she used when admonishing a disobedient child, and Tom dropped his head to his paws, green eyes wide as he looked up at his Alpha in submission.
‘Wh—what’s going on?’ Her voice sounded so strange, at first she didn’t recognise it as hers, but thought maybe someone else had spoken her thoughts with some strangled voice.
Jason’s gaze swung back to her and before she could move, his head dipped towards hers and his tongue, like soft, damp sandpaper, licked her face. ‘You okay?’
‘Jason?’
‘I’m right here. Are you okay? You’re bleeding.’
Skye’s heart stopped, breath backed up in her lungs as the wolf edged closer.
‘Skye?’
Jason’s voice in her head acted like a defibrillator. Her heart restarted and raced like a galloping horse across hard turf, returning life to her limbs.
A fragment of memory pierced her, of a wolf-like grey dog, just like the ones who’d attacked her a few moments earlier.
Gasping, she skittered back, gaze searching into the dark beyond the huge gold and silver wolf, right leg dragging behind her until she’d wedged herself between a terracotta pot plant and the glass door.
A flash of golden light made her duck her head and close her eyes.
‘Skye? Are you okay?’
She opened her eyes. Jason crouched before her, blue gaze capturing hers as if he looked into her soul. Fear galloped up from her chest to choke her, making it impossible to answer. He reached out.
‘Don’t touch me.’ The words sprung out of her mouth before she could stop them. Hurt, concern and something else that made her heart ache, showed in his eyes. She hated that she could hurt him like that. ‘Sorry, but … Please. Just give me a moment.’
‘There’s no need to be afraid,’ he said softly. ‘They’re gone.’
She choked on a laugh. ‘It’s not that. Well, it is. It’s just … the wolf-like dog that attacked me when I was younger—it looked like them. And a dog exactly like that was watching me up at the snow.’ Her eyes widened as she stared at him. ‘It was the rogue coven following me up at the snow, wasn’t it? And they must have attacked me when I was younger.’
He moved as if he wanted to pull her to him, to hug her and hold her safe, but stopped halfway when she flinched away again, his gaze raking her face. ‘I won’t hurt you.’
‘I know it’s just …’ She swallowed hard. ‘You were a wolf not a minute ago and I need a minute to process.’
‘But you’re hurt.’ He gestured at her leg. ‘You need tending.’
She laughed again, the sound nothing more than a bark. ‘And you’re naked.’ What that had to do with anything, she had no idea. But words now seemed to be tumbling out of her mouth, beyond her control. ‘You can’t be naked. It’s getting cold. Aren’t you cold? You’re naked.’
A quizzical smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. ‘I know. The downside of transformation, remember?’
She nodded slowly, her thundering heart changing to another kind of beat as her gaze skimmed over him. ‘Not so much of a downside. It depends on where you’re sitting.’ Oh God! What the hell was she saying? She sounded like Bron for fudge-sake!
He stared at her for a moment and then laughed. ‘That’s my girl.’
Her mouth twitched. ‘I don’t know why I say things to you I’d never say to anyone else.’
‘I don’t mind. In fact, I like it.’
‘You do?’
‘I do.’
She stared into his eyes, her heart thumping, but no longer from fear. How could she be afraid of the man standing in front of her? A man who had done nothing but try to protect her. A man who held her heart, even though he didn’t know it. There was so much she needed to say to him. He still didn’t know that she’d decided to stay, and not just until the Curse was broken.
But instead of saying any of that she murmured, ‘Beautiful. Your wolf is beautiful.’
His mouth turned up into that lopsided smile that made her insides curl with desire, her blood turn molten and her heart thump thick and heavy in her chest.
‘Thank you.’
‘That golden-rainbow glow. I remember that. I remember River and Mama changing.’
‘Do you remember anything else?’
‘No. Not much. Just the occasional flash, but enough to tell me that hearing you in my head is not usual. How did you do that?’
He hesitated before saying, ‘The Alpha–Pack Witch bond gives us the ability to mindspeak when needed. It also does so much more.’
‘Like what?’
‘When you connected your mind to mine and called to me, you shoved power through the connection and into me, enabling me to control the change. I sent power through to Adam so he could change. I still had residual magic left over from when we bonded at the snow and could probably have changed for a while without more, but Adam’s connection to you is not as strong and the extra boost helped him to change quickly so as not to be left vulnerable to whatever those things were.’
‘Shapeshifters. Warlocks and witches using dark magic.’
He nodded, not asking how she knew, simply accepting that she did.
A whimper from the left had her head snapping around and she gasped as her gaze fell on the little sandy wolf crouched on the paving tiles, Mikey curled into the ruff at his neck.
‘Tom.’ Jason’s tone was low, firm. ‘Take Mikey inside. I told you I’ll talk to you later.’ Tom whimpered, his liquid green eyes dripping with worry as he glanced at Skye.
Jason inclined his head, his expression inscrutable. ‘I’ll take care of her. You do what you’re told. Now go up to your bedroom. Suzie will help you to change back. You’ll need guidance the first time.’
Tom clattered to his feet, nudging Mikey with his nose, and headed inside. At the door, he stopped and looked back, whimpering again.
‘She just needs a moment. I promise, I’ll tell her.’
Tom nodded and headed through the door, Mikey a scrabble of little legs behind him. ‘Did I turn Tom into a wolf?’
Jason smiled, his hand hovering over her again. ‘Yes. He’s never changed before. It’s a bit of a shock.’
‘I thought I could only channel my energy into you and you channelled it into the others.’
‘You wanted to protect him. You gave him what he needed to make him less vulnerable to those who attacked.’
‘I didn’t mean to frighten him. Or hurt him.’
Jason’s eyes creased with his laughter. ‘You didn’t. You did what only a Pack Witch could do. He’s exhilarated. Our children haven’t been able to change so young for many years. Not even under influence of the moon. He thought there was something wrong with him.’
‘Doesn’t he know about the Curse.’
‘Of course. He knows it affects the young, the old and the weak first, but he doesn’t truly understand. All he knew was the wolf inside him wanted to get out, to run, to bay at the moon, to play, and he could never manage to let it. It’s been killing him by slow increments, turning him from a laughing, happy boy into someone so shy and withheld, he no longer seems like a child.’
‘He has seemed happy at childcare.’
‘That’s in part because of the environment you created there and partly because of his friendship with Andy. It’s done him some good; kept him from going rabid as many of our other young over the years have done.’ He took her hand, fingers twining around hers, thumb brushing over her skin in a way that made her insides heat with a slow burn.
‘What you did tonight, it was a gift. The greatest gift you could have given him. It’s a gift you give to all of us. You have no idea how special you are. Or what you mean to us.’ Staring into her eyes with a solemness that felt like a vow, like a promise he would never break, he said, ‘I will never stop trying to show you how special you are to us. To me.’
24
Skye’s free hand clenched on the pavers, the roughness tearing at her fingernails, her skin. But that little pain wasn’t enough to take her attention off the ache Jason’s words caused. She wanted them to mean so much more; but knew they never could.
She couldn’t let them.
‘Don’t say that to me,’ she whispered, the words torn from her throat.
‘Why not?’ he asked, taking her bruised hands in his. ‘It’s true.’
‘For the pack. I’m special because the pack needs me.’ She said the words, trying hard not to see the light shining in his eyes that spoke of something else entirely, something she wanted with every fibre of her being, but could never have. ‘No more and no less than that.’ She tried to free her hands from his, but he wouldn’t let go.
‘It is more. You know it’s more than that. I would never have slept with you if it wasn’t.’ He sighed. ‘But now isn’t the time for this conversation. You’re hurt. We need to get you inside and patched up.’
‘Where’s Shelley? She was in the lounge room.’
‘She’d gone into the study to video conference with Cordy—she had some questions about what she was reading—and because she had headphones on, she didn’t hear the attack. But Adam’s taking her to your house to get her first-aid kit. Bron is at her shop—she’s getting some of her healing powders. They’ll be back soon.’
‘That’s good.’ Bron and Shelley would act as a barrier against these unwanted feelings his presence created. She tried to stand, but her leg gave out. He caught her, held her upright against his naked body.
It was too much.
She leaned into him, couldn’t seem to help it, and words exploded out of her mouth as she stared up into his beautiful eyes, words she never meant to say. ‘I feel you inside of me …’ Her fist curled over her chest. ‘I feel you inside of me here and I can’t get you out.’
‘I feel you inside me too,’ he whispered, head lowering to hers as his arms went around her. ‘I don’t want to get you out.’
She pushed back against his chest so that he stopped, her fingers leaving bloody smears on his smooth, golden skin. She couldn’t let him kiss her. If his lips met hers, then she’d be gone. ‘I have to hope that you do,’ she whispered, tearing her gaze away from his so she wouldn’t be tempted to caress his face, his body.
His expression was puzzled as his gaze captured hers, but before he could ask his question, she tried to move away.
She’d forgotten about her leg. Pain shot through her and she began to fall, only to be caught by him again.
Jason hissed, ‘I’ve had enough of this,’ and scooped her into his arms. She stiffened as she slammed against his muscled chest; tried to push away. But he held her too tightly and as he moved, her head spun nastily. She had no choice but to give in and let him carry her inside.
She closed her eyes against the rising nausea the movement caused. But she refused to lay her aching head against his shoulder.
‘Where are you taking me?’
He made a huff of exasperation. ‘To the study. It’s the most protected room in the house. Your leg needs to be taken care of. And your face. You’re bruised and bleeding.’
‘I heal fast.’
‘Not fast enough,’ he growled. ‘I’m going to find out who those fuckers were and I’m going to kill them.’
She shuddered, certain in this moment that he was capable of doing just that. ‘Don’t go after them. Not for me.’
He shot her a look that seemed more animal than human, but didn’t respond—he didn’t need to; she could see his response clear in his eyes.
It made her shiver; the kind of delicious shiver she couldn’t let take hold.
He moved swiftly through the lounge and down the hall, taking her into a room filled with comfortable smells: the dusty musk of old books, leather and furniture polish.
Skye would have loved to spend time in this room, exploring, but Jason marched to the worn leather couch and lowered her onto it as if she was something precious.
Looking down at her, his expression stern, he said, ‘I will do everything I need to keep you safe.’ He touched her cheek, his fingers circling the bruise on her forehead, the cut on her chin. She could still feel blood dribbling from the gash and down her neck. ‘They will pay for this.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t want you—or anyone—to be hurt because of me.’
‘We will fight for you, Skye, whether you want us to or not.’ He bent, kissing her lightly on the lips. ‘I will fight for you to my last breath. You are mine.’
His words whispered over her, creating a rising warmth inside.
