Chapter 41

Luka’s POV

I was on the verge of death when I heard the distant sounds of a scuffle. A warm heat slid over my skin, causing my wounds to itch and tingle. I scented the air, Caleb.

He came to help me. My pulse increased, and hope bloomed. My body bled out faster, feeling heavy and cold. I managed to sit up, staring into the darkness of the forest. Everything was blurry.

Caleb’s powerful wolf, a rare salt and peppered color, lay on the ground, not moving. The rogue wolf’s jaws were locked on his neck, and blood pooled around them. The rogue wolf finally dropped him and sniffed.

Fear cut deep, deeper than ever before. Caleb couldn’t die because of me.

A tingling in my chest spread to my limbs. The blood in my veins was lava, searing every part of me. I screamed, and the heat gathered in my chest and exploded in all directions. The energy around my body hummed like a swarm of bees lifting me up. I heard a gentle voice in my head. Good to be awake again. My wolf.

The buzzing grew louder, and my wolf roared to life. She took hold of my body and shifted it for the first time. My body was finally strong enough to sustain her power.

Nala growled and charged the rogue, biting the nape of his neck. She hurled him up and over her back. Her jaw cut through his fur and flesh. He cried out. She stood over Caleb, growling, daring the rogue to come at her. The rogue limped off deeper into the forest.

With the rogue gone, Nala nagged Caleb’s wolf, Loggan, with her muzzle. Nothing. Nala howled with sorrow. She lay down beside him to try to get him to stand. He didn’t. She licked at his wounds.

Exhausted by her wounds, Nala's awakening, and her shifting for the first time, Luka unconsciously shifted to her regular form, suddenly asleep.

The Observer

But by the time a man arrived to help, both victims lay next to each other, bleeding. Blood mixing.

“Oh no,” cried a tall, lean man. Who dropped to his knees beside the male. “Mia, James, over here.”

The others that had been called skidded to a halt. The female gasped and fell to her knees. She ripped off her shirt and started tearing it into pieces, wrapping it over the man’s wounds. “I will send help for Luka.”

The female shifted into a powerful dark brown wolf. The man who arrived first tossed the wounded male over his shoulder and climbed onto the brown wolf’s back. They disappeared.

The remaining man started tearing his shirt into strips as well and wrapped it around the wounded female. A moment later, another wolf arrived, this one gray and white. The man shouldered the wounded female and climbed onto the wolf’s back. Then they were gone.

Two massive wolves walked out of the darkness—one white, one black. Both were larger than any wolf from this world and stood watch.

Luka’s POV

I blinked the light out of my eyes and turned my head. I tried to lift a hand to block the light, but my arm wouldn’t move. I glanced down. My shoulder was wrapped in gauze, and there were spots of blood. I wiggled to sit up, poor choices, my body ached. I peeled back the blankets. There was more gauze wrapped around me. Pressing on my breasts and ribs.

That was when I realized I was back in my old room in the mansion. My things were there too. I felt tears burn the backs of my eyes, and my chin quivered. I was home. I wanted to sob. Caleb? Where was Caleb?

Slowly, getting to the edge of the bed to sit. Memories worked their way through a thick muck. I was going for a run, when… when I was attacked.

My head throbbed trying to recall the event. I made small circles at my temples. I thought I was going to die. Then… Caleb came to help me. I made more small circles. Why was it so hard to remember? I squinted as if looking back in time. I gasped, dropping my hands. Nala, she awoke… I shifted.

I shot to my feet, humming with excitement. “I shifted,” I cried. I did a little dance in spite of the pain it caused. I couldn’t believe it, I shifted. Tears ran down my cheeks. All that work, all the people that helped me. It worked—my… wolf.

Nala, are you really there?

Yes, I’m here.

I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough for you.

You are now. I’m proud of you for not giving up on me.

I missed you.

I missed you, too.

We shifted.

I know. We did.

I did another little dance. Just then, a burning sensation came from my wrist, so I brushed my thumb over it. There was a pale mark, three lines spiraling together as if one. Three dots rest in the center, equally spaced, all the same size.

I thought I was imagining it when my blood hummed and I felt pulled toward the window. How odd. I brushed it again, and the pull was stronger. This time, I yearned to return to the forest. The pull was deep within me.

A soft knock came from the door, and then it opened. Mia’s head popped in. Her eyes were round, and then she rushed over to me.

“Oh, Luka, you’re awake. I was so worried.” Mia’s strong arms pinned me in place, and then I yelped with the pain she caused.

“Sorry. I wanted to check on you before going to check on Caleb.”

I stopped breathing, and my heart tumbled to my feet. “Caled, he… came to help me. The rogue wolf.” The memories of Logon’s neck being hugged between the rogue’s jaws made me choke back vomit. I rushed to the bathroom and purged.

Whipping my mouth with one hand, I hugged my ribs with the other. “He’s not dead, is he?" I asked, afraid to hear the truth.

“He came close. But he is doing better. Do you want to come with me to see him?”

I peered into Mia’s blue eyes, remembering the last time we talked. There was so much pain there. But now wasn’t the time to focus on that.

“Yes. Can you help me get a shirt on?”

Five minutes later, I was in Cabel’s room for the first time, kneeling next to his bed, watching him sleep. He was so pale.

“He is strong and healthy. Why isn’t he healed already?”

She pointed to my own wounded shoulder, arm, and side. “The wolf was infected. Sick. I make healing slower, but don’t worry. It will heal. I’m going to go check in with James and Arthur to see if they have caught the rogue; we don’t want it to infect anyone else. I’ll be back later.”

The door closed, and I sank to my hunches. He would be okay, that was all that mattered.

I stood and went to the balcony door, opening it to let in some fresh cool air. Caleb moaned. I turned and went back to him. I took his hand.

“It’s okay. Everything is fine. You're back in the mansion.”

He blinked heavy eyelids at me. To my surprise, he smiled, and I melted a little. “I’m glad you’re here.” He rasped out. “I need to talk to you.”

I tried to pull my hand away, but he wouldn’t let me. Too many emotions twisted in my chest, and my eyes burned again. “I haven’t been with Declan. I don’t want to be with him. He has been the one pursuing me. I try to stay away from him, but he is everywhere I go. All I can do is stay in my apartment.”

A tear fell, and he wiped it away.

“Olivia has been lying.”

“I know.” He pulled me onto the bed with him. “I’m sorry. There have been problems with the elders. I had to put everyone under surveillance. I have seen Delcan following you.”

Relief washed through me. But part of me held back, and I felt my face go ugly. I tried to tell him I wasn’t interested in Delcan, but he hadn’t even let me talk to him. I didn’t know if I could forget that.

“Forgive me.” He pulled me closer. I shivered at his touch.