Leyth knew it was her, it had to be; she must have gone through the change.
He broke into a run, closing the distance between them as fast as he could. He caught her soft, furry form just as she collapsed; it was then he noticed the throwing knife sticking out of her side, blood pulsing out of the wound slow but steady.
‘I need a med kit,’ he barked, as his team stalked over to help.
Sapphire was there in seconds, removing the knife and inspecting the gash. She pressed gauze against it and carefully wrapped a bandage around Tamriel’s waist to hold it in place.
‘We’re gonna need to get her to the clinic. That’s really deep.’
Leyth tried to heft Tamriel up into his arms, but she staggered away, shaking free.
She plodded over to the mattress and nosed the bundle, looking at them.
Huffing, she walked back, picked her trousers up with her teeth and weakly tugged at them.
Leyth noticed that the trousers were wrapped around the bottom of the mattress the bundle was placed on.
‘Did you drag this up here?’ Wolf Tamriel huffed and nodded, walking back to nose the bundle once more.
Leyth pulled the material aside. Blonde waves fell out from beneath and a pale hand fell loose, brushing his skin and making him jump.
It was Alison.
Chapter Eleven
After what felt like hours, Leyth and Tamriel sat watching as the team started wrapping up. The sun had long gone and they were well into the wee hours of the morning.
Julian had arrived with a medical team and taken Alison away to the clinic. Doc had repositioned Leyth’s shoulder and checked Tam over. He’d cleaned the wound and decided she would be fine, giving her strict orders to shift back to human form and come and see him as soon as they got to the base for more dressing.
They had stayed, watching the two minotaurs carry the dead into a van to be shipped off and burnt. The building was swept through and cleaned, leaving no trace that anything had gone down here.
Leyth had been told that Tamriel had dragged Alison for well over two miles. No wonder she was so exhausted. They had found another two tombs that were missing their throats and, going by the way Tamriel gagged when they came out, Leyth got the feeling that might have been her battle.
Damn, this female was hardcore.
Tam laid her head on his lap, licking his palm as he glanced down. She nudged at his arm, trying to tell him something, huffing and looking apologetic.
‘No need to be sorry,’ he muttered, running his hand through her soft fur.
She jumped off the back of the van and tugged at his leg.
Confused, he stood up and followed her to where the group of people were standing. The shifter that had come in with Sapphire walked out of the building, carefully carrying the body of a dead wolf in his arms.
Leyth stopped dead in his tracks, his stomach curling into a tight ball of dread as he inched forward.
The black and grey wolf was one of his old pack, his birth pack.
Running a hand over her fur, he gently lifted the wolf’s head.
‘Jessica,’ he whispered, fighting back tears.
‘You knew her?’ the shifter said, sympathy riding his tones.
‘Yeah,’ Leyth grunted. ‘She was… she was pack-kin.’
Tamriel slowly padded her way back to the car with Leyth, through the streets she knew so well.
Strange. When she’d been in those cold brick hallways, fighting for her life, she’d had no idea where she was. It was weird to think that she was little more than a few miles away from her flat the entire time. She was still in wolf form, and though the night held a bitter edge, the wind brushing past her fur did little to chill her. The cold winds were actually a relief, cooling her bloody, heated skin, making her feel more normal. Well, as normal as you could feel when you’re walking on padded paws rather than feet.
The night sky looked different through her wolf’s eyes; it seemed to shimmer with an almost iridescent light. It was the moon, she realised; the moon called to her with its magnificent light, making her want to sit back on her heels and simply howl.
She settled, however, for just walking underneath its glow, marvelling at how the street seemed to shine under its gaze allowing her to see even the tiniest of things in the dark night.
Leyth’s scent washed over her, making her feel safe and warm. Christ, had she been glad when he turned up. He’d picked her up and carried her out of that hell hole, and once they’d gotten outside, he’d spent the time stroking her fur and saying very little.
All she’d wanted to do was curl up next to him and let the warmth and comfort his presence provided engulf her, but she hadn’t dared to. Whatever these stupid feelings were, they couldn’t be shown. This man was so far out of her league, she didn’t stand a chance.
Glancing at the man in question, she found Leyth was silent as he had been all night, his eyes trained on the walkway ahead of them. Every movement sent jolts of pain slicing through her, every step jarring her bones. She may have the nicely padded feet of the wolf, but her pads were still cut and bleeding, though they were healing quickly.
After she’d fought the last two tombs, she’d passed the hell out. For how long? She had no idea, all she knew was that she’d woken up with a knife in her side, body screaming in pain.
She’d struggled to pull the mattress much further, but hadn’t given up on the girl. Getting her to safety had been her priority.
Pushing the memories to the back of her mind to be revisited later, she focused on walking forward. Her paws were sore from the rough stone, and she was leaving bloody paw prints on the Tarmac with every step. Her bones felt like they were breaking with every movement, but she put all the energy she had left into trying not to limp.
Leyth had enough on his plate already without having to worry about her. He probably still hated her from the way she left things.
Honestly, he was probably only taking her back to the base with him because he felt like he had to. God, when he showed up, he’d come just at the right time; she’d been on the verge of giving up.
She tripped on a broken slab of pavement and couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her lips as she stumbled forward. Leyth’s eyes snapped to her, his cold expression softening, quickly becoming an expression of concern.
‘Are you OK? I’m such an arse. You must be so sore!’ Tamriel swiftly shook her head and tried to walk again, but her bad leg gave out and she hit the pavement once more. Cursing herself for being so weak, she struggled upright.
‘You are the most determined female I’ve ever met.’ Leyth chuckled, bending down and scooping her into his arms. He cradled her gently to his chest as he strode forward, and she let herself be carried, loving the feel of his strong arms around her.
Tucking her head under his chin, she closed her eyes and relaxed into him. This would probably be the only time she would have an excuse to be this close to him. She wanted to remember exactly how he smelt, how his skin felt against her. God she wished she could shift, wished like hell she could be human, could wrap her arms around his neck and feel his skin against hers.
But she just didn’t have the energy. She would also be naked and cold, no. Wolf was better for now.
All too soon, they reached his car, the beaten-up 4X4 looming in the shadows. There was a click as he unlocked the door and awkwardly yanked the passenger side door open, holding her up with one arm as he did. He gently placed her on the seat and strapped her in, easing her front paws over the seatbelt. She felt so stupid, just sat there like an arrogant child as he manoeuvred the thing around her.
He walked around the front of the motor and climbed in the driver’s side, clicking the key in the ignition and switching the thing on.
He glanced at her, his arm twitching as if he wanted to reach out.
‘Your wolf is beautiful,’ he whispered, giving in to his body and stretching a hand out to stroke her fur. She couldn’t help huffing and shying away as
he stroked her.
No one ever thought she was beautiful; no one treated her as he did. She was a little disappointed that he thought her wolf was beautiful and not her own form, but hell, she’d take anything she could get from this man.
Snapping back to reality, Leyth tore out of the bay they were parked in. Onto the main road, then he roared out of the town towards the countryside.
Twenty minutes later, the fields surrounding them gave way to woodland vast and dark, she had the sense they were nearly there as he began to visibly relax, each tense muscle loosening.
Tamriel looked around her, gaping as she took in her surroundings, then they turned sharply off the road and ran into the thick of the woodland, coming to a halt at a pair of huge rusty metal gates, hanging at awkward angles.
Where were they? ‘Home, sweet home,’ Leyth muttered as he clicked a button on his keys.
The rusty old gates started to open and Tam braced herself for the inevitable squealing that came with worn metal, but was instead met with an eerie silence as the two barred sides of the gated entrance moved with unnatural grace. Leyth hit the gas again, jolting the battered car forward.
The moonlight faded as they moved under the heavy canopy of the trees and the air turned thick as mist surrounded them. Leyth didn’t flinch, didn’t flick his headlights to full beam or seem remotely bothered by the fact that darkness was closing in fast, he just kept on driving, bumping down the thin road that led to god only knew where. The blackness of the woods surrounded them to the point where Tamriel could no longer see her paw in front of her face.
Unnatural darkness, she thought. Weird as it was, she found it even stranger that she felt nothing but comfortable with Leyth, a male she’d only known for a matter of days.
Yet here they were, in the middle of the woods, in the dark, and Tam felt completely at ease, like this was where she was supposed to be.
Finally, the car pulled up to a second set of gates, though it took a while for Tam to realise what they were. They had been completely covered in ivy, the green vine curling its way around the metal bars of the gates to the point where barely any of it was visible. Leyth flashed her a toothy grin, clearly loving whatever he could see riding her features.
She couldn’t hide her awe as the gates opened before them, revealing a wide, gravelled driveway that stood at the foot of a mansion.
The large stone walls seemed to stretch on forever, covered, like the gate, in ivy from top to bottom. The green of the ivy and the dark stone beneath it seemed to blend into the trees surrounding it, illuminated by streaming moonlight, beaming through gaps in the woodland canopy. It was truly beautiful.
Lost for words, she could only gape at Leyth, who parked the car and softly scrubbed a hand through her fur, before getting out and walking around to her side. He opened the door and slid his arm around her, unclipping her seatbelt.
Carefully he lifted her out of the car, and placed her gently on the ground.
‘Come on then,’ he grunted, walking slowly, keeping to her pace. She knew he was respecting her pride as they picked their way on the gravel towards the doors.
He clearly knew she would want to walk into the place on her own four paws, rather than be carried in like a pathetic weakling.
Gingerly pawing her way up the steps to the building, she came to stand awkwardly behind Leyth who had his head stuck in the lens of a small camera to the side of the door. There was a quiet click and one of the large doors abruptly swung open. Leyth strolled in like he owned the place as Tamriel ducked in behind him.
‘Hey, glad you two got back OK!’ came a booming voice from inside.
Tam caught her breath as she took in the grand staircase before her; painted in green and gold, it stretched up for miles, finally revealing a large balcony that surrounded the entrance hall she was stood in. There were large doorways on either side of the staircase that went into other rooms. From what she could see, the walls were similar in colour; all deep greens and golds, with a rolling tiled floor that depicted woodlands stretching out as far as the eye could see. Looking up to the ceiling, there were beautiful paintings of hardened, muscled men and beautiful, curvaceous women in various positions looking up towards a beautiful, fully rounded moon, their hands placed on the heads of their wolf companions as they sat close to their feet, heads looking up towards their master.
‘Hey, yeah! Is Doc in the clinic?’ Leyth asked.
‘Yeah, I’ll walk you through, but—’ The huge, muscled man crouched down in front of her.
‘Tamriel?’ She huffed and nodded. His long blonde braid swung over his shoulder as he bowed deeply to her.
She had no idea who this man was, but she got the idea he was king around here. And bowing clearly wasn’t something he did often.
‘Thank you.’ He lifted his head, bright-blue eyes locking onto hers. ‘For saving my kin, my sister. Thank you. I’m Julian.’
She bowed her own head out of respect.
The blonde girl. He must have meant her.
‘Come, let’s take you to Doc.’ He strode forward, clapping Leyth on the back. ‘I heard about Jessica. I’m so sorry. We’ll sort out a proper burial. Do you want to do it on our land?’
‘Pack-land,’ Leyth grunted, slowing the two of them down subtly so she could keep up.
As she trotted through the vast mansion, the grand foyer gave way to plain white walls. At the end of the hallway, they came to several medical rooms, the door to all but one open.
‘Doc,’ Julian thundered, poking his head through the closed door.
‘Ah! Tamriel! Our heroine returns!’ Doc ducked out of the room and gently closed the door behind him. He was a gorgeous man. She recognised him from her visit to the clinic with Leyth, after she had first found out about her heritage. His dark skin shone under the cool lights of the clinic.
When he’d checked her out at the scene, she’d been nearly unconscious; so tired and in pain she hadn’t really noticed who was looking her over. Now she’d come to her senses and woken up a bit, she realised exactly who he was.
‘Alison is stable, but she’s been starved and she is currently in a coma. Hopefully, she will wake up soon, but only time will tell. We’ll need people ready with food and water for when she does, and it would be good if you were there. She’s going to need to see a friendly face.’
Leyth gently lifted Tam off the floor and onto the bed. ‘How are you feeling?’
She huffed, wishing like hell that she could speak properly.
Leyth stroked her fur gently. ‘Do you think you can try and shift?’
Tam hesitated, then slowly nodded her head as he walked over and locked the door, pulling the curtain down over the glass pane.
‘Do you want me to leave?’ he whispered, stroking the length of her.
She quickly shook her head. She did not want to be alone right now.
‘Come on, Tamriel, try and shift, I want to see that beautiful face of yours.’
She closed her eyes, she’d thought of her wolf when she’d shifted before, so how was she supposed to get rid of it? She pushed the thoughts of the beautiful animal away, tried to evict the creature from her mind, her body and her soul.
The wolf came snarling to the surface, slashing at her mind, staying put.
A headache spiked, making her wince.
‘Shhh.’ Leyth stroked her fur gently. ‘I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you what to expect, how to change. I should have come to you sooner. This is all my fault.’ She licked his palm, trying to tell him what was in her heart.
‘Shh. Now, don’t reject your wolf, she is part of you; the other half of your soul. When you changed, you called to her, letting her in. Now you need to call to your human half. Think of your feet, remember how they looked, what each beautiful toe looked like, work your way up, think of your hands, your—’
As he quietly whispered to her, she did exactly as he said, thinking firstly of her feet, her pale, very human feet.
As she did, her
back paws started to tingle, making her jump; she shoved the fear aside and embraced the feeling, letting it sweep through her entire body. She felt her legs shift first, the bones bowing and splitting. She gritted her teeth against the pain, clinging desperately to the image of her human form.
As pain swept through her body, a slither of fear rushed past her; it wasn’t because of the change, it was the fear of losing her wolf. She and the beautiful creature had bonded over the last few hours, truly becoming one. She was terrified at the thought of losing her, not being able to become wolf again once she’d shifted back into human form. Heat rose from her core, rippling through her until she was burning from the inside out. It wasn’t painful though, it was comforting.
Even as her bones were breaking and re-shaping, her skin bending and stretching to accommodate her human form, the heat chased away the pain, the agony of the change. It cradled her, keeping her safe and warm and she knew, without a doubt, it was her wolf. Looking after her, reassuring her.
Finally the pain began to subside and the heat licking at her skin boiled down to a consistent hum at her core. She breathed deep, opening an eyelid and pulling a hand across her face to clear her blurry vision; skin met her face, fur-free skin.
She abruptly sat up and looked herself over. She was very naked, and very human. She grinned as she felt her own familiar face, her hair brushing her back as she moved. There was a nasty-looking gash on her leg and the skin on her waist was torn to shreds, as were her feet. But she was herself, her own body, and her own hair. She felt a pang of regret, missing her wolf already. As she felt it sweep through her, her canines lengthened. Grinning, she looked over at Leyth.
Leyth’s eyes sparkled in the bright lights of the clinic and Tam couldn’t help but shudder as a very different, very human, kind of heat swept through her. He looked mighty fine. That smile made her ache in places she hadn’t thought about for a very long time.
In one quick movement he was up and standing in front of her, his heavy arms wrapped around her so tightly that it hurt to breathe. Not that she cared; she would suffocate in silence in an instant if it meant being close to this man. He tilted his head towards her as she ran a hand up his spine. He looked down at her, and for a moment nothing happened. They just stood, staring at each other, almost frozen to the spot. She yearned for him, ached for him. She was desperate to feel him against her, in her. She needed him, more than she’d ever needed any man before. It was as though he was the air she needed to breathe, the force that kept her alive.