She smiled innocently. “Of course.” Then, she glared at Briggs. “See dufus, you didn’t have to be such an ass about it.” With a flick of her hair, she growled at him and left.
Valor gave me an appreciative nod. “What are you going to do?”
That was the million dollar question now wasn’t it. I glanced back at the wolf that was now shaking worse than the last time I looked. Resolved, I met Valor’s eyes and started in the only place that made any sense. “I need some supplies.”
Kyden’s brow arched. “Supplies?”
“Yep, I need a pillow and a blanket.”
Before I had finished speaking, Briggs ran from the room, and was back a second later carrying the requested items. “Will this do?” he asked frantically.
First, I took the items from him then I hugged him. “I will do what I can to help her, Briggs.” He leaned away, not looking settled in the least.
“Alright, all of you, out.” They all looked at me as if I was nuts. “You heard me.” I pointed to the door. “Out.”
Briggs nodded, as did Valor.
Kyden leaned in, kissed my lips. “I will not be far. If she attempts to hurt you, yell for me and I will come.”
“I doubt she is capable of that right now.”
Kyden glanced to the wolf, his jaw tight, sending the muscles to flex deeply. Apparently, the idea of leaving me alone with her was not his first choice. “Young wolves can be unpredictable. Just stay cautious.” He followed the same direction Briggs and Valor had used, and I noticed a sliding door that would close off the room.
Just as he reached the door, I called out, “Close the door, will you?”
Kyden glanced back, his gaze met mine, then he shut the door. His expression was curious that was for sure. It appeared that he had no idea what I was about to do. To be honest, neither did I.
When the door closed, I glanced back to the little wolf. She was whimpering so softly my heart broke. God, this must be so terrifying. Turning into a furry creature with four legs had to scare the willies out of a person.
Instead of approaching her, I went over to the couches and pushed them to the other side of the room to give us some space. Just as I was about to sit down in the open space, I noticed the rug. It was a dead bear sprawled out with its mouth wide open. “Eww…this rug is sick!”
Nevertheless, it was better than sitting on a hard wooden floor. I put the pillow on the bear’s head so I wouldn’t have to look at it, sat down, and pulled the blanket over me. It was one of those soft velvety ones—snuggly soft.
Once I was comfy, I met her gaze again. Now that I was closer, she cowered further away. Her entire body shook and her bright silver-flecked eyes were wide open. She was such a pretty wolf with soft brown fur and four white paws. Very slender—petite.
“Hi,” I said in a quiet, I’m a friend, voice. “I’m Nexi. I really wish we could have met under different circumstances, but what do you do?” Her whimpering got louder. “Listen, I know you’re scared. Trust me I’ve been where you are.”
And that was the beginning of a conversation that went on for hours. I laid it down. Told her everything that had happened over the past months—how I came to arrive in the Otherworld and just all the crazy shit I’d been through since.
I didn’t leave out a single detail and gave strong emphasis on just how I felt through it all, in hopes she would come to see that I understood what she was going through. Well, as much as I could, as a non-werewolf.
As each hour passed, she seemed to shake less and even inched forward a little. By the time I was done, she had actually lain down and rested her head on her paws. She looked utterly exhausted.
“Okay, you must be tired. I know I am.”
The sun had come up some time ago and my eyes were beginning to sting. Sticking to vampire time, means daylight is a night gone on too long. “Now, I know you’re scared and you must be cold.” I reached out to her. Her head shot up and she yelped. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I soothed. “Sometimes you need to trust, even when it’s hard to.” Had I ever learned that lesson? “This is one of those times.”
She sat for a few minutes, then slowly crawled toward me. With small movements, I moved in very slow and smooth motions, not wanting to startle her. When she was just a foot away, I leaned forward and rubbed the side of her belly, stunned to realize how soft wolf’s fur is. It was like peach fuzz on her belly. Within minutes, she relaxed.
“You’re badly hurt. Will you let me help you?” She bobbed her head eagerly. Obviously, her pain was bad. Never had I expected her to be so compliant, but I was glad she was. Watching her in pain was excruciating. I was desperate to help her and my gifts as a Spirit Witch meant I could. “This is going to be weird, but I am going to use my magic on you. Just close your eyes. It will only take a second, then you will feel all better. Okay?”
When her eyes shut, I drew on Spirit. Months ago, this would have been a strain on me. Now it was like nothing more than breathing. Warmth and adrenaline poured through me as it always did when the Spirit element rose. Only seconds passed before the adrenaline peaked, then with my hand on her belly, I released the magic.
She instantly yelped, cowering backwards.
“It’s over now,” I said quickly. “I know it hurt, but you feel better now right?” It always hurt, especially deep wounds. With that, I could sympathize.
She looked down at her paws to see the blood was gone and moved around, obviously to test that her extremities were no longer restricted in pain. Then, she met my eyes in bewilderment and gave a little bark of apparent thanks.
“Yeah, I know, freaky. Took me a while to get used to it too,” I waved her forward. “Now come on, let’s get some sleep. I’m bushed.” She inched her way back up toward me and lay down at my feet. “Come closer.” I waved her to come closer again. “We’ll share the blanket.”
Whenever I’m scared, having someone to cuddle up with always made things better. I hoped it would comfort her in the same way. Truthfully, there was also an ulterior motive behind my actions. I hoped the tender touch would calm her enough to allow the shift.
She slowly crawled forward, inching up to my side. When she settled down in front of me, I snuggled into her and pulled the blanket over us. This would be, in any normal situation, considered weird, but I felt compelled to help her. Could be due to Briggs’ reaction to her—if he wanted her better, I wanted it too.
Nestled against me, she growled a low sleepy sound and her breathing evened out. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.
Suddenly, the door to the room slowly opened. I quickly glanced at the wolf in my arms, glad that the sound of the door hadn’t awakened her.
I glanced up to find Kyden standing in the doorway. I raised a finger to my lips, a silent command for him to keep quiet. If he woke her and frightened her all over again, he’d be dead.
When he saw the wolf snuggled into me, warmth washed over his features. He gave me a soft smile, then closed the door again. I glanced back to the young wolf. She was sound asleep in my arms—peaceful. Everything would be alright.
It had to be.
* * * *
A poke to my face woke me. When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t pleased to see the sun still in the middle of the sky. Only a couple hours sleep never stood well me.
Another poke came. When I looked away from the window, to say I was shocked was an understatement, as I found myself wrapped around a woman. She looked to be about my age and the softest thing I’d ever held. She had long baby-soft brown hair, deep silver eyes and porcelain skin with perfect rosy cheeks.
“Well, this is a first I have to say.” I laughed quietly.
She smiled softly and her eyes grew more beautiful by the second. “Me too.”
Slowly, I eased my arms from around her and cuddled up with the blanket. “I see you shifted. That’s very good.”
“I don’t remember doing anything,” she said. “I remember going to sleep and when I woke up, I was back to normal.”
“I’m guessing it’s because you relaxed. Valor said something like that, but really, don’t ask me. I’m no expert in the wolf department.”
“Valor is the big one?” she asked, curiously.
“Yeah, he’s the Patriarch.” When she looked so confused by the word, I laughed. “Don’t worry. They’ll explain the ins and outs of the wolf world to you later.”
She gave her head a little shake, apparently dismissing her further questions. “Thank you for talking with me last night. I…well…I was…”
“Scared shitless,” I finished for her.
She laughed. It was so sweet and soft. “Exactly.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve been there too.”
“So, it’s true what you told me?”
“Every last bit of it. You are now in a world that will amaze you every day. Trust me on that. But it’s good. Really good.”
“Are we alone here?” she asked, glancing around.
“No. They are here…”