Sticky blood coated the entire right side of her face. He didn’t let his gaze linger too long on the deep gash that still oozed on her temple or the awkward angle of her leg. And he sure as hell didn’t focus his attention on the hyperextended way her back had been wrapped around the fucking tree that had kept her from plummeting another hundred feet down the rocky ravine.
He was almost halfway up the incline when he heard his Alpha’s voice coming from above. “Fucking hell. Get her to me, now,” he ordered.
Careful not to jostle Rylee any more than he had to, he climbed the rest of the way with Luca at his back, steadying him with sure hands when he might have otherwise stumbled. The second he reached the top, he went to his knees again. The last thing he wanted to do was release his mate, but she couldn’t shift in leathers.
His hands flew on autopilot as he pulled her jacket off and tossed it to the side. His heart stuttered, and for a second, he couldn’t move—couldn’t breathe. What should have been a light pink T-shirt was plastered to her body in crimson red. The sharp point of bone stuck out from her left rib cage. Her shallow breaths rattled in her throat instead of making it all the way to her lungs.
He caught his brother’s horrified gaze. The pity shining in the depths of his eyes said one thing. She’s not going to make it.
But Luca was wrong. He didn’t know how strong she was. How stubborn. How fucking perfect. Niko refused to believe she wouldn’t survive.
With renewed determination, he pulled and yanked at her black leather pants, ignoring the sickening crack of bone as he did. They’d heal, just like the rest of her. At least she wasn’t conscious to feel the pain he inflicted. He didn’t hesitate until she was naked before him.
“Shift, Niko,” Jaxon ordered. “She’s going to be scared, her wolf will recognize yours.”
The Alpha barely spared a glance for Luca as he pulled his clothes off. “You make sure she doesn’t fall off the cliff if she panics.”
In the next instant, Jaxon was gone, and his hulking wolf was prowling next to Rylee.
The air thickened, and the fine hairs covering his body stood on end. He tore at his clothes. As soon as he was free of his jeans, he relinquished power to his beast. The transformation was fast—brutal—too wicked to be his own.
He didn’t know what the Alpha did to force a shift, but whatever power was unleashed onto Rylee slammed through him, as well. Next to him, Luca grunted and doubled over. His face contorted with the muzzle of his wolf, but a few moments later, he wrested control and straightened, placing himself between Rylee and the ravine’s drop off.
At his feet, Rylee’s body twisted and jerked. A sound no one could describe as human tore from her lips. Every muscle in her body contracted, lifting her slight form off the ground in a spasm so hard that Niko growled, needing to take away the pain twisting her face and making her unseeing eyes bulge.
Jaxon prowled close, his gaze never leaving Rylee. When her body sagged on the ground, still in her human form, he came closer, snarling at her quivering body.
The air thickened again, infuriating Niko’s wolf. The only thing keeping him from lunging at the male and challenging him right then was the fact that Rylee needed him to control the beast. Her life hung in the balance, and he wouldn’t let her down.
Twenty-Four
Rylee floated in a sea of darkness. Her body was losing the battle to survive. On some level, she knew Niko was there, fighting for her life. So was Luca. Another was present, as well, maybe more, but she couldn’t identify them by scent, and her eyelids were too heavy to lift so she could see. Whatever they were doing drew her closer to a wakefulness she wasn’t sure she wanted to achieve. There was pain there. Grief. It settled into her bones, making the vise around her heart squeeze tight. Or maybe that was one more sign of her imminent passing. She couldn’t be sure.
For some reason, she expected to be cold as life leeched from her body, but only warmth filled her. A cool nose pressed against her heated skin. Teeth nipped at her arm—not hard enough to break through, but to anchor her in the here and now. Darkness gave way to an orange glow as the sun beat against her closed eyelids. Had she been able to, she would have turned her head to avoid the stab into her brain the brightness caused.
“Come on, little sister. You can do this.” Luca’s words penetrated her foggy brain. Where was Niko?
Another nudge from a furry head against her shoulder drew her closer. There. She had to get to where Niko was.
The muted discomfort from before came crashing into her, exploding into every cell until all she could do was scream as the pain overtook her. Bright flashes blinded her as she opened her eyes, yet she couldn’t close them. She jerked and thrashed on the ground. She couldn’t breathe—couldn’t do anything but ride out the wave of agony swallowing her whole.
Niko nudged her cheek, then licked her skin. Always so sure and confident, hearing him whimper next to her ear was almost as intolerable as the pain.
Something was wrong. Deep in her core, a tearing of soul and body ripped her apart. It was as though she’d been jabbed with hundreds of tiny hooks. Each one was being pulled taut with the intent of splintering every cell
