“She’s hurt,” Mom says through the link. “I can’t tell if she’s conscious, but she’s breathing.”
“Sawyer, you and Avery draw his attention from her,” I order, knowing Sawyer would get Avery to follow his lead. “Dad, can you help them? Mom and I will take care of Grey.”
“He spotted us!” Mom shouts before I hear a bone-shaking growl followed by one that most definitely belongs to my mother. She is a fierce protector. She was never meant to be a tough alpha female, but when someone threatens the lives of the people she loves, she goes all mama bear. Wolf?
I don’t waste any time, I rush around the corner and find the rogue battling with my father. Mom stands over Grey’s lifeless body, gently nuzzling her pale face with her snout. I can smell the blood before I see it.
“She’s bleeding from a head wound, it’s pretty bad.” I watch my mom stick her nose against Grey’s cheek. “We need to get her out of here. She’s freezing.”
It doesn’t take much time for my father to push the rogue out of the small rocked alcove. I see Avery and Sawyer help by surrounding him, and still, the red wolf never backs down. He growls and snarls at each of them, his head low and his haunches tight, ready to spring into attack if necessary.
“I want him alive, we need to know if he’s getting any help.”
“I want to rip his throat out,” Sawyer snarls back, his voice full of aggression.
“Not yet,” the alpha responds, his voice calm as usual.
Knowing they have the rogue taken care of, I turn my attention back to my injured mate. Her head is turned, facing in my direction, but her beautiful green eyes are closed. My wolf whimpers at the bloodied state she’s in. I can see her shivering when my mom takes a respectful step back, allowing me room to go to Grey.
She doesn’t stir when I softly nudge her bloodied hand with my nose and still doesn’t move when I gently place my muzzle to her throat. Her heartbeat is slower than it should be, but it’s there.
I call upon the shift, and my wolf reluctantly disappears into my skin. Now in human form, I tenderly wipe the raindrops off her breathtakingly beautiful face. She stirs a little by this but doesn’t open her eyes.
My mom, also now in her human form, comes up behind me. “I can’t believe it’s her,” she whispers, and when I look over at Mom I see the tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry you went all these years without her.”
“I’ve found her.” My voice is thick and full of emotion. I have spent the last fourteen years mourning someone who lies before me, injured but alive. My eyes burn thinking about all the years I’d spent wishing she was here.
I still have many questions about where she has been and why she was taken away in the first place. But right now, all I can do is tenderly reach down and pull my sweet mate into my arms. And the moment I have her protected against my chest, I can practically feel a piece of my broken and battered soul mend.
“I’ll run ahead to warm up her Jeep so we can get her out of here,” Mom whispers, her voice also shaky with emotion. “I’ll call Remi and tell her to meet us there with a change of clothes for you.”
I feel her slender fingers squeeze my shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Ryker, we will figure this all out soon. Her aunt will be back in a few days, and she promised to give us answers then.” Mom gives my arm one more squeeze before shifting and running into the dark woods. She gives my father a soft bark as she passes, letting him know she is leaving.
Grey’s head rests against my chest as I carry her away from the small, rocked-in area. I find my friends and father have the rogue wolf cornered, and I fully trust they will not let him get away.
“Get him back to the house and get him to shift back to his human form. I have some questions I want to ask him,” I tell them sternly as I pass.
Grey shivers. I hold her tighter to my chest, but her clothes are soaked, and the cool wind has picked up isn’t helping her current state. Holding her as tight as I can, I take off in a light jog, knowing I need to get her to the warmed up Jeep soon.
As I run through the uneven terrain, I can’t help but repeatedly look down at her face. Even with leaves and debris in her light-blonde hair and a scratch across her dirt-covered cheek, she is still beautiful. I smile when I see she still has the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. I used to tease her about those relentlessly growing up.
Grey lets out a soft whimper, I freeze and look down to make sure she is still unconscious. The last thing I want is to have to explain to her why I’m butt-ass-naked carrying her through the woods. That is a conversation my father had promised Addison we would wait to have when she got back in three days.
I still don’t understand how Grey had never shifted into her own wolf form all this time. Even though we can’t fully shift when we are kids, our eyes can still shift into wolf form, and for some kids like myself, fangs and claws can make an appearance at a young age.
