He reached across me and stabbed the knife into my skin below my ribcage and sliced across, the blade wobbling and cutting more into my belly that my ribs like he intended.
The silver burned, more than I thought it would, more than the blade slicing through my skin. I shrieked and bucked against the men, trying to not the shift and propel the knife further into my skin.
I heard the sound of Rush shifting over my screaming. The men dropped me on the ground as Rush’s wolf dove over the small gap between us. He caught one of the humans in his jaw, ripping the man’s arm off in one loud movement. He ended the man’s life quickly and then took two steps towards the man with the knife.
I wasn’t able to see his attack, but I could hear the sound of his blood gurgling out of his throat. Rush shifted back and stalked toward the original man who cowardly tried to run the other way. Rush caught his arm.
“Give this warning to your people, if you ever touch my mate, my family, or my pack again, I’ll do worse damage to your people than you ever thought possible.” Rush snapped the man’s neck quickly and growled a threat to the rest of the humans who were running down the street.
I tried to push myself off the ground with my arms, the cut was trying to heal, but the burn prevented it. Rush knelt down and tore off a piece of my shirt, pressing it firmly to cut.
He lifted me in his arms, quickly bringing me to the car parked down the street.
“Sloane, sweetheart, just stay awake okay? I’m going to get you home and take care of you. Just stay awake, baby,” he spoke frantically.
Injuries to wolves were not usually fatal, especially when they were inflicted by humans, but silver prevented us from healing. More than that, if enough silver got into our bloodstream or lungs, it would be enough to kill us.
“Sweetheart,” Rush begged, pressing the accelerator farther down. “You aren’t allowed to leave me yet. I just got you, you aren’t allowed to leave me, you got that? Goddess, doesn’t this car go any faster? I’ve got you, Sloane, I’ve got you.”
Puncture
The doctor stitched me up when Rush brought me inside. He said the silver alone wasn’t enough to kill me, just weaken me, and slow down my healing process. When a shifter is injured, our bodies tended to heal faster than humans, and even the most detrimental injuries would heal in days.
Silver disrupted that process; it made us susceptible to what the humans called “complications.” The silver could travel within our bodies and hurt other parts of us. Even if the silver didn’t cause complications, the healing time would be multiplied.
Rush refused to let me do anything for days after, even when the pack doctor cleared me. He helped me sit up from the bed, get dressed, wash my hair, and even eat. He was thorough to an obnoxious degree.
Jonah sat at the table, watching Rush break off pieces of a sandwich and hand-feed me. Jonah’s snarky laughter only irritated me more.
“Rush,” I grunted. “I’m fine, I can eat a sandwich by myself.”
Rush growled and stared me in the eyes, forcing me to remain where I was and open my mouth so he could feed me. He settled back into his routine happily and carefully, taking immense caution as he tore the pieces up.
“Aw, he’s so cute,” Jonah cooed, taking a swig of beer, pursing his lips like a pout. “He’s like a mother bird.”
“He’ll kill you,” I said flatly, staring at him as I chewed.
“No, he won’t,” he sang. “My mate would not be pleased with him.”
“You met your mate?” My eyes widened, and I perked up for the first time all day.
“Yes, I did,” Jonah stated proudly. “Her name is Jahida. I’ll bring her by soon, or you both can come by the house.”
“I’d love that,” I yipped. Jonah snickered again and continued drinking his beer.
Rush carried me back upstairs like he had done for the past three days and laid me on the bed. He propped me up on a pillow and handed me the remote.
“Do you need anything else?” he asked, looking at everything I had in reach.
“Lay down with me,” I begged, pushing my lips out slightly.
“I’ve got work to do, sweetheart, but I’ll be back later tonight,” he promised. Rush turned to leave, but I called his name, and he was immediately at my side. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” I said, pulling on his shirt. He took the fabric from me and pushed my hands flat on the bad. “I was just thinking.”
“About?” He leaned against the edge of the bed.
“We haven’t marked each other yet,” I said casually. His eyes widened, and he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, it’s silly. I was just talking to Isla the other day, and she asked me if we’d marked each other yet, and it got me thinking.”
His eyes crinkled in happiness as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I shivered in pleasure, and he noticed. A lustful look clouded his eyes, and I bit my lip to stop myself from saying anything else.
His scent strengthened as he fought to mark me in that instant. I nuzzled into his right hand as it lifted to bury itself in my hair. He leaned over me with his other arm and kissed me, deeply, slowly.
His tongue brushed against my lip, and I opened slightly. Rush kissed me again, his hand tightening in my hair, pulling at the thick roots. He was trying to control himself, still worried that I was injured.
I lifted both of my arms and curled them around his neck, holding him close to me. He
