Frequently, there was the scent of sex amongst the bushes to accompany the witches’ scents, so they studiously ignored it.
They had almost made it full circle when Nick finally called them.
We’re done, you can come back now, the potions are here, and we’re about to give her the first blood restorative, he said.
Dean picked up his pace. Now that there was something to run for, a purpose, his lion got a second wind.
Together the four of them sped back to the cottage, barely pausing to shift as they reached the door. All of them trying to fit through at the same time might be a comical image in another lifetime, but for now, it was merely frustrating. Dean nearly shifted back to his lion just so he could claw his way through.
Somehow, though, it was Trent who got inside first. Dean wondered at that, until he noticed the fox’s tail that was still retracting. The sneaky bugger had shifted and slipped between their legs. For once, he was jealous of the smaller beast. His alpha tendencies would never have allowed him to take a non-combative route, but because foxes didn’t have alphas, Trent could do what he damn well liked.
It was certainly something to ponder at a later date. Right now, he had to see Melody, had to touch her, to know that she was alive and breathing, even though his bond told him that she was.
At the sight of all the blood on the dragons, though, he nearly shifted on the spot.
“Easy there, big cat,” Nick said, calmly. “We did everything that was possible, and we made a lot more progress than we thought we could. She’s not out of the woods, but now that we have an idea of what to expect, we can prepare for it. I’m going to ask the provost to get us a nasogastric feeding tube set up. If we can get food into her, and those potions, we’ll have a better chance of being able to nurse her through this than we did last time. We might have to swear a healer to secrecy, but it will be worth it if we don’t have to roll her over to give her the medicine.”
Dean nodded, his canines lengthening as his beast ached to go to her.
“No shifting, dude,” warned Justin. “Your lion is too fucking big to get on that bed with her in this condition. Human ass only.”
Dean pushed past him and through the door to the bedroom that belonged to Melody. A blanket had been artfully draped over her lower half, but everything from the waist up had been removed. There was nothing to see, although the scent of blood permeated everything. A large dressing covered her entire back, firmly held down with some sort of specialised clear adhesive. On a couple of spots, he could see blood starting to seep through to the outer layer, but it seemed that overall, she wasn’t as bad as he’d feared.
He almost moaned in relief, gingerly climbing onto the bed beside her, so that his forehead rested against her elbow where her arm was crooked above her head on the pillows. The pain that he had felt emanating from her earlier was now a dull throb, and he assumed that was because the potion had kicked in. She was hot to the touch, but they knew that would happen. It was now a matter of time. They had to care for her as best they could, and wait for her to heal and wake up.
Part of him almost hoped that she would be too weak to beat Asher in his challenge in a few days time, but Dean had an idea of Melody’s strength now. There was no way this would hold her back. She would conquer that fucking wolf, and then she would bring him to heel, and Dean? Well, he’d make sure that the asshole paid for this for the rest of Melody’s life.
4. Asher
Asher had heard the rumours. He’d seen that viper Shawna and her horrors talking about Melody and the Apex before he’d finally challenged her. The reality of what he was faced with, however, was on a different plane entirely.
As soon as their bond was broken, the others dashed back to their cottage through a portal, leaving him stunned in the provost’s office. Initially he thought he was alone with the head witch, but when his mind cleared a little, he became aware of Ryan and Oz flanking him.
“Come on, man. Let’s get you back to your quarters in the dorm. You can check on her later. Right now, you need to rest and shake this off,” Oz coaxed.
Stubbornly, Asher waved them off. “I’m fine, I can get there by myself. Go check on her, I know you’re dying to get there.”
Ryan dashed away, muttering about stubborn idiots.
“Look,” Oz said, lingering a bit longer. “We saw Dean go through this when he bonded her. He also had his broken. It knocks you about for a bit. You really should let me walk you back. It’s going to make you easy prey for any witch determined to trick you into challenging them. You’re weakened, so some of them who wouldn’t ordinarily have a chance, would.”
“Thanks, Oz. But I’m fine, really. I just want to sleep.” He’d had a taste of Melody’s power bonded to his own shifter magic. Despite the drama that had ensued, he was more determined than ever to have her. Nothing and nobody else would suffice.
It wasn’t long before he regretted his bravado, stumbling through the corridors as though drunk. The sudden wave of fatigue had taken him by surprise.
A soft-spoken voice had enquired after his wellbeing, and his foggy thoughts had cleared enough to find himself surrounded by a bevvy of witches, cooing and consoling. They were running their hands over him, stroking
