Page 61 of Big Bad Wolf

“It’s going to be okay,” he said to Ruby, forcing her to look at him. “I promise.”

Ruby whimpered, her gaze flicking around the room. Callie put an arm around her shoulders. Rafe knew it was important to Ruby to keep Lena’s issues private. He tilted his body, shielding Lena the best he could from the rest of the room.

Her eyes were open but unseeing.

“Is this how it usually goes?” Rafe asked, his voice also a whisper as though he didn’t want to wake the woman.

Ruby nodded, her dark eyes rimmed with tears. “It doesn’t usually last very long.”

“Okay,” he said, putting a hand on Lena’s shoulder. Her body was light and fragile compared to Ruby’s lush curves. “We’ll just have to wait it out.”

Callie held Ruby tighter.

“Lena, can you hear us?” He gave her shoulder a small shake and Lena’s head rolled to the side. She stared at him without seeing, and a chill crawled up Rafe’s spine.

“Lena,” he said again. “What do you see?”

She paused her litany and her eyebrows knitted together as though she could hear him and was considering how to answer.

“A wolf,” she said.

Ruby’s gaze snapped to his, her eyes wide. “She’s never said anything like that before.”

Lena reached out a hand, and Rafe took it in his, wrapping his fingers around her chilled ones. Lena’s eyes widened for a moment, and she blew out a long sigh.

“I see blood,” she told him. “So much blood.”

Rafe’s body had gone cold. What wolves? Whose blood? He needed to know more, but Lena’s eyes had shut, her breathing gone slow and steady like she had fallen asleep. He wanted to shake her. He wanted to yell. He wanted to grab Ruby and run until she was safe.

But he couldn’t do any of those things.

So instead, he held Lena steady until she came to.

“Shit,” Lena said with a groan, rubbing her eyes like she’d just woken from the world’s worst nap. “It happened again, didn’t it.”

“It sure did. You okay?” Callie asked, leaning across the table to take Lena’s hand in hers.

Lena sighed but then spotted the fries Ruby had laid in front of her. “Oh, fries. Thanks, Ruby.”

Ruby and Callie exchanged a look.

“How do you feel, Lena?” Callie asked again.

“Like I got hit by a truck,” Lena said with a shrug, taking a bite of a ketchup-covered fry. “But I’ll be okay in a few minutes.”

Ruby’s brow furrowed in concern. “Do you remember anything this time?” she asked. “Did you see anything?”

Lena sighed as if she was tired of the questions, and she probably was. Rafe was sure she was fed up with answering doctors’ questions and therapists’ questions and Ruby’s questions.

“I never do. You know that.”

“But you⁠—”

“How about we let your sister eat,” Rafe cut in and Lena nodded at him in thanks. Ruby opened her mouth to protest.

“We can talk more about it later,” he said, and Ruby held her tongue.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Lena insisted. “But you can feel free to analyze me all you want.”