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Mary watched Warren heave a deep, laden sigh. She could feel the concerned weight in him, the same one Fergus carried for his pack and for Savage. If tonight’s events hadn’t happened, she would never have believed that wolves existed who wanted good things for their territory. She’d thought them all a bunch of wild animals. Literally.
“Come with me,” she said. “I’ll show you to the side door so that you can bring his things back there when you return.”
She checked the garage first and was relieved to see that one of the wolves had already lowered the door. She took all three men out through the hall between the garage and her office space. She had a supply room and a small kitchenette as well as two examining rooms on this side of the house.
As she moved down the hall, time seemed to slow. She had the oddest feeling that her life was about to change in ways she would have never believed possible.
Warren’s voice disrupted the sensation. “You’ve got a solid set-up here. I’ll bet you see a lot of animals.”
“I do. It was the one of the few things the alter serum didn’t take from us as humans; we can still enjoy our pets.” She waved a hand straight ahead toward the side door. “My clients and their animals come in through this entrance. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you so that when you come back with Fergus’s things, you can just set the satchel inside the door, lock it then leave.”
Reaching the door, she pushed it wide for him.
Warren thanked her for saving Fergus. “You’ve done a tremendous service for Savage tonight, Mary Somers.” He even smiled. “We won’t forget it.”
With that, Warren and his men moved onto the cement walk, then rose into the air.
She watched Warren for a long moment. Once he cleared the neighbor’s trees, he headed swiftly toward the southwest, his blond hair flowing behind him like a wave. Within seconds, all three wolves had disappeared from view.
She closed the door but as promised, left it unlocked. She heard a yelp from the direction of the surgery and ran back to find Fergus’s entire wolf body spasming. She again put force on his neck, using a pressure point that helped him once more to calm down.
She spoke to him telepathically. You’re okay, wolf, I’m here.
Her words helped and his entire body relaxed.
The return to life wouldn’t be simple for Fergus and given what he’d been through, Mary knew she had several rough hours ahead of her.
CHAPTER TWO
FERGUS KNEW HE was healing, but each time he rose to a minimal level of consciousness, he felt as though someone had set fire to his veins. He ached all over. His broken ribs made breathing a misery and his head felt like Sydon was still pounding on his skull.
He remained in wolf form, knowing it wouldn’t be wise to change back to his human shape until he was almost fully healed. His wolf metabolism made healing a faster process.
If he’d been human, and cared for in a hospital, he would have been pumped full of drugs and kept in a coma. But as an alter wolf, remaining drug-free would speed up the process. And right now he had only one goal: To retake the Gordion Pack as fast as he could.
So pain it was.
He tried to control himself, but when the suffering became unbearable, he thrashed and howled out a series of moans.
Each time, Mary would reach for him and squeeze his paw or put pressure on his neck. Though she didn’t have an essential healing ability as some of the witches did, her touch as well as her presence provided a kind of comfort he doubted anything else could have. Once she made contact, he would focus on her rose-yarrow scent, which triggered a pleasure response in his brain. His nerve pain would in turn settle down enough for him to fall asleep for a brief stretch.
He had a constant sense that Mary lay next to him, but he didn’t really know where he was. When he’d been in the dreamglide earlier so that he could learn from Warren what had happened with Sydon, the space had been full of mist. Basically, he was still in such a deeply unconscious state that he couldn’t see anything, not even in the dreamglide.
The table on which he lay was solid and cold, but felt just right for his super-heated wolf body.
As the hours wore on, he knew when the night passed and dawn came, but little else.
By the time it was midday, his healing finally began to coalesce. His heart pumped as it should and his bones had straightened and mended. His ribs had been the most problematic, but now he was breathing easily.
Toward late afternoon, he started thrashing again despite the growing wholeness of his body. This time, his distress had nothing to do with his physical state. Instead, his fears for the Gordion Pack under Sydon’s rule tormented him. He felt a profound, desperate need to return to the compound and protect those he’d cared for during the five years he’d served as alpha.
As fears for his pack peaked again, the thrashing returned and he howled his agony. He didn’t know how, but he sensed that some of his wolves were being hurt right now, though the sensation felt more fae than wolf.
He felt Mary’s touch as she once more took
his front paw in her firm grip. You’re safe, Fergus. I’m here.
What was it about Mary that eased him so completely?
