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Chapter 23
Iturnedto my three wolves traipsing alongside me as we strode in beast form toward the border between Terra and the Den. Oryn carried my bag in his mouth, the one with the ingredients to remedy the toxic river. He’d killed the priestess, done what I probably couldn’t have. But he’d had his own reasons for finishing her off, and I couldn’t deny the world was a better place withouther.
Walking through the woods was a million times easier this way, light and swift. I was a wolf! With a gorgeous silver coattoo.
Behind us, a dozen wolves trailed; a few carried their fallen warriors in human form on their backs. My heart bled to know their families had lost a member. These hunters had given their lives to eliminate the monster ruling Terra. Who knew how the royal family would react to discovering her dead. But we weren’t hanging around to find out. Considering no guards from the battle had survived, I prayed a search party wasn’t coming for me. But then again, other guards could have been patrolling the markets or the woods. Still, they’d have no clue it was me who’d spurred the killing. Could just have easily have seemed a random wolf attack, and that was why we’d leave Terra quick. Still, the priority was helping Oryn’spack.
I stepped over foliage, the prickly forest floor not hurting my paws. What amazed me more was how quickly my body had healed from the knife wound in my chest once I’d changed into my wolf. Heavens… Me, a shifter. That part still dominated my mind, as I couldn’t believeit.
We made a small detour to Bee’s place and dropped off Santos. He’d fainted from a knock to the head. But other than a few cuts, he was fine, which made me all kinds of happy. Now he had to keep a low profile for a fewweeks.
At the border, several wolves worked as a team and pushed two dead logs over the wolfsbane shrubs, flattening the plant. They’d created a narrow passage in notime.
Their strategy told me so many things. Like how the shifters could have easily crossed into Terra whenever they’d wanted, but they hadn’t because they’d had no intention of fighting or killing us. The real maniac was the priestess, and just knowing she was out of the picture eased the heaviness from my shoulders. Sure, the danger wasn’t gone, but it was a reprieve to catch my breath, work out what I’d do next without her death sentence for me breathing down myback.
Besides, I now had a family toconsider.
Wolves crossed over into the Den, followed by Oryn and Nero. Once Dagen and I passed through, he stood in my path, blockingme.
He shifted into his human form, his sizzling energy caressing me, and as if my wolf sensed the change, already I felt her retreat inside me, vanish. My legs wobbled and I fell on all fours, fur retreating from all over my body with haste, my limbs shortening. But this time, the agony of a transformation no longer hurt but felt like I’d pulled off a raincoat stuck to my skin withsweat.
Dagen lifted himself to his feet and took my hand into his, drawing me to myfeet.
I glanced at the rest of the pack, heading onward toward the open field, while we remained beneath the shadows of thepines.
“Now that we’re alone, I need to apologize,” hebegan.
I shook my head. “No, you don’t. Forwhat?”
With a kiss to the back of my hand, he drew me closer, our naked bodies plastered tougher. “For doubting you and scaring you earlier. And mostly for calling you ‘vile.’”
My mouth opened, but he pressed his mouth against mine, and my world faded beneath hisheat.
“You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever met,” he said, our foreheads touching. “I want you in my life, if you’ll haveme.”
I stared into his gaze, lost, and my heart drummed with the excitement that Dagen had offered himself to me. “Hell yeah. There was never any doubt in mymind.”
He laughed. “I know. Just wanted to hear it from your sweetvoice.”
A howl came from across the open field, and I snapped around, only to find the wolves strolling, while Nero stared back at us. Dagen took my hand and we hurried to catch up with the pack. With so many of us, any wolves we encountered should have proven easy foes to beat, but still, we moved at a swiftpace.
By the time we reached the top of a cliff near the river with mountains behind us, we stopped. I was out of breath, but then again, we’d been rushing up and downslopes.
Oryn transformed with such ease, it looked graceful to me. He approached me. “Sharlot, the river flows downstream from here, and it’s the best location to ensure we cleanse the source of theriver.”
I nodded, but exhaustion washed through me. What I wouldn’t give to sleep a whole week. Cuts and bruises littered my body, blood still dribbling from the wound on my chest, but it amazed me how little pain remained. No wonder wolves kept fighting with their endless stamina. Yet my job wasn’t completehere.
I crouched near the edge of the river and Oryn brought me mybag.
“What can I do?” heasked.
I collected the parcel I’d prepared in the store and turned to him. Desperation crammed behind his eyes. “Bring me an affected wolf so we can try to see if this willwork.”
He nodded and vanished behind me past where the other wolvesstood.
In all honesty, if this didn’t prove the solution, I was lost. I’d scanned Grandma’s book and no other cure offered a solution to the poisoning. The priestess had said she’d bought the toxin from the Darkwoods realm. Heavens, that could be anything, and with her dead, we’d never find out. My stomach knotted, but I had to thinkpositive.
Pulling out a bowl from the bag, I bent toward the current and scooped water into it. Around me, nature was at its most glorious. The sun might have been descending, but the golden hues lit up the pines and glistened across theriver.
