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Chapter 25
Dušan
Istartle awake, sitting upright so damn fast that the room spins. An excruciating ache burrows through my chest. I cry out with the pain and clutch my chest as I fall onto my back. Eyes shut, I inhale each deep breath, wading through the pain that comes and goes, but slowly, it eases.
Wait… Room?
I peel open one eye and then the other to see a white ceiling with a single lightbulb. Turning my head, I take in the door and wardrobe in my bedroom.
Memories rush at me.
The zombies in the settlement.
Mad shooting me, and well, I’d have expected him to throw me into a prison if I’d survived.
And Meira’s sweet face was the last thing I remember before I must have passed out.
Except I got shot, and Mad sure as hell wouldn’t take the time to try and fix me. I finger the bandages wrapped around my chest, confused as to how I survived that. When I really look at myself, I notice most of my bruises and bites from the fight have healed. But a bullet wound is something else.
Soft snoring sounds come from the end of my bed, and I wrinkle my brow, leaning forward, which only sends a shot of pain up my chest.
I clench my teeth, riding the wave of slashing pain, then I push my legs out of the bed. They touch the cold floorboards, and I get up, groaning. I don’t remember the last time I ached so much.
With slow steps, I come around the end of the bed to find a tawny red wolf fast asleep on the plush rug.
My heart twists with the sight of her in wolf form, curling in on herself, sleeping by my bed. And things are starting to make sense. She must have saved me by transforming and letting her wolf take care of Mad… but at what cost? To be forever locked in her wolf?
A pang of guilt seizes me. Because of me, she sacrificed everything. A desperate, ugly feeling grabs me, and my knees wobble.
What have I done?
Inch by inch, the cold, hard truth hits me over and over.
This was never the future I wanted for her. I’d give up mine instantly for her to have everything.
Never this.
I crumble and fall to my knees, the thumping sound rousing her awake. Her head jerks up, and she looks over at me with sleepy eyes, her fur all flat on the side she slept on.
My eyes prick as I stare into those beautiful pale bronze irises. I reach over and hug her as my throat thickens with an overwhelming emotion that chokes me. “Oh, Meira, what did you do? I’m not worth it.”
I hold her tight, close my eyes, and pretend she’s with me like before, where she laughs in a way that brightens my darkest days. To feel her lips against mine. I try not to overthink everything I’ll miss because it will destroy me. She is still with me, but the sting in my heart hurts more than the bullet wound.
A sudden charge of electricity runs up my arms. I snap open my eyes just as Meira begins to tremble violently in my arms. Her body stretches, and she’s literally morphing into her human form.
I have no words because one moment my heart ia ripping out, and now I’m bursting with an unfathomable joy.
It isn’t long before I’m holding a gorgeous, naked Meira, who’s grinning at me. “Are you really crying because you thought I’d be a wolf all my life? Lucien said you would, but Bardhyl bet you’d love me still the same.”
I laugh that she’s already making a joke. “Well, they’d be right on both fronts.” I have so many questions, but the important thing is that we’re still alive.
“How are you feeling?” she asks, glancing down at my bandage. “Someone was looking out for you.” She leans in and kisses my lips, my cheeks, my chin. “The bullet went right through your torso, missing all organs and arteries completely. Can you believe that? I think you have an angel caring for you.”
The news floats in my mind that somehow I managed to survive such a shot.
“And what about you and your wolf?” I ask. “Seems we all have surprises.”
She smiles widely and snuggles against my side, avoiding the injury. “I did what you told me to and gave my wolf full control, and it seems she rewarded me by submitting. I don’t know why I was so afraid for so long to just give her control.”
