AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Iris paused, pressing her jaw together for a moment. She exhaled and shrugged. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “The men were masked and… my memories are…” She shuddered. “Chaotic, at best. There were police investigations, but no one was ever arrested. Several people stormed our pack, but…”
“Not one person?”
She clicked her tongue against her teeth, shaking her head. “Not one.”
“The people who found you didn’t see anything?”
Iris paused again and then shook her head. “I don’t think so. I imagine finding a bunch of dead people — elders, adults,children— was pretty distracting. And then realizing I wasn’t dead?” She shrugged. “If they weren’t already distracted, I’m sure that was enough to keep their attention. They had to get me life-flighted to the closest hospital, and they couldn’t do much there but stabilize me. I was flown to Seattle for open heart surgery.” She grunted, reaching up to rub her chest again. “They have to break your sternum for that, you know. As if having someone fiddle with your organs wasn’t messy enough.”
I balked at the idea ofanyonehaving to go through that, much less a child her age. And she had no one there to comfort her — not her mother, not her father, no siblings or family members. No friends. No pack.No nothing.
“Iris, I — I’m so sorry,” I said, unsure what else to say. There were no words to express the horror.
She shrugged. “What could you have done about it? You aren’t much older than me — and you were across the world.”
I frowned. “I’m still sorry that happened at all,” I murmured, shaking my head. “Why didn’t a brother pack come for you?”
Iris worked her jaw for a moment and finally shrugged. “Don’t know. Never asked,” she said, dropping her gaze. “Maybe they didn’t know I survived. After all, they did take me to Seattle, and no one at the hospital knew who I was until I woke up. They had no one to call.”
“But surely…”
I stopped myself and shook my head, not wanting to wake up the old hurt — not more than I already had, anyway. Still — how had she fallen through the cracks for that long? How had notone wolffound her, if not from Alaska, then in Seattle?
“Is that why it was hard for you to shift earlier? You’ve hidden your wolf for so long?”
Iris nodded. “Mhm. I was so scared when I was little. Some foster kids are just as scared as you — some are outright savage. I didn’t want them to have any other reason to pick on me. I just wanted to get through it. Survive.” She paused, looking up at me, her expression unreadable. “You know, I don’t even feel her most days — and when I do, she’s sleepy. Sluggish. Tired. I know, now, it’s impacted her, but…” She shrugged. “I did what I had to do to protect myself. But I… I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to fix that. Fix what I did to her.”
The remorse in her voice made my heart shudder. “I’m sure you can,” I said, nodding confidently. “That you regret it — that you want to — I know you’ll be able to mend that bond with her. It might take time, but you can. I’ll do what I can.” I paused. “Is the pacemaker why you got so tired?”
“Mhm. That and the blood thinners, probably.” She reached up to touch her nose. “Gives me nosebleeds, too.” Iris’ gaze shifted over to the bed. “I’m not trying to kick you out, but do you mind if I lie down? It’s been a long time since I’ve done that much at once, and the snack helped, but I’m still feeling pretty out of it.”
“Of course,” I replied quickly, suddenly feeling as IfIwas putting Iris out. I stepped back, getting out of her way, and she padded over to the bed tiredly, laying herself down on top of the sheets.
I looked around for her pad of paper and wrote down my number. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay,” Iris mumbled, already sounding sleepy. “Good night.”
I smiled. “Sweet dreams.”
After leaving,I decided to head over to Remus’ house. When I arrived, I found his family in the back yard — including my father. The twins were both climbing over him and Luna waved me over, motioning to an empty porch chair.
21
IRIS
Redwood Motel
Austin, Texas
To my surprise, I actually managed to nap for several hours. When I woke up, the sun had moved well past its zenith, suggesting it was well into the afternoon. I felt… remarkably better. I had expected to wake up feeling like I’d been run over by a truck, or I’d had a few too many drinks. Instead, I felt… well, like I’d run a little too far, but otherwise, I felt refreshed… energized, more than coffee ever made me feel.
I sat up, looking at the space where Eli had slept the night before. His scent was faint but present — birchwood and leather. And something else. I couldn’t pinpoint it; I caught myself before I rolled over and stuffed my face into the pillow.
Once the alpha had entered my thoughts, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Even though I had been unsure about taking a run, it had felt so…liberating. I wasn’t sure if it was the run itself, the fact that my wolf as able to break free, or that someone hadfinallyjustlistenedto me. I hadn’t thought about it in ages, but something wasvalidatingabout that.
It didn’t hurt that Eli wasgorgeous, either. The very thought made me shiver.I can’t tell him that. He’s just started acting reasonably; imagine if he knew I found him handsome?
The thought made me frown and I shook it off, but I couldn’t rid myself of the feeling. When Eli touched me this morning, it was like he’d given me an electric shock — I felt his touch all over, even though he’d barely run his fingers over my skin. No one had ever made me feel like that before, and that was… hell, that was tame.
