Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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For a moment all went black. My vision cut out and all the air was knocked out of me. The rogues had scattered
but I heard the crunching of leaves as they moved towards me.
away,
Then I heard the primal roar of an Alpha wolf.
“Get him!” Someone screamed. I heard the twang of the bow again, and then one more time.
Then there was a lot of screaming.
Then silence.
Someone landed hard on the ground next to me. I groaned and tried to roll away. I blinked as my vision slowly cleared.
I turned my head to look, and met the vacant stare of a dead man.
One of the rogues, his throat ripped out.
I rolled painfully to hands and knees and looked around. There were bodies scattered across the ground. Blood gleamed black in the moonlight.
Someone was breathing heavily. I moved towards the sound.
A massive wolf stood over the last stirring rogue, who breathed a final gasp as they bled out into the dirt. The wolf growled and shook his blood-stained muzzle, then leaned back and howled.
It was a long, terrifying declaration of victory, and a warning. I didn’t need to be in wolf-form to understand the visceral threat and fury in that ancient sound.
The wolf turned its golden gaze towards me. I realized with a start that I knew those eyes, those burning coals that bored straight through me into my soul.
This was Gideon’s wolf.
I gasped with relief and inhaled a breath that was half sob. I sank back to the forest floor and let the terror release from my body.
Then I hauled myself to my feet and limped to the wolf. He watched me approach silently, but snapped at warning when I got close.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered, confused. I looked around quickly, but I didn’t see any more rogues.
So why wasn’t Gideon changing back?
Then I saw it.
The silver arrow protruding from the wolf’s leg.
I gasped, remembering the sound of the bow being fired.
“Oh shit.” I exhaled, falling to my knees in front of Gideon’s wolf. He huffed the air and made a low sound.
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Chapter 75
+25 Bonus
“That’s gotta hurt like a bitch.” I said, my hands reaching out towards the arrow shaft. It was buried deep near his shoulder. I couldn’t even see the flared backward points at the base of the broadhead triangle.
The wolf gave a warning growl as I touched his leg. I ignored him.
“I know, it hurts.” I tried to ignore that my head was easily in range if he decided to pop it like a watermelon.” This is deep. Crap. I need to bind it p>
Up close, I could see why Gideon wasn’t shifting back. An injury like this was in a tricky part of wolf anatomy that could become embedded more deeply into his human form if he transformed.
While werewolf parts generally mapped to our human anatomy 1:1, that wasn’t universally true. An injury to a wolf’s ear, for example, might result in a nick to the human’s ear, but an injury to the tail might result in a cut hamstring.
Some of my medical texts had discussed this dilemma. For an injury like this, in close proximity to the lungs and heart, it was too risky to shift. It might embed the arrowhead deeper into a vital organ, or someplace harder to reach, like behind a bone.
If that happened, Gideon could bleed internally, and I would be unable to help.
“You’re a wise wolf.” I told his wolf appreciatively. The wolf huffed. “Not that I thought you wouldn’t be!” I raised my hands away and backed up, looking him over for other injuries.
“I don’t think you can walk on this.” I frowned.
I rose to my feet. The wolf watched me stand, but as I moved away, he growled.
“I’m just getting my bag!” I reassured. “I brought some healing supplies, and I have some tools p>
I snatched my duffel from where I’d dropped it near the stump in the clearing. I also retrieved my missing boot, then I hurried back to Gideon’s side.
Thankfully the wound wasn’t bleeding much. That was good. I needed to pull the arrowhead out though, so he could shift safely and access his healing powers more effectively. Werewolves healed fastest in their non- injured form.
And we needed to get out of here.
I pulled out a pair of pliers and a scalpel.
“You’re going to need to hold still.” I told his wolf firmly, “And… please don’t eat me. This is going to hurt…
And then I cut in.
P
曲
Comm
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