Chapter 14

Voices spoke beyond a door, muffled by the daze of pain.

“Step away from the door, Nikki.”

“No!” My senses quickened at the fear in her voice. “He saved my life, Mom!”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s a werewolf.”

“It does too matter! I would have been killed. Chet’s an Alpha!”

“Really?” her mom replied. I heard the forced surprise in her voice and realized that she had already known.

Nikki must have heard it, too. “You knew all this time?” Her voice rose, hurt and angry. “You set me up?”

“It wasn’t like that, darling,” a male voice that must have belonged to Nikki’s father said in a placating tone.

The door gave a thump as Nikki leaned against it. “You knew I was dating a werewolf and you didn’t tell me? What am I to you, just some bait you can dangle to catch the black coats?”

“We had to know, Nikki,” her mother said with a touch of embarrassment.

Nikki fell silent, then spoke again, her voice reluctant as though she didn’t want to hear. “Know what?”

Footsteps drew closer to the door. “There’s something going on. There has to be older Alphas, but Chet was the only one we could find. We hoped he would lead us to them.”

“And by us you meant me?”

A sigh, then, “Yes. You were the only one who had a chance to get close to him.”

“He almost killed me for it!” Nikki’s voice rose again. “You didn’t think to warn me? You know, ‘Carry some silver bullets, darling, just in case your boyfriend goes psycho?'”

“We didn’t think it would get this far,” her father put in. “We thought we’d find the other Alphas long before now.”

“Yeah, well, he would have killed me. His whole pack came to tear me apart.” I heard Nikki’s hand touch the door. “I’d be dead right now if it wasn’t for Jaze.”

“Another werewolf,” her mother said with contempt in her voice.

“Another Alpha,” Nikki corrected her softly.

Silence followed.

The door creaked in protest as Nikki leaned more firmly against it. Her elbow brushed the doorknob.

“Why is he still in there?” her mom asked, quieter now. “If he’s an Alpha, he should have healed already.”

I heard the slide of Nikki’s hair across the wood as she shook her head. “They used silver blades, and parts of them broke off. I can’t get it all cleaned out.” Her calm facade broke and her voice cracked. “He’s bleeding to death before he can heal.”

There was a moment of silence and I could feel the depth of it through my fevered haze. It felt as if the entire world waited for someone to make a decision. Her mom finally cleared her throat. “Well, what are we standing around for? Heaven knows your father and I have extracted silver fragments before.”

Their footsteps came to the door. “How do I know you’re not going to kill him?” Nikki protested without moving.

Her father spoke gently. “You’re going to have to trust us. We owe you one. We promise to take care of him.”

My heart tightened at the potential implications and I hoped Nikki would stay in front of the door. I would rather bleed to death than face Hunters like the ones who had killed Dad.

But Nikki stepped back and the door opened slowly. “You owe me more than one,” she whispered.

Their footsteps drew near the bed and I closed my eyes. I focused on breathing steadily to calm my thundering heartbeat.

Nikki’s mother gave a quick intake of breath. “Other werewolves did this to him?” she asked quietly. “Why would they do such a thing?”

“He stood in their way to protect me,” Nikki replied, her tone bitter.

A hand touched my sweat-soaked forehead. “He’s got a high fever, probably from the silver. It kicks in fast.” She turned away. “We’ve got to hurry, Roger, or we’ll lose him.”

Fingers touched my palm and my hand flinched before I could control it. Nikki touched my shoulder reassuringly. “It’s okay, they’ll help you,” she whispered.

I opened my eyes and fought to focus them on her face. “You’re not safe here,” I whispered. The words burned through my aching throat. I took a shallow breath against the sharp pain in my side.

“They’ll keep me safe. Both of us safe,” she replied. Her eyes shone through tears. “You just hang in there, okay? Don’t you leave me.”

Pain from the gash across my stomach made me gasp. I shut my eyes and clenched my teeth in an effort to stay silent.

“Jaze?” she asked, her voice tight with worry.

“It hurts,” I forced out.

“Stay with me,” she commanded, her voice rising.

I tried to nod, but flashes of light sparked behind my closed eyelids.

“Jaze?” She turned away and shouted, “Mom, Dad, hurry!”

A hum rose, shutting out all other sound. I opened my leaden eyes and saw her face floating above me, her lips tight and tears tracing trails down her cheeks. Black spots danced in my vision. She mouthed my name. I tried to reply, but my limbs felt heavy and weak. I shut my eyes and gave in to the darkness.