Gasps, muffled shrieks, and rumbling chests dragged me back into reality and kicked me in the face. The demon child’s serrated fangs had sliced my instep and peeled the thin layer of skin away from the bones. Veins spluttered like tiny hoses, releasing my body’s precious fluid in squirts. Blood dribbled between my toes and discolored my nails.
Okay. Maybe I needed more than a little Neosporin.
The 3-D view clenched my stomach like an iron vise. Bile bubbled against my throat, and the stinging pain I’d shoved back returned with a nauseating vengeance. I no longer had a foot; I had a mangled piece of meat with digits at the end. I curled farther into Aric, focusing on his strong, clean scent and not my raw flesh. “Son of a bitch,” Taran muttered. Soft cotton enclosed my foot. “I’ll hold pressure. Emme, start healing.”
Emme’s soft healing light brightened Aric’s golden skin. My eyes centered on his dark pink nipple, stiff from the soft wind, I supposed. He growled again. Okay, maybe just tense from the anger surging through his well-muscled physique. Concern for him beat back the preoccupation with my injury until it no longer mattered. After all, Emme’s gift would mend me. But in no way did it spare Aric from worry. “Shhh,” I whispered in his ear. “I’m okay, wolf. I swear it.”
And I was. Against Aric’s body, I definitely was. His presence allowed me to abandon the disturbing images of the day and erased the thoughts of my skinned flesh and oozing vessels.
Aric stroked his stubble cheek against mine. “I shouldn’t have left you.”
My lips met his briefly as my fingertips slid lightly against his chest, itching with the need to play with that perfect nipple. I withdrew, wondering if the other was just as delightful. Yup. Absolutely. My tigress rolled her eyes, reminding me I could have witnessed more than a little areola action if only my inner nerd hadn’t marched forward waving her geek banner with all the grace of a two-year-old on roller skates.
Aric’s honey-colored eyes searched mine. They always spoke of power and strength. This time they whispered with more intensity, and a hell of a lot more fire. “I won’t leave you again,” he promised.
My arms fastened around him, returning his embrace. “Thank you . . . for caring about what happens to me.”
My words carried a great deal of emotion. Most beings demonstrated little to no sympathy for me. Then I’d met Aric. Initially I presumed his wolfish impulses caused him to assume a protective role. Altercations with other wolves stomped that theory to bits. Wolves in general didn’t feel compelled to protect—Aric did. Despite not belonging to his pack, he cared about me. For some bizarre reason, he cared more than it seemed possible.
Taran’s hard wipes to my foot forced me to acknowledge that Emme had completed her healing. Aric lifted me, his pace quick as he returned to the path. My head whirled around to my family as we disappeared around the bend. “Where are we going?”
“I need to get you home. My wolves will keep your sisters safe.”
I wiggled my foot. Wine-colored splotches painted my smooth pink skin. “But I’m fine now. We need to tend to the bodies.”
“No. You don’t. The weres we have in the local homicide unit have been called. They’re on their way and will take care of matters inside the mill.”
The matters he spoke of no doubt involved identifying the victims and notifying their families. I nibbled on my bottom lip. “Do you think they’re local?”
The wind picked up, and so did the roar of the river. “Hard to tell with the number of tourists Tahoe gets.”
“I guess.” I wiggled against him so he’d put me down. He didn’t. “You realize I can walk.”
“You’re not wearing shoes.”
“Aric—”
A throaty, frustrated growl found its way out of Aric and heated his face. “Celia, my wolf failed to keep you safe. Cut him some slack and allow us to care for you now.”
My narrowed eyes slowly softened as I absorbed the extent of Aric’s culpability. My tigress took protecting my sisters seriously. When she failed, guilt dug hard enough to rupture my spleen. As a beast, I understood. As a female, I also recognized Aric’s need to be chivalrous. And yet had any other male carried me then, I’d have shifted him into the ground, kicked him in the head, and stomped back to the car. But because it was Aric, I relaxed against him, allowing both him and his beast to tend to me. I kissed the edge of his jaw. “All right. But just this one time, wolf.”
Aric huddled me closer. “I was convinced the danger lurked outside the mill. And I believed the sour stench was related to the woman’s violent death, not the presence of demons. I wanted to protect you by keeping you away from the fight and thought Gem’s wolf would be enough to keep you safe.”