What if this really is Griffen?
She let her gaze wander over his body.
Sharon sat at his head, cradling it in her lap, stroking his fur.
His eyes were open a slit, and he blinked at her.
“I don’t see how we’re going to stop this bleeding. It will take too long for your brothers to get back,” she said to Sharon.
“It will slow on its own. That’s why he had to shift. We heal faster in wolf form. Normally we don’t need medical intervention at all. But this is worse than the average cut. I’m worried it won’t heal right without help.” She continued to stroke the wolf’s fur. Griffen?
Rebecca didn’t see how this wolf would live. “It will take hours for your brothers to get back.”
Sharon shook her head. “It won’t. They can run fast and cover a lot of ground in wolf form. As soon as they reach a spot with cell service, they’ll call Miles.”
“It will get dark,” she continued to argue.
“And they can see fine in the dark.” Sharon gave a wan smile.
Zachary spoke next. He had Rebecca’s bag now and set it next to her. “Miles will know what to do.”
“Because he’s a vet?”
“Because he’s a shifter. And a vet.”
“Of course.” Not.
Zachary smiled and gave a short chuckle, the first moment any of them had shown any emotion that wasn’t deadly serious since Griffen fell. “Listen. I know this is crazy to you. You’re actually handling it better than I ever imagined. It can’t be easy. But Griffen needs you now. You may not think it’s a big deal, and I know you can’t possibly understand all the implications here, but trust me—we need to clean up this wound and do our best to hold it together until the others get back.”
Rebecca lifted her face to the sky. “How long will it take them?”
“A few hours probably.”
“We don’t have that kind of time,” she pointed out.
“We aren’t going to make it down this mountain tonight. You’re right.” Zachary looked serious again.
Sharon cleared her throat. “That’s enough, Zach. You’re scaring her.”
Rebecca shook her head. “Trust me. There’s very little you could say or do right now to freak me out further.”
“Yeah. Well. I bet we could.” Sharon lowered her face.
Rebecca didn’t want to follow that cryptic insinuation. Instead she pointed out the other obvious issues. “It’s going to get cold. And there’re bears. We can’t be out here at night.”
Sharon looked at Zachary. “She’s right about that. You should take her down the mountain. I’ll stay with Griffen.”
“What?” Rebecca winced as she shot Sharon a sharp look. “No. Are you crazy? I’m not leaving you here alone with an injured wolf. You wouldn’t survive an hour alone.” She squeezed the wound harder, willing it to stop bleeding.
Zachary rummaged around in her bag and then handed her a few wipes. While she lifted the shirt to clean the wound, he continued with her line of thinking. “She’s right, Sharon. Not a good option. You wouldn’t be able to fend for yourself alone against a bear and take care of Griffen. We don’t know how long it might take them to get back.”
“Shit.” Sharon stared down at the wolf.
Was it really Griffen? It was growing harder to doubt that. If it wasn’t Griffen, then where the hell was he?
Rebecca poured water over the gash and examined it before covering it with gauze and taping it around his leg. At least it was sterile. She yanked another shirt from her bag and wrapped it around the wound next, applying pressure.
Finally, she set her free hand on his back and wove her fingers into his fur. She eyed him closely. He watched her every move, his jaw hanging open. If she wasn’t mistaken, he seemed to be communicating with his eyes.
He squirmed as she stroked her hand down his front paw. When he lifted it and set it over hers, her heart nearly stopped. It was him. She knew it.
His gaze left hers and met Sharon’s.
Sharon spoke to him. “You want me to take Rebecca down the mountain? I could do it. Leave Zachary here with you and get her to safety.”
There was a hesitation, and then he shook his head.
Holy hell. He shook his head. He was communicating with his sister.
She blew out a breath. “You sure? I’ll do whatever you think is best.”
He nodded this time.
“He’s right,” Zachary said. “It’s too dangerous for us to separate. It’s not a good plan for you two girls to wander back down the path alone. And it would be a worse plan for you to stay here by yourself. We need to stay together.”