Gods, who was he kidding? She’d just rescued him. Sort of. If she hadn’t shown up, he probably could have ended the other wolves without nearly dying in the process.
Injured.
When his wolf resorted to one-word thoughts to speak to him, it was a pretty good sign he was in deep trouble. Yes, I know. I’m going to get us somewhere to heal. Then we’ll be good to go. He hoped.
Elizabeth bent down and held out her hand. Did she expect him to sniff it? For a second, he tried to send her a telepathic message. It had worked earlier but it didn’t seem to be getting through now. The rush of warmth when he’d been able to communicate that way with her was missing.
He could think of several things he’d rather do with Elizabeth’s outstretched hand.
Still, he walked forward and rubbed against her in a manner more befitting of a cat than a wolf. She stroked his head, and he wished he could purr to show her how wonderful it felt. He shook his head. Wow, he really was loopy. His tail wagged back and forth.
“Rex, you’re not going to pass out, are you? I won’t be able to carry you back.” He certainly hoped he wasn’t, but since she’d asked the question he must be giving off the impression fainting was a possibility. He limped forward, moving past her.
Hopefully, she would follow. They needed to get to the car. She was right. There was no way she could help him if he needed it, which meant they had to get out of their current predicament.
She moved on quiet feet behind him. If he could speak to her, he would have told her to grab the large branch and drag it with her. Even if it made noise, it worked as a really good weapon for her. But since they were all but unable to communicate at all, they would just have to do the best they could.
“I was so relieved when I found that branch.”
Rex felt enormous gratitude she’d wielded it so well, but he would have preferred her to have either stayed in the car or run like hell when she saw what was going on.
“In the past, I could have used my powers to stun them. Boy, did I take those days for granted.”
He knew exactly what she meant. The simple times in his life before everything had exploded and every move he made opened him up to questions caused by mistrust.
“You were really handling things before I got in the way, weren’t you?” She sighed.
“I bet you’re pissed at me, aren’t you? That’s why you’re not shifting back to speak to me, right?”
He wasn’t changing his form because he was afraid as soon as he did so he was going to pass out from the pain. He preferred to be in the car when that happened.
Turning around, he pleaded with her with his eyes to just keep moving.
“You want something from me.” She scratched her head. In the moonlight, he could see her eyes looked weary. “I’m just not sure what.”
This was getting ridiculous. He was a strong man. Somehow, he’d just have to assure he didn’t lose consciousness until he got to the car.
Calling the shift onto himself, he bathed in the white light of the change until his human form reappeared.
He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the moonlight. Elizabeth gasped, her hands grabbing him around his waist. “Goddess, Rex.”
He looked down at himself. Yes, he was just as torn up as he’d expected to be. The sight of his own blood didn’t disturb him; he’d seen it before. He couldn’t live the life he’d led and not occasionally face this kind of an issue.
“It’ll be okay.” He spoke through gritted teeth. It was better than howling. “I just need to shift again to heal. The only problem is serious healing requires a lot of energy.
I’m going to be out of it—maybe unconscious for a while after.” She grinned, which surprised him. “Only if you’re not driving the vehicle at the time.”
A smile twitched at his lips. He was surprised by the sensation. Most of the time he didn’t find things amusing. Now, here he was, in the woods, half-beat up with feral wolves still living that could come after them, and he wanted to crack up. Had he gone completely insane? Rex cleared his throat to cover his amusement. There’s no way Elizabeth would find it appropriate. Her joking was to cover up her nervousness.
“Obviously, I don’t intend to drive.”
“Me with my whacked-up head and you with your beat-up body. We’re really tough right now, aren’t we?”
“You’re right. You’re in no condition to drive.” His little witch had been badly injured. How could he have forgotten?
“I’m joking.” She shook her head. “I can drive. Between my small amount of magic and a little bit of time, I seem to be getting better.”