“Honestly, she was so out of it, I’m not even sure if she knew who she called,” Malcolm added. “I wasn’t sure she’d stay alive long enough for someone to find us.” His tone sharpened when he asked, “Howdidyou find us, by the way?”
He had every right to be suspicious given he didn’t know me and Alice hadn’t been able to give her location. My explanation probably wouldn’t make him feel much better, but I owed them both the truth.
If Alicewasliving in hiding, the prospect of her being tracked by strangers wouldn’t make this ghost or Alice very happy. Hopefully I’d be able to reassure them both in some way.
“I own a security company,” I said. “I have a contact who can track cell phone locations. I give you my word it’s not a resource I use lightly. The only reason I tracked Alice’s phone was I could tell this was a matter of life and death.”
A long pause. “Gotcha. That’s handy, I guess,” he said finally.
When I reached for Alice’s boot, Malcolm’s chill moved away to what felt like the other side of the room.
“She needs more healing,” I said over my shoulder. “Don’t wait for me to finish changing her clothes.”
“I’m giving her blood pressure a chance to go down before I use another healing spell.” His voice sounded like he was facing away from me. “Plus, I don’t feel right seeing her without clothes on.”
I started by removing what remained of her boots. They were leather and had protected her feet pretty well. Her jeans and T-shirt had done little to save her legs, hands, and the front of her torso. They had the worst burns. Her face was less burned, and her long hair had been spared thanks to her leather jacket.
The jacket would need to come off last. I’d have to tear it so I didn’t add to her pain—or wake her up.
As much as I wanted to see her open her eyes and hear her voice, she’d be in agony from the burns. As an alpha, and with my wolf’s help, I could attempt to take her pain as I did with the werewolves in my pack, but I didn’t know if it would work—and she probably wouldn’t trust me enough to let me try.
Gently, I removed what little remained of Alice’s clothes. My guts churned at the sight and smell of her burns. And my wolf shoved at me repeatedly in an attempt to get me to scoop her up and head for the nearest hospital.
Be calm, I ordered my wolf.I can’t take her to a hospital if that will put her in more danger.
The wolf curled his lip and growled.
“Are there any other wards in this house I need to stay away from?” I asked as I carefully ripped her jacket apart and dropped the pieces on the floor. “Like the black wards Alice ran into yesterday that hurt her so badly?”
Malcolm didn’t ask how I knew about that. “No. We got rid of all the other wards. Ours are the only ones left.”
With the last of Alice’s burned clothing now in a pile, I lifted her upper body and slipped the cotton nightgown over her head. “Can I put her under the comforter?” I asked the ghost.
“Yes. Just leave her arms out so I can touch her.”
Once I got her settled under the covers, I sensed Malcolm rejoin me by the bed.
“Alice and I met at Hawthorne’s last night,” I said as magic surged again. Another healing spell—this one stronger than the previous one—glimmered on Alice’s skin. “And we spent the night and morning together at Alice’s house.” I let Malcolm draw his own conclusions about how we’d passed the time.
“Okay.” His voice sounded strained again, probably because he was using magic while talking to me. “Well, I’m glad she was able to call someone who could help.”
Again, I smoothed wisps of hair back from Alice’s face. Her chest heaved with ragged breaths and tears leaked from under her lids. I wiped them away very gently with the pad of my thumb. The scent of her tears ripped through me so viscerally that I nearly bent double.
I wanted to take this pain from her and endure it in her place. Protecting and taking care of others was my reason for being as an alpha. I couldn’t protect her from the accident, and so far I hadn’t been able to do much more than share energy and magic with Malcolm while Alice suffered.
Helplessness wasn’t a feeling I’d dealt with very well even before I became a werewolf. Now…now it chewed up my insides.
“While I’m working, can you please put Natalie in her bed?” Malcolm asked. “No sense leaving her on the floor. She’ll be out for a while, which is probably for the best.”
My wolf growled at the red-haired woman. From what Malcolm had said, Alice’s injuries were the result of an accident and Natalie wasn’t to blame, but my wolf wasn’t so logical at the best of times—and this was far from the best of times.
Even so, my wolf’s anger warred with our shared deep instinct to protect and care for a vulnerable person.
Carefully, I scooped Natalie up. My heart ached at how painfully thin she was. Over the strong odor of the burned floorand magic, the telltale scents of pain and fear filled my nose. My wolf’s heart softened toward her.
Down the hall, I settled her into bed. I left her fully clothed but removed her shoes before tucking her under the covers and pulling them up to her chin. She didn’t stir at all. Malcolm’s sleep spell was powerful.
I followed the sound of Alice’s racing heart back to the main bedroom. Malcolm had just finished using another healing spell. Alice’s burns had improved noticeably this time, but her breathing was much too fast and she was shivering.
