Gabe looked up at me, half-naked with blood flowing from a wound across his chest, in the exact same spot the wolf had been only moments before. “So, about that story.”
Chapter Eighteen
Welcome
ELI
There arecertain moments in life that push at the boundaries of established reality. That make you question what you thought was real and what was actually a construct of a broken mind.
Sometimes these moments sneak up on people, like dementia and Alzheimer’s, slowly chipping away at their mental fortitude, reshaping and destroying brain function over a torturous number of years. Other times, these moments hit you over the head like a bag of bricks, leaving you with a ringing sound in your ears and a feeling of shock that’s difficult to comprehend as you struggle to rationalize why a UFO just landed on your farm.
This was one of those bag-of-bricks holy-shit-it’s-a-UFO moments.
There was no time to sit in the shock or process any of the hundreds of questions that exploded in my head. All I saw was the blood oozing from the nasty bite wound on Gabe’s chest, his skin hanging off him in tattered strips. My stomach clenched as it tried to empty itself.
I swallowed down my fear and clicked into “game”mode. “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.” I said it like some kind of religious mantra. I yanked my shirt over my head and kneeled down next to Gabe. Something wet soaked through my jeans.
Blood.
“Holy shit.” I pressed my shirt down on the wound.
Gabe winced and gritted his teeth. “It’s okay. I’m going to be okay.”
“I… you… holy shit. I need to call the police.”
“No,” Gabe said, the word forceful.
“But you’re bleeding. You were bit by a wolf. Youwerea—holy shit, holy shit.”
Gabe grabbed my hand, the one holding the bloody T-shirt, and squeezed it. “Look at me, Eli. Breathe. I will explain everything, but for now, know that Iwillbe okay. What you can do for me is run and go get either Emmy, Dylan, or Chris. Any of them. All of them. Tell them what happened. They’ll know what to do.”
“I don’t want to leave you here like this.” My voice shook. I looked out into the trees. What had appeared so relaxing now took on an extremely ominous edge. “What if it comes back?”
“He won’t,” Gabe answered, sounding confident. A thin crimson trail of blood continued to trickle down his side.
I shook my head. I had absolutely no fucking idea what the hell was happening, but I knew that the thought of even taking a couple of steps away from Gabe while he was in this state—half-naked and bloody and human (holy shit, holy shit)—made me sick.
My phone. “Let me call for help.” I grabbed my phone and nearly dropped it from how badly my hands trembled. I unlocked it and immediately cursed. No service. “Shit,” Isaid, rubbing a hand across my face and feeling something wet streak my cheek.
Blood.
Gabe started to sit up. The shirt fell from his chest. I went to grab it, but he put a gentle hand on mine. “It’s okay. Look.” He pointed at where the gashes in his chest used to be.
Key word: used.
His skin no longer looked like it’d been taken against a cheese grater. The blood was still there, but it was already drying a dark red.
“It’s part of being a shifter. Our healing abilities. I know it’s a lot, and this isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”
“A shifter?”
“Yes. Someone with the ability to change into an animal. My form is a wolf, obviously. We also—” He winced. “Sorry, healing isn’t totally painless. But yes, there’s also our were forms that only happen on a full moon. I’ll give you a full rundown later, but for now, I should get my clothes back on.”
I blinked as if that would clean the slate and clear up some of the absolute and utter shock I felt.
“Go. Run. Find the guys and bring them here. I can fight now if the other wolf comes back.”
I stood up as Gabe leaned against a tree. I still didn’t want to leave him, but what other choice did I have?
