Chapter 13
All modesty vanished as I shoved past Octavia and jumped into the front passenger seat to tend to Raffe’s wounds.
Raffe was slumped against his door, head against the window. He was already significantly paler than he’d been just a few minutes ago. We had to stop the bleeding, and my blood turned to ice.
What if Cade had nicked an artery? Even though I’d taken a shit ton of science classes, I hadn’t advanced to vet school or done any work on humans.
For the first time in my life, I prayed to Fate, the goddess—to anything that might have divine power—to save my fated mate.
I shook my head to clear it. I couldn’t panic, or he would definitely bleed out. I needed to slow the blood flow enough for his shifter healing to kick in.
“Lean his seat back so he’s lying down more, but don’t lay him flat. Keep him slightly elevated,” I barked loudly, not bothering to turn around and see if Octavia was listening.
Blood coated Raffe’s pants, and I wanted to scream. Instead, I had to channel that exertion elsewhere, so I linked with Lucy and Josie, Raffe needs new clothes too, and I need you to get some alcohol and tons of bandages.
On it, Lucy replied. Let us know if you need anything else.
Pain medicine. Raffe would be hurting, even with his rapid healing, and I wanted something to take the edge off. Advil—the biggest bottle you can find. That was the best we could do under the circumstances, unfortunately.
Octavia hurried around the vehicle, and I ripped Raffe’s shirt from his body as she opened his door. She pressed the lever and leaned him back, and I continued to shred the material so I didn’t have to jostle him more. He needed to lie as still as possible to prevent further damage.
Any other time, I’d have taken a moment to admire his muscles and how cut he was, but not this time, with his life on the line.
I wadded up his shirt and pressed it against his wound. He grunted and flinched, but I kept the pressure on.
Dammit, that fucking hurts, he groaned, despite his eyes remaining closed.
I’ve got to stop the bleeding, so deal with it. I’d rather you whine than die, I shot back, increasing the pressure. You need to stay awake.
Can’t … sle— His head turned to the side and hung limply.
When he was nearly flat, Octavia stopped pressing the button and straightened. “What do I do now?”
I wished there was something else, but this was all we had. I had to believe it was enough. “Hope this is enough for him to heal.” My voice cracked on the last word. “I need him back to his normal health now.” My vision blurred, and before I could stop them, tears trailed down my face. We’d finally gotten our shit together, and now we kept facing threat after threat. Something had to give because I needed way more time with him.
“He’ll be okay,” Octavia murmured and reached over, placing a hand on my bare shoulder.
It would have been odd and uncomfortable under any other circumstances, but right now, I needed comfort, even if it was from her. I needed someone to promise me that he’d be all right and I wouldn’t lose him. “You can’t know that.”
“You’re too strong to let him. Push your power into him, and see if that helps.”
Wait. Can I do that? I wasn’t sure if it was possible, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. If sending Raffe some of my strength would help him, I’d give it freely. “Okay.” I sniffed.
Closing my eyes, I tugged on my wolf. My arcane-born power was pure chaos, but maybe my wolf-shifter magic would know what to do. My wolf naturally wanted to protect my mate.
She uncoiled inside me, springing into action. I opened the bond between Raffe and me wider, allowing my magic to flow into him. In his slumber, he didn’t reciprocate, but my wolfy magic surged through the bond.
As the bond warmed, I allowed my wolf to funnel whatever she wanted over to him. Even if I wound up passing out, as long as Raffe survived, that was all that mattered. If saving him meant that Octavia got away, so be it. It’d be one less mouth to feed.
I laid my head on the side of Raffe’s seat, enjoying his amber scent as my eyes grew heavy. Still, I continued to place pressure on the wound, making sure I kept him from bleeding out as Cat-Keith curled into my lap.
I wasn’t sure how long I stayed like that, but a hand touched my shoulder, and Octavia said, “Your friends are here.”
I blinked, trying to remember where I was. Memories crashed back over me. My arms ached, and I sighed with relief when I saw that I’d continued to place pressure on Raffe’s wound despite falling asleep.
Our connection was still open, but my wolf was tired and back in her place in my chest. We’d given him as much of our magic as possible.
Josie and Lucy pulled up behind us, and Lucy got out with two bags and darted toward me. She jumped into the back seat.
When she reached Raffe’s side, she frowned. “How’s he doing?”
His color seemed slightly better. “I don’t know. I’ve been putting as much pressure on the wound as I can.”
“Here.” Octavia held out her hands. “Let me do it so you can get dressed.”
Even though she hadn’t tried to escape, that didn’t mean I trusted her. “No thanks.” She’d abandoned me, and then she’d shown up at the university with suspicious timing. She hadn’t proven we could trust her.
“Let me.” Lucy tossed both bags at my feet. “You can trust me. Besides, if Raffe finds out that Keith and Adam saw you naked, neither of them will live once he gets better.”
Snorting, I nodded. I’d needed that laugh. “Fine. But keep pressure on it.”
Carefully, I pushed the cat from my lap, and Lucy took over. I grabbed the underwear, bra, jeans, and lavender shirt she’d gotten me. Realizing that Lucy had taken the time to get a shirt close to my favorite color—lilac—I smiled and felt my heart slow to a more normal beat.
I quickly dressed inside the vehicle, thankful she’d bought me underwear packaged in a box. Once I had clothes on, I felt better, though I wished Raffe would wake up. He was still out cold.
Snagging the gauze, I took a deep breath, ignoring the coppery scent of Raffe’s blood. “Remove his shirt. Let’s see what the wound looks like.” I yawned; my eyelids were still heavy with sleep.
When she removed his shirt, my body sagged. His bleeding had slowed, and his breathing and heart were steady despite him being unconscious. At least those were good signs.
I packed his wound as tightly as possible then rolled the gauze around his shoulder several times, making it as snug as I could. I straightened, wondering like hell what to do next. One thing was certain—Raffe needed to be moved because he wouldn’t be driving.
Keith and Adam, can you help me move Raffe to the passenger seat? He needed to stay slightly elevated.
By the time I got out of the SUV and walked around the hood, Keith and Adam were there. Adam stood closest to the door, his face lined with worry.
“The bleeding slowed, so that’s something.” I forced a smile, trying to reassure him and myself. “He just needs rest.”
“We all do.” Keith hung his head. “This is all bullshit. We left to hide and stay off the grid, and both our dads and the coven found us. At this rate, we might as well go back to campus. At least our place there is paid for. We just spent almost all the money we had.”
I didn’t ask how much money we had left. It had to be hundreds, if that.
“Going back to campus would be handing Skylar over to Supreme Priestess Olwyn.” Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. “And we all know Raffe wouldn’t want that.”
“So what do we do?” Lucy leaned against the back driver’s side door. “Go home to our parents’ pack?”
Adam wrung his hands. “Raffe will kick our asses if we do that, especially after forming our new pack. And for all we know, our dads brought the coven members to us.”
I hated that he was right. If taking Raffe back to his dad would keep him safe, I’d do it in a heartbeat, but Raffe could find me now that our fated-mate bond was complete, and I had no doubt he would track my ass down if I tried to be noble and leave him. He was determined like that.
Even though I didn’t want to know, the question had to be asked. “How much money do we have left?”
“Josie said about two hundred.” Lucy bit her bottom lip.
Less than that, Josie linked. More like a hundred and seventy-five, and guys, we have another problem. Dave needs more blood. He’s hungry and can’t heal without it.
That must be why he’d been struggling back at the house and why he’d tried to attack me when my power sang.
Octavia huffed. “I already said we should go to my house. No one from the pack or coven knows where I live.”
“Sounds great, except we don’t trust you.” Keith arched a brow. “So there’s that.”
Even though he was right, I didn’t know what better option we had. We had hardly any money. Coven members and wolf shifters lived throughout the United States, and this group had such prominence that most supernaturals would recognize them. I didn’t know where we could go or hide other than her place.
I gritted my teeth, hating the situation we were in and that Raffe had gotten significantly injured because of me. Dave wasn’t far behind him unless we found him some blood. Guilt and regret made it hard to breathe. My power went to a fizz, and I wanted to scream and pull my hair out.
I was sick and tired of this. For once, couldn’t things be easy for us? “Why should we trust you?” I pivoted to Octavia, needing to watch every expression and read her emotions.
She stood tall, meeting my gaze head-on. “I came to the university, despite all the risks, because I heard you were in danger. I understand how it looked when you found me, but Skylar, even though we gave you up, we never stopped loving you. You can trust me. I won’t betray you.”
I snorted, bitterness rising, but now wasn’t the time to address my abandonment issues. We were in the parking lot of a closed campground. We had to move, and driving around aimlessly would waste what little cash we had left. We had to be strategic. “How do you know we’ll be safe there?”
Skylar, Adam linked. You can’t be serious. Raffe wouldn’t like this.
My head snapped toward him, my wolf stirring enough to rise. Well, he’s not awake and healthy enough to offer suggestions, is he?
Keith’s head tilted backward, and he smirked. “It’s a good thing that Raffe isn’t awake right now, or he’d kick my ass because that right there was very se—”
“Don’t”—Lucy smacked him in the back of the head—“finish that comment. Think it to yourself, but never say anything like that out loud or in the pack link. We’re going to pretend you aren’t that stupid. Just in case, I’ll remind you that he wouldn’t get mad at only you for saying something like that but at all of us for not telling him. But since you aren’t correcting me, we all know you weren’t about to say what it sounded like you were going to say.” She glared at him, daring him to counter her.
I shivered, my wolf snarling in my head. No one was allowed to look at me in any way but platonically except for Raffe. Before Keith said something else that might provoke my mate, I asked, “How far away do you live?”
“About fourteen hours.” Octavia rubbed her hands together. “If we get moving, we can be there by this evening.”
“We need blood for Dave.” Yet another problem I didn’t have a solution for. “Can you help us with that?”
She nodded. “Both Dru and your brother are human. I can get them to donate some of their blood. Dru is a doctor—he has the supplies to draw blood and access to a blood bank. We should be able to take care of him.”
Doctor.
My heart leaped into my throat. “And you swear no one will tell anyone about us?”
“I promise.” Octavia placed a hand over her heart. “If I wanted to escape or hurt you, I could’ve done it.”
She was right. When I’d passed out helping Raffe, she could have killed him. Instead, she’d kept watch by the door.
I felt myself soften. A place to stay where no one could locate us and with a doctor, and we wouldn’t have to worry about money. This is our best option. What do you all think?
Raffe might need a doctor, and they can get Dave blood. Lucy leaned back on her heels. I think we do it.
Adam and Keith glanced at each other then nodded.
That was it. We had a majority, and Josie would be in if it meant helping Dave.
Still, that didn’t mean I liked it.
I lifted my chin, letting my wolf inch forward. I needed Octavia to see how serious I was with my next words. I growled, “Fine. We’ll go. But if one wrong move is even hinted at by you or your family”—I couldn’t help but spit that word—“and I will unleash my power. Got it?”
Octavia nodded. “I understand. Now, let’s go before someone else finds us.”
The four of us nodded at each other, and then Adam and Keith moved. Together, they gently lifted Raffe and carried him around to the passenger seat. I watched as blood soaked through the clean gauze.
My stomach sank. He wasn’t healing as quickly as I’d hoped. We needed to get him somewhere to rest. That sealed the deal, and I was eager to go. He might not last the fourteen hours it would take to get to Octavia’s home.
I gave Octavia my phone, and with my supernatural hearing, I listened as she pressed the buttons. After one ring, an older man answered, “Hello?”
“Dru, hey, it’s me.”
“Oh, thank gods.” The man sighed. “Are you okay? We’ve been worried sick.”
“Yes, sorry. There was a complication, but I’m fine.” Octavia cleared her throat.
My mouth went dry as I heard the voice of my biological father. A sharp pain I hadn’t expected pierced my heart.
“Is Divinity all right?” he asked with concern.
I tensed.
“She’s fine. She’s actually here with me. I’m bringing her and some of her … uh … friends home.”
“Friends?” he parroted. “Why not just her? A houseful of people I don’t know when I’m meeting my daughter for the first time might be too much. I mean—”
Wait. I was Divinity? Was that what they’d planned to name me?
A lump formed in my throat, so large I couldn’t swallow, and I wished Raffe was awake so we could experience this together. My eyes burned.
“Honey, they’re all in danger, not just her. She won’t come without them.”
“Then bring them all.” His voice filled with emotion. “I don’t give a damn as long as she comes here. Fane will feel the same.”
“Can you run into town and get some blood? They have a vampire with them … and he’s hungry.” She swallowed audibly. “And a wolf shifter is severely injured and might need you to stitch him up.”
“Jesus, Vi.” He huffed. “We went from staying away from all supernaturals to having almost every species under our roof.”
“I know. I’m sorry, but—”
“It’s fine. Just come home. I love you.”
“Love you,” she replied. “We’ll be there in fourteen hours.” She hung up.
I rolled my shoulders and tried to wipe a tear from my eye discreetly. If it weren’t for Raffe needing help, I would’ve changed my mind. Instead, I drove as fast as I dared, hoping like hell we got there in time.
Thirteen hours later,we drove through Salt Lake City, Utah, and headed into the mountains. Raffe had been in and out of consciousness, and I was trying to get him to the doctor.
My only solace was that his breathing and heart rate remained steady. My back was stiff from leaning slightly over the center console so I could touch his arm. I needed the constant buzz of our connection for reassurance.
Between his condition and the fact that I was about to meet my biological father and brother, my emotions were all over the place. I both wanted to get there and dreaded it, but my fated mate’s health would always trump my personal needs.
“Turn here.” Octavia leaned forward, directing me to turn left onto a gravel road. Under different circumstances, I’d have found this area beautiful. Many leaves were yellow with hints of gold and orange, and the spruce and fir trees retained their evergreen canvas like the dark silhouettes of a painting.
Up ahead, the trees thinned, and a sizable brick house appeared. The buzz of coven magic washed over me.
Heart dropping, I stomped on the brakes. The bitch had set a trap.