50. Brinley
Chapter 50
Brinley
B rinley barely registered running back down the stairs, past her friend who yelled after her.
She barely recalled the way her padded feet raced through the streets to the gates and out into the clearing beyond.
The rain had slowed to a light drizzle, the moon peeking out between the clouds. As if it knew she needed its guiding light. On the eastern side of the village, she went to where she thought they would have fallen but didn’t spot them. Sniffing the air, following the tug in her gut that told her Gabriel was still alive but hurting, she searched for her mate. It was clearer now, that line connecting them. She instinctively understood how to follow it.
He lay at the bottom of the hill, one arm bent at an unnatural angle. She let out a whine as she moved to his side. She nudged his other shoulder with her nose, needing him to be all right. Closing her eyes, she tried to shift again.
Please, she begged the goddess, I need to help him. Still, nothing happened. She tilted her head back, howling.
When she glanced down once more, Gabriel’s eyes were fluttering open. Brinley lay down next to him and pressed her nose to his cheek with a whimper.
“Br-Brinley?” he whispered, gasping for breath.
She licked the side of his jaw.
“How?” He coughed and then winced at the evident pain. In the moonlight, she noticed the blood soaking into the ground, not only from where he’d been stabbed but other wounds she couldn’t see. He tried to move but groaned and stopped.
Footsteps rushed toward them, and Brinley jumped to her feet, standing between him and the oncoming danger.
“It’s just us,” André said, with Joel and Daciana beside him. He was half carrying the former.
“She shifted.” Daci’s voice was full of surprise, but the slight smile fell as soon as she noticed Gabriel on the ground. “Shit.”
Brinley barked in agreement. She went to André and pushed at him. He understood and went to her mate. He and Joel helped Gabriel onto his back, putting his broken arm across his chest. Gabriel hissed, making Brinley growl at her friends.
“We’re trying to help him,” André said in a calm tone, as if talking to a frightened, dangerous animal.
Brinley realized that was exactly what he was doing.
It was Daciana who added, “You healed him before. Shift and do it again.”
Brinley rocked her head back and forth. She lowered it in shame. For her mate, she should be able to do this, but she didn’t know how. And it wasn’t like she could ask for guidance. She had no idea how to?—
“Sh-she… can’t,” Gabriel whispered, drawing all of their attention. “Tell her how. She doesn’t k-know how to shift b-back.”
With a bark, Brinley lay beside his head again and licked his cheek.
I know, bijou. His deep voice filled her mind.
Gabriel? She looked from each of their friends and back to him, but it was clear no one else could hear him.
Mate. Bond , he said. His eyes closed again as his breath rattled in his lungs.
“Brinley, think about what it feels like to be in your human form.” Daci knelt beside them. “Focus on what it feels like to walk, run, to use your hands for things.”
She tried, she really did, but it wasn’t working. André continued healing Gabriel. It should have been her though. She closed her eyes to block out the image, but she still couldn’t grasp any memories of simple mundane tasks that made her feel human.
When she whined in distress, Joel turned toward her. He ran a hand along the white fur atop her head and back, whispering, “Think of how it feels for him to hold you, kiss you. Remember the times he made you feel more alive than ever.”
She wondered for a second how he knew those moments made her feel like that. But staring into his brown eyes, she realized it was because he knew exactly what that was like too. Despite Joel and Gabriel claiming their time together never meant anything more than friendship, the two men cared for each other deeply.
“Picture it,” Joel said. “The way his rough hands feel on you. The way it feels when your bare skin is against his.”
André cleared his throat, but neither paid him any mind. Brinley tried to pull up the memories.
The desk , Gabriel’s voice whispered in her head. And then, she was back there, seeing it through his eyes. She saw herself writhing under him, moaning with pleasure. He gripped her hair and marveled at how soft the strands were as he picked up tempo. He hadn’t meant for things to go this far, but his instincts had taken over, and when she encouraged him to keep going, he couldn’t deny his mate. They were a perfect fit together in every sense.
The scene changed to the first night they shared his bed. After admitting they both knew about the bond. After making love multiple times and talking well into the early hours of the morning, Brinley was asleep against his chest. He had his arms around her and couldn’t believe he had this chance. That she had returned to him. Accepted him. The flicker of hope in him as he traced a pattern on her bare shoulder brought tears to her eyes in the present.
Her human eyes, she realized as the transformation continued. It wasn’t as painful this time, but it was slower. Like being dragged through sludge.
She focused on the memory Gabriel was sharing. He brushed his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry it took me so long to find you, but I promise, I will never let her take you from me again. Even if you don’t break this, I’m grateful Déesse guided me to you that night, that she reunited us,” he whispered so low she barely heard it. He pressed his lips to her temple and tightened his arms around her.
I love you, Brinley. Forever.