Yvonne shot to her feet, glaring at them. “No, you don’t get to take her.” Her voice broke, and a sob caught in her throat. “You can’t have her.”
But one of the teenage . . . entities, ghosts, whatever the fuck it was . . . slowly came toward them, her eyes resting on Gwen. Yvonne went hysterical. Bracken, Jesse, and Harley started swearing. Frozen, Zander could only stare at the . . . whatever it was.
She walked right through Yvonne, but she didn’t go to Gwen. She went to Ally. Derren growled and pushed at her, which did absolutely nothing because his arm just went straight through her. The girl touched Ally’s head. The Seer’s hair went static, and her T-shirt ruffled, and the girl faded away . . . right along with the other two whatever-they-were.
Zander almost jumped as healing energy literally shot through Gwen. He was honestly surprised her back didn’t bow with the force of it.
Double-blinking, Ally inhaled deeply. “We can do this. We can. Hold her here, Zander.”
He held on to Gwen through their bond, giving her what little reserves he had left. His entire system seemed to shake with relief when her heartbeat picked up and her breathing improved. Their bond soon strengthened, and the color returned to her face. More important, the dent in her skull was gone.
Ally sat back. “She’ll be okay.” Then the Seer burst into tears and leaned into her mate, who held her close.
Zander slipped his arms under Gwen and gathered her to him, trying to keep his hold gentle when all he wanted to do was squeeze her tight. His hands were fucking trembling, and he knew his legs would have given in if he’d been standing.
Heat behind his eyelids, he buried his face in her neck and felt her pulse beat strong against his mouth. She was alive. She was with him.
He somehow swallowed around the painful lump in his throat. For a moment, when their bond had become so thin and fragile that he’d expected it to snap, he’d experienced a hint of the profound loneliness that would overwhelm him if he’d had to live without her. A hint of the emptiness that would have awaited him, that would have consumed him until there was nothing left for him. He couldn’t live without her, and if it wasn’t for Ally, he would have been forced to.
Zander looked up at Ally. “Thank you.” The words sounded like gravel.
She gave him a wan smile. “You’re welcome. Thank you for helping me help her.”
Zander turned back to Gwen, drinking in every detail of her face even though he knew it by heart. His wolf pushed against his skin, rubbing up against her and breathing her in. Zander felt Ally then put a hand on him, felt her healing energy flow through him, warm and soothing, but his eyes were locked on his mate.
“I really thought we’d lost her,” sobbed Yvonne, who kept stroking and kissing Gwen’s hair even as Zander cradled his mate against him. She didn’t try to take her from him, which was a good thing because it wouldn’t have worked.
He felt Ally’s hand leave him, and he guessed she must have then used her skills on Yvonne, because he heard the woman release a gasp of wonder.
Moments later, Ally sighed. “I got nothing left.” And she slumped against Derren.
Jesse crouched next to Zander. “Come on. Me and Bracken will help you get back to the bedroom before you fall asleep right there.” Before pride could make Zander reflexively jut out his chin, Jesse snorted and said without heat, “Just suck it the fuck up, asshole.”
Too tired to argue, Zander sucked it up.
Eyes closed, Gwen stood under the hot spray. Shampoo bubbles and blood swirled together as they ran down the drain. It was the third time she’d shampooed her hair, and that seemed to be the last of the blood. Finally.
Nothing like your last memory being a large ornament getting smashed over your head.
As everything had started to go black, she’d known death was coming. She hadn’t had even a moment to think about what she would be leaving behind. The world had faded too fast. All she’d felt was a knowing that this was the end. And then she’d woken up. Thank fuck for that, because she couldn’t stand the thought of Zander being left alone.
He’d have senselessly blamed himself. Would have tormented himself about what he could or should have done differently. Worse, he wouldn’t have known that she loved him. He’d never have heard the words. And, hey, just because neither of them were people who liked soppy words didn’t mean she shouldn’t have told him.
Awake, she resolved that she’d tell him at some point that very day—she wouldn’t even let it bother her if he couldn’t say it back. She’d tell him because life was too damn short.
Hearing the shower door open, she turned as a naked Zander stepped into the stall. She smiled. “Good of you to shift back.” She’d woken on her bed next to a deep-sleeping wolf that was covered in blood and mud and that absolutely reeked. Still, she’d grinned, so fucking glad that he was okay.
Zander practically folded himself around her as he kissed her. Softly. Carefully. Like she was made of fine bone china. Yet, there was so much relief and desperation in the kiss—the emotions came from both her and him.
“My wolf was going crazy; he needed to rub up against you. I tried to shift back, but he wasn’t having any of it. How long have you been awake?”
“About half an hour. I’m surprised you’re on your feet—I can feel how tired you are. You were in a worse state than me, so that’s probably why it took you longer to wake.”
“I was in a worse state than you?” Zander echoed, the image of her head wound flickering through his mind. He’d been absolutely frantic. His mind had been in complete chaos because she’d been dying. And he was in a worse state? “Are you kidding me?” he growled.
Soaping him down, she said in a soothing voice, “I meant you had a lot more wounds than I did and that you lost a whole lot of blood. You fed me a lot of strength too—and that was after a battle and a duel with another wolf. It zonked you out.” She gave him a quick kiss. “I didn’t want to leave you in bed on your own, but I needed to get all the blood off me. My scalp was itching like crazy.”
“I need a shower even more than you do.” He grimaced at the stench. “I don’t know how you slept next to me.”
She chuckled. “I was totally out of it. You sure you have the energy for a shower?”
“I’ll fucking find it.”
Gwen chuckled again. “Our bond’s complete now.”
He nodded, stroking a hand over the curve of her shoulder. “My wolf’s fear was in the way.”
“Fear of me?” she asked, a little hurt by that.
Zander shook his head. “Fear of the power you hold over him. He’s a tough motherfucker. Not used to feeling vulnerable. You’re his only weakness, the only thing that could really hurt him. He feared that power you hold. Still does a little. I think it will take time for it to really fade.”
“Then how did the bond . . . you know . . .”
“Snap fully into place?” Zander massaged conditioner into her hair. “He stopped letting the fear hold him back from you. He fears losing you more than he fears that power. That realization cleared the path for the bond.”
Zander’s breath caught in his throat as he remembered their bond weakening, remembered the feel of her energy fading and her slipping away from him. He hadn’t truly grasped the extent of how essential she was to him until right then.