Chapter 10
The room slowly emptied as the majority of the wolves had followed Cosmo outside. Daphne scanned the lodge until she found Heidi, who stood with five other female wolves.
“I think we’re more outnumbered than our men.” Ellen downed a shot of bourbon, slamming the glass down on the bar. “She looks like she’s got a stick shoved up her ass.”
Heidi glanced in their direction, looking them up and down with a disgusted glare.
“Come get me, bitch,” Daphne projected.
A long, slow smile tugged at the corners of Daphne’s mouth as she watched Heidi’s smirk fade and her eyes go wide in surprise.
“You really want me to come get you? Because I’ll rip you to shreds, you freak,” Heidi responded.
“Should you really be baiting her like that?” Ellen whispered.
“Probably not.” Daphne’s heart should be beating out of control, but instead, her pulse remained in an even rhythm. She did not fear the wolf, or her friends across the room, though she had no idea why.
“You were nothing as a human and as a Fairy, you’re just wasted space,” Heidi said with a snarl as she waltzed across the room, her heels clicking against the floorboards like the steady beat of the drums in a marching band.
“I think we should get the rest of the humans out of here,” Daphne declared, resting her hand on Ellen’s arm.
The second Daphne’s fingers slid across Ellen’s skin, a trail of hot sparkles followed Daphne’s touch.
“Whoa. That burns,” Ellen said jerking away.
“This seems to be happening often and I have no idea what it is.” Daphne stared at her fingers. She waved her hand in front of her face as a trail of colors followed in a foggy sprinkle like a rainbow.
“Fairy dust?” Ellen said with a raised brow. “The Legend states that the Royal Fairies had healing powers, but that same power could be destructive. They said it’s why the royals lost all of their powers outside the castle walls.”
Daphne stared at Ellen and swallowed. “So, what, I’m a walking bomb?”
“We’re told that once you’ve been woken up, so to speak, your powers will be diminished by a thousand times of what they once were and your half wolf offspring will only carry parts of your powers. But that’s the Legend. Who knows what the reality is.” Ellen reached out, grazing her fingers across Daphne’s skin. “Still pretty hot.”
“This is crazy. I’m a walking fire stick.”
Heidi had stopped in the middle of the room. “You’re a walking mutant, is what you are.”
“Ellen, you might want to stand back.”
“We’re just supposed to keep her occupied.” Ellen took a step backward.
“That’s still the plan.” Daphne took a few tentative steps until she stood only a few feet from Heidi.
A good dose of adrenaline shot through Daphne’s system, which also ignited a prickle of fear. She had no idea what she was doing and figured Heidi could eat her for lunch.
“You really think I’m going to take you here, now? With witnesses?” Heidi said, glowering with her hands on her hips. “I’m not an idiot and everyone can clearly see you’re trying to pick a fight.”
“You picked it the moment you threatened my life.” Daphne’s throat went dry as the howls from the woods grew louder. She searched the wind for any sign of Chaz, but only heard the growls of wolves fighting.
Heidi shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. By the sounds of it, my pack is about to put your pathetic excuse for a mate out of his misery. Once that happens, we’re going to sink our teeth into you, ripping your body to shreds, leaving nothing but a pile of bones and no one will dare stop us.”
“I’m going to stop you,” Daphne said with more confidence than she really had.
“Impossible. You don’t even know what you are, which isn’t much. Your kind is an endangered species and I for one will enjoy ridding the world of you pesky little insects.”
Daphne felt a swell of energy roll from her toes up her legs and swirled in her belly like a whirlpool before filtering down to her finger tips. Tiny electric pulses flickered from her skin.
Bang!
“I’m sorry,” Chaz’s voice rang out. “Take my mother and run. Hide. Protect our child.”
The energy floating across her body quickly turned to pure rage. She raised her hands, filling her lungs and then released the air with a long breath. Blue and green fog flew from her mouth like the smoke tail of a rocket ship, knocking Heidi and her friends to the ground.
Daphne flung her arms toward the side, lifting Heidi and her friends toward the ceiling, then slamming them against the wall.
People ran screaming from the lodge.
“Remind me never to upset you,” Ellen said, waving to a few male wolves who entered the lodge. “Cuff them.”
“I’ve got to go,” Daphne said, running toward the door, a trail of tiny particles bursting behind her.
“What’s wrong?”
Daphne couldn’t tell Chaz’s mother that his heart rate had slowed to a dangerous pace and that his breathing was shallow. “Chaz needs my help.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Daphne stopped just as she stepped outside. “No.” She held her hands and Ellen stopped dead in her tracks, unable to move. “Make sure they are taken into custody and keep everyone here. I’ll be back.” She turned and took off running, not feeling the ground on her feet. She looked down, and sure enough, she was floating across the top of the earth.
She didn’t have time to question it, nor would she question that fact she’d gone over a mile in less than a minute.
Cosmo stood, in his human form, with a gun pointed at Titus.
Pushing herself toward the sky, she hovered over the top of Cosmo. When he looked up, she twirled her finger, creating a fireball, and she flung it at him. It exploded on his wrist, sending the gun flying and Cosmo dropped to his feet, clutching his burnt flesh, howling in pain.
“Stop her!” Cosmo yelled.
A couple of wolves jumped, nipping at her heels. The sparkles floating from her skin reduced in number. Sucking in a deep breath, she blew as hard as she could, pushing the wolves away, giving the Twilight officers ample time to return to human form.
She continued to hurl herself upward, and then swirl her magic around the wolves trying to run. Her head pounded in unison with her racing heart. Her muscles grew weak.
“Over here!” a Twilight officer yelled and she did her best to help him, sending a tiny fire ball in front of the wolf trying to get way.
She flung herself up to the treetops, , getting a good look at the chaos below.
Then her heart nearly stopped.
“Chaz!” Daphne screamed as she fell from the sky, landing hard on the ground next to his wolf form. His calico coat filled with dirt and blood. His chest slowly rose as he tried to draw a breath.
His father came over and started licking his wounds, then nudged her hand with his nose.
“You have the power to heal him. You just have to channel it,” Titus projected.
“I’m so weak,”
“Channel your emotions. You can do it.”
She covered Chaz’s body, which seemed to be ten degrees colder than it should be. She breathed deeply, her skin barely bristling with electric pulses. Her blue and green breath barely reached his body.
“Let’s get you both back to the cabin.” Titus stood over her in his human form.
“We can carry you both,” Drew said, appearing from the woods, barefoot and in only his jeans. He knelt, wrapping his one arm around her shoulders, the other under knees. “Keep your hand on Chaz and keep trying to channel your energy. I know you’re drained, but he needs you.”
She shuddered.
Titus lifted Chaz’s limp body. “He’s losing too much blood and we need to get the bullet out.”
“I’ve called the local doctor.” Drew stayed close to Chaz so her hands never left his body.
Rubbing her fingers together, she created a few sparks and gently rested them over the wound where the bullet had ripped through his chest, trying to lure the bullet. Her eyelids fluttered as her weakened body struggled to stay connected.
“Chaz. You can’t leave me now. I need you. Our baby needs you.”
She held her breath, waiting for a response, but got nothing. Not even a whimper that indicated he could hear her.
Keeping her hand over his wound, she ignored her surroundings and concentrated on the love she’d come to feel for Chaz. Her world had changed so drastically that part of her wondered if she’d been dreaming. Her fingers glided through Chaz’s thick fur. Half of her wanted it all to be a bizarre hallucination, but the other half wanted it to be real. Wanted Chaz as her mate, partner, husband, and father to her children. She even wanted to be a Fairy, especially if it could save her soul-mate’s life.
It seemed to take forever to get back to the privacy of their cabin. She’d heard his mother gasp as Drew carried her up the steps, Titus at his side with Chaz. Daphne wanted to reach out to her, but didn’t want to take her focus off of Chaz. His pulse was weak and his breath too raspy, as if his lungs were filling with fluid.
Titus and Drew laid them down in the bed, Ellen following them into the room, setting down a bucket of warm water and some towels.
Daphne pressed the towel against Chaz, feeling the blood soak in. Tears burned her eyes.
“He won’t be able to shift to human until he’s been heeled,” Titus said.
She curled up next to Chaz, his large wolf form taking up more than half the bed.
“I’ll send in the doctor when he gets here.” Ellen bent over and kissed her son on the forehead.
“You’re leaving?” She blinked open her eyes and stared into Ellen’s strained gaze.
“Only you can heal him and my presence will only distract you.” She reached down and squeezed her shoulder. “Titus and I will be in the other room if you need us.” With that, Daphne was left alone with Chaz.
She had no idea what to do, but her skin tickled and her breath came out in a silver pant. She blew on her hands then pressed them over his open wound. His chest swelled and then rattled, shaking the bed. Worried she was hurting him or making things worse, she tried to withdraw her hands, but it was like they were a magnet against his insides.
He twitched and for the first time since she’d seen him lying on the ground, he moaned. It wasn’t his normal deep, throaty groan, but the noise certainly implied that her Chaz was still there.
The bed rattled with his body and she realized it was the bullet dislodging itself. Once the silver hit the palm of her hand, she was able to pull away. The bullet fell on the bed and she batted it away as if it were about to attack again.
Chaz jerked his head back, letting out a blood curdling howl. She half expected his family to come barging through the door, but they didn’t.
“Shhhhhh, it’s okay,” she said, putting her hand over his wound again, not caring that fresh blood stained her skin. She kissed the side of his neck, inhaling his musky scent. His body vibrated and his front paw scratched at the bed. “Relax,” she whispered, blowing a stream of gold and pink fog, which floated over his fur, wrapping his body in a warm cocoon. She continued to fill the room with the glittery fog until it covered both of them. “I love you and I’m never going to leave you.”
She nuzzled in as close as she could, keeping her hand on the lesion, though new skin had already begun to form. His breathing became deeper and his heartbeat stronger. Letting the exhaustion get the better of her, she closed her eyes, but told herself it would be just for a minute. Just long enough to rejuvenate.