Chapter Four
He bolted awake. Something was off. How long had he been asleep? Not long, surely.
It was cold. Damn cold, even for him.
A sound? Animal.
A predator. Big.
Screaming.
Mal sat up, his senses sharpening instantly.
He glanced at Olivia—Olivia. The place beside him was empty. She was gone. His heart stopped, the world grinding to a complete stop.
Fuck no.
Where was she? He jumped, scanning the site, ears reaching, nose seeking. A trough in the overnight snow. She’d been pulled away? Some blood—her blood—leading away, into the trees.
It was her screaming. He could hear her. Olivia. Goddammit.
The sound gave the wolf permission to take control. Mal welcomed the wolf, embracing the burn of stretching muscles and snap of rearranging bone. The wolf would find her, bring her back, and make sure whatever had her would regret taking her from him. He was running before the shift was complete, his claws still splitting through the new fur of his paws as he covered the ground.
The scent was animal. Not human.
Whatever had Olivia, it wasn’t the Others.
Sharp, musky, pungent. Bear.
The wolf ran faster.
He and the rest of Finn’s pack were bigger than the average timber wolf—bigger teeth, bigger ears, bigger everything. And strong. Dangerously lethal. It made him a merciless killing machine—one most animals feared. Maybe that’s why the bear had been dragging Olivia away. It had sensed that Mal was a threat.
He charged through the trees, following the tracks—too much blood—until he saw her. Olivia, crying, her arms flailing over her head, her hands tearing at small saplings seeking some sort of hold. It wouldn’t make a difference. A grizzly bear lugged her behind. Without him, Olivia didn’t stand a chance.
He didn’t hesitate. His howl split the air, adrenaline and power coursing through him.
The bear turned, dropping Olivia’s leg, and reared up. It was big, posturing, baring its teeth and roaring.
Challenge accepted.
Mal glanced at Olivia, her blood turning the white snow a brilliant, horrible red. She was crying, trying to crawl into the trees. He wanted to yell at her to stay still—she was bleeding too much. And then the grizzly’s frying-pan-size paw sent him a good fifteen feet into the air and back—it’s claws leaving gouges deep in his muscles.
Mal jumped up, circling until he could spring onto the bear’s back. He sank his teeth into its shoulder, unable to reach its neck, and was rewarded by the hot tang of blood in his mouth. The bear tried to shake him loose, but Mal leaped free, taking a hunk of the bear with him.
All the rage he’d been suppressing took over. The urge to kill, the spurt of blood and the weakening of his foe, was all that mattered. Rational thought vanished in a haze of blinding red fury.
It wasn’t a quick fight. The bear was big. But Mal was determined. He wore it down, nipping and clawing, aiming for arteries or a debilitating blow. When the bear grabbed Olivia by the ankle, Mal’s fury knew no bounds. Having his back leg snapped didn’t stop him from sinking his teeth into the bear’s throat. He held on until he felt the give of artery and tendon. It was done. The bear released Olivia and hobbled into the tree line, Mal let him go.
Mal ran to Olivia’s side. He circled, sniffing her. The bear had torn into her wounded leg, its teeth leaving an angry open wound. It was a miracle she wasn’t already dead. The wolf howled again and again, unable to bear the thought of losing her.
And dammit, neither could Mal.
He whimpered, desperate to save her.
“I give you permission to eat me,” she muttered, blood covering her chest and leg. “If you’ll let me die first, please?” She was serious, he could tell. If he’d been in human form, he’d laugh—then tell her to be strong. But with her wounds, she couldn’t tough this out, and no tourniquet would make this better. Something hard and jagged settled into his chest.
Save her. It was a plea.
No, he couldn’t do that to her. Death was peaceful…
She held her hand out, startled when he pressed his head into her hand. Why did her touch have to ease him?
“I don’t want to die,” she said, crying then, covering her face with her hands and sobbing uncontrollably.
Don’t let her die. The wolf pleaded.
He couldn’t leave her alone to deal with this. He shifted quickly, knowing he’d feel it in his muscles and joints later. “Olivia?” he gasped.
“Mal?” Her voice was panicked, her hands dropped from her face. “Run, Mal! You have to run. There’s a wolf. And a bear.”
“Hush,” he argued, inspecting her injuries while fighting for control.
Save her. His wolf demanded it.
“Don’t…hush me. I’m dying, I think.” She stared at him, her hazel eyes clear and huge in her pale face. She’d lost so much blood. “You’re a gorgeous man, Mal. I’m glad I got to kiss you before I die.” Her hand rose, trembling, so he took it in his.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Olivia Chase.” He cleared his throat, knowing he should swallow back the words that tried to force their way out. Death was a natural part of life. People died all the time. Sometimes naturally, sometimes not. Olivia Chase was a sweet girl, someone who’d had something horrible happen to her. But that didn’t mean he was supposed to step in and change her fate. He’d promised his pack. He knew how fucked up this life was. But the words came out anyway. He couldn’t stop them—maybe he didn’t want to. “Let me save you,” he whispered.
There was nothing his wolf wanted more.
A furrow formed between her brows. “Save me?”
“The life you know won’t exist anymore.” His voice was raw. “It will be harsher, more violent.” She stared at him, fading. “You have to decide now, Olivia.”
She blinked, coughed, a trickle of blood spilling over her full lower lip.
“Fuck it,” he growled. She was out of time. He stood back, shifting again, rushing through the transformation out of sheer desperation. When he looked down at her next, he was a wolf, and she was staring at him in shock and awe.
“Mal?” she croaked. “No way. You’re…what?” A slight frown formed as her eyes drifted shut.
Mal growled, ignoring the pain in his chest. His gaze swept her body. Her leg was already damaged—one more bite wouldn’t change that. He bit into her right thigh, whimpering at her cry, at the way she tried to pull away from him, at the taste of her blood in his mouth.
In that instant, his eyes saw through hers. He saw himself—his wolf—biting her leg. Felt the nightmare pain, biting cold, and bone-deep weariness. Flashes of Olivia bombarded him. Memories, sensations, experiences, hopes, and dreams. Saw her brother Chase and knew him. Heard his own voice assuring her, “I’m here.” Felt her response to his kiss. God, she’d ached for him. It crowded in on him, drowning him, until there was a single pinpoint on a blanket of white—Olivia on the snow below him.
He shook his head, nudging her with his nose.
She was breathing steadily, a slight hint of color on her cheeks. He’d infected her, so he knew what was coming. A fever, shakes, nightmare-like delusions—things she’d already been dealing with. Her first change would happen in two days, with the full moon. After that, she’d be able to change at will, if she learned to control her wolf.
His wolf snorted. They had an understanding. Mal might not always agree with his wolf, but he didn’t hold him back, either. The animal had instincts that had never led him astray.
Turning Olivia didn’t make much sense but…it had been necessary. In that moment, there had been no choice. Now he was a pack of two. He had a responsibility to Olivia. And, oddly, that didn’t bother him. But finding safety before the Others found them did.
...
Olivia was walking in the snow. Her toes were blue, no longer capable of feeling the cold. What little clothing she wore was shredded and covered in blood. She was looking for something, desperately. She tried to call out again but couldn’t make a sound.
The bear lay dead, eyes rolled back in its head, mouth hanging open. Odd. It was twitching? The massive torso—shoulders—jerking where it lay.
The head of a white wolf popped up. Red covered its nose, strands of blood and drool connecting the wolf to the carcass it feasted on. Pale eyes speared hers, sharp and mesmerizing and soulless, flooding her with terror and holding her hostage.
Instinct told her to run—to get away from the wolf. But it, the wolf, wouldn’t let her. It leaped atop the bear, peering at her, its tail swishing in agitation. The wolf sniffed the air then tilted his head back and howled.
The air seemed to shiver around her, freeing her from whatever spell held her. She dropped, crumpling into the snow and wrapping her arms around her knees.
The white wolf was circling her, its menacing growl making the hair on the back of her neck stand straight up. He would hurt her; she saw it in his eyes. And he, the wolf, was excited—baring his fangs at her when she dared look him in the eye.
It pissed her off.
Rage, an unfamiliar emotion, consumed her, fueled by every hurt or insult she’d ever buried deep inside. Her parents. Her sweet fiancée John. Her sweet boyfriend Mike. Chase, for dragging her all over the place and leaving her at the mercy of that man. The bear, for attacking her. Splinter images of every injustice from elementary school to adulthood filled her with a living, breathing fury.
She could fight this wolf.
“Don’t.” Mal’s voice was at her ear. “Stay calm.”
The white wolf howled again, tempting her to go against Mal’s advice, until her body was wracked by blinding agony. Pain. That was all there was.
“Olivia,” Mal whispered, “I’m sorry.”
She couldn’t focus on Mal or his words or the wolf or…anything. If she was dying, she’d like it to be over—now. Why did it hurt so much?
“Stop fighting, Olivia. It will be over soon,” he pleaded.
That was good news, but it didn’t stop her from crying, mostly from the pain. But there was a small part of her that understood her life was almost over. She curled in on herself, hoping to find a position that hurt less—if there was one.
“I’m here.” Mal’s voice.
She wasn’t alone. “Mal?” She thought she was screaming. It was a whisper.
“Listen to me.” Rough and deep, rich and soothing. “It’s the infection. What you’re seeing—it’s not real. We’re in a cabin…there’s a hole in the roof. Snow’s coming in.”
She turned toward his voice, calming at the feel of his skin against her cheek and nose. His arms were around her. She could smell him, feel him, but she couldn’t see him. Her eyes were open, she was blinking, but it was pitch black.
“Bear’s dead,” he murmured.
Which was good news.
“Should be safe for now,” he added. “Time to get your strength back.” His fingers stroked along her neck and shoulder.
It was amazing. She arched into his touch.
“You’re healing,” he whispered, his fingers running down her arm, pausing to rub here and there. “Scratches are almost gone.”
Scratches? Wasn’t she bleeding to death? Somehow, scratches didn’t matter. Neither did bleeding to death. She wasn’t hurting because of his touch. Why had he stopped?
“Fucking Others. Fucking bear. Fucking moon,” he growled, his fingers tracing the length of her thigh. “Fuck,” he whispered.
She didn’t know what he was talking about. He was massaging her thigh with strong, deep strokes. It was heaven. Of course, there was a very real possibility she was in heaven. Did that mean Mal was dead, too? He’d died saving her from the bear?
He couldn’t be. She whimpered.
“Rest, Olivia,” he added, his tone sharp, his breath brushing her forehead.
She relaxed against him. Her fingers and hands tingled—she flexed, breathing easier. Arms, too. Heavier than normal, but mobile. Resting held no appeal. Now that she wasn’t feeling so disembodied, she realized Mal was holding her in his lap. She pressed her nose to his collarbone, placed one hand on his chest, and blew out a shaky breath.
He tugged her closer. “This is going to be a problem.”
Her dying? Yes, it was. Because, even though she hated pain and fear and being chased and attacked, she really didn’t want to leave Mal.
“I won’t be a problem,” she whispered, her throat raw and hoarse.
He chuckled. “You already are.” But he didn’t sound upset about it.