Page 7

brIX

I stared down at the woman in my arms. I didn’t understand emotions the way others did. Didn’t truly know pain, other than the release it gave me. How it was the one way I could withstand physical touch.

Except for Wren.

She had been the one person who could touch my skin without me wanting to die. And now I was hurting her. Her body was broken and bloodied, but my touch was too much for her.

Fiery claws ripped at my insides. The feeling was so foreign, something I hadn’t felt since that day all those years ago. The day the Red River pack killed my entire family and almost killed me. The day I’d turned it all off—no more emotions, good or bad.

Until now.

Pain. I felt something beyond the physical now. Hurt. Not of the body but of the soul.

“We need to move. Now,” Ender spat. His gaze flicked down to Wren and stayed there for a beat longer than necessary before moving away.

Did he feel the hurt, too? Did he know his actions had caused this?

Only it wasn’t just Ender’s fault. It was mine, too. My hesitation. My mistrust. And all of it had nearly killed Wren.

“Brix,” Ender growled.

“Let’s go,” Kingston clipped, holstering his guns. “Locke’s getting the SUV, and I have a healer meeting us in our territory.”

He didn’t look at Wren at all, but some part of me knew it was because he couldn’t.

At the word healer , I started moving. I might not be able to fix Wren’s heart, but I could fix her body. My little warrior would live to fight again. She would regain her strength. And I would vanquish every threat to her well-being from this Earth.

Ender strode ahead, yanking open the door and holding it for us. Puck raced through it in wolf form, shifting the moment he reached the sunlight. His nakedness wasn’t even a thought as the SUV screeched to a halt in front of us and the hatch opened.

Some part of me was aware of Puck pulling on some spare sweats from inside while Kingston opened the back door, and I slid in with Wren, trying not to jostle her. Even though she was unconscious, I couldn’t bear the thought of causing her any more discomfort. It was too much for me to take.

Puck slid in behind me, still shirtless and covered in smears of blood. Pain ravaged his face as he cradled Wren’s head in his lap. “Birdie,” he croaked, a finger ghosting over her cheek.

Locke gripped the wheel tightly as the others climbed in. The moment the doors shut, he gunned the engine. The trip back to Crescent Creek and home was a silent one, all of us battling our respective demons. But I was only focused on one thing.

The feel of Wren’s heartbeats.

I tracked each one with single-minded determination as if my focus would keep her alive. Keep her heart going.

Locke slowed at the gate and the other SUV waiting there. “Is that?—?”

A window rolled down, revealing a woman with strawberry-blond hair and pale-green eyes sitting in the driver’s seat.

“It’s Hera,” Kingston said, his voice tight. “The healer.”

Locke hit the button for the gate and shot past it the second there was space. Hera followed. The woman wasn’t familiar, but I wasn’t exactly social. And Kingston had connections everywhere. He always knew the best of the best. And that was what we needed now.

Wren’s heartbeats started to slow, and panic lit a fiery inferno inside me. “She’s fading!” I yelled.

Locke screeched to a stop, and the doors flew open. I instantly moved, sliding out after Ender. Kingston was already at the front door of our house, flinging it open.

The healer quickly followed, her pale-green gaze locking on Wren. “Tell me.”

Her voice wasn’t quiet or loud, but there was an air of authority in it, one that demanded answers. Kingston gave them to her, and I was glad. I didn’t think I could summon the words to describe what had happened to Wren. My mate. My little warrior.

“One of our enemies took her. Tortured her,” Kingston ground out.

“What kind of supernatural?” Hera asked.

A muscle ticked in King’s jaw. “None. Human.”

Something flashed in Hera’s eyes. “Take me to your medical room.”

She’d never been here before but knew we’d have one. It was necessary for supernaturals since we couldn’t go to human hospitals or doctors. We had to take care of our own.

I moved through the house, Puck racing ahead of me, but the world around me was fuzzy. The only thing I registered was Wren’s slowing heartbeats. The way they pressed into my arms at intervals that became further and further apart.

Puck jerked the door open and flicked on the bright overhead lights. I didn’t wait. I moved straight to the gurney in the center of the room and laid Wren on it as gently as possible. However, when it came time to move my arms to give Hera space to work, I found I couldn’t.

“Give Hera room,” Kingston ordered, his voice low.

I didn’t move.

“Brix,” Ender whispered.

“I can’t,” I croaked.

Hera moved to the opposite side of the gurney, her expression turning gentle. “Let me help her.”

I stared down at Wren, taking in the dried blood caking her face. Her hair was matted, and her eyes were closed. A bruise had bloomed across her cheek. I wanted to rip out the hearts of every single one of those Death Walkers.

Someone moved closer, poised to act. My senses told me it was Puck. “We need to give her the best shot we can.”

I tore my hands away from Wren’s body. The action was like ripping out my own heart, bloody claws shredding it into tiny pieces.

But I didn’t stop there. I couldn’t. If I stayed in the room, I’d likely rip the healer limb from limb. Because she’d have to hurt Wren on the way to healing her.

So, I stalked down the hall until I reached the back doors. Tearing one open, I spilled out onto the back patio and went for the first piece of furniture I saw.

Picking up the massive chair, I hurled it against a tree. The wooden piece fractured into countless fragments. I went for the ottoman next. Then a loveseat. I didn’t stop until every item of furniture had been smashed to bits.

“Brix.” Puck’s voice sounded understanding but worried.

“Go back inside,” I growled.

“You know I can’t do that.”

Because they worried I’d slip into the darkness for good. Turn and never come back.

“You need to be with Wren,” I argued.

“Birdie would want me to make sure you were okay.”

I scoffed at that. “I don’t think she’d give a damn if I went to the pits of hell.”

Puck shoved me hard from behind, making me whirl around, then glared at me. “You know that’s not true.”

Agony swept through me. Feeling. It was a thousand times worse since it had been turned off for so long. “She didn’t want me to touch her.”

“Brix—”

“Not because she was hurt but because it was too painful to have my skin brushing hers.” Because I’d rejected her. I might not have said the words, but my actions had spoken loud and clear. Doubt. Uncertainty. Retreat.

“Fuck,” Puck muttered.

I’d never forgive myself for that. I couldn’t. The only thing I could do now was serve Wren at a distance. I’d dedicate my whole life to keeping her safe. And that started tonight.

My canines lengthened as saliva pooled in my mouth. I could already taste blood on my tongue. “I’m going to hunt the Death Walkers. Every last one.”