Page 18 of Witchblood
And yet he’d been allowed to live. Usually werewolves weren’t sentimental about death for thewrong. When the animal took over a were, it wasn’t a wolf like a wild wolf, it was more like a berserker, fueled only by blood lust and fear. It was seen as a kindness to put them out of their misery rather than force them to live existences devoid of love and humanity.
“You’re squashing my flowers,” I told the wolf. Toby. His name was Toby. “Toby?” I asked him, wondering if he recognized the name at all. Werewolves were not dogs. If there was no human left in him would he recognize his own name?
The wolf rolled back over and inched out of the garden until he sat in the weeds beside us. He laid down in a huff, like we were just too much trouble for him.
Korissa shifted so she was more to my side than behind me, still using me as a barrier. I didn’t mind. She was just a kid. Maybe Liam’s pack was right about it not being a good idea for Korissa to live with her dad. Kids shouldn’t have to live in fear of their lives, and I had a feeling this probably wasn’t the first scary wolf encounter she’d had.
“Are you Toby?” I asked again, letting go of the shears, but let my hand hover near them just in case.
The wolf gave an odd nod.
“He understood you,” Korissa said in awe.
“I think so, maybe.” I put my hand up, careful to keep it a good distance away from Toby in case he lunged. In reality if he wanted us dead, he was close enough to kill us both without a big lunge, but he didn’t have any signs of the aggression I was used to in an uncontrolled wolf. Disguises and pretenses weren’t their thing, as they were just not as focused as a human would be.
He lay his head on his paws and just looked at us, big eyes wide, ears turned our way. I waited probably another three minutes before turning back to the plants. It would have been the best chance for him to attack. I was taking my attention off him. If he was going to hurt us, that would have been his moment, and I would have taken the scissors and slashed his throat as he leapt at me. Instead he just lay there watching. Eventually even Korissa pulled away to begin working again.
Toby inched his way closer until he could lay his chin on my thigh. I’d never had a werewolf in wolf form so close and acting so submissive. He even let me stroke his head like a dog, and chuffed happily when I scratched behind his ears. Korissa kept glancing over, and there was no cure for the tension that coursed through her. She didn’t address Toby, and kept her voice soft as though she were afraid to startle him. I just prayed that if it was my omega presence that helped him, it was permanent. I always hated to see someone die after they’d physically survived the change.
Chapter 8
Korissa created stacks of herbs and bound them with string per my instructions. If we could find a dry place to hang them, they’d be great for tea in a few weeks. “We can make the lemonade later,” Korissa said, sounding excited. “We have lemons in the house. You said we can use fresh leaves for that?”
“Yes, fresh is actually best for the lemonade. Dried is better for tea. I can show you a couple of easy recipes. There’s even a lavender butter that is amazing on cornbread.”
Toby jolted to his feet and snarled. I flinched and had to stifle my own cry when I pulled my leg wrong trying to back away by instinct. The stitches protested as muscles clenched and I had to fight from moving my leg more. Korissa had frozen behind me.
Only Toby wasn’t snarling at us. He crouched, teeth bared and snarling at Carl who stalked across the yard toward us, Dylan and Liam not far behind.
“Who let him out? Now we’ll have the Alpha’s new pet slaughtered by his old one. Christ, can’t anyone follow an order around here?”
New pet? Old pet? Either way I didn’t like the implication or the way Carl glared at Toby. Everything in his body language screamed violence. If Carl kept coming, Toby would meet the challenge and likely die. And why? For a bit of bluster? The idea that Korissa and I would be caught in the crossfire worried me too.
I reached out and slid a hand down Toby’s flank, digging my fingers through his thick fur and sucked in a deep breath full of lavender. The scent filled my lungs, calming me, and centering my energy. I pushed that little bit of calm toward Toby. Mentally whispering “Safe, calm, safe, calm.” If he was truly lost it would do nothing. He’d attack, likely we’d all be injured and he would die. If he wasn’t lost…
The wolf stopped snarling and actually dropped back down beside me to put his face back against my thigh. My wounded thigh. I winced. Toby whined, reacting to my pain as if he were still feeling what I did. If he really was hearing and feeling what I was, I’d never been that connected to a wolf before.
Carl reached for him just as he arrived to tower over us, but Liam stopped him.
“Stop,” his voice echoed over the yard in a way that made even the bugs silent.
Carl froze. Toby dug his snout into my thigh, which really hurt and we both whimpered.
“Tamed the savage beast, now, eh?” Liam said with a bit of a foreign lilt to his voice. Irish? “No debate about that, is there? Not even in the pack a day.”
Carl scowled. Dylan stood behind Liam looking amused. Toby rolled over and pressed his belly to my leg. It would have been cute if he hadn’t been twice my size.
“Never seen a grown wolf act like a puppy before,” Dylan said.
“The lavender is very soothing,” I informed them.
“The lavender has been here,” Liam said quietly. “The element that has changed is you.”
I glanced up to meet his eyes, finding them intense, but not unkind. I recognized that look sinceApawore it often when I was able to calm one of the older wolves he feared he’d have to put down. Relief. Liam was relieved that he didn’t have to kill Toby today. It made me think better of him. Putting down a wolf like Toby might have been considered kind by the overall population of wolves, but it was a do or die type of action for alphas. To not kill them endangered the entire pack, to kill them meant destroying a wolf they’d promised to protect.
“I am a simple alchemist,” I said. “All life comes from a combination of scattered things by the will of the universe.” I reached out and rubbed Toby’s stomach like he was a big dog. “Maybe Toby hadn’t experienced the right combination until today.”
Liam nodded then glanced up at the fading sunlight. “Perhaps you’re willing to come back inside and leave the rest of the gardening for another day? Now would be a good time to rest and recover.”