Saving Kat (3 page)

He reached out, brushing his fingers against
hers as he grasped the cup. His wolf took notice. Adam had been
brought up to visualize the beast as a separate entity. Every
member of the pack could close their eyes and picture the part that
moved on all fours. It had been a long time since either of them
had taken noticed of a female. He had known Kat his whole life, but
for the first time, his wolf had shown something more than mild
curiosity for the witch.

“Adam?”

He glanced up sharply and realized she’d been
talking. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

She observed him, a slight frown on her
beautiful features and suddenly her hand curled in his. He liked
the ease with which she touched him. “I don’t have to be a witch to
sense the conflict in you. What else is bothering you?”

It would be so easy to pull on her hand and
bring her into his arms so he could kiss her. Would her lips taste
of the scents that danced around her workspace? It would probably
end in a slap. He had no clue if she noticed what seemed to have
sparked to life between them. Although her pupils widened slightly,
he couldn’t smell her arousal, not over everything else in the
room. Adam tugged his hand away. There would be plenty of time to
explore whatever this was after William had been cured. He wouldn’t
make these choices when his emotions were so out of whack.

“Yes. I don’t know if I’d be able to carry it
out.” Sleep hadn’t been easy to find when all he could think of was
William’s decision. “It’s hard to see him so ill. This is the wolf
who taught me how to climb trees like a jungle cat. Do you remember
him daring me to jump over the river when we were practically still
cubs?”

His witch giggled. “I remember you falling
in.”

He grinned. “My father would have been pissed
with me. We weren’t supposed to be down by the river.”

“So my mother let you lie in front of the
fire as your wolf, until you dried out.”

They shared a lot of personal experiences.
Where his father had been murdered, her mother had been taken by
illness, but they had both lost the person closest to them. It
seemed strange to think of them as orphans.

Kat’s father was human but she’d never met
him. As far as Adam knew, the man didn’t know she existed. His
mother had died soon after Jessie had been born, but he and his
sister had survived the loss with the support of their pack.

Kat’s smile faded. “I’ll check the African
Daisy tonight, but I can’t promise anything, Adam. It has to be in
bloom, and the weather here doesn’t help the flower much.”

“I know.” He took a mouthful of the tea.
She’d been right. He felt more relaxed as he swallowed it, but that
had more to do with her than the drink. Her presence calmed the
wolf and the thoughts that raced through his mind. “I probably
won’t swap it for coffee anytime soon, but this isn’t half-bad.
I’ve got to go. There’s going to be rain tonight and I need to make
sure that everyone’s alright for the shift. We’ll be in the forest
if you need us.”

“All I’m planning on doing is checking the
flowers and reading. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.” She
brushed a strand of dark hair away from her face.

“I always worry about you.” He quickly
finished his tea and got to his feet. After tonight, and when
they’d dealt with William’s situation, he would figure out what he
felt for the pack’s witch, but he could already admit why he didn’t
like the idea of her mating with someone else. “I’ll talk to you in
the morning. Night, Kat.”

“Night, Adam.”

Black clouds hung above and the fresh smell
of water permeated the air. They had about an hour before every
wolf would resemble a wet rat. The moon might have been hidden by
the clouds, but he could still feel it, the hypnotic lure that
called to the beast inside him. It hadn’t been a great day, and he
was eager to embrace the wolf which danced under the surface like
an impatient pet. Awareness filled every part of him, something
that hadn’t been there before the embrace. The way her body had
been pressed against his, made it hard to forget and his emotions
even more difficult to figure out.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

He glanced over his shoulder. Mari strode
toward him. Her feet were bare, muddy and she wore a pair of cutoff
jeans, a tank top and not much else. The cold air that a wolf
couldn’t feel, created goose bumps across bare skin. Shifting
tended to destroy clothes, which explained the slightly naked look
the usually modest doctor sported.

“Why would you ask that?”

She laughed, “We all know it, Adam. We’re
just waiting for you to figure it out.”

Damn, was it possible he hadn’t realized what
the entire pack had sensed, or maybe the Alpha in him hadn’t wanted
to? He knew that it wouldn’t be easy. Wolves didn’t mate with
witches, but he’d seen no judgment in Mari’s eyes. Kat had grown
among them. They all knew and trusted her. Would it be so hard to
accept her as truly his?

The doctor followed him silently, leaving him
to his thoughts, as complicated as they were. The others waited for
them under the protection of the trees. He nodded at each of them,
some of the members had been here under his father’s rule, and
others were new.

Since it was an Alpha’s job to protect and
watch over the pack, Adam waited for the others to shift first,
even as his wolf mentally nipped at him to be free. He gazed toward
Kat’s home, the urge to go to her, so strong it should have shocked
him but didn’t. He wanted to curl up with her, keep the chill from
the air away with the warmth of his body. He reached out, touching
the bark on a tree, the connection to the beautiful witch more
powerful than ever before.
I’m in world of trouble
.

The power buried inside of him, the
natural-born wolf, swept over him. The energy infused every part of
him with a warm glow that felt as natural as breathing. The world
came into sharp focus as he fell forward and landed on two paws,
instead of hands. For a second he focused on the grass beneath his
feet, the freshness in the air that filled his lungs. The ghost of
lavender traveled through the air as if sent to tease him, to
remind him of his witch. He wouldn’t go to her in this form. What
he needed to say, he could only do with a mouth that formed
words.

***

Silence descended upon the forest. Kat would
have preferred the sound of creatures in the surrounding trees, but
the smaller animals tended to shy away from shifters, even when in
their human form. They really didn’t have anything to fear since
the shifters of the Black Paw Pack always hunted bigger game. Her
first and clearest memory of one of their hunts had involved a pack
of four stalking a large grizzly. A man called Xavier had ended up
on the wrong end of its claws. A shifter healed quickly but even
his wounds, guts outside instead of in, had needed a witches help.
Thank the Goddess she’d been born with a strong stomach.

Pushing the back door open she stepped out
into her garden. She closed her eyes as the air and a light mist of
rain brushed against her face, and the crops they’d planted were
thirsty and thankful for it. With a happy sigh she spread her arms
out, loving the way the air danced across the bare skin. As an
Earth Witch, she always felt most centered when surrounded by the
element she manipulated and encouraged. She liked living on top of
the world. The mountain’s strength fed her own, as she helped it
thrive.

Taking another deep breath, letting the cool
air fill her lungs, she said a silent prayer to the Goddess for her
aid in healing William. It had taken a long time to research what
kind of herbs might help. She’d had to call in a lot of favors just
to get the information. Then Adam had sent out some of his pack
members to find the arcane book of healing herbs, and after she
knew the ingredients they needed, they’d collected the African
Daisy as well. About a month ago she’d harvested the seeds and
replanted them in the farthest corner of her garden where the light
and soil were just right.

Dark clouds might have marred the skyline,
but the light from the open door to her home gave off enough of a
glow to find where she’d planted them. Happiness crept across her
face when she saw the startling white that mirrored fresh snow. She
knelt and ran her fingertips over the delicate petals. It took a
few hours to brew the tea, so she curbed the swell of excitement
that urged her to track Adam down and share the good news.

The blooms should have taken a few more days,
but fate seemed to finally be on their side. William could take it
in the morning. It would be too dangerous for him to try to drink
it in his wolf form. The shift would leave him weak, so she didn’t
dare risk causing a negative reaction. Once he had the medicated
tea in his system, it would be a waiting game, but she finally had
some good news for Adam—a reason to see him happy and even better
to know that it had her, who made him that way.

***

Kat bottled up the tea and settled in to read
her book when she felt it. Pain, raw and undiluted, traveled
through her. She scrambled to her feet, knocking her chair over in
her rush. Empathy, natural to witches, helped her do her job, but
this felt different. She closed her eyes and mentally stroked the
part of her that connected and worked with the Goddess. Her eyes
snapped open. The deep, agonizing hurt spiked through her, and she
bit back the urge to be sick.

She flung the door open and stopped for a
split second. Rain hit the ground with the speed and strength of
hailstones. The droplets would probably leave bruises if they
struck bare skin. A silent prayer to the Goddess whispered from her
heart, and she threw her coat over her head. A little rain never
hurt anyone, not really. Bruises healed.

Fear cut a path through the compound as if it
were a living thing. The pack rarely got into trouble when they
were on all fours. Adam had said due to the bad weather they’d keep
to the forest, using the trees for shelter. Had one of them been
injured? Guided by an unseen force, she swerved to the left, away
from the line of the trees, toward the cliffs and the sea.

Slipping and sliding in the mud, she fought
to regain her balance. Once somewhat stable, she threw out her
power like a fisherman’s net.
Please Goddess, guide my feet
.
The cliffs faced the sea. The water, usually peaceful and blue, had
turned a sickly shade of gray, raging wild and uncontrollable.
Emotions not her own lanced through her, stealing her breath.
Whoever she sensed, was close.

“Hello, is anyone here?” She shouted, but the
storm drowned her out. The coat created a poor umbrella, and her
clothes clung to her body.

Movement flickered in the corner of her eye,
a quick turn and she nearly lost her balance. A wolf stared back at
her. The gray fur, drenched by the rain, resembled an oil slick.
The blue eyes staring at her could only belong to one person.

“William, what are you doing here?”

There was no telling if he heard her around
the pain, until he gave a slight nod, the move so completely human,
it appeared odd coming from an animal. Kat took a step toward him.
His paws were too close to the edge.

“You came here to jump, didn’t you?” If she’d
been a few seconds later, if she hadn’t felt the anguish that raged
through him, it would have been too late.

The wolf peeked over the side of the cliff.
She didn’t have to follow his glance to know what lie below. The
jagged rocks would break his body.

Oh Goddess, no! She pushed the jacket back
from her face and reached an unsteady hand toward the pathetic
creature. “William…please you don’t have to do this. The tea is
ready. You can have it first thing in the morning. Don’t throw away
your life now. Not when we’re trying so hard to save it.” The words
left her in an urgent rush.

The wind battered his body. One strong gust
and he’d be over the cliff. She edged toward him. The wind whipped
her hair into her eyes. Close enough to see the pain in his eyes,
she knelt and wrapped her arms around his thin shoulders, burying
her face into the wet fur. “It isn’t good for you to be out
here.”

She draped her coat over him, tying the
sleeves around his neck. William had been the strongest in the
pack, rivaling Adam, always pushing himself physically, but he’d
been happier without the responsibility of pack politics. To be
this weak had to be eating him up. She buried her face against his
wet fur once more and brushed a kiss against his neck. “You’ve been
so strong. Please, just hang in there for a little longer.”

William nuzzled into her and she blinked back
the tears. “Can you send out a call to Adam?” Kat had always been
jealous of the telepathic bond the shifters shared. It probably
would be easier to help him move if he shifted back into his human
form, but she didn’t want to risk putting undue strain on his body,
especially outside in the elements.

He nodded and Kat rose to her feet, sparing a
glance at the sea.
Thank you, Goddess, for helping me find
him
. It would have destroyed Adam if his friend had succeeded
in ending his life. She rested her hand on top of the wolf’s head.
“They’ll be here soon.” A tremor shook his body.

You never should stand close to shifters when
they weren’t in control. One nip and she would be sprouting fur at
the next full moon. She edged away when William snarled at her. She
jerked back, her bare feet slipping in the mud. She scrabbled for a
hold, but all she grabbed was air as she fell into darkness. Many
people claimed that as you died, your whole life flashed before
your eyes. In that instant she knew they were wrong. The only
thoughts that passed through her mind were of Adam, his dark eyes,
the way his scent enveloped her as she held him in her arms and how
she would never see him again.
I’m so sorry, Adam
.