Wounded: Book 8 (A Rylee Adamson Novel) (20 page)

Not again.

I was done with people trying to drown me. The hands disappeared as suddenly as they’d grabbed me and I popped up. Berget was at the bottom of the stairs. I waved at her, finding my footing. It wasn’t as deep in the middle of the room with the way the boat had tipped. “I’m okay, get them out!”

Berget nodded as I started toward the stairs for a second time.

A splash from across the room snapped my head around. Something was moving in the water. And for some strange reason, I doubted it was anything good.

And both my swords were gone.

Just peachy.

Chapter 13

OPENING HIS EYES was hard, but this time he managed the feat, to see he was no longer in his wolf form. He was in a clean bed, the scent of sage and incense filling the room. Were they still at Louisa’s?

Welcome back.
Blaz’s voice rippled through his head, loud and clear.

Liam put a hand to his chest, the puckered scar there proof to how close he’d come to biting the big one. “How long was I out?”

A few hours. Once the shamans patched you up, it was all good.

He had a feeling Blaz wasn’t being entirely honest, but it didn’t matter now. “What about the wolf, the woman werewolf Beauty, how did she get here?”

Apparently you connected strongly with the pack and when they felt you in trouble, they talked Faris into letting them come back to New Mexico. He opened the veil for them and they came to find you.

Liam was not certain that was a good idea. “Beauty still thinks I’m her mate, doesn’t she?”

Blaz snickered.
Yeah, that’s going to be fun when Rylee shows up.

“Not funny, lizard.”

Ignoring him, Blaz just kept on laughing.
It will be funny. A good laugh is something we could all use right about now.

Carefully, Liam slung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. His head spun a little, but wasn’t too bad. “Where am I? Still at Louisa’s?”

No, they moved you to another of the shaman’s for some reason. Crystal’s, I think. I didn’t argue, since they were all about healing you.

That was strange. Why wouldn’t Louisa have kept him at her place? Something tickled along his spine, a worry he couldn’t shake. Orion had infiltrated nearly every aspect of their allies, could he have gotten to the shamans, too?

Since he was already there, he knew there was something he could, and should, do before they left for London.

“I need to speak to the other guardians. Or at least speak to those we know about. If something is off, then they will know.” Eagle was gone, his blood used to shut the veil. Would the other guardians still be alive? If nothing else, they should be warned of the danger. It would give him a chance to check out the shamans too. Then he would go to London as they’d said they would.

Anything to keep his mind busy, to keep from worrying about Rylee. Then again, she had Erik and Pamela with her; she should be fine. Except he knew Rylee, knew how often trouble strolled into her life.

Wrapping a sheet around his hips, he padded out of the bedroom. While the house was done up in a southwestern motif, not unlike Louisa’s, it was much smaller and far less tidy. Again, he wondered at the reason he was brought here and again, he got an unpleasant shudder. Something was off; his wolf gave a low rumble deep within him, instincts warning him to be careful.

There was no one in the house, no sound of breathing or steady heart rate, so no need to call out. He opened the front door and dropped the sheet, shifting into his wolf form.

Be careful, Wolf. Death stalks this world like it never has.

Liam gave a short bark in understanding, projecting for Blaz to wait for him there.

I don’t think we should split up, and we need to get you to London.

Frustrated, Liam shook his head, thick fur ruffling. With a single bark, he did his best to impart that he was going alone, then, using the tools Peter had given him, impressed on Blaz that he was to stay behind.

Wolf, that is dirty pool.
Blaz shook his head, and then curled up on the ground.
But you know I cannot go against you, jerk.

With a snort and a nod, Liam loped toward Louisa’s home, hoping Blaz would forgive him. He just didn’t think taking a dragon along would be a good idea. He remembered all too keenly where Louisa lived, and how prickly she could be about unannounced visitors. The last time he’d been there was with Rylee and she’d nearly died, her broken ribs puncturing her body. The time before that, Louisa had allowed
Bear
, her guardian, to attack them and in the process turn Liam into a guardian himself.

His ears flicked at the soft sound of padded feet on the hard packed dirt and slush around him. Within moments, the pack had swept up, flanking him. He pointedly ignored them; they were not his friends, nor were they his family. Beauty rubbed herself against him and he snarled at her. She gave him about two hairsbreadths of space, but it was better than her shoving herself on him.

He had their loyalty, could feel it humming along his skin, the power and control that came with binding them. This was what Peter warned him about, the strength of his own power and what it would do to other wolves. How they would submit to him so fully they would barely know themselves, if he wasn’t careful.

And he hadn’t been careful when he’d taken the pack from Beauty. He’d used everything he had because he hadn’t thought of anything but stopping her. Shit.

They loped together as a unit, moving with him, heading straight into the rural lands. The pack’s footsteps were almost perfectly in sync with his, a steady thrum that wormed its way through his body and brought him a sense of peace that shocked him.

Rylee was his mate, and the others were his pack. But this … this was different. This was a void he hadn’t known was missing.

He could have run for hours like that, only too soon, they were at Louisa’s home. If he shifted he’d be walking in naked, and while it didn’t bother him so much anymore, it still could be a shock for others. With a sharp bark he made the pack stay behind as he trotted up the steps and then scratched at the door.

From inside came the sound of footsteps, not Louisa’s. Heavier, and a longer stride between each step than the shaman could have ever pulled off.

The door opened and Bear, Louisa’s guardian, looked down at him with long black hair and a tanned upper body, wearing only a thin pair of khaki pants and the silver eyes that marked every guardian.

“Hello, Wolf, I see you are hale. Louisa is sleeping yet, it took a great deal out of her to heal you.”

Liam shifted and within seconds, stood eye to eye with Bear. “I’ll wait.”

Bear’s lips twitched ever so slightly. “So it would seem my blood chose wisely when it took you to be a guardian.”

Liam followed Bear in, his curiosity piqued. Though he’d gained a lot of knowledge from Peter, it would be interesting to see what Bear had to offer him.

“What do you mean by that?”

Bear tossed him a pair of pants and t-shirt. “A guardian doesn’t choose who they create, like with a werewolf. Your blood chooses who will become a guardian. The Wolf has been gone a long time, and so I suppose it was time for him to come again to this world.”

Liam, clothing on, stood in the middle of the living room, seeing a vision of Pamela curled up on the far side of the couch, her eyes wide and full of fear while they waited to see if Rylee would live or die. He shook his head, clearing the image. “So it had nothing to do with Alex drooling into the wound?”

Bear grunted. “No doubt that was part of it; you would have become a werewolf regardless, but getting swiped by me, that only made you a guardian because it was time. The world needs the Wolf again. He has always been the one to tip the scales in times of dire straits.” A light chill seemed to fill the air as Bear lowered himself to a wooden chair, his movements smooth and filled with barely restrained strength. “The Wolf doesn’t generally have a long life span, a few years at most, usually less than that.”

How was he not surprised? “Yeah, I’ve been told more than once my time is coming.”

“And did you listen? Did you hear the unspoken words of how you will die?” Bear was serious, there was no joking in him.

“I will save her.”

Bear’s eyes were grave and he leaned back in his seat. “Yes, I do believe you will. But I think—”

“Bear, who are you talking to?” Louisa stepped into the room, stalling the conversation between the two guardians. Liam wasn’t sure if he was happy about that or not. The premonitions, prophecies, and readings he’d been getting lately, none of them spoke in his favor. So one more didn’t really bother him. Or at least, that’s what he told himself.

“Louisa, I need to speak to you and the other shamans about the guardians.”

Her dark eyebrows rose and she pursed her lips. “What, no thank you for saving your life?”

“I am grateful, but my life will mean little if I do nothing with it. The shamans and their guardians, I need to speak with all of them.”

Her eyes flicked toward Bear almost imperceptibly. He was sure Bear hadn’t caught the look, but he had. She put her hands on her hips. “That is not your place, Wolf, you need to leave.”

His wolf shot upward, anger flooding him, and he didn’t even realize he’d grabbed her until he had her lifted off the floor. “The guardians are all in danger, and you will call your sister shamans here so we can figure this out.”

“Bear.” Her voice was ice, but her eyes were a mixture of emotions. “You would let him lay his hands on me?”

Bear let out a snort. “He’s not hurting you, and if my brothers are in danger then I want to hear what he has to say.”

Her jaw twitched and the indignant fury leached from her eyes, but there was something else there too. Fear. And Liam wasn’t sure if it was fear of him, or of something else. “Fine. Put me down. Now.”

Liam dropped her to the floor and she stumbled back, straightening her long flowing white nightgown.

Without another word she left the room, stomping all the way. Liam watched her go.

“She hasn’t been sleeping well. It makes her moody.” Bear sat completely relaxed. “The guardians will get here well ahead of the shamans.”

“How many are there?”

“Besides me and Eagle, only two others, Coyote and Hawk.”

Liam thought about what Rylee told him when they’d tried to go through one of the doorways in the castle with Faris.

“What about Spider?”

Bear stiffened in his seat. “How do you know Spider?”

“Rylee.”

The other guardian slowly stood, unfolding himself bit by bit. “There are guardians that help, and there are guardians who hurt. And then there are some like Spider who sit on the fence.”

Liam lifted an eyebrow. “From what Rylee said, Spider wasn’t exactly helpful.”

“Yet they survived her.”

Her. That was interesting. “I thought all guardians were male.” He chose not to mention the water dragon Rylee and he met in Russia during their vacation.

“All but Spider and one water dragon. Spider is rather bitchy, but she keeps to herself, spins her webs and tells her tales. The water dragon hasn’t been heard from in years; so long I can’t even recall her name.” Bear pointed at the kitchen and Liam followed. This was seeming so … mundane. Was this how life would be without Rylee setting things in motion? Quiet. Mellow.