That’s all he needed before he made his way over to the whimpering wolf. In just that short time span, Nate’s wolf had shrunk to about the same size as Rage’s.
Damien leaned over the wolf and stared him straight in the eyes.
The gray wolf whimpered and whined as if he was crying.
Although that didn’t mean a damn thing. He had injured Rage, almost killed Cole, and enjoyed watching me wither in pain. If that wasn’t a sign of a psychopath, I wasn’t sure what else was.
It was obvious that Damien felt the same because he grabbed the wolf by the neck and cut through his artery.
Blood gushed from Nate’s form as his eyes widened in surprise before slowly shutting.
I had to turn away, not able to watch this. I was still haunted by the time I had to kill Ashley.
When I turned to glance back at Cole, he was standing and leaning on Jess. When I saw the blood trickling down my friend’s neck, I realized what happened. She had given him some of her blood to speed up his healing.
At least that was one less person I had to worry about. I took off toward my mate, who laid unconscious at the bottom of the large tree. Our connection was intact, so he wasn’t dead … yet.
Hoping that our mate bond would help me recover, I laid next to him. My right side touching his.
I wasn’t sure how long I laid there, but footsteps were heading my direction.
“Raven, I brought you some clothes.” Jess appeared next to me and laid a set of clothes for me and another set for Rage beside me. “Why don’t you go get dressed while I see if I can wake Rage up.” She held her hand out toward me. “I’ve got some smelling salts that should do the trick.”
I wanted to argue, but I did need to take care of the bite on my arm. I slowly stood on all fours and grabbed the clothes with my teeth. I limped over to one of the larger trees and hid behind it.
The shift back to human form hurt this time. Usually it didn’t, but when you were injured in one form, shifting into your other form caused pain. I couldn’t hold back my whimpers as I forced the change.
When I was finally back in human form, I put on the huge shirt and rolled up the boxers at least ten times so they wouldn’t fall down. Ugh, I certainly was a sight to behold.
I stepped back into the small clearing and found Rage shaking his head as he stood on all fours.
“Thank God you’re okay.” I hurried over to him and began to wrap my arms around him when my arm began to throb.
His wolf eyes landed straight on my arm, seeing the teeth marks torn into my skin. He whined and then grabbed the clothes running off toward a tree.
“He’s going to be pissed.” Jess arched an eyebrow as she looked over at me. “Just like I am.”
“Yeah, I know.” I couldn’t keep the smile from spreading though. “It was either you or me, and I chose me.”
“You could have died.” Jess threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know how to feel about it. On one hand, I’m glad you did what you did. Otherwise, Cole might not be here, but then I could’ve lost you.” A tear traveled down her cheek, leaving a trail behind. “I don’t know which one would’ve been worse. Yes, I love him, but I love you too.”
To be honest, I had no clue what to say. I figured channeling Cole was the best thing to do in these types of situations. “Are you choosing to hit on me now?”
“Don’t be a smart ass.” However, a grin spread between her cheeks. “I don’t need two Cole’s running around.”
“Why the hell not?” Cole’s voice got louder the closer he came. “More Coles in the world are definitely needed.”
My eyes flickered to the car before cold reality smacked me in the face. “Where’s Angel?”
“She’s fine.” Jess scratched the back of her head. “She stayed hidden in the car the whole time. But she’s had a hell of a night.”
“We all have.” Rage stepped from the tree, wearing a shirt that read ‘Cole is the Best.’ “Really, man?” He pointed at his shirt as he stared the vampire down.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment.” Cole winked at him. “This is the sexiest you’ll ever be.”
“What the hell did you do?” Already over the jokes, Rage rushed over and gently lifted my arm. “Did he do that?”
“Don’t be too rough on her. She’s the only reason why we’re all standing.” Damien hurried out of a section of the woods behind the car. “He’s taken care of.”
I hadn’t even thought about Nate. “Where is he?” How long had I been out of it?
“While you were resting, Cole and Damien took his body a few miles away and buried him.” Jess frowned and shivered. “I’m ready for this night to be over.”
She wasn’t the only one. “We have to do something about his car.”
“I’m going to handle it.” Damien nodded toward the car. “My family has a junkyard that we can hide it in upstate.”
“Do you need someone to go with you?” I didn’t want him to handle this alone. It was all of our pack’s burden.
“No, Cole needs rest. You need to go back to school and visit the healer, and Rage may have a concussion.” Damien sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m the only non-injured one, so it makes sense for it to be me. I’ll be back in the morning. But you guys are going to have to figure out what to do with Angel.” He glanced at his watch and looked around. “I’ve got to get going. The longer it takes, the more people are going to be looking for the car and Nate. We’ll catch up when I get back tomorrow.”
“Be safe.” Rage nodded at him and then gingerly lifted my arm.
Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped, and it was beginning to heal. “Call us if you need anything.”
“Sure will.” He strolled to the black car and climbed into the driver seat.
We all stayed silent as Damien pulled out into the road and began driving north.
“I guess, let’s head back, and Angel can stay in our dorm room for the night.” I wasn’t sure what other options we had since we couldn’t take her to her foster parents. We had to take her somewhere that she was safe from The Elites and from herself.
“That probably is the best decision.” Jess sighed and glanced at the car. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow and go from there.”
Cole handed Jess the keys. “Are you okay to drive? I’m a little dizzy.”
“Yeah, Damien stayed so you didn’t take too much blood. That’s one reason why Raven got hurt.” She gave me a sad smile. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, it all worked out.” I didn’t want her to feel any guilt for protecting the one she loved.
“Because you kicked ass and yanked his little magic voodoo off.” Cole reached over and gave me a hug. “I bow to your awesomeness.”
“Yeah, no.” Knowing him, he was being serious, and I certainly didn’t want that. “Don’t do that.”
“Oh, the necklace.” I ran over to the spot where I had dropped it. Luckily, it was easy to find, and I picked it up.
“Let’s get back.” Rage hurried to the car. “Raven needs her wound cleaned before it heals completely. It can’t become infected.”