Enslaved by the Wolves Page 10

  “Do you know what vampire venom does to a person’s body, Miriam? Do you know the pain it goes through? The burning thirst for blood? Believe me when I say that you are too weak to withstand it.”

  She was screaming even before his fangs pierced through her flesh, just below the elbow. Pain welled from that spot, shooting like lightning straight to her brain where it flooded her entire body. She writhed, she screamed, she tried to pull away. He was just too strong. The pain blinded her, overwhelmed her senses until she didn’t even know her own name.

  Then it was gone—no, not gone, just lessened. Her whole arm throbbed. White splotches blinded her, and her screams sounded like howls to her own ears.

  Except…

  No.

  Miriam lifted her head weakly. A door was open, light flooding the room. Sunlight. She could feel its warmth. Like small flames flickering over her skin. Her mouth tasted of blood, her whole body weak. She couldn’t feel her hands or feet. Still tied to the chair? And it wasn’t her who was screaming. Those howls were real. Her vision swayed in and out of focus, everything moving where it wasn’t supposed to.

  Flashes of dark washed over the light from the door. Two figures. No, three. Charles and… and… Lucas. Kristoff. They were fighting, tearing into each other. Was it their blood she was smelling or her own? She didn’t know. Nothing made sense and the pain was creeping up her arm. All her skin below the elbow was on fire, her arm hanging limply by her side. A mingled freezing and burning crept past her elbow, working its way to her shoulder.

  “Miriam!” a desperate voice called out to her.

  She turned her head, her neck flopping with the movement. For a brief moment, her vision cleared. She saw it clearly. Charles spread out in the sunlight. Kristoff and Lucas both holding him down. Lucas with his knee in Charles’ gut. Charles was screaming her name. Begging for her to stop them. Her mouth was dry, her lips numb as she stared blankly.

  Why was she supposed to stop them? He had threatened the boys. That was unforgivable. Her head pounded and tears tracked down her face, but that was the only thought in her mind. There was only one way that she could be certain he’d never hurt the boys again.

  She didn’t know when she told them to kill him, but she knew she did.

  Lucas met her eye, his expression grim. “Close your eyes,” he said, or maybe he only thought the words to her.

  She squeezed her eyes shut tight.

  The wind blew through the trees. Sunlight burned against her skin. The pain was to the middle of her bicep. Would the boys think she abandoned them? Who would take care of them now? Would Lucas and Kristoff raise them, or would they go with another of the wolves? Would the courts even let the wolves adopt them? Would they be split up into different foster homes and never see each other again?

  Charles no longer screamed.

  Then hands were on her. Lucas and Kristoff cut her free of her bonds. Tears started pouring as she sobbed with pain and loss. Their scents filled her nostrils, but she couldn’t concentrate on them. The pain was getting too much for her to bear. Sweat coated her, and she burned with a fever. Her throat was too dry, and when her eyelids fluttered shut all she saw was pulsing red.

  “Miriam!” Lucas’ voice broke through everything else. “Miriam, stay with me. Don’t you dare leave us now.”

  Don’t leave us. Him and Kristoff. The boys. She fought against the pain, fought against the layers of heaviness weighing her down, the burning of her skin. She couldn’t leave. They needed her. She had to stay! For them!

  Breathing was almost too difficult to do, but she focused on her lungs, forcing them to expand and draw oxygen to her. She forced her eyes open. She lay flat on her back, her wolves bent over her. Something was tied tightly around her shoulder, but she could hear the fear in their voices. Even though the sound was muddled, she could still understand.

  The venom is working. It’s changing her.

  We can’t let her become a vampire!

  Chloe’s a vampire. Maybe—

  “No,” Miriam gasped. Vampires desired the blood of their relatives. She’d be a danger to her nephews. “Don’t let me. I can’t. You can’t let me. I can’t be a vampire!”

  They held her down as she bucked and screamed. They tried to shout over her, but she continued to beg. She’d rather die! She couldn’t hurt her nephews! She couldn’t be a vampire. If she was, then she’d lose control and she’d kill them!

  “Just cut it off,” she begged, tears and pain blinding her. Blood rushed in her ears, making her own voice sound distant. She screamed again, certain they hadn’t heard her. Their hands were tight on her, holding her down. “CUT OFF MY ARM!”

  Pain bit into her wrist, cutting up to her elbow. Then a shock entered directly into her heart. Lightning shot through her, making her whole body arch. Flashes of white and black. The pain was there. It increased, then faded, then flared to life again. People were shouting all around her, but Lucas and Kristoff were gone. She fought against the hands pressing her down. No! She couldn’t be here. She needed her wolves. Where were they?

  Where were they?

  Chapter Fifteen

  For the second time that day, Kristoff found himself at the hospital. Exhaustion pounded a beat on his temples, a throbbing headache making him feel like he was about to either vomit or collapse. He didn’t much care which one he did. His wolf was spent in his chest, licking its wounds and just as exhausted as he was. It still whined at him occasionally, wanting to go to where Miriam was.

  But she was in surgery and he couldn’t go to her. For one thing, he was filthy and would increase her risk of infection. For another, if he distracted the doctors, she might not make it. It didn’t make sitting here and waiting any easier. Especially since they’d managed to bully Lucas into another room, where they’d washed him up and put him into bed.

  Roman sat on one side of Kristoff, shooting him anxious glances. They had tried to convince him to go to another room as well, but he’d stopped them from bugging him—sure, the nurses almost called the cops on him, but he didn’t care. As long as he sat here and was quiet, they’d leave him alone. And he could know what was happening with Miriam all the faster.

  “Hey,” Roman murmured to him. “You look like you’re going to fall over. Don’t you think—”

  “Don’t make me kill you.”

  “I was going to say, don’t you think it’ll be fairer to Lucas to go join him? So you both can be told at once?”

  Kristoff glared at Roman, even though his words had logic to them. But the problem was if he agreed to go to the room, then the next thing he’d agree to was showering, to clean the grime off of him. Then he’d agree to lie down. Then he’d fall asleep and then Miriam would need him, and he wouldn’t be able to go to her.

  He didn’t care that for so much of his life he had shunned companionship, only barely tolerating even the people closest to him. Miriam was more than that. If she died, he didn’t know what he would do with himself.

  And Lucas… well, maybe he meant more to Kristoff than he had thought, too. They were all in bad shape and fighting Charles again had only put Lucas back into the danger zone. Kristoff wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been rushed off to surgery as well…

  But Kristoff? He was filthy, increasing his own risk of infection—increasing the risk of infecting them.

  Maybe he should go shower. So he could actually be there for them. The doctors wouldn’t let him near either of their patients when he was covered in dirt and blood like this…

  And how can I be there for Miriam if I am putting her at risk?

  “Okay,” Kristoff muttered to Roman. “You can take me to that room. But only to be cleaned up and check on Lucas. Then I come right back out here.”

  Roman nodded, relief bursting over his expression. Kristoff wished that Chloe was here instead. She was strong enough to help him to the room and wouldn’t have made him feel weak for having to lean on her. In fact, she would have told him that she didn’t
care if he had to or not, that if he didn’t let her help, she’d have Sly beat his ass.

  One of the nurses had to help him shower. By the time he was cleaned and dried, Sly had arrived at the hospital. The first thing Kristoff did was ask after Miriam.

  “She’s still in surgery,” Sly said.

  Beside him was Ian, his sheriff’s badge pinned to his shirt. Kristoff frowned at him. Ian was supposed to be on that road trip with Sandra and the rest of them. Sly must have called him back. The two of them quickly dismissed the nurse as they helped Kristoff to the spare bed. Kristoff growled under his breath but didn’t fight their help. Unfortunately, he was in a position where he had to have extra support. It rankled him to be so weak but only because it all started because he hadn’t been able to protect Miriam in the first place.

  And just sitting on the bed wasn’t going to hurt, right? Roman had been right… best to stay here where Lucas could be updated about Miriam’s condition at the same time.

  Not that he could hear anything at the moment—he was unconscious in his bed.

  Sly put a hand on his shoulder once he was on the bed. “What happened?”

  “Miriam was abducted by her brother. He found out that she was going to take custody of the boys from him and decided to kill her. He sliced her wrist open to make it look like suicide,” Kristoff replied promptly.

  It was the lie Lucas had told the staff when they first arrived, the lie that they would be continuing. It was close enough to the truth after all. And the doctors would be able to tell by the angle and bruising on her arm that she hadn’t cut her own wrist…

  His stomach churned as he remembered how much blood had been spilling everywhere. But it was the only thing they could think of to stop the vampire venom from spreading throughout her whole body. That and the adrenaline. The only other option would have been to chop off her arm as she had been screaming at them to do. And that had been unthinkable.

  Sly squeezed Kristoff’s shoulder tighter. “And what really happened?” he asked, keeping his voice low and his gaze sharp.

  “He bit her. Just below the elbow. We used the extra adrenaline you gave us on her. We thought if it was enough for our wolves to fight through the blockers, maybe it would be enough for her human side to fight through as well. Then we cut her open to bleed out the venom.” Kristoff passed a weary hand over his eyes. “This is all my fault. I should have—”

  “Don’t,” Ian rumbled. “Don’t start spiraling. What happened to the vampire?”

  “Dead.” Kristoff dropped his hand again. He’d been right about the exhaustion weighing him down and trying to force him to sleep as soon as he was on the bed. He was so utterly spent that it was difficult to keep thinking. “Up at the old Hamilton place. That’s where he was holding her.”

  Ian nodded. “I’ll go take care of it.”

  He spun on his heel and left the room.

  Sly gripped Kristoff’s shoulder a little tighter. “Try to sleep. Miriam is going to need you at full strength when she gets out of surgery.”

  Kristoff shook his head stubbornly. Lucas was already out cold, he needed to be awake for her.

  “That’s an order,” Sly growled, the Alpha strong in his voice. “You are no good to Miriam if you’re collapsing and causing her more worry when she wakes. I’ll wake you up as soon as there is any word on her.”

  “I don’t—” Kristoff started, but Sly put his hand over Kristoff’s face, forcing his eyes shut. Kristoff growled and shoved his hand off… but his wolf wasn’t protesting. It wasn’t urging him to get up and go protect Miriam. So, either she was going to be okay or there was nothing he could do. Or both.

  The exhaustion was pulling him down all the stronger and this time, he let it pull him under.

  ***

  Sly woke him when Miriam was out of surgery. It had been successful, and the doctors didn’t think there would be any lasting damage. The relief that washed over Kristoff was so strong that for several moments all he could do was lay there and wonder what god he should give thanks to for this miracle. Sly had woken Lucas, too. He was still pale, still grimacing every time he moved, but was healing nicely.

  The doctors wouldn’t let them go see her for several hours, not until she’d woken up. They only allowed it then because Kristoff threatened to shift into his wolf and go to her anyway. He and Lucas were loaded up into wheelchairs and taken to see her. Sly and the others weren’t permitted into the room, and Kristoff and Lucas had to wear gloves if they wanted to touch her.

  A small smile crossed Miriam’s face when she saw them. She was drawn and pale, and the scent coming off her was all wrong. She smelled like sickness rather than cinnamon and cloves. Whether it was all the drugs they’d pumped into her or the transfusion, Kristoff didn’t know. All he knew was that she was there, she was conscious, and relief broke over him so strongly that it took all his strength not to kiss her right there.

  She was still vulnerable to infections. Kissing would have to wait.

  “Hey,” she greeted, her eyes half shut as she reached for his hand and then Lucas’, though she flinched when she moved her injured arm. “Are you okay?”

  “We’re both fine, Miriam,” Lucas replied, a smile tugging at his lips even though the worry was plain to see in his eyes. “And we’re here. You look like you could use some sleep, though.”

  Miriam sighed. “Okay. Just don’t leave me.”

  “We won’t,” Kristoff promised, her fingers feeling all too delicate in his hand. “We are never going to leave you alone again.”

  Her smile widened and her eyes fluttered shut. The beeping of the heart monitor was the only reason he didn’t start freaking out about whether she was alright. He stared at her heavily bandaged arm, remembering again the feeling of the knife cutting through her flesh. How close had she come to bleeding out?

  We had the tourniquet on there for a reason, he told himself harshly. And there is no use in fearing the what-ifs. She is here and she’s alive. That is all that matters.

  ***

  For the next several days, Lucas or Kristoff or both were always by Miriam’s side

  The doctors weren’t too pleased with them being in the ICU constantly, but the one time they’d managed to bully the wolves away, Miriam had woken screaming and thrashing and wouldn’t calm until Kristoff was back at her side. After that, the doctors agreed that it was better for them to stay with her.

  Both of them healed up fast and were free to move under their own power by the time Miriam was moved into a regular room and allowed visitors. The first people who came to see her were Wanda and the boys. Doug and Rick huddled behind Geoff, who inched toward Miriam slowly, as though afraid she was going to blow up.

  “Aunty Miriam, are you okay?” he asked, his young face shining with worry.

  Miriam smiled at him, reaching her uninjured hand out for him. “I’m a little hurt, but I’m going to be fine. How about you boys? Did you enjoy your road trip?”

  “We saw penguins,” Doug replied, and Rick pushed to the front, his eyes lighting up.

  “Yeah! They were so cute! And I got to feed them, too. I made them a tuna fish sandwich, but they wanted peanut butter.”

  Kristoff chuckled at the story and reached to ruffle Rick’s hair. “While you guys talk with Aunty Miriam, I’m going to get some food from the cafeteria. Do any of you want a pudding?”

  They all said they did, even Miriam. Her appetite was slow to return, but that was only to be expected with the trauma she had gone through. Wanda volunteered to go with him, and they left Lucas, the boys, and Miriam to talk while they went to the cafeteria. Wanda’s expression was heavy with guilt and doubt as she shook her head.

  “We haven’t told them about their father yet,” she said slowly. “Miriam knows that, right?”

  “Yeah, she does.” Kristoff moved a little further away, not liking Wanda’s close proximity. This whole experience had been a trying one. He couldn’t remember a time when he had been in such clo
se contact with people for such an extended amount of time. But the need to stay with Miriam was far stronger than his need to seclude himself from society. “She was the one to ask us to keep them out of school until she can tell them.”

  Wanda sighed. “That’s smart. Because the whole town is talking about it, and if they were at school they’d hear about it for sure. I just… don’t get it. Why would someone try to kill their own sister?”

  “Because he was a selfish dick,” Kristoff replied bluntly. “He never cared about her. And she started to fight against his abuse. Once he could no longer control her…”

  Wanda shuddered. “I hate to think of Miriam going through something like that.”

  “I know.” Kristoff sighed. “I do, too. And that’s why I can’t feel bad for killing him. I just don’t know how we’re going to tell the boys… or when… because they will find out.”

  Wanda patted his shoulder and he didn’t have the urge to smack her hand for it. Instead, he accepted the comfort it was meant to be and continued on without comment.

  They were back in the room quickly, setting all the boys up on chairs so they could eat their puddings. Miriam dug into hers with more gusto than Kristoff had seen for a while and at first, he was confused. But when she kept looking between the three boys, smiling every time she did, he understood.

  This was the first time she’d seen them since learning her brother was a vampire and wanting to kill her—and them. Up until now, she must have had a dark fear somewhere deep inside that the wolves were lying to her, and the boys weren’t safe at all…

  “So,” Lucas said, stretching by the window, “You missed a conversation we were having while you were gone. Apparently, Geoff here has been reading a story about some kids who get adopted and he wants Miriam to adopt them.”

  Kristoff’s brows rose. He hadn’t thought about the legal process of Miriam taking custody of the boys now—he’d just assumed they would go to her. But, yeah. There had to be some process they would have to go through.