Wolf Creek Ghosts (Texas Pack 3) (Wolf Creek Werewolf Shifters) (12 page)

“The woods.” She knew it. Felt it in her bones. His darkness was practically calling to her.

Rafe and Ian took the lead, with Olivia following and Devlin behind her, watching her back. Once they entered the woods, a darkening gloom settled over the forest. She knew this was Willie’s doing, not hers. Concentrating, she brought the ambiance up slightly, thinking of a sunlit day with bunnies hopping around.

She saw Ian glance over his shoulder and shrugged. This was the best she could do. She noticed how silently the men walked, predators at their finest and remembered she was now a predator also. With no recollection of how she knew what to do, she suddenly realized her feet were just as silent. Stepping carefully to avoid the dry leaves, her body had automatically gone into stealth mode. Wow! This is so cool. She wanted to high five Devlin in her excitement. Then she remembered their bond. Hey, I’m an awesome ninja predator now. I feel like I can sneak up on anyone. She heard Devlin snort in her head. Boy, these guys had snorting down to an art form. One sound from him and she translated it to, you’re not that good yet, you’re funny but cute, don’t make me laugh.

Ian and Rafe stiffened, coming to a halt. Devlin closed in from behind, resting his hands on her shoulders. Again she was trying to peer around the giants in front of her, but Devlin clamped down to keep her in place.

“Aw, come on, let her see her friend. Maybe she can revive him. Wouldn’t you like to help him, honey? He is your friend, you know. I would say that you can’t leave him here to die, but ironically, he’s already dead. Think you can save his soul?”

And Willie laughed, like a fork sliding across a dinner plate, the noise grated on her nerves.

She heard growling, loud, deep rumbling from Rafe and Ian as they shifted and leapt towards Willie. Olivia started to scream, about to warn them that he had no substance; that their claws and teeth would not work. But she was wrong. Willie went flying as two ferocious wolves attacked. She watched in shock as they ripped into him without mercy.

Devlin grabbed her hand. “Come on, we have to help Jack.”

Olivia swiveled her gaze to the man lying on the forest floor, unmoving. She ran with Devlin, dropping to her knees beside Jack.

“Jack, oh Jack,” she sobbed.

He was so still; his eyes open and gazing up towards the canopies. There was nothing there. No spirit, no soul. Nothing. She could not feel a spark of light anywhere. She reached for his hand, wanting to hold on to him and feel his flesh for the first time. Devlin had his arm around her, kneeling beside her and squeezing her against him, trying to give her some comfort in her loss.

Her hand went right through him as he disappeared. Olivia dropped back on her heels in shock. What did this mean? Had he even really been here? She felt that wave of despair you feel when someone dies, then that hope that they weren’t really dead. Someone had made a mistake. Jack couldn’t be gone; she had just spoken to him. The growling and snarling across from them had faded into the background. The brothers were taking care of Willie, Devlin was murmuring quietly beside her and rubbing her back. Everything would be alright, she told herself. This wasn’t real. She had to block everything out and think. She needed to process this, work out a hypothesis. A small part of her knew she was in shock, the other just wanted out of this realm and to curl up in bed and cry.

“Got you!”

She looked up to see Willie directly in front of her with his hand in her chest. She gasped, feeling her heart stutter and freeze. As the darkness came, she heard him from far away whispering to her.

“Death realm baby. My world, my rules.”

“Son of a bitch!” Devlin shouted, leaping at Willie as he disappeared. He was gone, his laughter echoing through the woods and fading away.

Devlin turned back to Olivia and pulled her into his arms, desperately trying to wake her up. He tapped her cheek, shouting her name the whole time. Her lips were turning blue.

Rafe and Ian shifted back when they heard Devlin shouting. What seemed like hours had only been a few moments in time. They looked around, expecting to see Willie’s blood and body parts strewn around the area. There was nothing. No blood, no bones, no Willie.

“What the hell?” Ian muttered, pushing his hair back as he looked around too.

Rafe saw Devlin holding Olivia and could see he was panicking. Racing over, he reached down to feel her pulse. He looked to Devlin, seeing the hope and trust in his eyes. He could not let his brother down.

“Ian!” he shouted. “Get Melanie to open the doorway, now!”

A moment later they were back in the bar.

“Devlin, lay her on the floor, we have to start CPR.” Rafe waited two seconds before grabbing her out of Devlin’s arms and laying her down on the hardwood floor.

Devlin growled, but Ian was there in an instant. “Hold her hand, talk to her. Rafe will do the physical part, you can reach her mind.”

Rafe had straddled her and ripped open her shirt. Once they’d crossed back, the dress had disappeared, and she was back in her old clothes. The illusion was gone, but the attack had been real. He heard Lisa in the background calling their pack doctor, James, as he worked. He had his palm on her breastbone with his other hand wrapped around his wrist. He pushed, hard and fast. He had to get her heart beating again. He heard the crunch and knew he’d either broken her sternum or some ribs. It didn’t matter. Broken bones were worth the price if she lived. He stopped his counting and tilted her head back. Pinching her nose, he blew two quick breaths into her lungs. He saw everyone around him in his periphery vision. Melanie was crying and laying her hands over Olivia’s heart as soon as Rafe retreated, using her own sort of magic to try and heal her. Rafe doubted it would be enough. Lisa was at her head, chanting and also laying her hands on Olivia. Maybe her magic combined with Melanie’s would help, he didn’t know. He went back to stimulating her heart and saw a single tear roll down Devlin’s cheek.

“Come on, damn it. Breathe!” Rafe shouted at her. He had never seen his brother cry. He never wanted to see it again.

Devlin watched as his brother thumped his mate’s chest. This could not be happening. This feeling of helplessness surrounded him, sucking him into a quagmire of despair. His own heart felt the split when Willie had stopped her heart.

He could not live with the knowledge that he had not protected her; that he had let her down. The scene kept repeating over and over in his head. Seeing Willie’s hands reach into her chest would forever be branded into his brain.

Maybe this wasn’t real, he reasoned. Maybe they were still in the death realm, and this was just an illusion. He felt Ian grip his shoulder, giving him strength, and knew he was in denial.

He lifted her wrist, tracing the veins underneath her skin and desperately feeling for a pulse. She was so white and still; with no animation lighting her beautiful face. Her only movement came from the chest compressions.

He watched Rafe push hard, massaging her heart in a desperate attempt to start those precious beats. Rafe was cursing a blue streak, his forearm muscles bulging with each push.

Devlin shook his head, removing the last of the cotton wool from his ears. He heard someone softly crying in the background, people rushing around yelling.

Anger consumed him, rallying his strength and giving him a reason to go on before he followed his beloved mate into death. They’d had such a short time together but would be together forever in eternity. Whatever came in the afterlife, he was ready. He had one mission only. Send Willie to Hell.

“Olivia. Open your eyes.”

She didn’t want to. She felt so good, so peaceful. The softest bed ever held her in its down feathers, and this was simply the best nap she’d ever had. Why wake up? She was free, no worries, no problems.

“Come on Olivia, we have work to do.”

“Go away,” she swatted at the annoying person who wouldn’t let her sleep.

She heard a small tinkle of a laugh, like the little teacup bell she used to play with as a child. Her mom would let her have it when she was sick so she could ring it if she needed anything.

“Mom?”

Again the small laugh. “No, dear.” There was a short pause. “Consider me your soul guide.”

Soul guide? Wait a minute. Where was she? Her eyes popped open. Holy shit! She was in a cathedral. Then the guilt set in for cussing in such a beautiful and holy place.

“This is not a church. There is no judgment here. Only love and guidance.”

Olivia looked at the woman speaking and stared in awe. She was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, and she was wearing Her green dress. She looked down to see she was wearing the emerald dress also. Okay, this was tacky. No two women should ever wear the same dress to the same place.

With that thought, the woman’s gown changed to a Roman over the shoulder pink creation that was just as beautiful as the woman.

The woman sat on the edge of her bed, waiting while Olivia sat up amongst the many pillows. “We don’t have much time and you need to understand what must be done.”

Olivia shook her head, confused. “Who are you?” Wait, she’d already asked that, hadn’t she?

“My name is Elnen. I need you to hear my words. Willie has to be stopped. Normally your power would be enough to send him on to his soul guide, but with him finding the Fae Queen’s magical water, he has strength beyond your abilities. You will confront him again, only this time I will be helping you. You will call my name when you need me, only you will be able to summon me. Remember my name.”

Olivia sat staring at her, thinking this was a dream, and she would wake up soon with Devlin holding her. But one thought stuck in her head. “Wait. He’ll go to his soul guide? What does that mean? Won’t he go to Hell or something?”

“Our time is up.” Elnen laid her hands on Olivia’s head. “Shift and heal.”

As Elnen faded away, Olivia felt a horrendous pain in her chest. Damn, couldn’t these guys just let her sleep?

* * *

Rafe was happy to move aside as Dr. James rushed through the door and took over. He had just placed his stethoscope on her chest when she gasped and shifted. He looked to his alpha.

“Rafe? Did you do that?” Dr. James asked.

“No. She did it herself, I assume. Maybe she woke up enough to know she needed to shift to heal.” Rafe looked to Devlin.

“No. She never opened her eyes,” Devlin murmured.

“Will she be alright?” With her shift, relief surged through him, the euphoria almost overwhelming as hope ran like an out of control wildfire, spearing his heart with joy.

Dr. James was listening to her heartbeat. He looked up and laid his hand against her snout. She snorted in annoyance.

“Her heart is strong, regular and steady. I’m not a vet, but I’d say she was fine now. Somebody want to tell me what happened so I can make a decision on whether or not she needs to be in the hospital? Does she have a heart problem?” Dr. James asked.

Rafe took him aside as Devlin sat stroking Olivia’s fur. He had pulled her head into his lap, and he was quietly talking to her as everyone moved away.

Dr. James wanted an x-ray and an electrocardiogram to see any possible damage to her heart. “I can’t do it at the hospital, too many humans around. Call Hunter and get him to meet us at his practice. He should have the same equipment for when he does surgery.”

Arriving at the vet’s office, Devlin carried her into the exam room. Rafe had sent everyone else home to get some rest. Rafe stepped out and leaned against the wall as Dr. Hunter did a quick exam before hooking her up to a heart monitor.

“She’s okay now.” Rafe clasped Devlin’s shoulder.

Devlin’s bloodshot eyes acknowledged his words. “I never want to go through anything like that again.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I thought I’d lost her, and I just found her.”

Rafe grasped his brother and hugged him tight, saying nothing.

Dr. Hunter spoke. “Her heart seems to be fine, neither one of us can see any trauma to her heart. But to be safe, once she shifts back, I’d have Dr. James check her again.”

“I think I broke some ribs when I was doing compressions,” Rafe said.

“I saw that, don’t worry, they’re already healing. You have to push hard enough to massage the heart. It happens.” Dr James shrugged, unconcerned.

“So I can take her home?” Devlin asked.

“I don’t see why not. I believe her shift healed her, but as soon as she shifts back, I’ll examine her again.” Dr. James clapped Devlin on the back as he scooped her up in his arms.

Rafe nodded to both men, thanking them for their help.

Devlin climbed into the back seat with his bundle, impatient to get her home.

Once home, he carried her straight to their room, leaving Rafe to let everyone know how she was doing. He gently stroked her fur as he lay beside her on the bed. “Don’t ever do that again,” he demanded. “No more chasing ghosts. You’ll stay at home and have babies. If you want to work, you can work for our family, but you’ll do it from here.”

Olivia’s eyes opened and she watched him blink back tears. She whimpered slightly before shifting. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek in her palm. “Oh baby, I’m alright now.”

He pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her neck. “I never want to go through anything like that again. I thought I’d lost you.”

She’d heard his speech while in wolf form and knew she had to bite the bullet and not put off this conversation.

“Devlin.” She sighed as they lay facing each other. “I have to go back. Not right now, I’m still weak. But I have to do this.”

He jumped off the bed, pacing. Stopping at the foot of the bed, he pointed at her. “No fucking way. You died tonight. Do you get that? Your fucking heart stopped. If I have to, I will tie you down and you will not go after Willie.”

She’d never seen Devlin so agitated. Her happy go lucky wolf was locked away behind the volatile man. His fears were in control; she needed to calm him down. “Come to bed, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

He threw off his clothes and got into bed. Tucking her against his chest, he rested his arm on her waist. “No, we won’t. You’re done.”