AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Camilla!”
Tucker McGraw was a formidable opponent. Even ill as he was, he cut an imposing figure. His eyes dark with menace, he came forward. I saw shades of his wolf. It still thrilled me. His hair had gone gray. He’d lost weight. But he was lethal, dominant. In control.
Only not of me.
“I’m not going to leave him to die,” I said.
“He’s the cause of all of this,” my father said. “He’s brought a curse to Wild Lake. He’s brainwashed you, Camilla.”
“I’m not brainwashed. But this?” I held my hands up, covered in Anson’s blood. “He might be the key to curing all of you. He brought Jarred back with just one drop. Until I know what we’re dealing with, he has to live.”
“If it’s only his blood we need,” my father gasped. “Then that’s all we’ll keep.”
“It’s not only his blood,” I said. “I don’t know how to explain it so you’ll understand. But if you kill him, his hold on me will only get stronger.”
“A lie he’s told you,” my father said.
“Better listen to him,” Anson coughed.
“Stop,” I said. “Both of you.”
I rose and went to my father. I put a hand on his shoulder. He was warm. Solid. I had twin urges to hug him and throttle him.
“I love you,” I said. “You’re on your feet! You need to rest. You need to stay by Mom’s side. By Jarred’s. I need you.”
“Tempest!” Pat’s yell reached me from deeper into the woods, toward the house. She had to be sick with worry, wondering where my father had gone.
“Go back. Can you manage it? We have a lot to talk about.”
I settled on my strongest emotion. I pulled my father into an embrace. My throat felt thick with the tears I wouldn’t yet let myself cry. There would be time later. With each minute that passed, the Dragonsteel would work its way through Anson’s body. He and my father would get their wishes.
“We need him,” I said. “You have to trust me.”
“You’re not thinking clearly,” Dad said.
“I am. I’m telling you. You’re right. A curse has taken hold of Wild Lake. But it’s fae magic. I don’t know how yet, but Anson’s how we’re going to break it. Alive though. For now.”
“Tempest!”
Pat roared down the trail on her four-wheeler. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw me with my father.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” she hollered. “Tucker McGraw. What are you doing out of bed?”
“Come on,” I said to him. “You can’t fight the both of us. Go back to Mom. I’ll come find you.”
“I’m not leaving you alone with that,” he said, once again pointing the gun at Anson. Anson’s eyelids fluttered. He was fading fast.
I left my father’s side and ran back to Anson. My father would have to shoot through me to get to Anson.
“Don’t you dare die on me yet,” I ordered Anson.
No answer. He’d passed out.
“Shit,” I muttered. Though, maybe it was for the best. What I was about to do was nothing short of torture. I had no instruments. No way to numb the pain. I had only my claws and a prayer.
I took a breath, extended the claws on my thumb and forefinger, and dug into Anson’s wound.
His whole body went rigid, but he didn’t wake up. I sat on his chest, doing my level best to keep him still.
