The wolf halted in his tracks. His head turned back to Serena. Blood dripped from his open mouth. The wounds on his body were deep and likely excruciatingly painful. Their gazes locked. Serena lifted a hand to Robert and he caught it. Without a word uttered between them, he helped her to her feet. Her eyes never left Garrett's. She stepped away from her bodyguard and made her way to Garrett.
Kneeling beside the injured animal, she said, “I can handle this.” Her voice was low and, she hoped, soothing. Convincing. Raising her hand, she lightly stroked the one patch of black fur that wasn't covered with blood. “I already know that you'll change back to the man I made love with last night. The man I fell in love with. So just ... do it. Do it here. Do it now.” Tears welled in her eyes and her voice cracked as she said, “Let me take care of you."
A low growl made her choke out an unexpected laugh.
Garrett sank to the ground, his belly resting on the cool grass.
Serena let out a long breath. “See? We can do this. You don't have to be so damned stubborn.” The wolf snorted. Serena smiled. “Okay, two-way street. I get it. Now ... do your thing."
And he did. The black wolf before her slowly morphed to the man she'd discovered in the back in of her truck last night. Right before her very eyes. Serena had never experienced anything so amazing or surreal. Yet, she knew she wasn't hallucinating or imagining the vision before her. Garrett lay curled up on the grass, his eyes closed. Blood covered his body and it was much easier to see where the wounds were against his naked flesh than it had been with all the fur covering him.
Serena's brow furrowed with concern. Her fingers hovered above his skin, at his shoulder, but she couldn't touch him. It seemed nearly every inch of him was cut open.
Fear gripped her heart. He was so much worse off than she'd imagined. And he'd waited so long to change, to heal.
Had he waited too long?
Her gaze slid across the courtyard to where Robert stood. The grim look on his face did nothing to calm her frayed nerves. “Will Garrett be alright?” she asked. “Can he recover from this?"
Robert raked a hand through his chocolate-colored hair. “We need to get him inside, but ... I don't want to move him just yet.” He inched closer, but still stood a few feet away, his hands propped on his hips. He seemed to contemplate his plan of action for a moment.
The low baying of wolves in the distance made his shoulders tense.
Serena was on her feet in a flash. She closed the gap between them and demanded, “They're coming back?"
"To help Braedan. They don't know he's dead. Tearing out the throat is the only way to kill a shapeshifter."
"Does that mean that the others—the men I saw earlier with Garrett—are...?"
He nodded. “Dead, yes. And in a matter of minutes Braedan's full pack will be on our doorstep. We don't have the numbers to fight them off. Most of Garrett's pack is at the lake. We weren't expecting a confrontation like this.” He looked at the body still lying motionless on the grass and added, “If they see Garrett like that, they'll attack. He's too weak to fight back or even shift again. I don't want the women out here, so that leaves me."
"And me,” Serena said, squaring her shoulders.
Robert grinned suddenly. “You'd stand your ground, wouldn't you? Use whatever weapon you could get your hands on to fend off anything that dared to come near Garrett."
She swallowed hard. It'd be an outright lie to say she wouldn't be scared to death, but ... what choice would she have? She couldn't leave Garrett here, defenseless and alone. She'd forced him to shift out here, after all. That made her responsible for him being in such a vulnerable position. Yet ... “If we can get him inside, we can protect him, right?"
Robert's face contorted in dismay. “If we move him, we could do a lot of damage. He's got broken bones and he's lost a lot of blood."
"How long will it take him to heal?"
"From those wounds?” Robert shook his head and let out a puff of air. “Could be a day or two. He's in pretty bad shape. I can't believe he was able to attack Braedan. He must've experienced some supernatural surge of strength at the mere thought of Braedan hurting you."
Her hands suddenly shot out and she clutched fistfuls of Robert's white dress shirt. Staring deep into his golden eyes, she said, “He can't die. We have to do something. Now!"
Robert swore under his breath. The howl of wolves—deep and ominous—drifted on the night air. Much louder than before. “I'll move him. Once the wolves see Braedan, they'll back off. As long as they don't know how injured Garrett is."
"I'll clean up the blood."
They moved in unison. Robert eased Garrett onto his back. His eyes were still closed and he didn't stir. Serena assumed he'd blacked out from the pain. Robert's hands slid under Garrett's arms and he began to drag him across the lawn. Serena grabbed his bare ankles and helped Robert lift the large, limp body up the stairs. On the porch, she huffed and puffed.
"He weighs a lot,” she said, trying to catch her breath.
"I need a blanket."
She raced into the lodge and found a bearskin blanket draped across one of the leather sofas. Snatching it up, she returned to Robert and they carefully placed Garrett on the furry cover. “Do you think we've made it worse for him?” she asked, concerned about whether they'd jarred him too much.
"We didn't have a choice in the matter. If I lift him myself, I'll snap whatever bones are trying to heal.” He began to drag the blanket—and Garrett—along the porch. Serena stared down at