Instinct took over. The most primal parts of me responded to her plea without hesitation, my left arm sliding into place around her waist. I locked her in against my side which seemed to be exactly what she wanted as she held the phone between her hands and began typing.
Once her wolf sisters were caught up on everything, she relaxed into me, shoulders sagging heavily with worry.
I kissed her cheek. “Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re going to be just fine.”
She chaffed her arms. “I should be the one saying that to you.”
“Yeah, I guess so. But I thought you could use hearing it, too.”
Shimmering gold stones observed me curiously. “Aren’t you worried?”
“I’m out of my mind with fear.”
“What do you want to do about it?”
I shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do until Donovan helps us come up with a good plan. I don’t even know how we would track Henry if the vampires are using magic.”
“Maybe Sasha could help with that.”
“She knows how to track magic?”
Charlotte shook her head. “No, but I think she knows someone who might be able to help.”
“Really?”
“Lorena is the witch who helped her and Donovan while they were searching for clues. She can probably do a locator spell.” She paused with her thumbs hovering over the screen of the phone. “Maybe she can tell us about the vampires, too.”
While Charlotte got into messaging her wolf sister, I reclined on the bed. My thoughts drifted to the wheat fields, to the black wolf, to the horrors witnessed in battle—and none of them made sense.
That fight was too easy, I reflected.Almost like it was some kind of convenient distraction.
More theories tumbled through my mind with all the information I had gathered thus far. If the vampires thought Henry was a cure, then that meant his life was in danger.
That singular thought propelled me from the bed.
“Adam, hang on,” Charlotte called after me while sliding from the bed. She winced as she hugged her side, shivering when her bare toes touched the ground. “Don’t run off, okay? We have to make a plan, remember?”
“Lottie,baby, you’re going to hurt yourself.” I scooped her up and planted her in the bed. She released a soft sigh while fondly gazing up at me, lilacs invaded my senses. Gods, I could never get enough of that scent. “You need to rest.”
She grinned weakly. “So do you.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, I know you’ll be fine.” She slid the white sheet aside and patted the mattress. “But you’ll feel better than fine once you sleep.”
I huffed while slipping under the blanket. Everything about her oozed comfort, security. She made me feel like I was safe. She didn’t even have to do anything. No additional action was required of her. The mere fact of her existence put me at ease better than any drink or painkiller.
And while it didn’t make sense, I didn’t want to argue with it. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. How would I know if it would ever happen again? It was best to lean into the feeling regardless of resulting vertigo.
Her fingers sought my cheek, thumb drifting over the corner of my mouth.
She licked her lips. “You don’t have to worry so much.”
“I could say the same to you.”