Dark Wolf

5

Pain was endless, slowing time so that each individual second crawled by. Dimitri could barely breathe, his breath coming in ragged, shuddering gasps, signaling he was nearly at the end of his endurance. His body shivered continuously of its own accord. Try as he might, he couldn’t stop that automatic reflex, much like a wounded animal alone and cornered. His mind was in chaos, the sound of his stuttering heart thundering in his ears.

Hunger beat at him with every slow second that passed. He was aware of every living creature with blood running in its veins that came near him. He could hear that throbbing beat deep in their veins like a drum summoning him. Even the twisting, agonizing pain couldn’t stop the need rising like a tsunami that couldn’t be denied.

His teeth were lengthened and sharp. It took every ounce of discipline he possessed to keep from fighting the silver chains encircling his body. Even with the hooks in him he could have called prey, but the chains prevented him.

He smelled the Lycans approaching long before he heard them coming. In his weakened state, he thought the tremendous gifts of a mixed blood—the Lycan’s dreaded Sange rau—would lessen, not strengthen, but his every sense stretched and grew until he was aware even of the insects crawling on the ground and up the tree trunks.

Sometimes he thought he could actually see and hear the plants growing around him. A few minutes earlier, the grasses surrounding him had been a few feet away from where he hung, but now they covered the ground beneath him like a thick mat. Bunches of flowers seemed to be springing up, fully formed with stalks and petals within minutes. He fastened his gaze to the ground, surprised to see ferns pushing through the earth in a dozen spots surrounding him.

“You don’t look so tough hanging there,” Gunnolf sneered as he came up on Dimitri.

Dimitri didn’t deign to respond, what was the point? Gunnolf wanted to elicit some response out of him, and he wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction. It wouldn’t lessen his pain, and he couldn’t get to him to take his blood, so really, retreating into his own mind was a far better option.

“Your friends haven’t exactly come running to save you,” Gunnolf continued, idly kicking at Dimitri’s leg. He laughed when Dimitri’s body swayed and the hooks dug in deeper, ripping at his flesh. “They must have realized what a dirty, disgusting monster you are and left us to kill you. They weren’t all that good in a fight anyway.”

Dimitri remained silent, his eyes on the ground. He could see dirt pushing up in places around the ferns and the mystery of it fascinated him. Some of the grass in spots directly beneath him had grown high enough that the blades brushed his legs. The grass wound around his ankle and slid beneath the tattered hem of his trousers. Slowly he could feel it traveling up along his skin until it found that exact spot where the Lycan hunter had kicked him. Tiny droplets of something cool and wet fell from the leaf to find the bruise. At once that pain was gone.

“I will say, you’ve lasted longer than anyone else ever sentenced to death by silver.” This time there was a hint of apprehension in Gunnolf’s voice. “No one has lasted past three days. They say it’s impossible to hold still and the silver reaches your heart faster. If you want to end the misery, just dance around a little bit more.”

He caught Dimitri’s shoulders and shook his body hard, laughing again as the fresh blood poured from each of the wounds where the hooks held him prisoner.

“Gunnolf! What are you doing?” Zev snapped sharply.

Gunnolf sobered instantly. He leaned close to Dimitri’s ear. “Die already, you monster, so I can get out of here.” He released him and stepped away from the dangling body.

Zev shoved him away from Dimitri. “You have no right to put your hands on him. The man is suffering. Isn’t that enough for you? If you weren’t one of my pack, I would think you’ve gone rogue and enjoy the suffering of others.”

“He’s Sange rau, a monster beyond compare.” Gunnolf spit on the ground to show his contempt. “He would kill every man, woman and child we have and never look back.”

“He is not vampire as the others were,” Zev argued.

His tone had gone thoughtful. Dimitri’s gaze jumped up, and he found Zev was now looking at the ground. His rugged features were expressionless, but his piercing eyes saw far too much. Dimitri’s heart gave a jolt in his chest as Zev glided forward, a fluid, easy move that was nearly impossible for Gunnolf to follow, but so very easy for Dimitri.

There, on the ground beneath his swaying body, mostly buried in the thick mat of grass and the ferns and flowers, were a few telling beads of silver glittering, drawing the eye. The sole of Zev’s boot slipped over the silver, mashing it further into the ground. When he moved his boot, stepping forward, grass sprang up as if he’d never taken a step. The silver beads were completely hidden from view.

Zev raised his gaze to Dimitri’s. “You had better get out of here, Gunnolf. You’ve challenged me one too many times and my patience has grown thin. The next time, you had better come prepared to defeat me in battle.”

Gunnolf snarled, baring his teeth, but he turned abruptly and strode away. Zev sighed, shaking his head. “That one and I will tangle in the near future, and it will be a fight to the death.”

“He will not fight fair,” Dimitri predicted. “In fact, I doubt he will come at you face-to-face. He will try to kill you when your back is turned and there is no one to see his treachery.”

“I am truly sorry,” Zev said. “I sent word to the council to try to get this sentence retracted, but there has been no word. I cannot go against my people, but I would help in whatever way I can.”

“You have been kind to bring me water,” Dimitri said.

“No one has ever been able to remove silver from their system,” Zev said, looking down at the ground beneath Dimitri.

Using the toe of his boot, Zev pushed aside the grass and ferns. No trace of silver remained. Frowning, he dug into the soil. “It’s gone.”

Dimitri said nothing. He could feel the grass blades winding their way around his ankle and slipping over his calf to the point of entry where the hooks were embedded in his muscle. Those tiny beads of salve dropped onto his raw wounds. The grass seemed to massage the soothing gel into lesions and then began moving up toward the gashes on his thighs.

Skyler. His woman. His lifemate. Who would have ever thought she could have so much power packed into that little frame of hers? She had a core of pure steel. He had no doubt in his mind that she had made some pact with Mother Earth and this form of healing was her doing. Healing and hiding evidence.

Zev came closer. “I cannot free you, but I can aid you. There is no law that says I cannot provide nutrients for you. Allow me to give you blood.”

Dimitri’s heart jumped and then began to pound. He had never considered that a Lycan would make such an offer. The temptation was overwhelming. He could feel saliva forming in his mouth. His teeth were sharp and terrible.

“I am weak. Far too weak to trust myself. I am uncertain if I could stop.” He forced the truth out, respecting the man, not wanting to take any chances. He would have drained Gunnolf dry, but Zev had integrity and the sentence of the council had clearly come as a shock to him.

“You are wrapped in chains,” Zev pointed out. “I can control your intake.”

Dimitri lifted his head to look around him. The forest was thick with trees and brush, but he felt and heard the life force of other Lycans close by. He could feel eyes on them. “The more you aid me, the more suspect you become in the eyes of the others. The one you call Gunnolf is poisoning the minds of the others against you. By aiding me, you help his cause.”

“What is his cause?” Zev asked. “Why is it so important for you to die before the summit reaches its conclusion? It makes no sense. Key members of our council are meeting right now with your prince and his people to settle the issue of the Sange rau—the Bad Blood, and the Hän ku pesäk kaikak, or Paznicii de toate—Guardian of all. Doesn’t it make sense to see that outcome before sentencing you to death?”

Dimitri tried a smile, exposing his lengthened canines. “I’m the one sentenced to death, so obviously it makes perfect sense to me.”

“I see you’ve retained your sense of humor.”

“I try.” The soothing grass had reached his thighs now, moving up both legs to find those terrible, burning wounds in an effort to ease the pain.

Hunger reached a new high. He could count each individual beat of Zev’s steady, strong pulse. A strange roaring in his head consumed his mind with the urgency to feed. He saw red, the color banding in his vision.

“Maybe you should step back, put a safe distance between us,” Dimitri cautioned. His voice had become more of a growl than an actual vocalization.

Unafraid, Zev stepped closer, his own teeth tearing a hole in his wrist. He was careful to avoid the silver chains encompassing Dimitri’s body as he lifted his wrist, dripping with life-giving blood, to Dimitri’s mouth.

Blood surged to every starved cell, every withered organ, moved over the many burned paths the silver had taken, to revitalize and rejuvenate. Dimitri tried to be polite, tried to hold on to awareness. Zev risked his life by giving him blood. His pack could turn on him at any moment. Dimitri was certain Gunnolf had his own agenda. He wanted more power and Zev was standing in his way. This act of kindness could very well be Zev’s downfall.

Yet Dimitri couldn’t make himself stop. All he had to do was sweep his tongue across that wound in Zev’s wrist to close the gash, but hunger was so raw, so terrible, such a monster gaining control of him, that he couldn’t quite manage on his own.

You must stop me. He pushed the words out from his mind onto a path, any path, hoping Zev would pick it up. They’d used telepathic communication on a hunt of a rogue pack before, although the path had not been between them. Telepathic communication grew easier once it was established, but there was usually a blood path between a Carpathian and the one he reached out to. His heart sank. He’d never given Zev blood.

Zev pulled his wrist from Dimitri, wincing as those strong teeth jerked out of his skin. Dimitri closed his eyes, trying to breathe deep, desperate for more, but grateful for what had been given.

“I heard you. How is that possible?”

Dimitri shook his head. Even that slight movement sent his head spinning. He had grown dizzy with pain and lack of sustenance. “I have no idea. Maybe desperation on my part.”

Zev wrapped a strip of cloth around his wrist and knotted it tight. “Stay alive, at least until I hear personally from the council. Like I said before, none of this makes any sense, and the council is all about logic.” He glanced in the direction Gunnolf had gone. “I don’t like this set-up at all.”

Dimitri raised an eyebrow. Tiny beads of blood dotted his forehead as he worked at keeping very still. The grass continued to move up his thighs to his hips, curling around the hooks and dropping the small droplets of salve over the wounds there. Nevertheless, the silver in his body burned like a raging inferno ceaselessly until at times he forgot even the basic mechanics of breathing.

“There are too many of us here,” Zev said, his voice pitched very low. “This forest is an outpost, one reserved for the wolves in the wild and basically used for extremely sensitive meetings or private camping when one can’t take civilization one more moment. We don’t keep large packs here. There are no women or children. This is the base camp of an army.”

Dimitri went still inside. Skyler had no idea of the size of the camp or the trouble she would be walking into. He kept his features absolutely expressionless. It was imperative that no one know she was even in the forest. She might be a few hundred kilometers away, but for the Lycans, that would be considered too close.

He liked Zev. Even respected him. But he didn’t trust anyone with Skyler’s life. “Perhaps your council has decided on treachery and plans to attack the prince.”

“That would be suicide and you know it. They went to that meeting in good faith.”

Dimitri sighed. It was becoming difficult to talk. The sun was rising, filtering through the canopy. This time of day was manageable, but it signaled hell was coming.

“I suppose my sentence, after giving their word that they wouldn’t kill me, was also a sign of their good faith.”

Zev frowned. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a soft sigh. “I think the entire world’s gone mad.”

“Just so you know, the only one likely to come after me is my brother. He will have his lifemate and some of his friends along, but he probably won’t have the prince’s approval.”

Zev stiffened. “Fen. Fenris Dalka is your brother. He’s Sange rau, too. He must have been Carpathian before he was Lycan.”

“An ancient warrior, and not Sange rau. He is Hän ku pesäk kaikak. His skills have always been the thing of legends.” Dimitri tried a faint smile but it came out more of a grimace. “You’ve seen him in action. He isn’t going to be happy about this.”

“He was badly injured,” Zev said. “I don’t want to take away your hope. Something has kept you alive this long, but when I left the Carpathian Mountains, your brother was nearly dead.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Dimitri, but there is little chance he lived through those injuries.”

Dimitri closed his eyes and allowed air to move through his lungs. It was so hard to keep his body still when the silver persisted in snaking its way up his legs, through his thighs, over his hips and into his abdomen, turning his gut into a fireball that ate him from the inside out.

“You met Tatijana.” He made it a statement.

“Of course. What does she have to do with it?”

This time Dimitri did manage a brief smile. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Zev. “Everything. He’s going to come. Not today. Not tonight, but sometime soon, and when he does, all these Lycans packed into this forest just waiting their opportunity aren’t going to be enough. I’m going to still be alive, no matter how badly Gunnolf wants me dead.”

Zev swore under his breath and turned away.

“And Zev,” Dimitri added, his voice hoarse and edged with pain. “He won’t come alone.” He put the idea in the elite hunter’s head deliberately. If it was too late to stop Skyler from carrying out the first part of her plan, he wanted Zev to be out in the forest, scouting for the enemy, and not for some other Lycan to find her.

Dimitri watched Zev walk away. He stayed very still, letting time pass, concentrating on the grass moving from his hip to spread across his burning belly. Skyler. He used his remaining strength to reach for her. The moment he felt her response, that instant pouring of love into his mind, filling every dark place that so many kills and so many empty centuries had left scarred, hope was renewed.

You’re such a miracle. How did you get Mother Earth to agree to aid me?

You are her son. She wanted to help. I just added a few touches to help her. I’m going to work on the threads reaching toward your heart from your hips. When I’ve rested enough, I’ll set out and hope to find a Lycan. Paul’s scouting for tracks. He’s very good at it. We’re leaving our tracks everywhere, following the wild wolf pack and recording every sound as well as putting up cameras. The cover is very solid.

Just the sound of her voice turned him inside out. She was indomitable. He knew her human frailties, yet she didn’t swerve from her intended path.

Skyler. Sívamet. I have learned from one of the better men here that this place is harboring an army of Lycans. He was obviously worried. I threw him off by telling him Fen would come. He knew Fen was wounded and thought he might even be dead, but he’ll go search for signs that a rescue party is coming for me. He won’t expect you.

Skyler searched his memories. She sent another wave of warmth into his mind. With it came strength. He gave you his blood.

Yes. I need far more to try to heal, and to be at full strength, but I can last until Fen comes. You should pack up and go. I think they’re preparing for war.

Skyler stretched across the telepathic path leading to him. He could feel the approach of her healing spirit. She was white light. Pure unconditional love. She moved inside him, entering easily, already knowing what she would find. She was stronger now. Josef had clearly given her blood again. He couldn’t find it in his heart to be jealous of another male helping her, he could only be grateful.

The moment she began to work, he felt the difference in her. She seemed powerful. Mage. She had come to terms with that part of her and she welcomed it now. Drew on her heritage, her bloodline, where before she had tried to forget she was related to Xavier, the hated and feared criminal who had nearly single-handedly brought down the Carpathian race.

I call upon my blood.

I am born of mage and dragon, no more shall I hide.

I call to you, Mother, bring forth to me the records of encoded light.

Show me the past, as I live in the present.

Let me view the future as you aid me in the now.

I know your words,

I hear your thoughts,

I feel your heart,

I know your intent.

You cannot hide.

I am both mage and Dragonseeker.

The silver obeyed her as it had done on two previous occasions, but this time much faster, as if now it recognized a master of elements and minerals. She finished with the silver tracers, driving them from his burning belly back to the hooks in his hips. She closed those off and moved downward, following the thin, deadly silver to his thighs, pushing it back so that he felt it burning through his pores, and down his leg as it rolled off of him to the ground below.

I call to you, Mother, absorb that which is deadly,

Aid me in this time of healing,

I call to comfrey, knitbone,

I use your power to sedate, to soothe, that which burns,

I call upon you, Mother, to assist in the healing of internal damage,

Seek out the path from which this poison has come,

Cauterize it and close it,

So that which is open and causing pain, cannot be open again.

Dimitri sensed she was tiring. There was still a great distance between them. She had used telepathy too many times not to feel the effects. You need to stop.

I’m almost done. I only have the hooks in your calves left. If I can manage to stop the flow of silver altogether, it will give you relief through the day. I’ll come for you at night.

She began the work of pushing back the last two snakelike threads of silver toward his calves. Not once did she falter, although Dimitri could feel that white light fading with the length of time and the drain on her energy. Again she made certain the tips of the hooks were closed so no new silver could enter his body.

I call upon you once again, aloe and comfrey,

I seek and use your healing salve to stop this raging pain,

Seek deep into his flesh where burns run deep and raw,

Seek out the damage that is done deep within,

Use your gifts to repair cell and skin.

The relief was nearly instantaneous. Dimitri had been writhing in agony for so long, for a few moments he almost didn’t realize the pain in his body had dimmed to a very tolerable level. He could actually push it aside entirely. The outside chains were another matter, but compared to that silver moving through his body, forming its own veins and arteries, the damage to his skin seemed minimal.

Mother, I call upon you to take into your arms,

That which is doing no harm.

Take on the poison. Eat it, drink it,

Remake it into something of the earth.

May the green of the great Mother be seen,

And used to hide that which would do evil.

May her beauty bloom, showing all the colors of her heart,

May her beauty shade and hide us from all harm.

Skyler didn’t leave loose ends, not when she was fully aware as she was now. He felt real hope for the first time. As long as no other Lycan discovered the hooks were no longer injecting beads of fluid silver into his body, he would have a chance to gain strength. Fen would come.

You have to leave this place. The Lycans preparing for battle changes everything.

She was already fading away. I don’t care what they prepare for.

Send Josef then. He can slip in and release me.

He cannot. His energy would tip the Lycans off immediately and he’d stir up a hornet’s nest. Paul and I are human. They won’t see us as threats.

Skyler heard him swearing in his ancient language as she found herself back in her hammock. Birds sang loudly, calling to one another as they flitted from tree to tree. The forest was alive as the early morning rays of the sun poured through the canopy. There was such beauty in nature, and now that she knew Dimitri would stay alive long enough for her to get him out of the enemy’s camp, she could truly enjoy where she was.

She didn’t want to argue with him anymore. He was a dominant male, like most of the Carpathian men, and she didn’t blame him for worrying about her. She worried. She knew, because she often merged minds with Dimitri, that safety and health was placed above all else for their females. The species was too close to extinction. Women were too important to risk. There was also the fact that only one woman could be their lifemate. If she was to die, or the male Carpathian missed finding his lifemate, the warrior had no choice but to meet the dawn or choose to give up his soul.

She hadn’t just impetuously jumped into the rescue without thinking it through. She wasn’t an impulsive person. Her earlier life had made her very cautious. Dimitri was severely injured and felt helpless, she understood that. She was human and vulnerable in his eyes, and she understood that as well.

Csitri, I am not in any way reprimanding you. You saved my life. You’ve given me hope and surrounded me with love. I cannot bear the idea of you hurt or injured.

Dimitri, I’m your best chance at escape right now. The longer you’re there, the more likely something goes wrong. I’m not willing to take that chance. I’m just not. If what you say is true, and they are preparing for a war, then they need you dead. And just for the record, I know it’s difficult for you to think of me hurt or injured. Can you imagine what it’s like for me to know you’re hurt? To know they tortured you? That the first night I finally found you I wasn’t capable of removing all the silver? Or stopping the terrible burn?

She brushed at the tears running down her face. She hadn’t been able to hold the connection long enough, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear. Why do men always think they suffer more when their partner is in danger? Women love as much, they suffer as much. You aren’t alone in this, Dimitri. She couldn’t help the edge to her voice.

There was a small flash of amusement, and then he poured love into her mind. It was impossible to stay angry with him when he merged his mind so deeply with hers.

I stand corrected, päläfertiilam—my lifemate. I had no idea I had such a fierce warrior woman for a partner. Just make certain you’re protected. I trust that Josef and Paul will watch out for you while you do this.

Relief swept through her. I promise to be careful, my love. If I get into any trouble, you’ll know. So will the world. I’ll send for Gabriel immediately. Rest now.

One more thing, Skyler. I’m up in a tree, wrapped in silver chain. I cannot free myself. You will need to find a way to remove the chain as well as the hooks.

I am prepared. She had absolutely no idea yet what she was going to do to get him free.

He laughed softly in her mind, as if he knew she was struggling to figure that piece of his escape out. His laughter wrapped her up in his love, and then the connection between them slowly faded as if he were exhausted.

Skyler took a deep breath and let it out. She might be afraid to walk out in the forest, seeking a Lycan, but still, she looked forward to it. That would bring her one step closer to freeing Dimitri. She sat up gingerly, feeling faint and dizzy.

Josef looked up immediately from his conversation with Paul. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “I’ll need your help again.”

“You’re going to have more Carpathian blood in you than Josef does,” Paul said with a little grin. “You should see the weapons Josef managed to get for me.”

Skyler rolled her eyes. “Men. You just couldn’t wait for me to know all about your cool weapons, could you?”

“I almost came over to your hammock and dumped you out,” he teased.

She closed her eyes and let Josef give her blood, grateful he was adept enough to keep her unaware when she consented to his aid. She took the water bottle Paul offered and drank, more to make certain there was no aftertaste in her mouth than because she was thirsty.

“You don’t think the Lycans will sense the Carpathian blood in her do you, Josef?” Paul asked, suddenly anxious.

“They can’t tell we’re Carpathian until we use our energy to manipulate the elements,” Josef said. “I read the emails between Gregori and Gabriel.”

Skyler scowled at him. “You hacked my father’s email?”

Josef shrugged, completely unrepentant. “He made it easy. I told him his password needed to be a lot better, but he didn’t listen. They never do. I hacked the prince as well.” He held up his hand to stop her when she opened her mouth to give him a lecture on privacy. “Better yet, I managed to find and hack two of the Lycan council members.”

Skyler closed her mouth. Somehow hacking the Lycans’ email didn’t seem nearly as bad as hacking her father’s email or the prince’s.

“Did you find anything out about what’s going on?” Paul asked.

“Only that they seemed to want to work things out with the Carpathians. They want them as allies. They obviously are terrified of the ones they call the Sange rau, but they’re certain they can convince Mikhail of the danger.”

Skyler frowned, shaking her head again. “Josef, Dimitri says he’s being held in a war camp. The Lycans are preparing for a battle. It has to be with Mikhail. Did any of the emails mention Dimitri?”

“No, which I thought was a little odd.”

A small fox trotted into their camp, and then came to an abrupt halt as if confused by the presence of the three of them. He was beautiful, his fur coat thick and bright. He shook his tail, gave an indignant bark and retraced his footsteps back into the brush.

Skyler laughed softly. “Life just goes on no matter what’s happening, doesn’t it?”

“That fox was a little annoyed with us,” Paul said.

“For a moment I thought it was Gabriel and my heart nearly stopped,” Josef said. “I’ve thought a lot about where I want you to scatter my ashes after he kills me,” he added.

Paul and Skyler looked at Josef’s sorrowful expression, the dramatic hand over his heart, and both burst out laughing simultaneously.

“He’s not going to kill you, Josef,” Skyler soothed. “He’ll just . . . you know . . . do his Gabriel thing.”

“He’s going to kill you,” Paul assured. “Dead. For certain. But he’ll make you suffer first.”

“Don’t look so happy about it, bro,” Josef said. “He’s going to kill you, too.”

Paul shrugged. “Better him than Zacarias. I’ve got like five of the craziest Carpathians known that are going to be eager to strangle me; you’ve only got a couple.”

“We’ll get in and get out with no one the wiser,” Skyler said. “That way no one will get killed.”

“Sky, I’m going to be in the ground when you go wandering in the woods,” Josef said, worry taking the laughter from his voice. “You’ll be very vulnerable. Paul won’t be able to be too close to you, so you have to make certain that there is as clear a line of sight as possible from Paul to you at all times. He’s your only protection until sunset.”

“I honestly don’t think the Lycans are going to worry about me rescuing Dimitri. Our papers are in order. We’ve set the camp up perfectly to be a working environment, and they must know of Dimitri’s organization to save the wolves. He’s set up preserves all over the world. Of course they have no idea it’s that Dimitri they’ve wrapped in silver.”

“There are other things in this forest to worry about than just the Lycans,” Josef pointed out. “Wild predators live here.”

“I know, but most of them come out at night. Really, I feel like between you and Dimitri, I could use a little encouragement.”

“I think the plan is solid,” Josef said. “I think your presence will draw a Lycan to you. Just make noise. I want you aware, that’s all.”

She heard the reluctance, the concern in his voice. He would be in the ground, unable to aid her if she got into trouble. She knew, like Dimitri, being helpless would be the most difficult thing of all. “I’ll be hypervigilant,” she promised.

“Were you able to remove the silver from his body?” Paul asked. “All of it?”

Skyler nodded, relief sweeping through her. She hadn’t realized how tense she was until that moment. “Yes. And one of the Lycans gave him blood. He’s been starving for over two weeks, so it wasn’t nearly enough to bring him to full strength, but it should be enough that he can get out on his own after I remove the hooks and chains.”

“There is no way you, or either of us, could ever carry Dimitri. He’s too big of a man,” Paul said.

“Excuse me.” Josef blew air on his fingernails and polished them on his shirt. “You’re forgetting my mad skills. I could float him out of there.”

Skyler rolled her eyes at his blatant bragging. “And every Lycan in the forest will feel that rift in the energy field and come running.”

“I just wanted you to be very aware of my talents,” Josef said. “I could do it if it was necessary, that’s all.”

“Could you carry him out of the forest on your dragon’s back?” Skyler asked, suddenly very serious.

The smirk disappeared from Josef’s face. “If it was just him, sure, but not with the both of you as well.”

Skyler reached out her hand to him. “It won’t be necessary. You can give him blood. Paul and I will as well. He’ll be fine. Even if he has to go to ground for a night or two, we can hide. And if we can’t do that, we’ll have our fall back plan.” She spoke with far more confidence than she felt.

“So the silver is out of his body and a Lycan gave him blood,” Paul said, his tone speculative. “Maybe all of them aren’t bad.”

“Dimitri knows I’ll be coming for him tonight and he’ll be ready. I just have to figure out how to get the hooks from his body and the chain from around him. It’s burned into his flesh. Literally burned into it. His arms, his chest, all down his legs. They wrapped him up like a mummy in silver.” There was disgust and anguish mixed together in her voice.

Paul slung his arm around her shoulders. “He’s alive and he’s waiting for you. We’re getting him out.”

“So we laid a trail for you,” Josef said. “I’ll take the two of you deeper into the woods. There’s no sign of Paul anywhere, leading in that direction. Our tracks will go in two opposite directions, clearly searching for you. If a Lycan stumbles across, or goes looking for tracks, we’ve done a good job of making it look as if you’ve been gone several hours.”

“I’ll need a sprained ankle,” Skyler pointed out.

Josef frowned. “That’s the one part of the plan I’m not wild about. You can’t run with a sprained ankle.”

Paul burst out laughing. “Hello, you idiot. Have you forgotten who she is? She can heal anything, including a sprained ankle.”

“I just am squeamish about giving myself any injury,” Skyler admitted.

“Cause she’s such a girlie girl,” Paul teased.

Skyler made a face at him. “I don’t giggle.”

“You giggle,” Josef said, flicking her chin with his finger. “I’ll help you with your sprained ankle, but you’ll be hobbling around until someone comes. Groan a lot.”

“If someone comes,” Paul emphasized. “It’s a big forest.” He suddenly grinned. “This is your big chance to really show your girly side. Weep and look beautiful while you’re doing it, like they do on television.”

Josef snickered. “Her face turns red when she cries.”

“So does the end of her nose,” Paul contributed.

“Way to make a girl feel beautiful. Neither of you are ever going to find a woman who will put up with you.”

Paul shook his head. “Zacarias has a woman doting on him. Seriously, Skyler, if that man, as mean and as scary as he is, can get a woman, anyone can. It gives a man hope.”

Josef smirked. “I’ll have a lifemate. She’ll have no choice,” he added.

“Poor woman,” Skyler said. “I’ll befriend her and teach her how to box your ears when you get obnoxious.”

“What makes you think I’ll get obnoxious?” Josef demanded.

“You will never give up playing pranks. She’ll be afraid to go around a corner in case you fly at her in the form of a giant bat or something worse.”

Paul punched Josef in the shoulder. “She’s got you there, bro.”

The smile faded from Skyler’s face. “I have to figure out how to get the silver chains off of Dimitri. I know I can remove the hooks. I was able to get the silver to back up to their point of origin, and I could melt the hooks if I had to, but that chain. It’s actually in his skin. Any ideas that don’t include triggering the Lycans’ ability to feel a spike in energy?”

The two men looked at one another.

“Can you cut it off?” Paul said. “Josef can provide the tools you would need.”

“That depends how deep it’s embedded in his skin,” Skyler said. “I guess I’ll have to see it before I can make a decision. I haven’t really taken a look around him. I’ve been so busy concentrating on getting that silver out of his body that I didn’t think to see what his surroundings were.”

“Don’t sound so disgusted with yourself,” Paul chastised. “The truth is, his surroundings wouldn’t matter if he’d been dead. If you hadn’t worked so hard to save him, there would be no point in any of this. We have a plan. Let’s just stick to it and go one step at a time. If this works today, and you plant that tracking device in our Lycan, then we’ll figure everything else out quickly.”

“Agreed,” Josef said.