Page 78 of Bad Medicine

The second I was healed enough,I shifted back to my human form, dragged my blade from my special, amazing,wonderful sheath, and I went after them with something that not even my wolfcould surpass. The demon blade, its magic and energy tangling with mine andinfused with my deep, deep rage.

And not just the demon blade.I’d slipped the dwarf’s knife into the belt as well, and though I hadn’tbelieved it would hold, it had, and with both my hands filled with lethalblades, I finally forgot my worry, my fear for Farrow, and my thoughts of acouncil that was surely aware of—and maybe even instigating—this most viciousfight.

And more than once, I fell, butmy father’s voice urged me back up, just as he always had.“Get the fuck up,Princess. Get up and fight like you’re somebody.”

So I did.

I whirled, slashed, stabbed,cut, and punched my way through dozens of nonhuman beings, and finally,finally, I stood alone on hills of downed supernaturals. My hair, hastily tamedinto a loosely braided ponytail before I’d left Shadowfield, now hung in myface, and I was dressed in blood, some of it mine, most of it my attackers’.

My blades dripped blood ontothe floor, onto the bodies of those I’d put there. My breath whooshed in andout, my blood thundered through my veins, and my heart knocked against my ribs,and all of those things were so loud in my ears that I almost missed his voice.Almost.

“Very good, Wolf. Consider yourfirst training session a success. You didn’t die.”

The Alpha elder stood acrossthe room, massive in his furs, his arms crossed, a smug smile on his ancientface. “They want me to train you, I will train you,” he said.

“Training,” I whispered.

“I needed to see what you coulddo with only part of yourself present.” He shrugged. “Now I know.” Then heturned to stride away, but he turned back before he’d gotten more than a fewsteps. “You may keep the vampire as your prize. You earned her, after all.”

And there was a grudgingapproval in his voice.

I wanted to attack him. Iwanted to kill him, to rip him apart, to scream my pain and rage into his face.But I didn’t want to die.

So I limped to Farrow, pickingup my lost things along the way—my bag of money, which I’d more than earned, myexcess weapons, my phone. My clothes were ruined, so I left them there, but myboots were fine. I stepped into them to keep from having to carry them out.

I slung my weapons into my bag,except for the blades—they went back into the belt around my hips—then urged analmost equally bloody and naked Farrow to her feet. I didn’t speak to Aaronwhen he opened the door for us. There was a gleam of something deep in hiseyes. Anger, I wanted to think, at my treatment, and shame that he didn’t—orcouldn’t—help.

On the drive out of there, hemet my stare in the rearview once, then tilted his mirror and never looked atme again. Clothes were waiting, a bag of them sitting on the back seat. Idressed myself in a t-shirt and a pair of loose-fitting sweats, but I wasbeyond dressing Farrow.

No matter. Bastien would carefor her.

I called him, but he didn’tanswer, so I sent him a text.

Meet me behind Scarlett’s.You’ll need blood.

I didn’t type more than that.Farrow had come to life—sort of—and flung her arms around me, something thatsounded like the sobs of a wounded animal coming from her broken mouth. I wasshocked that she had the strength to hold on to me, and I was heartbroken byher need.

I had a need of my own. I’dseen that I’d missed three calls from Jared, and honestly, I simply meant tocall him to reassure him I was okay so he wouldn’t freak and come looking forme. But when I gave the command and my phone called him and I heard his voice,I turned into a scared, hurt, indignant child.

“Are you okay?” He wasemotionless and calm, and his voice slid into my very soul.

“Jared,” I cried, then put myfingers to my mouth in horror even as I burst into tears.

“Son of a fucking bitch,” he said,his voice hard. “Tell me where you are.”

I couldn’t speak. The wordswouldn’t come, and all I could do was cry.

Aaron half turned, reached overthe seat, and took the phone from me. “I’m bringing her home, Mr. Walker,” hesaid. “We’ll be stopping at Scarlett’s, and then I’ll—”

But Jared was already gone.

I cried all the way toScarlett’s, with Farrow on my lap. She lay quietly in my arms and watched me,and she didn’t look away once. But if she thought I was going to take her outof my embrace and move away, she howled and burrowed against me as hard as shecould.

It was going to be a long timebefore Farrow healed.

When we reached Scarlett’s,Bastien was waiting. He stood against a long, black car, his guards spread outaround him, and he made no attempt to come to me.

Aaron climbed out and openedthe back door, but I couldn’t move, not with the awkward desperation of Farrowwrapped around me.