Chapter 3

Chapter 3

CREE

Riley stumblesher way out of the bar, obviously on something again tonight. I can smell the toxins heavily mixed in with her normal stormy scent. This isn’t going to be a good night; she’s gone too far this time.

I follow in the shadows as she exits out the back door leading into the alley, watching as she staggers into the dumpster, holding her head like she is in pain. She grabs at her chest and hunches over, bracing one hand on her knee.

My bear’s attention catches on her labored breathing and slowing pulse. Her body tilts to the side, and I rush forward, catching her with one hand on the back of her head before she hits the ground. Lifting her into my arms, I cradle her to my chest.

A soft, almost kitten-like moan works itself free of her throat as she weakly clutches at my shirt. Her slight curves fit perfectly to me, like she was made to be held in my arms. Her long, fiery red hair falls in a thick curtain around her slender shoulders and down her back. Her heart-shaped face is pinched in the tell-tale sign of the inner pain she faces every day. She’s so broken and bruised inside, she can’t see the inner strength I so easily see in her. The strength to get up every day and keep moving. My bear and I want nothing more than to take the pain, protect her from everyone and everything around her, including herself.

Although I have no right to these feelings, Riley isn’t ours. She’s a wolf, and as such she should mate with another wolf. One has even been hanging around, waiting for her to notice him. Of course, over the last two months, she’s hardly even looked his way, be it consciously or subconsciously. That amuses me more than it should. What can I say, I love that she denies the alpha wolf. My bear doesn’t care that Riley is a wolf, he wants to stake his claim on her regardless.

I carry Riley back inside and to my office. After laying her on my couch, brushing her hair away from her face, I silently and quickly make my way back downstairs to find that annoying alpha.

Reed is seated in his normal corner booth, sipping his beer, and watching the hall that leads to the back door. No doubt waiting for Riley to return. His head tips back, and his nostrils flare. I smirk, knowing he can smell her on me, and my bear is preening at the one-up we got on him.

Approaching Reed, I nod my head towards the hall, he stands and meets me halfway.

“I need your help, Reed,” I inform him.

“What’s going on? Is Riley okay? I can smell her on you, but it smells ... off.” He adds that last part with an edge of concern in his voice. Considering he’s been watching and studying Riley for the better part of two months, I know he’s not wrong about her smelling off.

“I’m not sure. I don’t know much when it comes to wolf physiology. Riley took a lot of drugs tonight, and rather than healing like usual, she seems to be getting worse. They appear to be lingering in her system longer, so I don’t know if she just took something stronger, or if after the long-term use, they’re just... I already called Axel to consult, he’ll be here soon, but I am worried for her wolf, she feels further away than usual. She’s always been buried down deep, but I can’t feel … and Riley, she’s just …” I can’t finish that thought. Even thinking that she may be dying has my bear roaring in my head.

We make it to my office, and Reed immediately races to Riley’s side to look her over. As he leans over her to sniff her neck, my bear growls, and he shoots me a what-the-fuck look. I just shrug. I can’t help that my bear has become a territorial prick. He shakes his head at me and continues his examination.

“She’s been neglecting her wolf. She’s not shifting, which is why her natural healing abilities are becoming weaker and why her scent is growing increasingly faint.”

I move Riley upstairs to my apartment. She’s beyond pale, cold, fragile, and just so beaten down in this moment. My bear clings to the feel of her in my arms, pressing warmth and comfort to her. She lets out a slight moan as the first wave of warmth penetrates her body, and she nuzzles closer, like she’s trying to be absorbed into me. My bear smiles, and I can’t help agreeing with him. We like her like this—soft and pliant.

Reluctantly, I move to sit in the seat next to the window when Axel arrives a short time later, giving him the room he needs to work. He makes quick work of setting up an IV to start flushing Riley’s system of the poisonous toxins she’s ingested and aiding her wolf in healing her.

Sitting on the bed next to her, he rests his fingers on her temples. Reed steps forward, his body ridged and ready for a fight.

“Leave him,” I growl. “He’s an empath, he won’t hurt her. He’s trying to help her.”

Axel’s brows pinch low, and for a moment, envy washes through me, wishing I could connect with Riley on such an intimate level. He shakes his head and brings his hands back to his lap.

“She needs to reconnect with her wolf. The distance between her two halves is killing them both. Her wolf is very weak. She has a long and painful journey ahead of her. She needs to stop the drinking and drugs, cold turkey, withdraw, and then she needs to shift and become one with her wolf again.”

Silence descends over the room as we all take in Riley’s sleeping form.

“Fuck it. She needs to get clean, then she will. I’ll see to it,” I say, leaving no room for argument. If it means I tie her to my bed for the foreseeable future, then so be it.