23. Savvy

23

Savvy

S avvy was relaxing on the back deck when Cassia flew up in a panic. “Rory and the pups have been attacked by some shifters.”

Her heart stopped and fear exploded inside of her, covering her with an icy avalanche.

“Show me,” she said, throwing down her book and jumping out of the chair.

She ran as fast as she could to keep up with the dragonfly. The noise was ear-wrenching and indescribable as she got closer. Savvy heard the whimpers from Cat and Drake. The growls and yelps echoed in the air.

Savvy saw two wolves and a bear attacking Rory. She snapped her fingers, and they fell to the ground, unconscious. Rory, who was a bloody mess, also fell to the ground. The pups were cowering by a tree. Wolves had them by the throats. She snapped again, and the aggressors fell to the ground.

They shifted and ran over to them. “You saved us,” Drake said.

“Daddy,” Cat cried out.

“Go get Colby,” Savvy ordered Cassia.

“Cat, Drake, I need you to shift back and then sit here, because you’ll be able to run faster in wolf form. We don’t know if anyone else is out there.”

They obeyed and huddled next to each other.

Is Daddy going to be okay? Cat asked telepathically.

“I don’t know, honey,” Savvy said. “We’ll do everything we can to make him okay.”

Savvy walked over to him, put her hands on his body and started chanting a healing spell. It wasn’t going to heal him like Taryn’s and Beth’s magic, but it could keep him alive until help arrived.

What’s taking them so long? Cat moaned.

“I don’t know,” Savvy said, wondering the same thing herself.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they heard voices and animals crashing through the woods. Cassia flew up and landed on Drake’s back. She was exhausted. In broken words, between pants, she said, “They’re coming.”

A large grizzly bear, a tiger, and several wolves barged in on the scene.

Drake shifted and ran over to one of the wolves. “Uncle ’Bastian. They hurt Daddy.”

One of the wolves shifted. The man bore a striking resemblance to Rory and Savvy realized that it was his brother.

“I know, Drake. We’re going to take care of him. Shift back so you can run.”

Drake shifted back, and Sebastian walked over to Savvy, who had continued to focus on Rory.

“How is he?”

Savvy looked at the kids and then back at Rory. She shook her head. “If he’s going to make it, he’s going to need a lot of help. We need to get him back to the house, and we need Beth and Taryn.”

Conner shifted and said, “They are at the house, along with the pack doctor. Cassia blasted a message to me while she was on her way to get you. We were already on our way.”

Sebastian and Conner carefully lifted Rory and laid him lengthwise on Colby’s back and used straps to keep him from sliding off. They looked at Savvy.

“Go. I can’t keep up with you guys, but I’ll get there as soon as I possibly can. Cassia will help me find my way back.”

“I don’t think she can fly anymore,” Sebastian said.

“I can follow verbal directions. I’m too big to ride a wolf. Go. Drake and Cat, go with them.”

With a nod, Conner and Sebastian shifted back and headed to the house. Savvy looked at the four wolves and bear lying on the ground, still unconscious. She figured that Sebastian would figure out what to do with them later. Meanwhile, they would stay asleep until she woke them up.

The pack doctor was just finishing his examination when Savvy and Cassia came in. He looked at Savvy and said, “You kept him alive this far. Good work.” Then, he addressed the rest of the people waiting anxiously for news. “He is very badly hurt, and I’m not sure if he’s going to survive. There are two healer witches with him now. They are his best bet. Call me if there is any change. Otherwise, I’ll be back in the morning.”

Drake and Cat rushed up to Savvy and wrapped their arms around her. “Is Daddy going to die?”

“Not if we can help it,” Savvy said. “I need you to hang out with your grandparents. I’m going to help Beth and Taryn.”

“Thank you for saving us,” Cat said.

“Of course, I would. I love you two goobers.”

“We love you, too,” Drake said.

“Stay here. I’m going to sit with your dad for a while.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Cassia said, perched on Cat’s shoulders.

“You saved us, too. You went for help,” Cat said.

“We’re going to deal with the bastards that started this. Will they be asleep still?” Sebastian asked.

“Until I wake them up. You’ll have to bring them by here,” Savvy replied.

Rory was lying on the bed with a sheet drawn up to his waist. Beth and Taryn were holding their hands out over him, focusing their magic on healing his wounds.

“They took several chunks out of him. He has some broken bones and a lot of blood loss,” Beth said.

“Thank you for being here,” Savvy said.

“Where else would we be?” Taryn asked.

“Nowhere, baby girl,” Savvy replied, hugging the ten-year-old.

Savvy pulled a chair up to the bed, held Rory’s hand in hers, and started chanting a healing spell, while Beth and Taryn continued using their healing magic.

After an hour, Beth and Taryn were exhausted and needed a break, especially since Beth was pregnant. Just as they started to leave the room, Sebastian came in.

“We have the assholes who attacked our family downstairs. Can you wake them up?”

Savvy was gratified that he used the words “our family.” Nodding, she followed him downstairs and outside. There were a lot of people surrounding the five sleeping shifters. One of them was the tiger shifter who had been a guard posted outside of the house. Others were members of the Nightshade Wolf Shifter Pack that Rory belonged to and the Griffins.

She snapped her fingers, and the men started to wake up, groggy at first. They groaned loudly and put their hands on their heads. They blinked several times, trying to clear their eyesight. Savvy hadn’t used a gentle sleeping spell. Instead, she had used one that felt more like someone hit them in the head with a cast iron skillet.

“What the fuck happened?” Mark demanded.

“You attacked the wrong family, that’s what,” Sebastian said.

Savvy went back inside. She knew she needed to eat, and Rosa insisted that she sit down with the rest of the family, including Beth and Taryn, and have some food.

Rosa looked at Cassia and said, “I don’t have any mosquitos.”

The dragonfly laughed and said, “That’s okay. Cat tore up a little bit of her ham into tiny pieces, and I ate that.”

Rory woke up later that night. He demanded to see the kids. They rushed in and wanted to hug him. Savvy cautioned them to be gentle with him. They were very gentle and told him how Savvy had saved their lives.

Over the next couple of days, the three witches continued using their magic until they were sure that Rory was going to survive. Beth and Taryn went home. Savvy recited healing spells on him. Hollie and Owen were around a lot to help take care of the kids while Savvy was occupied with Rory.

Sebastian checked on his brother at least once a day. The day after the attack, he reported, “All five of them were sent to the island for life. Attacking kids is definitely not acceptable. The Silver Fangs have been disbanded. Blackjack was wanted on several warrants, including a capital murder charge in Texas. They don’t mess around down there.”

Rory was able to get out of bed on the fourth day. He moved slowly but was able to get around on his own. The kids hovered around him, trying to make sure that he was okay. He finally convinced them that he was fine. They should do what they always do during the day.

That night, after the kids were in bed, Savvy went to Rory’s room and carefully cuddled with him. He wrapped his arms around her. Peace settled around Savvy. She closed her eyes and relished the time she had with him. She knew that she had completely fallen in love with him.

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but at least I have right now.

She wasn’t the only one who had fallen in love. Cassia adored the children and had started sleeping with the kids at night, taking turns with each kid.

One afternoon, when they were napping, Savvy said, “I think that we’re both going to be in trouble. Fall is going to be here soon, and Drake is going to start kindergarten. I don’t know if I’ll be needed then, because both kids will be in school during the day.”

“I don’t even want to think about it,” Cassia said.

“Neither do I,” Savvy said sadly, her heart breaking at the thought of leaving her new family behind. She knew that if she had to leave, her heart would stay.