Black Wolf's Revenge (12 page)

“I overheard you have a rib problem,” Wade said, motioning for her to lift up her shirt.

“I thought you were going to stitch Grey up first.”

Wade shrugged. “He won’t let me touch him until you are taken care of.”

She pulled up her shirt enough to reveal dark red and purple bruising covering a large part of her rib cage on her right side from where Marshall had kicked her. Wade brushed gentle fingers along the discoloration, and when she gasped, Grey ran a rough hand over his face and turned his back like her pain hurt him worse than her.

“I think at least a couple of them are cracked but not all the way broken. Are you having difficulty breathing?”

“It hurts, but I can pull a deep breath.”

“Good. All I can do for those are wrap them and give you pain meds. I’m assuming you took care of the people who did this to her?” The last question had been directed at Grey.

“They’re all dead,” he confirmed.

Wade nodded once and pulled bandages and a small pair of scissors from the plastic bin.

When Morgan’s torso was wrapped, she smiled at Grey. “Now we match.”

His gaze fell away from her face like he found it difficult to look at her. Like every injustice done to her body was his failure. “Do you guys have anything to eat in the truck?” he asked the other wolves.

She should have been embarrassed by how loudly her stomach was protesting, but hey, if it got her food, she couldn’t seem to conjure a blush if she tried.

“The last thing I ate was dinner with Lana, so my stomach has been mad at me for not throwing it a bone.”

Wade was cleaning her face and neck with sterile rags soaked with bottled water, when Brent brought over a box of cherry-fried pies and beef jerky.

“Sorry, Morg, its only convenience food. We were kind of in a rush to get here.” She was already unwrapping a fried pie before he finished apologizing, mumbling her thanks between painful bites. Food was food.

“A couple of these cuts, like the one on your head and the one by your lip, are going to open back up as soon as I clean the dried blood out of them. They need stitches. The ones by your nose I can put tape on. How did he do this?”

She swallowed a mouthful of pie. “He punched me, and he had rings on. So tacky. He felt justified though, because I was being a smart ass.” She smiled and then cringed at the effect the pain had on her face. Good gravy, she could use an Advil or ten.

A growl ripped from Grey as he jumped down from his perch on the truck. “I’m going for a walk.”

“This is hard for him,” Wade said when he was out of earshot. “Seeing you like this, he’ll always blame himself. You are going to have to try and be nice to him. He almost died for you, but he’ll always analyze this last couple of days. Try to figure out a way he could have done it differently. A way he could have done it better. You are his world, Morgan. I know you can’t understand it, but these past months have torn him up.”

She sighed heavily, closing her eyes. She was far too exhausted for this discussion and definitely did not need to be reminded of the pain she’d brought him. She only had to look as far as his eyes to see how badly she’d messed up, and right now her ego was bruised even worse than the rest of her. Lecture all he wanted, but Wade could never be harder on her than she was being on herself.

Brent kept up a running jargon about what had been going on back at Dean’s place, and she was grateful for the distraction from the pain. Wade gave her pain killers and they took effect as he finished up the last of the stitches by her mouth. He reset her broken nose as well, ensuring she would have two impressive black eyes by the morning. Lovely.

Grey returned and took a seat up on the tailgate. His was a more tedious fix than Morgan’s. Mostly because he had ripped the stitches all the way down his stomach, but also because she hadn’t snarled at Wade constantly. A treacherous job, being the pack doctor.

When Grey’s growling became constant and sweat beaded on his forehead, she scooted closer to him and rested her hand right next to his. The fire in his eyes diminished as she brushed her pinky against his. Grey stood after Wade was done, testing the new stitches, and Morgan took the bottle of water and gauze from Wade.

“I’ll finish him up if you guys want to work your magic on the bodies downstairs.” There were times in her life she couldn’t believe the things she had reason to say. Any talk of body stashing topped the list. Life as a werewolf was more complicated than she could’ve ever imagined, and she swallowed bile that threatened to claw its way up the back of her throat at the thought of the basement tomb.

Wade squeezed her arm and he and Brent disappeared inside.

Fatigue pulled at her as she cleaned around his new stitches. As she worked, he gripped the tailgate tighter and tighter. She reached for the gauze to bind the wound when Grey leaned toward her and hooked a finger under her chin. He pulled her gaze up to meet his.

“Are you all right, little wolf?” he asked softly, blue eyes fighting gold.

The nickname warmed her until heat radiated up to the tips of her ears, and she pressed her cheek against the uninjured half of his chest. “No. But I will be.”

He hesitated only a moment before he gathered her into his arms. It had been so long since she’d been held and she melted into his embrace. Burying her face deeper into his chest to hide her tears, she wrapped her arms tenderly around his waist and prayed this wouldn’t be the last time she felt this safe.

Wade and Brent barreled out of the house. “We need to move the trucks! This house is about to go boom,” Brent said through an absurd grin.

Morgan hesitated. Which truck should she ride in? She didn’t know if Grey would want her in his truck smelling like another man.

“You’re with me,” he said as he ran to open her door and help her up.

A tiny weight lifted. Despite everything, he still wanted her with him. When he was in the driver’s seat, he peeled out behind Wade, the truck fishtailing this way and that across the dirt. The explosion came a few seconds later, and Grey stopped the truck and looked back to make sure it was all burning. Apparently satisfied, he followed Wade’s truck out onto a main road.

She’d never been to Montana before, and though her memories would always be tainted by what those men had done to her, it was a beautiful landscape. Country gave way to a tiny town with an auto salvage yard, bustling general store, and some restaurant called Frosty’s that boasted the best homemade root beer this side of the Mississippi River. A water main had busted on one of the main streets, and kids of all ages played in their swim suites right in the street as traffic picked its way by them. Mothers relaxed in bag chairs and waved as they passed by. Morgan probably looked like a murder victim, but she waved anyway, holding on to the idea that there were good people in the world to balance the bad.

An hour outside of John’s property, Wade pulled into a hotel parking lot and Grey parked beside him. She’d expected some seedy seventeen-dollars-a-night digs, but apparently the boys had other plans. The hotel was nice, with a welcoming fountain complete with dancing cherub statue. Grey checked in with Wade while Brent talked on his phone in the other truck.

“The hotel is pretty busy inside,” Grey explained. “I don’t want anyone seeing you like this. We’re still too close to that explosion, and if they suspect foul play, police will be combing the area. No need for extra attention.”

His sunglasses were big on her face and rubbed painfully on her newly set nose, but they did the trick of covering most of the damage. Grey mussed her hair and pulled it forward for good measure and she followed the boys into the hotel lobby, careful to keep her eyes on the beige travertine tile that adorned the floor.

“We’re in a room down the hall,” Wade said as they parted ways.

“Wait, we’re not all staying in a room together?” Panic flared, filling her until it was hard to focus. She couldn’t stay in a room by herself. Distraction was the only thing keeping her from falling to sniveling pieces.

“I’m staying with you,” Grey said as the others disappeared into a doorway three rooms down.

Two parts relief, one part terror seized her.

Whatever he saw on her face seemed to make him fumble over his words. “Look, I’ll sleep on the sofa and you can have the bed. All right? I think it would be better if you weren’t alone tonight. I was going to ask you what you wanted to do, but I didn’t want you to shut me out. I mean--shit.” He shook his head and pursed his lips like they’d betrayed him.

She nodded slowly, testing how she felt about sharing the room with him. “I think I do want you here with me tonight. On the couch. You’re right, I don’t want to be alone right now.” She hesitated before she continued. “Grey, I’m not ready to talk about what happened down there. I don’t know if I will ever be ready.”

He stared at her for a loaded moment and then nodded. “Okay, whatever you need.”

The keypad beeped and flashed green with the swipe of the room card and Grey shoved it open and waited for her to pass. This was usually the part where she dropped her bags and explored an unfamiliar hotel room, but all she wanted was to find the bed and stare at the wall until everything made sense. The room was a suite with a living area and separate bedroom. It even had a functional kitchenette and dining table.

A room-service menu sat on the television stand and Grey handed it to her. “I’m starving. Tell me what you want and I’ll order it so you can go clean up.”

Ten dollars for a baked potato? “This is really expensive,” she said. “We should go out and pick something up.”

“Fine.” He snatched the menu from her and plopped down on the couch. “I think I’ll have the tenderloin, maybe lobster, asparagus is a must, garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed vegetables--”

She yanked the menu out of his hands with a growl. He was trying to make this ordeal better. To wash away some of the memories by making new ones, and he was doing it with food. Clever werewolf. “I’ll have the lobster bisque.”

“And?”

“And then all of what you said. I like my steak cooked medium.” She tossed the menu to him and found the bathroom to wash up.

Miniature shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bottles lined the sink. Shower caps and spa soaps, facial moisturizers, a brush and comb set, and a small stack of plastic-wrapped cups sat atop a flyer encouraging her to contact the office if she needed any other toiletries. The countertop was of shining black granite and a mountain of fluffy white towels lined the edge of a sprawling soaking tub.

She was stalling.

She’d looked everywhere but at the large decorative mirror above the sink.
Don’t be a wuss.

Her face was unrecognizable, swollen and resembling a gargoyle statue she’d seen on a church once. Stitches, discoloring, the works. Holy ships, she looked like road kill. The vain part of her mind said,
I can’t believe Grey is seeing me like this
, while the rational part of her mind told the vain part,
Stuff it in a blender
. She didn’t even know if he wanted her in that way anymore. She had never been filthier in all of her life. Sleep sounded like heaven and dew drops and unicorn feathers, but she would never be able to rest comfortably until she was clean.

Next decision. Bath or shower? She couldn’t move her right arm up too high or her ribs screamed, but she wanted to shampoo the basement-floor slime from her hair. Was there even a way to scrub her entire scalp using only her left hand?

A soft knock sounded against the restroom door. “Morgan,” Grey said, “I’m going to run out and get you new clothes. The hotel said they’ll bring the food up in about forty-five minutes, but I should be back by then. There is a store right down the street that should have everything you need, so I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, could you pick up--” Oh good grief, she couldn’t even bring herself to ask him to pick her up undergarments if she tried. She was desperate for them, and they would make her feel human again, but she couldn’t imagine him whistling down the lingerie aisle picking out panties for her. Kill a pack of werewolves bent on hurting her? Yes. Asking the lingerie sales lady what she thinks would look best on her minimal décolletage? Not in a million. “Um, never mind.” She would have to do her shopping later.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Under her breath, she muttered, “just trying to figure out how to bathe myself.”

He opened the door and peeked his head inside. Stupid werewolf hearing. She didn’t even bother covering herself this time. Cocking her head, she arched her eyebrow. What was the damn use? He had already seen her in all of her black-and-blue naked glory anyway. And it wasn’t like he would be attracted to her looking like an amoeba face.

He strode in and turned the bathwater on hot, and took a brush from the set of complimentary toiletries sitting by the sink. He faced her away from the mirror and combed through the snarls and tangles of her long stands.

“Lana misses you,” he said. “I’ve talked to her on the phone a few times since yesterday, and Rachel and Marissa are keeping her busy. She hasn’t talked about the night you were taken yet, but I bet she will if we give her time. I don’t think she really understands what happened.”

“I don’t understand it either. Lana wasn’t the Montana pack’s target after all?”

“You were the target all along. They just used her as bait. She’s fine other than a bruised backside. She doesn’t have a single scratch on her.”

“On her outsides. Being taken by a stranger like that will be something she’ll likely remember though. Grey,” she whispered before she could change her mind. “Thank you for saving her. Right before you showed up, there was a moment where I thought I was done. John and Marshall said you were dead, but I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t. I had to think that when I died, you’d be there for Lana.”

The only sound in the room was that of the rhythmic
rush, rush
of the comb running through her hair.

“How did they get into the house?” Grey asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I left you in the house thinking if you locked the door you would be safe. I was afraid to bring you with me because if the wolves had Changed you would be an easy target, and we didn’t have time to wait for you to Change. How did they get into the house?”