Page 5 of Faerie Hunted

My gut flipped in disgust. “That’s awful.”

There were parts of Faerie so backward it made me sick. I’d always thought of this place as an escape from the harshness and cruelty of the real world. Instead, it had more problems than I ever imagined.

Noren whined louder and threw the bulk of his massive weight into my legs until they buckled.

“Stop it,” I corrected without any heat in my voice. “What are you doing?”

“He’s protecting you,” Mike replied with a little laugh. “He takes his job very seriously.”

“Protecting me from what?” I batted the direwolf away, just as the edges of my vision suddenly went black and blurry.

The wave of dizziness crashed down over me with such force I toppled into Noren, heat scalding my veins like acid.

The darkness overtook everything else and I went down into unconsciousness, with the approaching delegation of distant leaders watching me fall.

2

The agonizing swim back up to consciousness wasn’t for the faint of heart.

Reality intruded on me more slowly than it should have, returning in spits and spats and hazy images until I finally pried my eyes open.

The room swam into view, first in triple, then double. Then at last the world solidified into a familiar space where I’d spent way too much time already.

I groaned and shook my head, or tried to shake my head but found myself unable to move.

How many times had I woken up in the Claw & Fang Hospital?

At least Mike knew to bring me here, for which I’d be forever grateful. As a half shifter, a regular fae hospital was too dangerous for me because they’d likely figure out my genetics and possibly eject me from this realm.

Shifters weren’t welcome here.

We were tainted or something.

It was a huge risk being in this land in the first place but it sure beat the alternative.

I tuned in to the weight at the bottom of the hospital bed and found Noren curled up asleep at my feet. His enormous body took up most of the damn bed, actually, and heat rolled off of him.

What a giant.

At least he kept my feet warm.

His concern was sweet. Noren understood more than any normal wolf I’d ever met, and despite his massive size and his ferocious claws and teeth made for disemboweling, he’d started to act like a giant puppy around me.

He’d jumped in front of me, as well, right before I passed out, almost like he’d known something was wrong before I did.

I’d have cracked my skull open on the ground if not for his quick reflexes to break my fall.

“Thanks, big guy.” It took me a hot minute to haul myself up to a seated position and reach out to run my hand through his fur, ruffling the dark strands. “You’re always looking out for me. I appreciate it. You’re the best.”

Noren cracked open a yellow eye, his gaze meeting mine, and then he snorted and curled up into a tighter ball.

I ran my hand over his shoulder and up to his ear, scratching him lightly.

“You want to talk to the wolf but not to me?” a female voice scoffed, the tenor sweet and airy but also loud enough to pierce the fog in my brain. “Typical Tavi.”

Bronwen Minuti set her book down on her lap and grinned at me, the motion bringing her freckles to attention on her pale face. Her relief was evident.

Bronwen knew everything about me and then some. We came from the same kind of background, except her family had gotten her out before I ever realized there was a need to run.

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