Page 63 of Bear Facts

Freya hadn’t seen Leo brought in, and now she swallowed a lump in her throat. The abrasions from claws and teeth were so thick she could barely see an inch of untouched skin. Leo’s eyes were closed, his face icy pale. One of his hands had changed to a wolf paw, but lay limply on his stomach, as though he’d lost all energy to continue the shift in either direction.

This Shiftertown’s Guardian, Neal, sat on a chair too small for his bulk, his sword resting across his knees.

It was humming, a palpable sound. Rae’s sword, now out of its bundle and strapped to her back, hummed in return. Graham’s scowl went to the blades, as though their noise offended him.

Zander removed his duster to reveal a T-shirt with several different fish species printed in a line down his back. Pain and compassion warred on his face as he gazed down at Leo.

“It’s bad,” he murmured. “Sweetheart?” he said to Rae.

Rae unsheathed her sword. Freya hoped she wasn’t about to relieve Leo’s suffering by sending him to the afterlife, but Rae merely held the sword out to Zander.

Resting his big hand on the silver hilt Zander sank to his knees. He placed his other hand on Leo’s wolf paw, and then he began to chant.

The words sounded ancient. They were unintelligible to her, though she could sense the prayer to the Goddess in them.

She went to stand at Graham’s side. “Will they truly be able to help?” she whispered.

Graham answered in a low voice, “No idea. If they can fix him, then Zander will be in pain for a long time, and Leo will still be an asshole. If Zander can’t fix him …”

They’d have a sad ceremony to the Goddess, and Leo’s brothers would mourn. They’d possibly blame Freya’s return for his injuries, or maybe Shane. Things could get bad.

Freya slipped her hand into Graham’s. “Even if I don’t stay here permanently, I’ll come back to visit you. I won’t disappear again. I’m still part of your pack.”

Graham’s frown deepened, but he squeezed her fingers. “Don’t make promises you might not keep, little cub. We’ll decide what’s best for you once we figure out this shit and get your brother back.”

A typical Graham answer, but he wasn’t wrong. They had a long way to go to resolve all their issues. But Freya standing here, her hand in Graham’s, was a start.

Zander clenched the sword’s hilt until his knuckles whitened, but he didn’t cease chanting. His voice never wavered, but Freya heard a note of pain in it he strove to hide.

The wolf in her began to snarl, uneasy with the sword’s humming and Zander’s obvious agony. The air felt dense, too much magic clouding it.

Rae turned her head and looked at Freya. Freya read the same worry in her, the one that wanted to grab her mate and haul him out of there.

She had to watch this all the time, Freya realized. To see Zander go through whatever torture happened inside him that let his healing powers work.

Freya sent her a smile of sympathy mixed with respect. The magic in Rae’s sword must aid Zander’s ability, and keep him from falling apart entirely, but it was still difficult to witness.

Zander’s voice grew louder, his deep rumble rising.

Slowly, slowly, Leo’s wounds began to close. Freya blinked in amazement as strips of bloody skin wove together and the severed ear smoothed back to his head. Rae went down on one knee as Zander’s hand began to slip from the sword’s hilt, and she settled his grip on the sword once more.

Neal’s sword thrummed on his lap, and he lifted his hands away as though he didn’t know what to do with this response. Rae’s sword answered, sounding almost gleeful.

Zander slumped more and more as Leo continued to heal. Finally, Leo drew a long breath, his paw changing to a human hand. His chest began to rise and fall with ease, a man asleep instead of one struggling to live.

Graham let out a relieved sigh a moment before Rae dropped the sword and caught Zander as he fell into her arms. Freya started forward to help, but a strong hand—Shane’s—held her back. She hadn’t heard Shane enter, but every part of her was glad he was here.

“She’s got him,” Shane murmured. “It’s a Guardian-Healer thing.”

Zander lay in Rae’s embrace, eyes closed in utter exhaustion. Rae’s sword continued to ring—it was happy.

Graham went to the bed and laid his hand on Leo’s shoulder. Whatever anyone felt about Leo, there would be no hole in the world from his death today.

Zander’s face was drained of color, the robust man now a collapsed wreck on the floor.

“Will they be all right?” Freya whispered as she let Shane lead her into the hall.

“Eventually.” Shane shook his head. “Zander has a hell of a job. I think of that when I’m complaining about Eric sending me out at two a.m. to see what Shifters are yelling about.”

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