Page 83 of Alpha Queen
The boy looked over her, stripped off his shirt, and wrapped her leg. Then he slid his hands underneath her side.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll get you help. Just... please don't bite me, okay?"
The boy struggled to lift River into his arms, and for a moment, she thought he might drop her, but he didn't. He opened the back of his mommy van and laid her inside on the itchy carpet. He covered her with a small blanket.
"I promise I'm going to help you. Just don't die."
The van door lowered shut, and then the driver's side door slammed and the vehicle lurched forward. The teenage boy's voice drifted back to her, a stream of worried muttering as he navigated the streets.
"Hang on, girl. Just hang on. There's an emergency vet clinic about ten minutes from here."
Relief washed over River in waves. She was out. Away from Titan, from the compound, from the prison that had held her for so long. Her wolf body trembled, partly from pain and partly from the overwhelming realization that she'd done it. She'd gotten herself out. She thanked the goddess, thanked herself, and, most of all, thanked her wolf.
We did it, girl. We did it. We're safe. Our baby is safe. Thank you. Thank you.
The boy talked to her, his voice a comforting anchor as darkness began to encroach on the edges of River's vision. "My mom's gonna shoot me for getting blood all over the van, but whatever. You're gonna be okay. You have to be okay."
River wanted to thank him, to communicate her gratitude, but her strength and consciousness faded rapidly. Blood seeped through the makeshift bandage, her leg throbbing with each beat of her heart.
The last thing River remembered was the gentle sway of the van as it turned a corner, and then blackness claimed her.
Bright lights pierced through River's consciousness, dragging her back to awareness. Voices surrounded her, urgent and confused.
"…never seen anything like this…" said the teenage voice she recognized.
"…losing too much blood…" said a female. "…need to stabilize her before…"
River blinked, her vision swimming as shapes gradually came into focus. She was still in the back of the van. Fumes from the van burned her nostrils. A woman in scrubs examined her leg while the teenage boy hovered under the neon sign, muttering.
"The laceration is extensive." Her voice was clinical yet concerned. "She's lost a significant amount of blood. This isn't something we can handle here."
"What do you mean?" The boy's face paled.
The vet straightened, fixing him with a stern look. "This isn't a dog, young man. This is a person."
"No, it's a wolf or a husky or something. I found her on the side of the road!"
"Do you think I'm blind? Or crazy?" The vet gestured toward River. "This is clearly a woman with a severe injury."
River realized she'd shifted back to her human form. The pain, blood loss, and unconsciousness of her wolf must have triggered the involuntary shift. She lay exposed, nothing covering her but the small blanket.
The vet turned to River, her eyes softening with concern. "Miss, did this boy harm you?"
River struggled to find her voice, her throat parched and raw. "No," she managed to croak. "He... helped me. He saved me."
The teenage boy froze, his eyes wide with shock. "But ...you were a dog." His face contorted in confusion. "I saw you. You were a dog with silver fur."
"We need to call an ambulance." The vet reached for her cellphone.
"No!" River's voice came out stronger than expected, stopping the woman's hand mid-air. "No hospitals."
"He'll find me." River clutched the blanket as a wave of dizziness washed over her.
The teenage boy shuffled forward hesitantly. "Who? Who's after you?"
River's eyes darted between them, weighing her options. These strangers had shown her kindness, but involving them further put them at risk. Still, she needed to reach Ares and Apollo.
"My name is River," she said, her voice growing weaker with each word. "I need you to call Apollo Wolvenguard. Tell him where I am."
