Page 117 of Unforgivable

Demon screams again, his cries mixing with the garbled cries of the male. Rising on hind legs, Demon dashes his forelegs against Liam, over and over, until nothing but a pile of mangled flesh remains.

"Demon," I choke out, "here, sweet boy. Come here, Demon." I stumble towards him. My lousy leg, my bad hip, is numb. I can't think of whatever damage has been done to me. Liam said Ezra was 'taken care of.' Oh, Sunshine. Who else is here? Is someone else attacking us?

The horse shies away from me, but I keep after him, grabbing his thick, sweat-filmed neck. "Shh, Demon," I try to soothe him. "What a good boy you are. We need to get Ezra, OK? Good boy, Demon, good boy."

Slowly, his breathing steadies. My legs have stopped bleeding. "The bad wolf is dead. We're OK, boy. Look at us. We're OK. Let's find Ezra, OK? OK, boy?"

I walk Demon to the doors of the barn. He comes with me docilely, but I can make out the whites of his eyes. He's still scared. Part of me thinks he will bolt as soon as I open the doors.

I leave him standing just inside the doorway and push the heavy wooden doors open. Demon shuffles, eager to get away from the barn.

"Easy, boy. Let's ride, OK? Find Ez? OK, sweet boy, we can do this." I approach him, and he lowers his head to me. "Can you go down, boy? Down." I pat his neck the way that Thjis does. Demon twitches nervously, then, finally, kneels.

"Good boy, Demon, good boy," I sob, climbing onto his back. My legs are stiff, but I ignore it. I need to find Ezra. I'm still not wearing any pants. At least it's a warm night.

"Let's go, Demon, up."

I ride Demon towards Wheat's field, listening hard over the sound of Demon's hooves for the sound of the mountain lion, for Wheat, for wolves fighting.

I hear nothing but silence.

"Ezra," I call out. Thank goodness it's light outside. I can see him slumped over in the field. No sign of a mountain lion, but Wheat is there, at the far side of the grassy hill, upright and fine.

"Ezra!" I call out his name as I slip off Demon's back. When I hit the ground, my legs crumple under me, the wounds reopening. I ignore the fiery pain, I've had worse, and focus on my Sunshine.

"Ezra? Sweetheart? Sunshine, wake up," I call out as I pat his cheeks, search his body for wounds and find his slow, thready pulse. There are no visible injuries, but I smell blood, and Ezra isn't responding, not even a twitch. I try to haul him up but can only get him to sit up before his weight drags me back down.

"OK, I can do this. Shit. Demon!"

The horse nudges my shoulder, wuffling at Ezra. I tap Demon's neck. "Down, boy," I croak out.

This time he easily bends his knees, and I kiss him on his big horse's nose. "Good boy, Demon. You're the smartest big boy, aren't you?" Holding in my sobs, I grab Ezra again, Dragging him onto the horse's back after four tries. I'm not strong enough to arrange Ezra nicely, so he ends up hanging over Demon's back facedown on his stomach, hands, and feet dangling. That's when I can see the bit of blood on the back of his head. He was either struck by something, or he hit his head when he fell. Either way, he's not waking up even after being roughly slung over Demon's back, so something is really wrong with my Sunshine.

"Up Demon!" I guide the horse back towards the house, watching Ezra's face grow paler and paler. It can't be good to be hanging upside down when you have a head injury, but he's just too heavy for me to get back any other way.

When we reach the yard, I bring Demon over to the truck. Opening the rear hatch, I leap into the truck bed and grab Ezra's shoulders. I drag him off of Demon's back, wincing when his legs hit the metal bed with a heavy thunk. "Sorry, Sunshine," I say through my tears.

I leap down and rush Demon back into his paddock, avoiding the barn where Liam's remains are. I grab the phone and the truck keys and sprint back to the truck. I have to take Ezra to the clinic, and fast.

I call Rhet's cell, not expecting an answer. They aren't due to shift back to feet until later this evening. When he answers, the relief flooding me is profound.

"Hey, Angel," he murmurs.

"Rhet!" I blurt out an explanation, "Liam attacked us. Maybe with someone else but I didn't see them. There was a mountain lion, and Demon killed Liam, but Ezra is hurt, and I'm taking him to the clinic. I don't know if he's going to be OK. Are you coming home? Please hurry," I beg.

"What? The fuck did you... Liam? Ezra... what happened, angel? Shit! Stay home, love, OK?" Rhet's voice is bleeding with terror for me.

"I can't," I whisper into the phone. "He's unconscious, Rhet. I need to take him to the clinic. I don't know what they did to him."

"Baby, no! Listen, Pretty. Stay in Genom. Ezra will be fine for a couple of hours-"

"Rhet," I cut off his tirade, my voice thick with tears. "His heartbeat is slow. He's really pale, and his skin is too cold. There's nothing in the house to help him." I have so much respect for what Thjis must have gone through to save my life before.

"Fuck, Lyri," Rhet sounds helplessly angry. "Just drop him off at the doors to the clinic and go hide. Go... you know what? Go to your parents' house. Have them gather up some of their friends. We'll be home in just a couple of hours."

I feel better immediately. "OK, I will." It's a solid plan.

"Thjis is calling your dad now."

I can hear Thjis' voice in the background, along with the sound of the truck moving along. My head is swimming. I grip the wheel and concentrate on staying on the road as the town comes into view. I'm almost there.

Rhet's voice sounds likes he speaking through a tunnel. "Thjis is having Franco meet you at the clinic. Don't you leave that truck, pretty. Sit your damn ass in that seat, let Franco take Ez, then you drive to your parent's house, alright?"

"What if he doesn't make it?" I whisper.

"He will, angel. He has too much to live for."

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