Midlife Wolf Captured My Heart (Fated To The Wolf #7)

23. Sadie

23

Sadie

T he sounds of fighting outside brought Sadie back to consciousness. Sadie’s vision swam as she fought to hold on.

“I told you they would come for us and we didn’t have to wait until morning. Sadie, are you awake?”

Talia’s voice penetrated Sadie’s mind, but she couldn’t find the strength to answer.

“Sadie. Talia.” Sebastian’s voice seemed to bounce off the cave walls.

Sebastian asked where the women were hurt and Talia explained their injuries. Sadie knew Dakota was furious that someone had hurt her. She would have smiled at the knowledge that he cared so much if she wasn’t in so much pain.

Dakota gently lifted her, sending a sharp pain shooting through her body. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. Sadie didn’t want to show weakness and didn’t want to enrage him further.

“Don’t look around.” Dakota’s voice was low and husky.

Sadie couldn’t help herself. As they emerged from the cave into the cold night air, she stole a glance at their surroundings. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat.

The clearing looked like a battlefield from a war movie. Bodies of hunters lay on the ground, their vacant eyes staring at nothing. The metallic smell of blood polluted the pure mountain air, making Sadie’s stomach churn.

Matthias and Zac stood at the perimeter, surveying the scene. Three dragons circled above, making sure that there weren’t any other hunters in the area. Bears and wolves also scoured the trees outside of the small clearing to make sure they wouldn’t be ambushed – or worse, that there would be hunters to regroup and come back with greater strength. This terrorism needed to end now. Sean, Eric, and Rory walked among the bodies lying on the ground, making sure they were dead.

Eric looked at Dakota and Sadie questioningly.

Dakota answered Eric’s silent question. “She’s alive. We’re going to get them to the clan doctors.”

Her brother nodded and went back to his job.

Guilt washed over Sadie. Her gut had told her not to shift. Matthias’ and Zac’s warnings had been strong. She and Talia decided that they could be safe, anyway, in spite of knowing that there were hunters in the area. Now, people were dead.

The other side of her brain argued that if it hadn’t been them, it would have been other shifters who were caught by the hunters. Now, these evil people couldn’t hurt anyone else ever again.

Her eyes met Dakota’s and she saw a storm of emotions there – relief, worry, anger, and love. She wanted to tell him that she was in love with him but now didn’t seem to be the time or place. That would have to wait until after she saw the doctor and determined whether the baby was okay.

As they started down the mountain, the adrenaline that had surged through her when she and Talia were rescued began to fade. The pain in her side was excruciating. Dakota was being as gentle as he could, but he was trying to navigate the mountain, carrying her, in the dark. It wasn’t the smoothest ride. It was better being carried in his arms than over someone’s shoulder, though.

She moaned in the back of her throat as the darkness closed in on her. The last thing she saw before it completely overcame her was Dakota’s face.

Sebastian took Talia home and Dakota took Sadie to her place.

Beth, a healer witch, was waiting at Sadie’s house when they pulled in. She had used her magic to unlock Sadie’s door.

“Who are you?” Dakota demanded.

“My name is Beth. I am Sadie’s friend. I’m also a healer witch. Take her into her bedroom.”

“How did you know?” Dakota was apparently still suspicious.

“She’s Conner’s wife. Her best friend, Savvy, is Rory’s wife.” Sadie’s voice was very weak and barely above a whisper. “Talia?”

“Savvy and Taryn are with her.”

Sadie knew that Taryn, Beth’s twelve-year-old daughter, was a very powerful witch. She was a healer among other talents. Savvy’s gift was spells, and she enhanced Taryn’s healing magic.

Beth took over immediately. “Find some towels. I need hot water. Now.”

Dakota rushed to obey her. Beth carefully undressed Sadie, trying not to disturb the gash on Sadie’s side. Sadie moaned from the pain. She really wanted to scream but bit her lip.

Sensing her agony, Beth put her hand on Sadie’s forehead and closed her eyes for a second. “You’ll be fine.”

Instantly, the pain lessened. Dakota rushed in with the towels and a bowl of hot water.

Beth handed Dakota a small bag of crushed herbs and an infuser. “Warm some water. Put the herb in the infuser and let it sit for about three minutes. Add a teaspoon of honey.”

Wordlessly, Dakota took the baggie and infuser and disappeared.

Gently, Beth cleaned Sadie’s wound and put her hand on the deep cut. “No vital organs were hit. The baby is fine. The knife missed it by half an inch. It is a little traumatized, but I’m sure there will not be any long-term effects.”

Sadie breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t surprised that Beth knew she was pregnant. “Dakota doesn’t know. Please don’t say anything to anyone until I can tell him.”

“No worries. My lips are sealed.”

“Thank you.”

Dakota rushed back with the cup of tea and handed it to Beth.

The witch smiled at her. “It doesn’t taste good, but it will help with the pain.”

She nodded at Dakota, who gently lifted Sadie’s head to help her take a few sips of the tea.

Beth made a poultice of some herbs and packed it against Sadie’s side. “This will help you heal and help keep the infection down. I know shifters heal a lot faster than mundane humans, which is great, but we still have to worry about infection.”

Sadie nodded. The cool compress against her side felt good. The pain was ebbing. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Dakota was lying on the bed next to her when she woke up. His eyes popped open the second she moved.

“Sadie. How do you feel? What can I do? Can I get you something?”

She wanted to laugh but it hurt too much. “I feel okay because I’m on this side of the daisies. That’s always a good thing. Water would be nice.”

Dakota jumped up and got her a glass of water, holding her head so she could take a drink.

“You terrified me. I should kick your butt. What were you guys thinking? You should have gone to Conner’s place.”

“I know. Don’t think that I haven’t been beating myself up over and over again. We figured that if we were careful, no one would see us. We looked for cameras and drones and even checked the area to make sure no one was hanging out. You’ll have to wait until I heal before any butt-kicking can occur.”

He grinned. “I’m glad you haven’t lost your sassiness.”

Beth stopped by half an hour later.

“How is Talia?”

“Talia is just fine. Taryn managed to magic the bullet out without causing any further damage to her hip. Between her and Savvy, Talia will be walking around normally in just a couple of days. Sebastian is driving her crazy by hovering around. Talia told him that he and the Griffins needed to go on a long bike ride. Sebastian refuses to go anywhere.”

Sadie laughed. “For a big, huge, tough guy, who has a global reputation for kicking butt, he sure is a softie when it comes to his love for Talia.”

“Love has a way of bringing men to their knees. I know Rory feels the same for Savvy, and Conner is just as loving and caring when it comes to me.”

It must be nice, Sadie thought.

Beth checked her over. “Everything is great.” She nodded at Sadie meaningfully.

After changing the poultice, Beth left, saying that she would be back tomorrow, unless Sadie needed something. Then, she should call and Beth would be right there.

“Thank you. I appreciate you, my friend.”

Beth kissed her cheek. “You’re welcome.”

Eric, James, and Opal arrived right after Beth left.

Dakota brushed a kiss across Sadie’s lips. “I’m going to head home to shower and change clothes. Can I bring you back anything?”

“A double cheeseburger with bacon and loaded fries from Howlers’. ”

Laughing, Dakota nodded. “You got it.”

Eric nodded at Dakota. Sadie knew that Eric didn’t approve of her relationship with Dakota, but the fact that he went up on the mountain after her at least created some respect between the two men.

“Sadie. You had us scared to death,” her mom gushed.

“Why in the hell were you on that mountain?” James asked.

“I’m sorry. Talia and I checked around and we didn’t see anything or anyone. We didn’t plan on being out there long and we were together.” Sadie sighed. “I know. We should have gone somewhere else, like Conner’s. No more lectures, please. I hurt already.”

She caught her brother’s eye. “Thanks, Eric. I saw you there.”

“It’s my job, not only to protect my sister but to protect the pack. Plus, I work for Sebastian.”

“Still. I know you’ve been through hell already since you were in the elite shifter ranger battalion. You came home to get away from all that.”

“They brought the war to us, Little Sister.”

Sadie’s family hung out for about an hour and then Dakota came back with her food, so they left. She ate the hamburger gratefully. “Nothing has ever tasted so good.”

Dakota laughed.

Beth forced her to stay in bed over the next couple of days. Sadie felt better after the second day and wanted to go back to work. Beth kept reminding her to “think of the baby.”

She looked forward to seeing Dakota every day. Sadie wanted to tell him about the baby, but the time never seemed right. He came by regularly for the first couple of days, and then when he knew that she was going to be okay, he told her he had some work he had to get done. They texted a few times. Sadie felt as though Dakota was distancing himself from her.

Sadie and Talia went back to school on the fifth day. It had only been four days, but to Sadie, who hated being sedentary, it felt like forever. Talia went back the same day. Most of the students didn’t know what happened to them. The shifter kids who knew about the hunters and that Talia and Sadie had been attacked kept their mouths shut.

Talia met Sadie in the conference room for lunch. “This is the second time I’ve had a run-in with bad guys on the mountain. Remember, last year, Sebastian had ticked off the ruler of a country and the bastard sent members of his army to hurt me.”

“I remember. You almost died then, too.”

“Yep. I’ve had it with caves, even well-lit caves. I’m going to suggest to Zac that we have our gala outdoors. I don’t care if we are all dressed in our formal dresses. I don’t care to ever see the inside of a cave again in my life.”

“I don’t blame you for that.” Sadie laughed. “Right now, I’m not really fond of them, either.”

“How’s the baby?”

Sadie rubbed her belly. “Okay. Beth assures me that it wasn’t hurt.”

“That’s a good thing. When are you going to tell Dakota?”

Sighing heavily, Sadie ran her hand over her face. “I don’t know. He hasn’t been coming around lately. I feel like he’s pulling away from me. I have a feeling that he’s getting ready to leave.”

Talia put her hand on Sadie’s. “I’m sorry, hon.”

“Thanks. It’s on me. I went into this with my eyes wide open.”

“That doesn’t take away the hurt.”

They finished their lunches just in time for the bell to ring.

Toward the end of the day, he sent her a text. Do you want to get together tonight?

She smiled and a surge of happiness rushed through her. I would love to. Do you want to come over?

Her phone blinged a few minutes later. How about if you come to my place? I’ll make steak, potatoes, and corn on the cob.

Sadie wouldn’t have cared if they ate Ramen noodles. She just wanted to see Dakota. Sounds great. I’ll be there around six.

The rest of the day seemed to go on forever. She ached to see him and to hold him. Most of all, she wanted to tell him how much she loved him and that he was going to be a father.