Yes, he was close.
He heard a whimper nearby and he whirled around.
Ashlee?
Small vibrations on the ground behind him alerted him as she stepped out of the thick bushes. If he could have gasped, he would have at Ashlee’s red and white coat.
Very unusual. He’d never seen the like before. Her eyes bore into his before she dropped her gaze in submission and whimpered again. His wolf howled at its mate’s distress.
Tristan forced himself to focus. Little Ashlee? You are a beautiful wolf. Can you hear me?
Ashlee moaned.
You’re hurt. Come to me. We’ll shift back together and get you healed.
Ashlee’s wolf raised her eyes to him for a moment. Alone. Her voice was so soft in his head he barely heard it.
You’re right. I left you alone. I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would happen.
Her wolf blinked twice rapidly. Good, that meant she understood at least some of what he said.
Tristan?
That’s right Ashlee. It’s me. I’ve come for you.
You’re still a wolf. The magic didn’t work?
He shook his head. It worked. I shifted back to find you. Come with me.
She closed her eyes. I hurt, Tristan.
I know. We need to get you home and back to your other form.
How do we do that? I don’t know how I became a wolf.
Come here.
Ashlee finally relented and stepped forward to him. She buried her nose in his fur and he shuddered. His wolf wanted free reign, but he couldn’t allow it.
Mate? Her voice sounded strained.
I am your mate. You understand now.
I do. She closed her eyes.
No, no, no, Ashlee. I am going to shift back and hold onto you. My magic should make you shift to a human as you are in my arms. Do you understand?
Tired.
I know you’re tired. Please don’t go to sleep. Internally his wolf howled at him to not let her sleep. She’d lost so much blood. He bit down gently on her shoulder and she cried out in protest. He called his magic and felt it surround both of them. He took a deep breath. It would work; it had to. He felt his bones start to shift and Ashlee screamed. At first it was a harrowing howl of an animal in pain but quickly it was her own human voice. When he could, he wrapped his arms around her naked body. She trembled in his arms.
He held her tighter. “I’ve got you, I won’t let you go. We’ll get you fixed now.”
She pulled back her head to look at him, dazed and slightly out of focus. He wiped the sweat off her brow and kissed her forehead. She was his to treasure and protect, given to him by fate as a gift, and he’d already let her get injured. Fury with himself welled up inside of him. She smiled weakly at him.
Her voice sounded hoarse. “I dreamed of you.”
“You saw me as a man in your dream, not a wolf?” She nodded and closed her eyes.
He looked down at her naked form and tried to force himself to catalog her injuries and not be distracted by her loveliness. Despite his best intentions, he did feel a pull in his groin. Ashlee’s breasts were small and pert, perfect for her frame. He wanted to reach out and cup them, then lick the sweat from her body. His wolf howled at the thought. Yes he would stroke her with his tongue all the way from the bottom of her neck to the beautiful blonde hair that formed a V between her legs. He craved the taste of her, both on her skin and inside her beautiful folds where he knew heaven waited for him.
But he wasn’t an animal, not entirely, and even his wolf knew it wasn’t the time for that. He forced himself to focus on her wounds. Her hands were torn to shreds. Her sides looked raw and blood seeped out of a particularly bad wound.
She opened her eyes to stare at him. “I don’t want to ever do that again.” Her head fell backwards and her eyes rolled to the back under her eyelids.
“No, no, no.” He picked her up in his arms and ran in the direction of the house. His brother should have found his aunts by now. They would know how to fix this.
Ashlee first became aware of the sensation of drifting. She felt like she was on a slow-moving raft that gently moved in the ocean. She was warm and cozy and didn’t appreciate the voices that spoke to her. They tried to rip her from her quiet, peaceful raft.
“Why can’t you just let her sleep?” Ah, Tristan. Yes, he understood. He would make them leave her alone.
“She needs fluids so we can bring down the fever. Wake her up, boy.”
The woman's voice was unfamiliar to Ashlee. She was going to open her eyes up in a moment and kick her behind for talking so harshly to Tristan. Ashlee attempted to do just that but her eyes felt so heavy. Her eyelids fluttered but didn’t open.
“Ashlee, can you hear me?” Tristan wanted her attention but she just couldn’t give it to him. The waiting warmth of her raft called to her and she went gladly.
The next time Ashlee awoke, it was to darkness. She forced her eyes open only to find that the room she slept in was nearly as dark as the inside of her eyelids had been.
Her head pounded, but she’d had worse headaches; her body felt achy and she couldn’t really move.
The source of the last problem proved to be Tristan. He was asleep, his head pressed up against the back of hers, his arms wrapped around her body. She closed her eyes and forced her brain not to start coming up with reasons to be upset that he held her. It didn’t work. They didn’t really know each other. She’d only ever seen him as a human once.
He’d told her she belonged to him, and that wherever she went, he would go, but he’d left her alone to face her first change by herself. None of that was enough for her to force him to move his arms, so she decided to listen to him breathe for a while.
He didn’t snore; that was a relief. If there was even a chance this was going to work, and it was a small chance at best, they’d need to be compatible in most ways. She’d never been able to tolerate a loud snorer. Contentment flowed through her as she tentatively stroked his arm. What she could remember from when she’d seen him as a human had confirmed her mother’s earlier assertion that he was good-looking. Attraction wasn’t going to be a problem, at least on her end.
Tristan took a deep breath and pulled her closer against him. Okay, now it was too tight. He was going to bruise one of her ribs. She took his large hands in hers and gently tried to loosen his grip on her side. He murmured something but didn’t let go. Damn it, she was going to have to wake him.
“Tristan.” Silence answered her. He’d been a lighter sleeper when he’d been a wolf.
She tried again, this time louder. “Tristan.”
“What?” He pulled her fully up against his body as he came awake, which hurt even more. She grunted and he let go and she pulled away from him just enough to get a little breathing room.
“Sorry, was I squishing you? I meant to stay awake; guess I fell asleep.”
Ashlee took a good look at Tristan, and was surprised by how clearly, in the darkness, she could make him out. There he was—the man from her dream, the one who’d rescued her in the woods. His features were regal, his body hard and pressed up against hers. She shivered against him. He looked rumpled, sleepy, and sexy as hell. His hair was cut close to his head, its color a golden brown shade with red highlights like his wolf’s fur. He had stubble strewn across his face and a dimple in his left cheek. In her dream, his brown eyes had been sad but now as she stared at him they were tired but happy. Specks of grey, the same she’d noticed when he’d been a wolf, dotted his irises.