Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl, #1)(49)

Did Sawyer just … I couldn’t think any more about it because a tide of black water yanked me under and everything drifted away.





When I came to, I felt warmth beneath my cheek. Then the rise and fall of someone’s chest. Cracking open my eyes, I let the sunlight filter in and looked up. Two burning blue eyes stared down at me.

“How are you feeling?” Sawyer’s arms wrapped around me tighter, as if he were afraid I was going to run away.

I took in a deep breath and felt no pain. My eyes flicked down to my wrists—no cuffs.

Oh thank God. My wolf stirred at the thought of freedom.

“I’m okay.” I tried to sit up and there was a moment when Sawyer held on, not letting me go, but then it passed and I pulled myself up to a sitting position as he released me.

We were silent, just looking at each other, unsure what to say. My eyes ran over a bandage at his ribcage. “You okay?”

He shook his head. “My wolf. I … when I heard the Ithaki took you—” He sighed, running his hands over his face. “I need to tell you something, Demi.”

My heart hammered in my chest. I’d forgotten all about his promise to give me answers, to tell me what he knew about me or whatever it was he seemed to be hiding. We were supposed to have some romantic dinner where he cooked for me. Sage had some surprise. Everything got messed up. I didn’t even know what day it was. I’d clearly had some kind of procedure, because my right foot was in a walking boot.

“They called me a demon.” I frowned. “The Ithaki.”

He nodded. “They think split shifters are demons. They say that whatever caused your soul to split is too dark to be allowed to live.”

My throat went bone dry as I thought back to my rape. Is that when it happened? I blacked out and when I’d woken up…

My mouth popped open. The attack on the vampires who assaulted me … they’d said it looked like they’d been mauled by a bear or wolf, but what if … it was me? What if my wolf split off to protect me? With the cuffs on, was that even possible?

I was so in shock that I’d forgotten Sawyer was speaking. “The Ithaki are monsters. They harvest organs, capture animals and torture them for their essence and sell everything to the Danai.”

I frowned. “Danai?”

He nodded. “A band of seriously dark and evil witches who live in the Wild Lands.”

Dawning shone in my eyes. Raven used to speak of them but never said their name. She went all Harry Potter and just called them “the nameless.”

He got quiet and reached out to touch my cheek. “What happened to make your soul split?”

I stilled, swallowing hard. I should probably tell him, especially if we were going to be intimate, and I had no idea how I would react to sex after my attack. I blew out a shaky breath and—

Someone pounded on the door.

“Sawyer!” It was his mother. My eyes widened as I realized we were in his bed together, him with his shirt off.

Soooo not appropriate.

“Open the door, son!” his father growled.

“Shit,” I hissed, and jumped up, but then winced as I realized I came down on my walking boot and my ankle throbbed.

Sawyer’s eyes widened. “Whoa. Go easy. Why don’t you take a relaxing shower and I’ll get rid of them? Then we can have some breakfast brought over and talk some more?”

I nodded and the banging got louder. “Sawyer James Hudson!” his mother roared. “Did you fight the Ithaki last night? Open this door right now!”

He groaned and then stood, looking back at me. “Don’t worry about them knowing you’re here. It’s not a big deal, they know how I feel about you.”

They know how I feel about you?

I just nodded and slipped into his bathroom, shutting the door behind me and resting my head against it.

Muffled shouting made its way back to me as his father’s voice filtered through the room. “I go out of town for one day and you kill the Ithaki leader?”

“He kidnapped Demi, was five seconds from skinning her alive,” Sawyer growled.

“Oh fate.” His mother gasped. “Why … why would they want Demi?”

Silence.

“She fell. Who knows. The Ithaki are sick. They’ll do anything to make a few bucks from the Danai.”

Oh. I’d forgotten for a second that he didn’t tell his parents about my … issues. No longer wanting to hear this conversation, I started to run the shower.

Looking at the countertop, I grinned when I saw a brand-new toothbrush, floral girly coconut shampoo and conditioner, and even fresh new clothes. Sawyer was so thoughtful.

I stripped out of my bloody, dirty, disgusting clothes, pausing when I remembered my walking boot.

Ugh.

Slowly peeling the Velcro straps back, I slipped a purple bruised foot out of the boot and then hobbled into the shower, careful not to bear weight on the healing ankle. When I looked down at the blood-splattered, purple-blotched skin of my naked body, tears formed in my eyes.

Holy shit.

That was so close. I almost died. I tried not to think about falling down that fucking mountain, Walsh running after me, and the sweet Paladin man who tried to help me before the Ithaki killed him. Shaking the thoughts from my head, I started to soap up, watching the red and brown-tinged water pool at my feet as I scrubbed clean. I wanted to stay in here forever and not deal with telling Sawyer I was raped, but it was time to get all this shit out there, especially if I was serious about being with him.