Infinity Book 2 - Book cover

Infinity Book 2

Mikayla S

Well, That Hurt

Zayla

The bullet’s impact against the van floor reverberates in my ears. The shockwave from the shot bounces around the tight space, assaulting my sensitive hearing and throwing me off balance. My wolf instinctively recoils from the noise.

I shake off the disorientation quickly, not wasting a second. My wolf springs over my mother’s body, seizing the head of the man who dared to shoot at my brothers.

The force of my leap sends me crashing painfully through the locked back door, taking the human down with me.

His head still clamped in my jaws, we roll to a stop a few feet from the van. My wolf and I are a bit dizzy as we slowly rise to our feet.

Our grip slackens as we regain our balance, but just as I’m about to clamp down on his head, another gunshot rings out. Pain and blood seep from my back leg.

My wolf and I yelp in pain before growling in fury. This little shit shot me.

He shot me!!

If he wasn’t dead before, he sure as hell is now!

I snap my jaws shut with more force than I’ve ever used before, crushing his skull. Blood and brain matter leak from his eye sockets.

The area around me falls silent as pack members scatter, rushing the injured and my parents to the infirmary.

My wolf is still seething with rage.

We’re curled around the dead human, his head still hanging from my jaws. Blood and skull fragments drip to the ground in a grisly rhythm.

All the while, we’re growling fiercely, my fur bristling in irritation. My blood mingles with the remains of the human, staining the ground.

I stay like this for about an hour, counting each slow drip until I feel a hand on my tense back. I drop the crushed head and snap at the hand.

“Zayla,” a soft voice says just before my teeth sink into their flesh, eliciting a yelp.

When I see it’s one of my brothers, I release his hand and whine. The realization that we’ve hurt our family, the family we’re trying to protect, fills my wolf with remorse.

Leaving the dead human behind, we drag our injured body over to Drayden, who’s nursing his bleeding hand.

My wolf whines repeatedly, guilt washing over us, and we beg for forgiveness.

We lick the underside of his hand, trying to ease his pain.

We keep this up for several minutes, even though Drayden keeps assuring us that he’s okay and it doesn’t hurt.

My wolf won’t stop. She feels so guilty about hurting him that she doesn’t let up until his hand heals.

As soon as it does, he crouches down to our level. He strokes my head, and I whimper once more in regret before purring at his touch.

“It’s good to see you, wolf, we were scared you were gone. I see you’ve just been upgraded.”

Drayden continues to soothe my wolf as he takes in our new appearance before finally standing back up.

He pats my head one more time, then starts walking toward the house. I watch him for a moment, wondering what he’s doing.

When he’s a few feet away, he stops and turns back to me.

“It’s time to give Zayla back the reins and come home, little wolf, don’t you agree?”

I nod slightly, then stand up and limp over to my—well, Soren’s—clothes.

They’re torn to shreds, which saddens me because now I don’t have anything of his. But I know I can’t waste time, so I hobble over to another tree where I know there are clothes hidden and shift back into human form.

I dress quickly, hearing the crunch of leaves as my brother follows the path I took.

“Zayla? What are you doing?”

I emerge from behind the tree as he reaches it.

“Zayla? Little wolf?” he calls again.

“Nope, just Zayla,” I reply, my voice full of humor. He spins around, surprised to hear my voice and even more surprised to see my face after such a long month.

He pulls me into a hug. “Thank God you’re back to human form. The house was starting to smell like a wet dog.”

He laughs in my ear, and I can’t help but chuckle as I push him away. “Come on, funny guy, help me to the infirmary. My leg’s killing me.”

Drayden looks down at my pants, now stained with blood. His eyes flash with worry for a moment before he bends down and carefully lifts me up.

We make the long trek back to the house. Once we reach the infirmary, Drayden takes me to one of the empty beds next to my parents.

Draxel’s head is resting against my mother’s body, but he lifts it as I’m laid down. Seeing the blood on me, he jumps up and rushes over.

“What happened!” His voice is shaky, filled with worry.

“The jerk shot me before I could kill him, but I’m fine. You can stop looking at me like that.”

“What look,” he mumbles.

“The one that says you think I’m about to drop dead,” I reply, trying to lighten the mood, but his face just falls.

I reach out and take Draxel’s hand. “What’s wrong, Drax?”

He leans in and kisses the top of my head gently as a pack nurse comes over and starts examining my wound. I’m not healing because the bullet is still lodged in my leg.

“I’m just so happy to see you,” he finally says as he pulls away from me, giving my hand a light squeeze.

I can’t help but smile up at him.

Look at this guy. This is my brother. This is the Draxel I know and love.

As the nurse starts poking around in my leg, I can’t help but let out a small hiss of pain. Draxel’s face tightens with annoyance, and he’s about to give the nurse a piece of his mind.

I reach out and grab his arm, pulling him back to my side. “Drax, I’m okay.”

“She’s hurting you on purpose,” he grumbles, his wolf’s growl rumbling in his voice.

“No, she’s not. I promise I’m okay, it’s just a little pain—”

I stop mid-sentence when, from the corner of my eye, I see a portal opening. The same man from the field steps through and walks over to a wolf’s body.

The machines around the wolf start to beep wildly, showing that the warrior on the table is flatlining. I watch as the man touches the wolf’s body, which starts to glow softly. Then, he turns and walks back into the portal.

I grab Draxel’s arm again, pointing to where the man just was.

“Did you see that?”

“See what?”

“That man, I think…” I fumble for words as my mind races. “I think I just saw a reaper.”

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