Free Willow (Blood Vine Series) by Amy Richie Page B

heart racing the entire time.
                  Jed, in his human form, was surrounded by people by the time we got to him so we had to stay hidden. “They were wolves,” a man wearing camouflage was saying, “but they weren’t like normal wolves. They were different.”
                  “Did they attack you, son?” a police officer asked Jed. He just groaned in response. The muscles along my neck tensed, he was hurt.
                  “Look at his clothes. It sure looks like he was attacked.”
                  “The only injury I see is where you shot him.”
                  “I scared them away.” The man swallowed nervously and peered out into the darkness.
                  “Gage, you’re the only one who can morph with your clothes intact. You have to go get him.” I stared into Gage’s wide grey eyes, pleading for him to go rescue Jed. If they took him to the hospital they would see how fast he healed.
                  Before I had time to fully blink, Gage was back on two legs. “You should have hunted with them tonight,” he accused. “Get them out of here.”
                  With a final look at where Jed lay, I led the pack back towards the cabin. I saw a flash of black fur as Gage turned back to his wolf self. What was he doing? My steps faltered when I heard more gunshots and screaming. Tyson whined and pranced backwards. “Come on,” I commanded softly. We stopped at the small stream and lay down to wait for Gage.
                  Gage was right, I should have hunted with the pack. They might seem in control, but they were still very young to this life. It was hard for them to avoid humans, to be able to catch their scent on the air. Guilt gnawed at my insides. This was all my fault. Why didn’t I just hunt with them? Because I didn’t want to morph and then have to morph back with shredded clothes. I was young, too. This just wasn’t fair.
                  My bout of self-pity was interrupted by a rustling in a nearby bush. Rueben was on his feet first, the hair on his neck standing straight out. I stepped in front of him with my head bent low to the ground. I was relieved to see the black form of Gage emerge. In the next instant that relief turned to dread. Jed was not with him.
                  “Where’s Jed?”
                  Gage lifted his head towards the sky and yelped twice. His whole body shook with tension. I took a step forward. Gage let out another yelp and took off through the trees. With only a little hesitation, I ran after him.
                  He led us all back to the cabin. He watched me expectantly, willing me with those grey eyes to morph back to human and go inside to check on Jed. I couldn’t though, not with everyone watching me. I had changed to my wolf self in my night clothes. I’d be lucky if there were even shreds of the thin material left. Jed may need me though. He might have been lying on the couch dying. I took two steps toward the door, whining deep in my throat. “Jed?”
                  One of the boys knelt below me and pushed his head under my chin. He made a forlorn noise. “It’s ok,” I told him gently. I took a deep breath and gathered the heat in my spine. Just as I figured, I had an embarrassing amount of flesh showing. I blushed beet red and wrapped my arm over my chest. “You guys stay out here for a minute,” I called over my shoulder.
                  I intended to go straight to my room to get some clothes on before I saw Jed, or rather before Jed saw me, but the sight of him lying sprawled out and so still on the couch changed my mind. I rushed to his side and fell to my knees. “Jed?” My mouth felt too dry to manage much more than a croak. “Jed? Are you ok?” He moaned softly, which excited me much more than it should have. At least he wasn’t dead.