The Shadow Wolf by Bonnie Vanak Page B

mouth trembling, her cousin resumed.
    Megan dabbed at the flowing wound and began to softly sing. The lines of strain on his brow evened out.
    When Jenny finished, small pieces of metal lay on the ground, coated with Gabriel’s flesh and blood.
    â€œNow the hard part, honey. You have to get the liquid silver out.”
    â€œI can’t, Megan, I just can’t do it!”
    â€œThink of it like a game, Jenny. You play it by finding every little bit of silver, calling it out and you win when each drop is removed.”
    Jennifer did as Megan instructed. She gave a triumphant smile when the last droplet was removed and flew into the cup Jillian held out.
    Megan wiped Gabriel’s body with soft gauze. She applied the liniment, watching the wounds close as she did. The worst was over but for the pain. It would take a while for his body to mitigate the effects of the silver that had been in his system. The next eight hours would be dicey and painful for him.
    She used the last cold bottle of water to wet a cloth. Megan stroked his brow, crooning to him as his big body tensed. His jaw ground violently. Suddenly his eyes snapped open. Amber eyes flashing red. In his pain his wolf emerged.
    â€œHold on, Gabriel, I’m here. I’m not leaving you. I’m here. Can you feel my hand? You can get through this. Just concentrate on me.”
    Singing might keep the wolf at bay. Megan began a song in the Old Language she’d learned from her grandmother, about where the Draicon first lived, a land of lush green fields and forests, where the sky was blue and the sea waters green.
    When his jagged breaths eased and his chest moved evenly up and down, she knew he finally slept. She gently pulled her hand away and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
    The twins looked anxiously at her as darkness fell. In the night, they could see well, but it didn’t prohibit childish fears.
    The van was equipped with emergency supplies, including a small gas lantern and matches. She enlisted their help to set up camp with the lantern, and broke out the remaining room temperature water and the sandwiches Gabriel had purchased at the gas station. After they ate, Megan tucked the girls into a makeshift bed. She covered them with clothes from their suitcases. They turned to wrap their arms around each other as if still in the womb.
    Clasping her arms around her bent knees, she watched over her little group, waiting for dawn to break. When Gabriel woke up again, she sang to calm him.
    She remained at his side through the night.
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    When he opened his eyes, streaks of pink and purple stroked over the dawning sky. Gabriel struggled to sit up. The pain was gone, but damn, he was weak as a pup.
    Megan slept by his side, her arms wrapped around the girls. His heart turned over at her sweet, innocent expression.
    He needed to find them a place to lie low while he regained his strength and found out what the hell was going on.
    Gabriel slipped from beneath the blanket.
    Megan and the girls slept on.
    He looked at her, his mate, the one he would mark for his own, a female of great courage and strength. Thought of howshe’d suffered, the indignities and the injustices and the hurts. Gabriel tilted back his head to release a roaring shout.
    It came out as a low, mournful howl.
    Giving one last glance at the sleeping trio, he ran off into the woods.
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    Gabriel was gone.
    Using water from a small creek, the twins had washed up. Megan bathed and washed her hair. The black dye ran out, leaving the strands their natural honey blond. The twins sat quietly. Hunger pinched their faces. The stale gas station store sandwiches had done little last night to ease their rumbling bellies.
    They needed to find food.
    A soft rustling in the undergrowth sent her heart racing. A branch snapped as a large gray wolf entered their small compound. Its amber eyes glowed with a fierce light, but it approached with hesitation, as if uncertain of