Heartsong (Green Creek 3)

No matter what anyone said, if Kelly hadn’t been on that bridge, if he hadn’t tried to protect me, if he hadn’t tried to stop Ezra, he would be as he once was.

He was fragile now.

Breakable.

Soft.

I sat up in my bed.

Maybe….

Maybe he needed me.

To help him.

To protect him.

To keep him safe.

I slid out of bed, dragging the comforter off and trailing it behind me. I barely noticed the stone wolf in my hand.

I opened the door to my bedroom.

The hallway was dark.

The only sounds were the deep, slow breaths of a sleeping pack.

Elizabeth.

Ox.

Joe.

Carter.

Even the timber wolf.

I stopped in front of Kelly’s room.

He was sleeping too.

I placed my hand flat against the door.

I whispered, “I won’t let anything happen to you. No matter what.”

I laid the comforter on the floor, making a little nest. It wasn’t going to be comfortable; the floors were wood and the comforter was thin. But it would be enough for now.

I lay down in front of Kelly’s door.

Just for a few hours, I told myself. Just to make sure.

As the night wore on, I listened to the sound of his heart, memorizing every beat and tick and stutter. At one point it sped up, as if he were dreaming. I told him that it was okay, it was all right now, he could sleep easy because I wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

He didn’t hear me, of course, but that didn’t matter.

Anyone who tried to get to him would have to go through me.

It wasn’t until someone softly tapped my shoulder that I realized I’d fallen asleep.