Her bottom lip trembled. She squeezed her eyes shut. She exhaled heavily, and her face twisted into a rictus of agony that I didn’t think had anything to do with her injuries. Her throat worked, and her hands clenched. “I’m really here?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
She nodded. “I made it. They tried to follow me, but I lost them. I don’t know how.”
“Who?” Joe asked.
She laughed again, grating and harsh. “Suffer the little children and forbid them not. I never understood that. Not until now.”
“Where is your pack?” Ox asked, even though he knew the answer as well as the rest of us.
She chanted, “Gone, gone, gone. They’ve gone away, and I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye. I tried, Alphas. I tried to save them. But I couldn’t. It was too much. And I couldn’t hurt them. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt them.”
“Of course not,” Joe said kindly. “You would never hurt your pack.”
She shook her head. “Not them. They were already hurt. They were already…. Oh god. John.
Jimmy. They were… they were…. Mother! Where are you? I can’t find you! It’s dark, oh my god, it’s so dark. Please, Mother. Please don’t go.”
I bowed my head as Kelly grabbed my hand. I held on for dear life.
Shannon continued, speaking to phantoms only she could see. She spoke of flowers and dragonflies. She said she was chasing them, but she would never catch them because she didn’t want to hurt them. She just liked their wings, she said, so pretty, so thin and bright.
Gordo sighed as he took a step back, arms trembling. He shook his head. “There’s nothing I can do. It’s…. She’s too far gone.” He looked spooked as he turned to his Alphas. “This wasn’t just one wolf.”
“They were many,” Shannon whispered. “So many. Like ants. Swarming. I went on a picnic once. It was lovely. I wore a pretty dress. I spilled juice on it. I felt bad, but my mother said not to worry about the little things, that stains would wash out and all would be well.”
“We’ll keep her safe and warm,” Elizabeth murmured. “It’s the best we can do. She will have that, at least.” She nodded at Jessie, who handed her another cloth. Jessie took the red-stained rags that had piled next to the bed from the room. It didn’t help. The scent of blood was sharp. I didn’t know if it would ever leave.
And then Shannon said, “Robbie. Robbie. Robbie.”
They all looked to me.
I blinked rapidly.
I thought about leaving. Just heading for the door and running as fast as I could for as long as I was able.
Kelly squeezed my hand as I stepped toward the bed.
“Robbie,” Shannon said again.
“I’m here,” I told her as Gordo and Mark stepped back. I took their place next to the bed. I knelt on the floor, unsure if I should touch her. That decision was made for me when she lifted her hand toward me. Her grip was stronger than I expected. For a moment I had hope, but her blood was smearing into my skin, and it was a desperately futile thing. “I’m right here.”
“Are you?” she asked.
I looked to Ox and Joe. Joe was furious, though he was trying to maintain control. Ox nodded at me, and I turned back to Shannon.
“Yes.”
“You were lost.”
“Yes.”
“And then you were found.” She chuckled. It crawled from her throat and died as soon as it left her mouth. “You were blind, but now you see.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know?”