Hell Hound

Chapter Elleven.

Chapter Eleven.

The second week promised to be a lot more fun than the previous week had been. The Scarlett River wolves were setting up an obstacle course in the field and all the juveniles were going to have free reign of the hotel and all its facilities in the lead up to the full moon. They still weren’t allowed out without a guide but there were several trips planned to local tourist attractions. Kiara was contemplating joining the group going to the art gallery or the ornamental gardens for a change of pace. But first she was looking forward to the obstacle course. They were assembling it in the field behind the hotel. A small group of people were sitting on the grass watching them put it together. Lilly was there with Oscar and Poppy. She waved Kiara over to them. Kiara smiled to herself. It was still so strange to have people actually wanting to hang out with her. Especially after Connor’s comment the day before. Sure, they were bears, but they weren’t from the same pack that had killed her parents. So, Kiara tried not to hold it against them. She was just happy to be accepted. As she was making her way over to their spot in the warm morning sun, she caught sight of the young Scarlett River girl. She was carrying one end of a ladder into place. Above her a large log was being secured with rope for a swinging bridge. Kiara got a bad feeling as the wolf tying the knots lost his balance. “Watchout!” Kiara called. The knots weren’t finished, and the rope was slipping. Everyone stopped to look who had yelled out. No one was aware of the danger yet. The log was going to fall. Kiara moved without thinking. She darted towards the girl and shoved her out of the way just as the log fell. Kiara felt the heavy blow to her right side. She hit the ground hard. There was a second of stunned science before people where rushing towards her. The log had bounced off her, but it had defiantly left some damage. Kiara could already feel the bruises blossoming on her body.

“Holly crap!” the little girl exclaimed. “Are you okay?” She began pulling at Kiara’s arm, trying to help her up. Kiara gasped in pain as her shoulder was tugged.

“Get out of the way Annabelle!” Someone hissed and the girl was moved away. Kiara didn’t see who had pulled Annabelle away because a big black Curtin descended over her as everything went blank.

When Kiara came to, a stern looking woman with soft wrinkles and a halo of curly black hair was standing over her asking someone questions. She wasn’t outside anymore. Someone must have carried her to the first aid room while she was unconscious. “Spencer fell while he was securing the log bridge. It nearly hit little Annabelle. But this chick pushed her out of the way. I think Annabelle elbowed her in the head as they went down. She’s lucky it wasn’t the bloody log!” Kiara didn’t remember taking an elbow to the head. But she must have been hit with something if she blacked out. Kiara tried to sit up and that’s when the stern woman and the other guy noticed she was awake.

“Lay down.” The woman snapped. She complied, but only because her body was protesting so loudly. “I need to look at you. Check for any broken bones. Of course, your own pack healer would be better, but we have to make do.” Panic spiked through Kiara. Healers were witches whose healing magic travelled through shifters and saw things Kiara would rather they not see. She might even see Kiara’s wolf.

“No.” she said. “I’m okay.” The healer frowned.

“Young lady. You were unconscious for several minutes.”

“No.” Kiara repeated.

“It’s not up to you…” The healer began.

“No!” Kiara’s voice growled, punctuated by the wolf. She would not allow a witch access to her body or spirits. The healer glared at her. Nobody refused a healer. It just wasn’t done. The only reason that the Rising Moon healer hadn’t examined her before was that Kiara had never been seriously injured before. “I’m fine.” She looked like she was about to argue but the healer backed down. Without Kiara’s permission, any attempt to scan her would be useless anyway.

“Can I at least get an x-ray?” She asked a little calmer. “The log that hit you was three times your size.”

“Fine.” A simple x-ray wouldn’t give away her wolf.

It wasn’t long before she had a visitor. Lilly came barging in as soon as the healer had let her. “Oh my god, Kiara, are you okay?” Lilly ran to hug her. She had seen the whole thing and had been worried sick. Kiara was a little stunned by the sudden display of affection, but she welcomed it.

“I’m fine.” Kiara reassured her. “Just a little bruised.”

“But that log was huge!”

“I’m okay Lilly.” Her friend didn’t look very convinced, but she decided to give Kiara the benefit of the doubt. They switched to talking about other things. Silly things. They chatted until the healer kicked Lilly out. Agreeing that Kiara needed rest, Lilly gently hugged her once again and left. Leaving Kiara to sit alone in the infirmary. She didn’t even have her phone to distract her because she had left it to charge up in her room.

It was nearly dinner time and Kiara was still stuck in the first aid room waiting for the results of her x-ray. The healer had complained repeatedly about how much slower the human way of doing things was. Kiara had a feeling she was taking ages on purpose so that she would give up and let the healer scan her after all. She underestimated how stubborn and cautious the girl could be. Kiara had missed out on lunch and was really starting to get hungry when there was a knock on her door. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of Nick leaning against her doorway. He held a small bouquet of pink flowers in his hand. She tipped her head at them. “I didn’t know what you liked.” He admitted. “My sister picked these out.” Kiara hadn’t known Nick had a sister. “You met her earlier. Annabelle. Small annoying, almost became a pancake.” So that explained why she was hanging around. Kiara had thought she looked too young to participate. “Thanks for that by the way.” Nick came to the side of her bed and tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear. Her skin tingled where he touched it. “How are you feeling?” Kiara was starting to feel pretty uncomfortable. It had only been just over twenty four hours since their little confrontation. What did he think about her supposed latency?

“I’m fine.” She said, giving him the same answer she had given everyone else. “My uncle is furious though. He threatened to jump on a plane and come get me.” Mal had called him.

“Your uncle? Not your parents?” She shook her head. Kiara had forgotten that Nick didn’t know she was Silver’s niece.

“My parents are dead.” A dark shadow of pity crossed his face. “My uncle Silver raised me.” Realisation dawned on his handsome face. He was about to say something when the healer barged into the room.

“Your arm is broken, and you have a lot of bruising. Nothing too serious, you’ll be fine in a few days. Maybe even tomorrow, with tonight being a full moon. The shift will help hurry things along.” Kiara was thankful for fast healing. But she wasn’t going to shift. “Rest!” The healer ordered before leaving the room again. Nick whistled.

“What did you do to Hettie? I’ve never seen her so pissed before.” Kiara shrugged. She didn’t feel like explaining herself. She was just glad he hadn’t said anything to the healer about her wolf. Assuming she could rest elsewhere, Kiara tried to climb off the bed. Nick was right there trying to push her back in. “She said rest.” He said softly.

“I can rest in my own room.” She argued, trying to get up again. The right side of her body protested with sharp stabs of pain all over. The bone she had cracked, was particularly angry at her. Nick was there again, except this time, instead of pushing her back down, he was scooping her up. Kiara gasped. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” It looked like he was gently carrying her, bridal style, from the room.

“I can walk you know.” Her half-hearted complaint went unanswered. Although it was strange to be carried by someone, she was secretly enjoying it. Her wolf couldn’t make up its mind whether it liked it or not. Kiara rested her head on his shoulder, giving in and letting him carry her to her room. Only Nick got off on the wrong floor. “I’m on six.” She said.

“I know.”

“This isn’t six.”

“I know.” Kiara narrowed her eyes at Nick. She had a sneaking suspicion where they were going.

Nick’s penthouse was huge. It was an entire self-contained apartment with a complete kitchen. Kiara’s stomach rumbled. Nick laughted softly. “Sorry. But I’m not much of a cook.” He apologised depositing her into his king-sized bed. Kiara had thought the queen had been roomy. The soft sheets were filled with his wonderful scent. As Nick tucked her in, Kiara felt like she was completely wrapped in it. It made her feel strangely safe. “Is room service okay?” He continued.

“Steak.” She said, snuggling into his scent. “And pancakes.” He laughed.

“As you wish, little Rabbit.” He left her alone to rest.

Kiara’s body ached and itched. Painkillers were funny and unpredictable in shifter’s bodies. They had the strong stuff for emergencies, but fortunately Kiara’s injuries were only minor. It helped if she lay on her left side and avoided being on her back at all. The ribs she had bruised ached with every breath, but the worst was her right shoulder. The healer had said the arm was broken, but it must have been towards the top. Kiara kept forgetting and tried to use the arm, only to be punished with a sharp stab of pain. It was her dominant arm and she instantly tried to use it for everything. Including eating. It was tricky trying to eat the meal Nick had brought her. She had tried to use her right hand, but the pain was far too annoying. So, she had given up and just stabbed the entire steak and brought it to her mouth to bite. Nick, who had been sitting next to her, immediately stole it from her. “Hey!” She protested. He quickly set to work cutting off a bite sized piece of the bloody steak. He lent in and held it to her mouth. He was feeding her. Kiara’s mind went blank. She didn’t know what to think. Feeding someone, or being fed, was an incredibly intimate act. She took the food offered to her. But couldn’t hide the blush that spread across her cheeks as she chewed. Nick cleared his throat, trying to dismiss the wave of lust that washed over him. What had he been thinking?

“Sorry.” He quickly busied himself cutting up her meal into little pieces. He even dribbled sticky syrup over her raspberry pancakes before giving it back to her. Kiara ate in silence, hyper aware of the male sitting right beside her. She wanted desperately to kiss him. To feel his strong arms around her while they… “not the time.” She reminded herself.

“Aren’t you hungry?” She asked. Nick shook his head. The only hunger he was feeling was for her.

“I already ate.” He had shovelled a few sandwiches before going to visit Kiara. Likely because his wolf knew they weren’t going to be leaving her side anytime soon. The wolf in question, was watching Kiara very closely. It was watching for any signs of pain with worried eyes. It wasn’t unusual for him to be concerned or protective over a fellow pack mate, he was a future alpha after all. But even though Kiara wasn’t a member of their pack, the wolf still felt a strong protective instinct towards her. “Mine.” The wolf growled.

As the full moon climbed higher in the sky, Nick and Kiara lay together in his bed. “You should get going.” She said. Kiara could feel the pull of the moon. It was almost time for the run. “You should shift soon.”

“So should you.” Kiara opened her mouth to protest but he kissed her instead. “I don’t care.” He told her. “It doesn’t matter if your wolf is deformed or mutated in some way. You need to heal Rabbit.” Her eyes narrowed at her new nickname.

“I’ll be fine here.” Kiara insisted. Nick shook his head.

“I’m going to stay here with you. If you don’t shift, I don’t shift.”

“You can’t stay here with me. I know you’re supposed to lead tonight’s run. Who else is going to make sure all those juveniles don’t run amuck.”

“That’s what the chaperones are for.” Kiara was starting to wonder why they had come. She had barely seen Mal or Cindy the entire trip.

“You can’t just shrug off your pack responsibilities because you’re worried about one little wolf. Isn’t Annabelle going to run? Are you sure you’re okay leaving your sister out there with all those boys?” Nick looked uncomfortable and she knew she had guessed right. He was the protective type. There was no way he wasn’t going to be watching his little sister.

“Okay.” He relented. “But only if you shift too.” Kiara sat upright, the sudden movement causing her to hiss in pain. “You can stay here.” Nick explained. “You don’t have to go out with the others.” He sat up too, tucking her silky dark hair behind her ear. He kissed her again slowly. The offer was tempting. Her wolf loved the idea. Nick was being so sweet. It really seemed like he had accepted that her wolf was different. But no matter what he said, Kiara doubted even Nick would accept a Hell Hound in his bed. He saw her hesitate and misunderstood the reason. “You can break all the stuff you want.” He teased. “My dad will pay for it.” Actually, he’d have to pay for it, but he didn’t want Kiara feeling guilty if her wolf did in fact smash the furniture when it found itself locked in on a full moon.

“Okay.” She reluctantly agreed. Her wolf jumping around excitedly inside her. It didn’t expect to be let out so soon after the last time. “But I stay here, and no one comes in. Not even you.” She added quickly.

“No one comes in. Not even me. I’ll make sure of it.” Nick promised her.