Enemies in Love [High-Country Shifters 4] (3 page)

Her mother hugged her. “I don’t need to tell you to be careful.”

“Let me take that.” Taryn lifted the backpack from her and slung it over his shoulder.

Once they left, Henla practically had to run to keep up with her brother, but she didn’t ask him to slow down. She understood it would take her many hours to get to Kranor, hours that could determine whether he lived or died.

Luckily the tram was at the station when they got to the platform, and Taryn ushered her in. He motioned they sit near the door. She figured he wanted to exit as soon as possible.

The ride, which normally took five minutes, seemed to last forever. Thankfully, the last stop landed them near the outside door. Instead of heading toward his house, he angled them in the opposite direction.

“Where are we going?”

“I told Kellum to escort Jude to the border. We’ll intercept them.”

“Good thinking.” That would save time.

At least she got a half smile out of him.

They hadn’t walked but ten minutes when Taryn pointed through the trees. She saw nothing, but then again she didn’t possess the heightened animal senses he did. He grabbed her hand like she was a ten-year-old again, and together they reached a field where Kellum and an equally tall man were hurrying toward them.

She’d always thought Kranor was a giant, but this Jude person was almost as tall. When he drew closer, it was the kindness of his nearly golden eyes that helped calm her. The hair on her neck prickled, as it should when a wolf shifter was near, but the sensation wasn’t as strong as usual. In fact, being near him gave her an unusual sense of well-being. She had no idea what that meant, but right now she didn’t have the time to analyze her feelings—not when her friend’s life was hanging in limbo.

Taryn took off her knapsack, and before he could hand it to her, Jude intercepted it, dumped in the water bottles he’d been carrying, and slung it on his back.

Taryn took hold of her shoulders. “This is where we part.” He gave her a hug. “Make him well.” He looked up at Jude. “Take good care of her.”

Kellum hugged her hard and long. It was almost as if he was unsure if he’d see her again. She knew if either of her brothers really believed she was in danger, they wouldn’t have let her go, or they would have escorted her the whole way. As head of security, she bet they’d been in wolf territory many times.

Once they left, Jude faced her. “If I didn’t say it before, thank you for coming. It means the world to me.”

She was almost surprised he didn’t say it meant the world to Kranor. That said a lot about his relationship with his friend. Not many wolf shifters would have been willing to enter enemy territory and risk death to help another.

“Kranor was always our friend.” She glanced down at the ground as if she didn’t know what else to say.

“Then let’s go save him.”

* * * *

Henla’s beauty, poise, and self-confidence had stunned him, and her willingness to help thrilled him. It wasn’t often that he got to see someone with sun-kissed blonde hair whose legs nearly reached his waist. No wonder Kranor had always kept the necklace she’d made for him. Not many would risk their lives for another, especially when that other person was the enemy.

“Did you bring any healing herbs?” He had no idea what was in her pack, but he could sense she was an organized person who took her ability to help seriously.

He was keenly aware what grew in lion territory often wasn’t available to him in wolf territory despite the two areas being close together. No one seemed able to come up with a good explanation for the differences in foliage other than to say the energy fields made different plants grow better.

“No. I didn’t have time. If I see something that might work along the way, we should stop for a moment.” She looked up as if she was asking for his permission.

“Just let me know.”

He studied her, expecting to sense a high level of anxiety. The only tension he noted was for Kranor’s well-being and not in any way connected to the fact that this was a dangerous trip. He ratcheted up his vigilance to make sure nothing happened to her.

It was still light. As long as neither the wolves nor lions interrupted their progress, they should be home within three hours. That would give them some leeway to gather the healing herbs.

From the way Henla kept up with his long strides, she was a strong woman, and they’d make good time getting home. He wasn’t sure why he’d expected her to whine, but from the moment he met her, a feeling of happiness seemed to surround her, as if being on a mission gave her purpose.

This whole sensing thing was odd to him. Other than the usual body language clues women gave off, he never could tell what they were thinking or feeling. With Henla it was different.

Can you understand what I’m saying?
He felt stupid trying to use telepathy because while some women, both lion and wolf, claimed to have psychic ability, not one had ever been able to use telepathy to communicate. For a split second he thought Henla might be the exception.

She looked up at him with a question in her
drithian
blue eyes. The hairs all over his body electrified.
Tell me you understood.
When she slightly shook her head then once more returned her gaze to where they were going, he decided his fear for his best friend’s life had messed with his mind. He had no business speculating about this woman anyway. He needed to concentrate on the surroundings since he was all too aware if a few rogue wolf shifters appeared and decided they didn’t want her in their territory, they’d try to kill her for sport. All he knew was he’d die trying to keep her safe.

They’d walked in silence for close to an hour when she stopped him. “There’s the
franoth
plant.” Her excitement surprised him.

It looked like a weed. “It has medicinal qualities?” He’d love to learn what she knew.

“Yes. It reduces swelling.” She knelt down and picked quite a lot. “Let me have my pack.”

He removed it from his back and opened the side pocket to speed up the process. She smiled, and his cock instantly hardened. He never expected the reaction, though he shouldn’t have been surprised. Given the fact Kranor had kept her necklace for close to twenty-five years meant this woman was extra special.

She’ll be leaving soon, dumbass.

No harm in looking.

He appreciated that she hurried. Once she stuffed the plant into her pack, she stood and wiped her hands on her skirt.

“Thanks for stopping. I know we need to hurry, but without the herbs, I can’t do much once I arrive.”

“I know. If I have the herb at home, I’ll let you know.”

“Great.”

He nodded and they began their hike again. It was probably unintentional, but his arm kept rubbing against her shoulder, or maybe it was the other way around. Perhaps she just wanted to see if he was real or something. When two clans became mortal enemies, sometimes people drew their own conclusions about how the other group behaved. Most of the time what they decided wasn’t complimentary.

The path grew steeper, and he hoped she could keep up. When they reached the top of the hill, her breathing was a little ragged, but she never complained. Kellum’s wife had given him some water, which he thought she could use.

He stopped. “Let’s take a break and drink something. We don’t want to be useless when we get there.”

Her smile came out so full it nearly took his breath away. “I know what you’re doing, but thank you.”

He was trying to make her comfortable, that was all.

They stopped three more times for plants he hadn’t known had healing qualities. The closer they got to the house, the more he wanted to hurry, but he could tell the never-complaining Henla was getting tired.

Added to the stress was the ever-present fear they’d be stopped. While he and Kranor lived on the perimeter between wolf and bear territory, he never could be sure when some troublemakers would show up, especially if they smelled Henla’s delicious scent, which was driving him crazy. He doubted it was her perfume, but her skin, which was silkier than the women he was used to seeing, drew him like no other. When he returned her to lion territory, he would make sure she was careful not to wear any scented lotion.

The sun was low in the sky when his house appeared.

“There it is.”

She looked up at him. “It’s on the ground.”

He chuckled. “True, but remember, wolves don’t climb trees.”

She tapped her temple as if to imply she’d temporarily lost her mind. As soon as they got to the house, he heightened his senses to make sure no one was watching from the perimeter of the woods. When he didn’t detect any intruders, he led her inside and locked the door behind them.

“Kranor?” When he didn’t answer he slipped her pack off his back. “Come with me.”

Regardless of his friend’s condition, she’d be seeing all of him at some point. They stepped into the bedroom. He didn’t like that Kranor hadn’t moved since he’d left and that his knees were at the end of the bed.

Henla rushed over to him and spent a few minutes saying nothing as she examined him. “His wounds are infected. This is bad.”

“I know. He’s a stubborn man who wouldn’t get help.”

She glanced up at him. “So he doesn’t know you went to get me?”

“I told him I was getting help, but I didn’t specifically say I was getting you. I’m not sure how much he’ll remember anyway. He was in and out of consciousness.”

She drew back her shoulders as if not having Kranor’s approval was going to change things. Even if she said she wanted to leave, he couldn’t let her. Kranor couldn’t die. He just couldn’t.

Henla’s pulse raced as she examined the man who too often filled her dreams. His dark brown hair was plastered to his head as were much of his clothes. Growing up she never knew he was
different
. He was her brothers’ best friend and therefore was hers, too. Even though he was two years older, he treated her well, even when her own brothers tried to get rid of her.

“Can you help me turn him over? We need to get him out of his clothes.” She thought she asked in as professional a manner as she could, even though seeing him naked might make her hands shake and her heart pound.

“You sure?”

Now why did he have to ask that? She looked at him, and only then caught the twinkle in his eye. She rolled her eyes, like she’d seen her sister-in-law do many times. “Yes. We can’t have his shirt permanently stuck to his wounds.”

“When I left him, he was all wet.”

That would only breed more germs. “We should change the sheets, too.”

“I can roll him onto his side.”

She smiled and shook her head. “You don’t have to. We can make the bed around him if you’ll help me.”

“Tell me what to do.”

While Jude seemed like a gentle soul from the way he kept glancing between her and Kranor, there was a power underneath his skin ready to be unleashed. Many had probably mistaken his quiet nature for acquiescence, but to her he was a beast. From the story her sister had told her, when the lions had attacked Malik and Cavon, it was Kranor and Jude who’d cleverly led a few wolves astray and killed them. For that she’d be forever indebted to them.

When they managed to roll Kranor, the pool of blood underneath him almost made her stomach heave.

“This is bad. I think we should soak him again so we can get his clothes off.” Pulling the material from his body would hurt him more.

Jude quirked a brow. “How do propose we do that? I can’t lift this beast.”

She shook his shoulder. “Kranor? Can you hear me? We need you to get up.” She doubted she’d get a response, but when a low growl emitted from his chest, her spirits soared.

Jude must have heard it, too, because he stood next to her and shook Kranor hard. She was about to tell him how dangerous that was when Kranor lifted a lid. He immediately shut it as if he couldn’t stand the thought someone had come to help him.

She tried to rouse him again. “Kranor, you have to get up. Try. Please?”

Since his shoulders appeared fairly free of injury, Jude lifted him up, not seeming to care if he got blood all over his clothes.

“Come on, buddy. Snap out of it. We need to get you naked for this pretty lady.”

Her face heated hotter than a summer’s day. Why her mind shot to sex she didn’t know.

Yes, you do.

Kranor roused. From Jude’s stiff shoulders the two had communicated. He lowered Kranor back to the bed.

“I’m going to draw a bath.”

“I’ll help.” He halted. “If I add the
franoth
and
plin,
it will help with the healing.” His brows rose as if she’d impressed him.

Her pulse quickened. “I have a potion that helps lions heal. I’m not sure how much crossover we have, but if he stays in his human form, it should work.”

They both went into the bathroom, which, if possible, was larger and nicer than her brothers’ bathroom. Perhaps warriors needed a king-sized tub to soak in.