Deadly Seduction (Feral Protectors 3) Read Free Page B

and Fadian raced out of the room, their thunderous footsteps echoed against the walls. Gwen returned to the pot of water and held her hand over it. The smallest hint of steam curled up from the smooth surface. She glared at the water, willing it to heat faster. In that moment, she wished that she had magical powers. But she didn’t.
    Gwen slowly skirted the fire pit. The wood cracked and hissed, spitting white-hot embers at her feet. She stepped back and knocked into Akila.
    “Be careful.”
    “Sorry,” Gwen stammered.
    “Come over here and look at his head. He most definitely has a concussion, but I don’t think it’s quite as bad as it looks.”
    “But he has a huge bump at his hairline.” Gwen reached toward him, but the fear of touching a man, even an unconscious one, made her pull back.
    “He won’t wake up any time soon. I want you to feel the density of the lump. Come here.”
    She joined Akila at Nosh’s side. Her fingers trembled as she reached toward him. The first tentative touch confirmed his raging fever. White willow bark tea would help control his temperature while he healed. Although wolves healed faster than humans, the extent of his injuries would keep him immobile for at least a few days.
    Akila covered Gwen’s fingers with her own. “You want to gauge the size of the bump and check it at least once a day to make sure the swelling is receding. We’ll know more about his condition when he wakes up.”
    “Should we try to wake him?”
    “Not yet. If we wake him, he might start vomiting, which will only make things worse.”
    “He looks so close to death.”
    Akila put her finger over her lips. “Shh, don’t say things like that. He might still be able to hear you. We must stay positive. It will help him heal faster if we avoid doing anything to cause additional stress.”
    Gwen nodded. “I’ll check on the water.”
    She returned to the fire pit and watched the water roll. Tiny bubbles formed along the edge of the pot, but it wasn’t at a full boil yet. While she waited, she fished through the basket. She retrieved a small wooden container which contained a salve of beeswax and arnica. The mixture would help reduce the bruising. She set it on the dais near Nosh’s head.
    Akila picked it up and smiled. “Good. You remember how to treat bruises.”
    “It’s not hard to remember after you’ve spend months treating your own.”
    Akila glanced at her but didn’t comment. After the attack, as soon as Gwen was able to apply the salve herself, she’d waved off any help from Akila. The only part of her body that she could never reach was the middle of her back. She’d relied on Akila to rub the ointment into the deep gashes. No matter what Akila had tried, she hadn’t been able to prevent the scars. Even nine months later, Akila still insisted the healing process would help the scars fade over time. But Gwen knew better than to hope she’d ever be free of them.
    Water bubbled over the edge of the pot and hissed against the burning embers. Gwen pulled a ladle from the basket as well as a bag of dried white willow bark. She dropped a large pinch of the herb into the cup then covered it with steaming water. While it steeped, she gathered several clean rags and dropped them into the boiling water.
    A minute later, she used a long stick to hoist the rags into a wooden bowl. She carried the bowl to the dais and set it near his feet.
    Akila grabbed one of the rags. She skimmed the edge of the gash in his leg. “Be gentle and work quickly. We don’t want infection to set in.”
    Gwen bunched a near-blistering hot rag in her hand. She wrapped the edges of the cloth around her fingers. The bottoms of his feet resembled raw meat. She cringed, but applied water with a light touch. Since she didn’t want to cause him any additional pain, she grazed the deeper cuts while increasing pressure on the shallower areas.
    Nosh groaned. Gwen gasped as his head rolled to one side. Her hand froze mid-stroke