Beasts and Savages (The Beastly Series Book 1) (18 page)

“Okay, I'm gonna lift you up from under your arms. It's going to hurt. When I lift, pull your legs in.” Tanner wrapped one arm behind me and one across my chest, interlocking his fingers. I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out as I leaned into him. I moved my legs, one at a time, until I was kneeling. By the end, I was panting.

"Better?" Tanner loosened his grip, but didn't let go right away. A shiver quaked through my body, and he dropped his arms.

“Thank you.” The ache in my shoulders was more tolerable. I shivered again. I wanted to ask Tanner more questions, but the little bit of movement fatigued me. I laid my head against my arm and closed my eyes. I didn't hear him leave.

***

I awoke to the sound of my own teeth chattering; it was so cold I was shaking. A floating light came toward me, and someone tucked a blanket around my legs and shoulders. I snuggled into it. “Mom? You smell like soap,” I murmured before falling back asleep.

Someone flashed a light over my eyes. I blinked and squinted into the light. “What's going on?”

“I brought you water, but you wouldn't wake up. It's past noon and Dawning and Locke'll be home soon.” Tanner held out the cup.

I shook my head. Despite the blanket, there was still a deep chill running through my bones. I closed my eyes and embraced sleep.

***

Mom stood at the door, awaiting my arrival. She held a strawberry pie and waved to me. I smiled and ran to her. Inside, my friends and family were sitting down to a grand dinner in my honor. I was happy to see them, but I didn't know what I had done that required celebration. Mom just shrugged when I asked her. No one would talk to me, they all just smiled and gestured. I sat at my seat and plated my food. The door burst open and Lucille floated in. She was wearing the same silk nightgown and the jump rope was wrapped around her neck like a necklace. Lucille was guiding Rally by her shoulders. Rally smiled and waved at me. Lucille looked at me with eerie, hateful eyes and said, “Rally and I are the best of friends. She stays with me now.”

My own screams woke me up. 

“Hey, it’s okay. You're having a dream. Wake up.” Tanner was crouched down in front of me, tapping my cheeks. My eyes fluttered open. Everything was hazy. I blinked to make sure I wasn't still dreaming. He pulled my chin toward him and looked directly into my eyes. I blinked again to clear them; it didn't work.

“Dawning and Locke are here to see ya. They'll be down in a minute.” I could hear him, though he sounded like he was underwater. I didn't care about them. All I wanted was to go back to sleep. My eyelids drooped.

“Something's wrong with her!” There was urgency in his voice.
Who had something wrong with them?
The thought was sleepy as darkness filled the corners of my consciousness. There was a commotion and I opened my eyes again. I saw blurry faces. I blinked, nothing cleared. I closed my eyes.

My arms dropped down. This motion was important, but I couldn't remember why. Deep voices I didn't recognize were asking questions and giving orders. I tried to hold my eyes open. The blur of movement made me dizzy. Someone was touching my forehead and neck.

“She's burning up.” Someone pressed fingers down on my hand. “Tanner, what did you do to her hand?” A shot of pain went up my arm, and I moaned.

“Nothing. She did that to herself. Started pulling out her own thorns.”

“Why didn't you stop her?” The blanket pulled off of me. Cold air rushed over my body and I began to shake.

“We hadn't caught her yet, Locke.”

“She was acting crazy before you caught her? Where's Miller? Miller! Get your ass down here!”

“No, she wasn't. Well, yes, but not crazy-crazy.”  

I rolled over on my side and tried to curl up as small as possible. Pain stabbed my ribs and I cried out.

“Dawning, take some pain meds and antibiotics to my room. Have one of the boys strip down my bed and put fresh sheets on it. They need to put towels and a bowl of water in there. See if Torres can spare Flynn.”

“I'm not your servant. And you know Flynn is busy.” Someone rolled me onto my back and held my shoulders down.

“You don't want to be here for this, trust me.” A hand pulled at my skirt and I made an effort to slap it away. My boots were taken off and there was a new awareness of the cold.

“Tanner, I need the tub, towels, and a knife. Maybe scissors. Miller! Damn you! Get down here!”

“I'm right here.”

“Put a large pot of water on the fire to boil. Carry down two buckets of cool water and dump it in the tub Tanner's bringing down. When the water is hot, bring it down too.”

“Fine.”

Fear and confusion began to overwhelm me, and I used the last of my strength to sob. Strong arms pick me up and cradled me. It wasn't Tanner; this man was too big and didn't smell the same. I embraced the warmth and cried into his chest.

“Shh. It's okay.” His voice was soft and comforting as he pulled me onto his lap and rocked me back and forth. It reminded me of my mother, and I began crying harder. His thick fingers pushed wet strands of hair out of my face and tucked them behind me ear. I could feel him whisper, “I'm going to take care of you. It's okay. You're safe with me.” I tried to calm my breathing. I wanted to believe him.

Rustling and water pouring echoed from across the room. The man didn't move me, but his voice changed back to one of authority. “Two cool to one hot in the tub. Put the towels beside it. Tanner, give me the knife and bring down some ointment. Miller, spread out the blanket next to the tub and then get out of here. When you leave this room, don't come back.” I tried to open my eyes and see the face that was taking care of me, but everything was still a frosty haze. I shut them.

Thick arms picked me up and carried me across the room. He gently placed me on the blanket and began stroking my head. “I have to check out your ribs. That means cutting off your shirt. I also have to cool you down. That means putting you in a bath. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise.” Every muscle in my body tensed, but I knew I was too weak to stop him. I took a sharp breath and screamed.

Arms quickly folded around me. A hot breath whispered in my ear, "You need to calm down. Everything will be okay. Calm down." 

I tried to push away, but I couldn't move. My scream gave way to a whimper and the arms put me back down.

Something tugged at the front of my halter. It ripped open and the dark figure above me pulled it away, tossing it aside. Despite my fever, I thrashed and kicked the air. No one but my mother had ever seen me naked. The man didn’t seem to notice my fighting. He rolled me onto my side and lifted my arm above my head. I jerked and moaned when he touched my ribs.

He let out a low whistle. “Two, maybe three are broken. No punctured lung, though. You're a tough girl.”

The man put my arm down and rolled me onto my back. Calloused fingers stroked my forehead as he murmured, “You have a dangerous fever. I have to cool you down. This fur around your waist has to come off.” A cold knife blade slid along the inside of my waistband until he found a seam, and sawed at it until it pulled apart. He discarded my skirt in the same manner he did my top.

Tears pricked my eyes. At that moment, I felt my most weak and vulnerable. I hated myself for not being strong enough to fight those boys off, hated how helpless I was. He put his arms under my shoulders and knees and lifted me as he stood.

“I have the ointment-” Tanner grew quiet as he entered the room. The man sank me down into the water, and the shock of the cold on my hot skin made me quake. My teeth chattered, and I curled into myself.

“Tanner, I need you to rip one of those towels in half. Then rip another in strips for bandages. We need to clean her up quickly and get her out of the water.” He turned and set soap on a towel. I craned my neck to see the man’s face, but my body was stiff and didn’t want to move. When he turned back, I closed my eyes and held them shut.

“You want me to stay?”

“I need you to stay. I can’t do this fast enough by myself.” He washed the uninjured side of my face. “Besides, you almost let her die. The least you can do is help her live.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt her. Miller said to tie her up in the basement on Dawning’s orders. I brought her water. I thought she would be okay until you got here.” Tanner lifted my right arm and rubbed a soap filled cloth over it. The scent of vanilla reached my nostrils, and my stomach turned as I thought of Ms. Dawning’s bottle of pheromones.

“We said keep her
safe
in the basement until we got here. Miller's an idiot. You know better!” The man was getting louder. “Look at her! She is a child!”

Tanner rubbed his thumb over the top of my hand. “She has all these bumps on her hand.”

The man picked up my other hand. “They're from her spikes. You said she pulled these out herself?” He began blotting it.

“Yeah. I think she was trying to protect me. She growled something about running into the darkness and saying I never saw her.”

“We need to finish up and get her out of there. Wash her hair while I get her legs.” Tanner moved up near my head. I opened my eyes. His mouth fell into a perfect O.

“Locke. She’s awake.” Locke looked up from the knee he was scrubbing and met my stare. His brown eyes were familiar. My cheeks warmed.

He looked down and finished his task. “She’s been awake off and on since I’ve been here. She's injured and delirious. You said she talked to you? She hasn’t uttered a word since I’ve been here. I’m sure she won’t remember any of this if she gets better.”

“
If
she gets better?” Tanner picked up my hair and swished it in the water.

“Yes, if. What’s her name?” Locke reached into the water and scooped me out. I closed my eyes and leaned into him. “Lay some towels over the blanket. I’m going to dry her off and wrap her in towels. You treat and bandage her hand. We’ll take her upstairs to do the rest.”

“I don’t know her name.”

“You should've asked.” Once warm towels covered me, I could no longer fight my fatigue. I succumbed to the darkness and slept.

Chapter 12

~Tanner~

For the first time since my capture, I woke without pain. I blinked, careful not to move. My head and body were heavy. My bed was in a small room with a table next to it and a door in the opposite wall. Locke was dozing in a chair next a small fire place. Daylight streamed in from a window across from him.

I lifted my hand to my head. Both were bandaged, as was my chest. I was wearing a very large cotton shirt and nothing else. A blanket had been tucked around me. I tried to sit up, but my arms gave out from under me and I groaned. Locke began to stir.