Locked( Book 1)

Chapter 40

"No one is dying; she's fine; they've been fixing her up for an hour," he said. I didn't believe him; this was an eye-opener. If I was this bad with a wolf, imagine what I'd be like if it were my sisters, Noah, Matthew, or Derek. This got me thinking: time to be brave. This was life and death; in the end, it didn't matter what happened; it mattered how we reacted to it.

"Addison, she's okay," Wesley said, entering the living room. I smile at Noah and sniffle. He smiles, too, hugging me. It was long but needed.

"See," he said. I nod and let go of him. He grabs my arm and helps me up.

We both enter the kitchen to see the wolf lying on the table, gauze on her. Everyone was in here; I must have been so out of it that I didn't notice them coming in. I was so upset at the hunters, whoever they were. Derek saw me coming in and motioned me over to him; he stood before her as she was still waking up. I start tearing up happy tears.

"She's okay; you saved her life by making her come closer to us; if you hadn't, she would have died out there," he said. I nod and look at her. She blinks and groans tiredly. I move my hand to her jawline. Rubbing her. Chloe looks at Derek. And Riley, too. They knew how much I hated seeing an animal hurt, even if one of them did attack me.

"I'm so sorry, girl, sorry I wasn't here, but I promise I'm not leaving," I say. Derek places a hand on my forearm.

"You need to rest, and so does she; we will watch her," he said. I shook my head.

"No, I'll sit here. I appreciate what you all did for her. I know she's not a house dog, but she needed me, and I left her after she came to me. I want to sit here with her for a while," I said. He nods. Chloe comes closer, putting her hand on her.

"She's a beauty, Addison, and she chose to come to you; you may have made a friend out of a wild animal," she said. The wolf huffed. Noah came to me, kneeling in front of me. Derek looks down. He takes my other hand.

"If anyone says you don't have a heart of love, I'll kill them; I know what you were trying to prove to yourself out there, but you put your fear aside for her, and that, to me, is what love means, you are a fantastic person Addie bear and an even better best friend, I'm lucky to be marrying into your family, never lose that bravery," he said. I nod, and he stands up. Derek nods to him. Riley comes closer to her. And she has nothing to state; she asks a great question.

"So, since Addison has a wolf now, what's her name?" She said. Making me laugh. She looks at me. I look at the wolf, and she snorts. She thought that was funny, too. This day would be one to Remember. And seeing her lying here and being so brave and trusting us meant something.

"Faith," I said. She looked up and back down. As if that's what her name was. Derek had noticed, too.

"There it is; she likes it. I know it's hard to hear this, but after she's healed, we will have to release her," he said. I shook my head.

"Not while those hunters are out there," I said. He sighs but shakes his head. He knows not to torment me. He also knows once I want something, I usually get it. And she wanted me.

Once everyone was in bed, I stayed by Faith until the morning. I was so tired I must have dozed off. My head felt comfortable. And there was something soft above me. It was warm. Throughout the night, I watched Faith, and she did great. She barely moved, but she was alive. I'm the morning I woke up by her bumping my head with her snout. She was trying to wake me. So I bolted awake and noticed she was sitting up. I gasped and looked at her up and down. She was sitting up!

I looked at the clock. I had slept until nine in the morning. Everyone except Derek and Noah was either in the living room or outside. They were making breakfast. When I looked around at Faith again, I smiled. She was sitting up! This was so great. That meant she was feeling better. My heart jumped for joy. And not just because of her; she protected me throughout the night.