Yes, and feeling the agony of his injuries would make it worse, but . . . “This is what I do, Derren. Now shut the fuck up and keep still.”
She gently laid her hands on his legs, over the charred denim. A contrary combination of frost, heat, and pain invaded her system, prickled her nerve endings. Ignoring the agony, she pushed healing energy into his body. The moment the loop between them opened, his pain flowed into her. The more soothing energy she gave him, the more it felt like her skin was blazing, tightening, and eating away at itself.
A soft hand landed on her shoulder. “Ally, you can stop now.”
Oh, good. Then she collapsed.
Derren ignored the knock on the door of the guest bedroom, just as he’d ignored the others. Instead, he lazed in the chair beside the bed on which he’d laid an unconscious Ally three hours ago. The sight of her ashen face and the dark smudges under her eyes was making his wolf frantic. She hadn’t tossed or turned even once. She’d remained so still that if it weren’t for the subtle rise and fall of her chest, he would have worried that she was dead.
Another knock; this one louder, harder, impatient. “Derren, open up!” Shaya.
Although it was the Alpha pair’s lodge, he hadn’t let them or anyone else inside the room, mindful of how vulnerable Ally was at the moment. Having her lying there, out cold, while under the same roof as people who might mean her harm . . . it nettled both Derren and his wolf. The animal was very much on edge, pacing and anxious for Ally to wake up.
“She’s my friend, Derren, I want to see her! I’m worried about her!”
If his conscience wasn’t so undeveloped, he might have felt bad for Shaya. Right now, though, he was only interested in Ally. He didn’t truly believe any of his pack would harm her, but his protective instincts wouldn’t allow him to take the chance. While she was vulnerable, he’d watch over her.
A feminine huff traveled through the door. “Taryn’s on her way here. If she thinks that Ally might potentially need her healing skills, she’s going to come up here and there’ll be no stopping her. Unless, of course, I can assure her that I’ve seen Ally for myself and she’s fine.”
Cursing, Derren stalked to the door and yanked it open, finding most of the pack gathered behind a smug-looking Shaya. He knew that she’d played him, but he also knew she was right. Taryn, a powerful healer, would demand to check on Ally if Shaya couldn’t assure her that it wasn’t necessary. He moved aside for Shaya. “Just you.” Ignoring the complaints coming from the others, he shut the door.
The redhead’s expression crumpled into one of concern as she approached the bed. “Has she flitted in and out of consciousness?”
“No. She hasn’t moved an inch.” At least the wound on her head from her fight with Jesse had healed.
Shaya gently took hold of her wrist. “Her pulse is strong. I’m guessing her system has shut down while she recovers. She used up a lot of strength.”
He was thinking the same thing. “Why is Taryn on her way here?”
“We called Roni, told her what happened. When Taryn heard, she insisted on coming along with Roni and Marcus.”
“Is she bringing Trey?” If so, that would be a problem. As Marcus had told them, Trey despised Seers. Derren was resolute that Ally would be spared the prejudice from now on.
“I don’t know, Roni didn’t say.”
Another knock on the door had Derren sighing. “Go away.”
“Let us in, we just want to see her,” groused Kent.
Derren grumbled to Shaya, “I should have taken her to her own lodge.” Or his. Somewhere she’d have space and privacy. Noticing the smile on his Alpha female’s face, he frowned. “What?”
“I see your attitude toward her has done a one-eighty. It’s ’bout time.”
Coming to stand at Ally’s side, he smoothed a strand of her hair between his fingers. “She healed me.”
“You sound mystified.”
“After the way I acted, I wouldn’t have blamed her if she sat back and watched with glee while I writhed in agony.”
“Ally’s prickly and she doesn’t take too kindly to bullshit, but she’s also moral and fair.”
Yeah, he got that. “She foresaw the explosion.”
“I’m guessing so. One second she was fine, the next she was staring into space and her pupils had turned white.”
“Did you see the way she looked at you when she snapped out of it and saw you were beside her?”
Shaya swallowed hard. “Like she’d seen a ghost.”
And that spoke volumes about just what Ally had seen in her vision. And just how much they owed her.
“Shaya!” called Caleb. “Roni and Marcus are here with some of the Phoenix Pack!”