Winter's Scars: The Forsaken (Winter's Saga 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

attempts at reviving Meg were becoming more purposeful.
    Creed found himself praying frantically.
    “Why isn’t she waking up!” his voice cracked with emotion.  His eyes never left Meg’s quickly paling face.
    “She’s been through a lot,” Sloan’s voice remained calm, but her skillful hands moved to Meg’s chest where she ground her knuckles into the boney breastbone there.
    A minute passed more painfully than a kidney stone to everyone who had now gathered around the girl there on the side of the highway.  Sloan was seconds away from starting CPR when Meg’s expressionless face became animated with a grimace. 
    A collective sigh of relief spread through the small crowd. 
    “Ow,” Meg muttered.  The girl, who had hovered so close to death’s door found enough moxie to frown as she blinked her eyes open.  She forcefully shooed Sloan’s knuckles away from her.  “You were right,” she said to the crowd, “that thing hurts like a bitch.”

    Chapter 8  He Needs Me
     
    Creed carried Meg to the back of the SUV.  She leaned over and peered into the window. 
    “Oh!” Meg gasped.  Without hesitation, she squirmed out of Creed’s arms and stood on wet noodle legs as she reached for the handle to open the trunk. 
    There, lying on his side was a huge, silver-coated canine.  He looked up at her with a mix of pain and happiness in his intelligent yellow eyes. His large tail flopped pathetically as he tried to greet his beloved Meg despite the pain. 
    She reached out to gently rub between his ears.  Maze groaned from pure contentedness, but lost the energy to keep his head up.  He crumpled back onto the carpeted floor and huffed though he kept trying to watch Meg.  He was fighting exhaustion to stay awake, but the pain won over his relief at seeing his girl again.
    Tears welled up in Meg’s eyes as she scanned his bloodied, torn paws and raw nose. 
    Without looking to anyone for permission, Meg started to climb into the trunk as carefully as her shake legs would allow.
    “What are you doing?” Creed reached out to steady her.  All of them were far more worried about the broken girl who had been difficult to revive after being shocked than the damaged coydog. 
    “He needs me,” Meg answered simply, “and I think I need him, too.”
    With as much grace as her exhausted body could muster, she moved to stretch beside the creature and curled her arm under her head as a makeshift pillow.  Gently she draped her other arm over the barrel chest of the large, wounded canine—carefully hugging her frame to his. 
    The coydog huffed contentedly. 
    “Thank you for finding me.”  She locked eyes with Creed briefly before they started to close of their own volition.  “I’ll stay right here with him.  This just feels right .”  She inhaled Maze’s musky scent and felt a flash of recognition in her heart. 
    The others traded worried looks before climbing back into the SUV themselves.
    All except Alik, who couldn’t stop smiling.  He whacked Creed on the back good-naturedly.  “Thank you, Creed.  This whole night could have been the start of something horrible for all of us if it weren’t for you leading us to her when you did.”
    “It’s not me,” Creed shrugged.  “She’s the one with the gift, whether or not she realizes it.”
    “Yeah, but you had to be willing to help her connect.  She’s probably going to need a lot of time to adjust to all of us—to her life.”
    “She can have all the time she needs.  I’m not going anywhere.”  The boys exchanged looks of deference before climbing into the SUV.  Alik sat in the front passenger seat, next to Farrow who was poised and ready to drive.
    Creed moved his large frame to the very back row of seats so he could keep watch over Meg.  Evan sat beside him , leaving Sloan and Cole the middle row. 
    “Mom.  We need to call Mom,” Alik turned around and looked at his little brother excitedly.  Evan had already grabbed