AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dom cursed under his breath. More wolves flooded into the cave and started to move Night out of there. They would want to get him to the infirmary as quickly as fucking possible. In the meantime, another wolf brought me a blanket to drape over my shoulders, and Dom helped me to my feet.
As soon as we reached the Alpha cabin, Dom and Vince laid Night across the bed and I made a beeline for the closet. I pulled on the thickest robe I could find and wrapped myself tightly in it. As I tied the sash closed, I turned to see how I could help. The clothes I’d used to staunch the blood were soaked through.
I threw open the dresser drawers until I found t-shirts. I grabbed them in handfuls and gave them to Dom. He looked thankful as I took them.
“Vince, get Doc,” he said.
“R-right. I’ll bring him right back.” Vince shifted back into his wolf form and dashed down the stairs.
“Dom,” I began, my voice hoarse, “how is he?”
“I can’t tell,” Dom said. He had switched out the bloody scraps of clothes for linens. “I’ve never seen an injury like this. And this blood, I don’t know why his wound isn’t closing.”
Fear was an ice pick stabbing repeatedly into my chest as I looked at Night. His breathing was shallow and raspy, his face waxy with perspiration. The sight of my strong, handsome mate so weak and in so much pain shook me more than the entire rest of the night had. A normal bullet shouldn’t have been able to do this to him. Had it hit something vital? Was it killing him?
For a second, my mind returned to that moment in the cave, when I had my jaws locked around Evan’s neck and the taste of blood in my mouth. I tried to shake myself out of it. I needed to be here for my mate.
Dr. Stan arrived seconds later. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked about as pale as the night’s patients, but he wasted no time getting to his Alpha. I stood at the foot of the bed and watched him crouch at Night’s side. He took a quick whiff of the wound, and his lips pulled away from his teeth.
“Get me a boning or paring knife,” he said to the room. “Now.”
He hadn’t specified who, but after the cooking I’d done in that huge kitchen, I was the one who would be the most efficient at grabbing it. I dashed down the stairs, slipping a little on unsteady legs as I made my way to the kitchen. When I returned, Night’s face was contorted with pain. His hands gripped the sheets of the bed, smearing them with blood.
“Please, Bryn,” Dr. Stan said, “the knife.” He held out his hand for it.
I snapped out of my shock. With a trembling hand, I gave him the knife. He pushed Night onto his side, exposing his back. With a deft move, the doctor shoved the knife into Night’s back. Night jerked, his eyes snapping open.
“Hold him!” Dr. Stan snapped.
Dom took Night’s shoulder, helping to keep him steady as the doctor worked.
My wolf shrieked and banged around in my mind, eager to go to our mate. Her intent was clear—if she could get the doctor away from Night, he’d hurt less. I clenched my hands and kept her at bay. When it came to fighting, I would always defer to her, but when it came to matters of logic and reason, I had to deal with it on my own. Unfortunately, I couldn’t recede into unconsciousness or let my wolf take over in this situation. The moment I did, she’d get in Dr. Stan’s way.
“Bryn,” Night’s voice was a breathy rasp.
I was at his side then. Dom stepped back to let me kneel at his side. I took my mate’s hand and touched his cheek. The moment our skin made contact, his jerking and trembling began to subside.
“I’m here, love,” I whispered, squeezing his hand. “I’m here.”
He looked at me, his eyes narrowing as he tried to focus on my face. I ran the pad of my thumb over his bushy eyebrows.
“I’m here,” I said again, kissing his hands. “I’m not going anywhere.”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. Soon, his eyes began to slip shut, and his body calmed. Dr. Stan breathed a sigh of relief and continued to work. Other than a faint twitching of his eye, Night didn’t try to resist treatment again.
35
BRYN
Dr. Stan breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped back. His hands were slick with Night’s blood, and one them held a needle and remnants of the thread used to sew up Night’s wound. I ran my hand through my mate’s hair, damp with sweat. He seemed much, much calmer now. He hadn’t stirred once when Dr. Stan was stitching him up; in fact, he seemed to be sleeping.
“Is he going to be okay, Doc?” Dom asked.
“Yes,” the doctor dabbed at his sweaty forehead with a t-shirt that wasn’t stained with blood, “now that this thing is out of him.” He wiped his hands on that same t-shirt and then held something in his hand. I stood to see what it was. A bloody bullet, the tip of it bent in on itself, sat in his palm.
Dom took a sharp breath in through his teeth. “Is that thing made of silver?”
Dr. Stan nodded.
