Page 56 of Virtually Guarded

The officers should have stopped us, but they didn’t. Whether it was because Laurits ignored them or I intimidated them, I didn’t know and didn’t care. They weren’t interfering. That was what mattered.

With help from Laurits and Mandeep, I settled myself in the back seat, still cradling Ren. Mandeep got a towel out of the back of the vehicle and handed it to me. “Hold it against his head. For the bleeding.”

“Yeah.” Cautiously, wincing at Ren’s soft whimper, I arranged the towel in a pile on my lap and positioned Ren on his back, his head on the towel. I didn’t know if it would help, but I refused to let go of him.

On the drive home, Laurits and Mandeep discussed plans for covering up the situation. I ignored them, only tuning in when the Anax’s voice filled the car from the speakers. “Gregory Malkin shifted in the car.”

Laurits hissed in a breath. “Davion and Yovanny?”

“He attacked Yovanny.” Anger strained the Anax’s voice. “Thankfully, Yovanny subdued him before Gregory could reach Davion. If he’d attacked the driver…” He paused. “Still, a wolf in wolf form attacked someone who was in human form, and that’s aside from what he did to Ren. From what I’m told, Gregory very nearly shifted in front of humans. Gregory Malkin is under a death sentence. I’ll be there soon.”

Ren, too, had nearly shifted in front of humans. I held him more tightly. He hadn’t come as close as Gregory. Hadn’t endangered anyone other than himself. Surely the Anax wouldn’t consequence him, never mind sentencing him to death.

Ren whined softly, and I stroked his hair back from his face. It’s all right. I’ll make sure you’re all right.

“Apologies for interrupting your trip, Anax,” Laurits said quietly.

“Someone who should never have been in the area injured one of my wolves,” the Anax replied flatly. “You did right to call me. This needs to be handled.” His tone softened a bit. “I need to see that Ren will recover. Xavier, are you there?”

Startled, I nodded before registering that he of course couldn’t see me. “Yes, Anax.”

“Take care of your mate. You’re off duty until further notice.” He spoke even more kindly. “He’ll be all right. Wilbur is good at his job. And Ren faces no consequence. He did nothing wrong.”

“Thank you, Anax.” I sagged in relief, but my relief was short-lived. The Anax wouldn’t end Ren’s life, but that didn’t mean Ren would survive. It didn’t matter how good the doctor was at his job. If the injuries were too severe, even a werewolf’s rapid healing ability couldn’t keep up.

Reaching the house took hours, or so it seemed. In reality, it probably took less time than getting to Ren had, because Laurits played even looser with the speed limit than before. He pulled up as close to the front door of the house as possible. Mandeep helped me maneuver Ren out of the vehicle, then hurried ahead of me to open the door. “Bring him into the parlor,” Mandeep said. “He’ll be comfortable there until the doctor arrives.”

I followed the directions and settled Ren on one of the sofas, still with the towel under his head. Streaks of red stained it. As with his injuries the day he showed up at the hunt house, he was healing slowly. Too slowly, in my opinion. Without actually seeing the wounds, I didn’t know whether they were closing at all.

I sat and moved his head onto my lap again. With my hand on his chest, I monitored him to ensure he kept breathing. If he stopped…Well, I wouldn’t think about that. He would keep breathing. He would heal.

Dr. Gumendo arrived with a bag of medical supplies and immediately went to work examining Ren. To his credit, he didn’t ask me to leave the room, probably realizing I wouldn’t have gone. Laurits and Mandeep joined us, standing just inside the doorway, arms folded.

Below us, growls and whines emanated from the basement. There was a cage down there for prisoners and wolves who were out of control. Gregory Malkin, at the moment, was both. He was lucky he was locked away from me. If I’d been willing to leave Ren even for a moment, Malkin would have been dead already.

Several minutes went by, then Dr. Gumendo straightened up and nodded to me. “His head wound is severe. Do we know how he sustained it?”

“Someone smashed his head against a brick wall,” I muttered.

The doctor’s eyes widened. “I see. The same someone who harmed him before?”

“One of them.” I waved toward the floor. “He’s downstairs.”

“The Anax is on the way to deal with him,” Laurits added. “He can’t hurt anyone else. Doctor, how bad is Ren’s injury?”

“I believe he’ll heal.” Dr. Gumendo’s expression was uncertain. “It’s a more serious injury than the ones he had before. Head injuries are cause for concern because they aren’t only surface. We’ll have to monitor him. The external injury, I believe, will heal. Damage to his brain, if any, might take more time, and while he’s unconscious, we can’t know whether there is any such damage.”

Brain injury. A possibility that hadn’t occurred to me. I held my breath for a moment, feeling along the bond.

Ren reached back, and I gasped. “He’s there. He’s with us.”

“I…see?” Dr. Gumendo looked confused. “I think I needn’t ask how you know. I’ll bandage the wound for tonight and check it in the morning. He’ll need a catheter also, since he won’t be able to leave his bed until he’s awake and I clear him to get up. Once the bandage is in place, we can move him to his own bed. He’ll be more comfortable. I’ll handle everything else once he’s settled.”

The front door banged shut, and Laurits strode out of the room as Dr. Gumendo started taking supplies out of his back. Laurits returned with the Anax and Kyle, and Seth right behind them.

“How is he?” the Anax asked, his voice tight and urgent.

“It remains to be seen.” Dr. Gumendo started wrapping gauze around Ren’s head. “I told your men, I believe the wound itself will heal. Deeper damage may not be detected until he wakes, and that will take longer to heal.”