Rachel shuddered. He could’ve killed her. Turning her gaze fully on Gallen, she snarled and took a step towards him.
“No, Rachel.” This time the alpha power in Cam’s voice stopped her in her tracks. “Protecting Sara is one thing, attacking when the threat has passed is another. I won’t be able to protect you from that.”
She wanted to leap at Gallen and bury her teeth in his throat, but Cam’s words penetrated the fog of revenge, and slowly rational thought returned. Her clothes lay in tatters at her feet, and Rachel settled down on top of them, laying her head on her paws.
“Thank you.” Cam reached over and laid a hand on the back of her neck, his touch instantly calming.
“Mr Easton,” Celia addressed Daryl, who still stood a few feet back. Would you please escort Alpha Gallen back to the council headquarters?”
“What?” Gallen spluttered. “You can’t be serious? She was going to attack me.” He pointed at Rachel. “I want her punished for disobeying an alpha’s command and threatening my life in an unprovoked attack.”
Celia raised an eyebrow. “What I see in front of me is an injured shifter—my granddaughter,” she hissed at him, “lying unconscious on the ground with her potential mate protecting her.” She looked pointedly at Gallen, then dropped her gaze lower. “And the injured shifter’s alpha is standing there with blood on his hands.”
Gallen followed her gaze downwards and his face fell when he saw Sara’s blood staining his fingers and palms. “It was an accident,” he said quietly. “She jumped in front when I—” He swallowed thickly.
Alpha Cornell finished for him. “When you attacked her mate?” She sighed. “What exactly did you expect to happen?”
He didn’t answer.
“Mr Easton is acting on my behalf as a member of the council, so don’t make things any worse than they already are. Just go with him and wait at the council building. I’ll phone ahead and tell them you’re on your way.” She glanced around the car park. “Where are your betas?”
“At the services finishing off their lunch. I came back to collect my phone. I’d already finished and saw no point in us all coming.”
“I’ll see that someone goes to collect them.”
Gallen nodded, subdued, and headed to Cam’s SUV when Daryl directed him to. He sent one last look Sara’s way. “Let me know as soon as she wakes up?”
Celia nodded. “Of course. In the meantime, I suggest you get yourself cleaned up and use this time to reflect on what you want to happen next. Because this—” She gestured to where Sara lay unconscious with Rachel by her side. “—is no way for an alpha to behave.”
Gallen didn’t reply, and Rachel kept her eye on him as he turned and climbed in the car. Only when Daryl closed the car door behind him, shielding him from her view, did Rachel focus on Sara again.
The wounds across her chest were healing slowly, but blood covered her skin and what remained of her T-shirt. The sight drew a whimper from Rachel, and she shuffled forward and nudged her with her nose. Sara murmured but didn’t open her eyes.
As Daryl drove away, Celia hurried over and crouched down next to Sara. Rachel bit back the instinctive growl, aware enough to know that she was no threat.
“Fucking hell,” Celia muttered, carefully inspecting the damage Gallen’s claws had done. “What was he thinking?” She said it more to herself than Cam, but he answered anyway.
“I’m not certain he was thinking at all by that point.”
Celia cupped Sara’s cheek and stroked a thumb across her face. “Oh, sweetheart.”
The low grumble came out despite Rachel’s best efforts, but Celia ignored her.
She looked back at Sara’s chest and sighed. “They’re too deep for this to have been a warning blow. He meant to kill her.”
“I know.” Cam’s voice shook a little, and when Rachel met his gaze, the fire in his eyes took her by surprise. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you. I should never have left you out here alone.”
Rachel wanted to protest. How could any of them have known he’d forget his fucking phone? Frustrated she couldn’t voice her thoughts, Rachel knocked Cam’s hand with her nose.
He smiled at her, seeming to understand. “You’re my responsibility, Rachel. I should have allowed for any possibility, no matter how remote. I’m sorry this happened.”
So was Rachel, but the only one to blame was Gallen. She glanced in the direction he’d been driven. Just the thought of him made her gnash her teeth and growl.
Celia turned away from Sara and gently lifted Rachel’s muzzle until they were eye to eye. “I know exactly how you feel, believe me, but the council will deal with Alpha Gallen.” She glanced at Sara, then back again. “You’ve done your job, kept watch over her, but we need to take her back to my cottage. And you need to change back. Can you do that?”
Rachel looked at Cam, and he quickly shrugged out of his jacket. He held it out for her, and although she wanted to stay in her wolf form where things were so much simpler, Rachel shifted back.
The sharp pain of the shift cleared her head. She stood in the car park wearing Cam’s jacket and let the last few minutes truly sink in.
