“Beta Ronnie.” Rowan stepped up next to us, but Ronnie was shaking again.
“I’m not a Beta, look at me.” He snarled. He dropped to his knees as Tina ran up to us. “I’m pathetic.” Ronnie looked down at his hands as if he were seeing something that wasn’t there.
Tina moved slowly as she approached his side, like she had tried before and it didn’t work. Her eyes caught mine, and she gave a tiny shake. “You lost half your blood supply dragging half the wolves up in the med tent before the main cavern collapsed.” Tina dropped down next to him. “You almost lost your arm when we found you under the rocks.” Her voice trembled a bit. “You’re exhausted, hungry, healing, and your best friend is trapped.You are not expected to hold yourself together all the time. It’s understandable.” Tina squeezed him to her swollen belly, and Ronnie sagged against her.
“Uncle Ronnie?” I crouched down next to the couple. I checked his pulse. Thready but there. “Rowan? Can you run him up to the tent? He needs medical attention.” I looked up to my mate and waited for him to nod. Tina stood as Rowan picked up my uncle and turned back up the hill. She went to follow, but I grabbed her hand. “Can you tell me what happened before you go?”
Tina looked towards the hilltop and nodded. “Of course.” She nodded towards the cave entrance, where a few wolves were still digging. “We moved in on the cave yesterday.” Tina looked exhausted as she waddled towards the biggest rocks covering most of the entrance. “Everything was going as planned but then…” She swallowed. “There was an explosion. Ronnie and your father stayed back to make sure everyone got out.” She looked back at me. “I was terrified when we felt it at the pack house.”
I tilted my head. “Felt what?” I reached out to trace the rock blocking the way, and I had an idea.
“The cave in.” Tina shuddered a breath. “And the panic.”
My eyes closed as I sent fingers probing through the cracks. “The panic?”
My eyes were closed, but I felt the air shift, and I knew she was nodding. “Yeah. It hit the entire pack. The wolves that got out sent messages, but also…” She swallowed past a lump. “The ones trapped called out. All at the same time. The pain and panic were almost overwhelming.” She leaned against the rock, and her breathing picked up. “The screams will be something I dream of for a long time…and not in a good way.” Her head hit the stone. “Every wolf ran here, and Greyson took control. He called forevery able body to move rocks, and for the women to set up the med tent following the doctor’s orders.”
“Where was Ronnie?” Half my mind was gone, crawling through the crevices, but I tried to keep the conversation going. I opened my eyes for a second, and Tina was gripping her stomach. “Tina?” I watched her breathing pick up and then her stomach cramped. Alannah flashed in my mind, and her labor and I reached for Tina.
She waved me off. She stayed like that for a few seconds more before she breathed out. “False labor from stress. Had the doctor check me over last time Ronnie…” She stretched her neck back.
“Ronnie what?” I pulled back my attention.
Tina sighed. “I tried to get him to leave and he fought me. I fell.” I let out a growl but she waved me off again. “It was my own fault. I lost my balance and fell. He just refused to move from here. Where he could hear your dad.” She looked up. “He feels guilty.”
“Why?” I turned back to the rocks. My magic dancing back through the cracks. My magic hit something not solid… the copper taste hit my mind and I knew it was blood before I heard Tina’s answer.
“Because your father saved him.”
My magic recoiled from the blood, but I had to push forward. I was just pushing past the growing pool when her words finally registered. I froze for a second. “My dad saved Ronnie?” My eyes snapped open to see her face pale.
“Please don’t hate him.” She reached for my hand. “He wouldn’t be able to live if you blamed him too. He is already blaming himself.”
“Tina.” I grabbed her hands and squeezed. “Breathe.” I sent calming thoughts to her and used my Gamma aura to settle her. I didn’t want her going into real labor when we had a crisis on our hands. One labor was enough tonight. “It’s okay. I wouldnever blame him. I know my father. And I can almost guess that when he saw the ceiling collapse, he pushed Ronnie towards the entrance.”
A tear fell from Tina’s eye as she nodded. “He grabbed Ronnie’s hand and whipped him out as they ran. But the cave-in was faster. They were still caught.” She shuddered as another cramp came on. She groaned as she cupped her belly.
Rowan ran back up to us, and his eyes bounced between the two of us. “Is everything okay?”
Tina nodded. “Just peachy.” She breathed out once more and then stood. “They had rigged more explosives that we missed, and the entire ceiling came down on them.” She closed her eyes. “We dug for about an hour before we got Ronnie out.” She pointed to a spot a few feet away. “The rocks were out to there; we pulled about twenty-five wolves out of the first few feet.” She looked at me. “They were almost free, and everything fell.”
“How many are still buried?”
She shrugged. “We don’t know who survived the fight, and who didn’t. But we are missing about fifteen more wolves. The rest went hunting.”
I nodded. I have to find fifteen bodies. “Rowan, take her to her mate, please.” I turned to the stones.
“Amy.” He came up behind me and kissed my shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” He waited for my answer, still tense behind my back.
“No promises.” I smirked over my shoulder at him and kissed his lips. “Be fast.” He nodded once and then scooped Tina up.
“Stay safe.” Then he was gone once again.
I turned back to the cave-in. This time I sent all of my magic flowing through the rocks. My entire being whittled down to the tiny cracks between the unsteady rocks. Someone who was still alive shifted, and a few more rocks tumbled. I felt the cry for help as the weight on top of the wolf increased.
“Please…someone.” Their whispered words resonated with my magic. I couldn’t hear them with my ears, but my magic pulled their pleas to me. “I can’t breathe.” I couldn’t tell who it was, but it reinforced that I was on a timer. If I was going to save anyone…including my father. I had to move fast.
I pulled back enough to move stuff around, but someone’s scream had me whirling. Rocks tumbled down in a waterfall. They poured from the entrance, covering a foot past where they were before. An Omega was panting where he fell, with a boulder next to him.
