“Fuck, D, that’s a lot of blood loss. What the hell were you guys thinking?”
He grabs my wrist and locks eyes with me. “They hurt her, Gage. We couldn’t risk them getting her again.”
I nod, acknowledging their sacrifice. I understand it, even if I don’t agree with it. They wanted to protect their omega, and they went about it the only way they thought made sense.
Even if it was a damned foolish thing to do.
Once Diego’s secure, I jump into the driver’s seat and peel back onto the road, gunning the engine for all it’s worth. Time is not on Diego’s side right now, nor Em’s, and I’m going to need my right hand man to get Em back. As much as it kills me, I have to triage my alphas and take care of the one I can now, so we can both go rescue the one I can’t yet.
While the Jeep speeds towards the compound, I dial Olly’s number and hope he’s near his phone. He picks up on the first ring, his voice tight with worry.
“Gage? What’s happening?”
“Is Auryn within earshot?” I need to tell Olly what to prepare, but I don’t want to stress her out by letting her hear that one of her mates has been shot, and the other…
…The other probably isn’t faring any better.
“She’s resting. I made her lie down.”
“Good. Now, listen carefully. You’re gonna need to prep your surgical kit. Sutures, scalpels, forceps, IVs, the works. Blood, if we have any on hand.” I look at Diego out of the corner of my eye. His pallor seems worse; he’s competing with Olly right now for the palest guy in the pack. “Fuck, use mine if we don’t have any.”
“What happened?”
“No time, Olivander,” I say, using his full name to get him to focus and pay attention. “Prep for surgery. I’m bringing you a patient.”
“Just one?”
I don’t bother answering that. We’re almost there, and time is of the essence. I arc the Jeep off the road and take it through the brush, bypassing a bit of the journey. The car bounces and jolts, but I figure it’s better to get Diego to Olly while he’s still breathing than to worry about road safety. I put my free hand on his bleeding stomach and press. The cloth I’d used to staunch some of the bleeding is beyond soaked, as are Diego’s clothes. Fuck.
The Jeep crests the top of the hill closest to the compound, and I press the pedal harder. To my dismay, a small, slender form waits for us at the entrance to the garage.
Why thefuckdid Olly let her out? She shouldn’t see this!
It’s too late to stop. I speed past Auryn, who stands there in tears as I pull into the garage.
“Gage!” She rushes the car and yanks open the passenger side door before I have a chance to say anything, before I can stop her. “Diego! Diego? Baby?”
He’s not answering. He’s barely even breathing.
I slam the car into park and cut the engine, jumping out and leaping over the hood to get to Diego’s side. “Auryn, honey, you have to get out of my way. I’ll get him to Olly. He’ll be okay.”
The problem is, I have no idea if I’m lying to her.
To her credit, Auryn gives me room to get Diego out of the Jeep, but she’s right on my heels as I run inside with him, even bursting past me to open doors along the way.
Damn. That girl can run!
She skids to a halt next to one of Olly’s exam tables, and I lay Diego down as carefully as I can. I wipe sweat from my brow and look at Olly, who’s gowned up and masked, scalpel in hand. “No questions until he’s out of danger. I don’t care how fucking curious you are. Just fix him.”
Olly nods and starts working on Diego. I take a seat across from him and grab a tourniquet, prepping my arm for transfusion myself.
I’ve got the needle in and am in the process of hooking up tubing when I hear something I never expected, especially not coming from where it’s coming from.
Purring.
I’mnot purring. Olly’s a beta, so he doesn’t really purr. Purring is for soothing omegas, for calming agitated alphas on rare occasions … It’s something that alphas do to keep their pack at ease.
Why, then, isAurynfucking purring?
