Stance cowers behind his hands, not even attempting to defend himself. My enforcer—a fuckingenforcer—reduced to this pathetic wretch.
What kind of abomination raises a hand to an omega? It is in our very DNA to protect them. So rare and sacred, it seems impossible they've done this. Unfathomable.
The crack of his neck reverberates through my knuckles when I slam my fist into his face. He drops like dead weight, head twisted at an awkward angle.
He's a shifter. He'll heal. I can't bring myself to give a shit either way.
Andrea's coughs cut through the haze, and I stalk back over to where I tossed her. Tires crunch on gravel, and it helps anchor me. I look down at this disgraced shifter. She begs and pleads. Apologizes. Claims ignorance.
But my mate's blood coats her hands. It's splattered across her boots, mixed with bits of hair and dirt.
I grip her head in one hand, holding her body up with the other, and snap her neck. She drops to the ground.
Like Stance, she'll probably live.
I feel a twinge of guilt. But all earlier feelings I had for Andrea are gone. Disappeared.
Whatever happened here, somehow, the blame lies with me.
Finally, Doc ambles through the door, no idea what hailstorm he's walking into. He sputters, mouth opens and closes. He inhales sharply, eyes widening as they take in the scene.
I'm still shaking with rage, jaw clenched so tight my teeth might crack, but I force it all down while Doc reacts quickly, rushing over to the omega heaped on the floor. He kneels down and begins examining her.
"Grayson."
I can't stop staring at her face. She should be healing faster. Some of the swelling should have gone down at least.
"Lune!" Orion snaps, louder this time, more insistent. He never calls me by my title because we are pack.
"What?" I snap back.
"You need to let go." That's when I realize I'm clutching her body close to mine. I don't even remember picking her up. Doc has a worried look on his face.
I shake my head and carry her out the door, both men at my back. I hear Doc asking Orion questions, but I tune them out, climbing into the back of Doc's truck. Orion climbs in beside me, and aside from shouting at Doc to hurry the fuck up, no other words are spoken.
We reach the clan's clinic five minutes later. It sits near the heart of our shifter town, among a cluster of outpost buildings.
Pack families more involved in day-to-day community life scatter along smaller roads that branch from the center of town, where we are now, closer to where my home stands, at one end of the main road. Theheart, as we call it. Five miles down, the road forks—one path leading to the wild shifters living in barracks, cabins, and dens, deep into the woods; the other winding toward the human towns below the mountain.
Outside the clinic, a lantern swings beneath the overhang. Dawn ascends, gray light seeping through the clouds.
There's magic in the full moon, and I curse the goddess for its absence tonight, since it would help my mate heal. I don't know what's wrong with her. She should be better by now. A little bit, at least.
Orion holds open the door, and I carefully carry my little wolf through the threshold. It's a small clinic, with only three private rooms for emergencies and intensive care. All are empty, thankfully. My clan is normally not so deranged.
Doc points to a bed, and I carefully release my sweet mate, taking a deep inhale of her calming jasmine and honey scent. My incisors descend, my wolf ready to bite and claim her, shocking myself and Orion. I growl when he shifts closer as if to protect her from me.
The logical side of my brain appreciates it. It's what my enforcers should have done the moment they found her.
But my possessive alpha side wants to rip his arms out of his sockets.He's pack, I remind my alpha. He chuffs in response.
I know we're going to have to share our pretty mate, but right now, with her injuries and rattling lungs, I can't stomach letting go.
Orion nods, like he knows what's going through my head. Probably the same thing going through his.
"Okay, let's see what's happened here, shall we?" Doc says, trying to infuse a sense of calm into our wolves. It barely helps.
Doc palpates her body. He freezes when I growl, but shoots me a chastising glare as he works his way down her chest and abdomen. Very few can get away with that, and Doc is one of them.
