“An eight-inch laceration will do that,” the alpha said.
“I crushed its snout. I had to.”
“We’ll deal with the bear. For now you hold still.”
“We’ve got to go out after it.”
Aaron squirmed, and Ember had to tighten her grip on his leg to keep the gauze in place. He gave a tiny yelp that brought a throb to her chest.
“Aaron,” she said, “please, you have to hold still.”
“Not a clean kill. We’ve got to end its suffering.” He pushed up higher, his arm straightening under him.
“Easy,” the alpha said. “If you try to get up you’ll pass out. You’re bleeding, and you’re in pain. Understand?”
“I left it out there in pain.”
“You told me. I got it.”
Aaron pushed all the way to a sitting position and tried to swing his legs off the table, prevented only by the alpha’s hand on his shoulder that pushed him back down.
“Please, Mal, I have to go out after it. I can’t let it suffer.”
“He could be headed for shock,” the alpha said to Ember. “We’ve got to keep him warm. There’s a blanket—through there, down that hallway to the right, on the couch.”
Ember darted in the direction indicated and snatched up a black fleece blanket. When she reentered the kitchen, the alpha had been forced to abandon direct pressure in favor of pinning Aaron to the table. Aaron’s leg bled hard, he panted from the pain, yet still he fought to free himself. For a wild animal that had tried to kill him.
After a few more seconds of wrestling the alpha gave a loud snarl. “Aaron!”
Aaron went still, his breathing shallow and loud in the room.
“Do not try to get up again. Do not fight me again.”
Frantic distress entered Aaron’s clouded eyes. He grabbed a fistful of the alpha’s T-shirt. “Mal, please.”
“No.”
“The bear. I can’t—”
The alpha’s voice could not soften, but for the first time Ember saw that his eyes could. He lifted his arm from its pinning position across Aaron’s chest. He grasped Aaron’s hand between both of his and brought his face close to Aaron’s.
“You’re worth more than that bear, friend. And this kind of injury could kill you if you bolt out of here and collapse on a hillside somewhere.”
“I can’t.”
“I know. I’ll go out tonight as soon as we know you’re stable. It won’t suffer after tonight.”
Aaron shut his eyes and slowly went limp. The alpha helped him onto his side again, and this time he let his head droop to the table and pulled his arms to his chest. Tears pushed into Ember’s throat as she bundled the blanket around his shoulders and torso, tucking it under to leave his legs exposed. She fetched a throw pillow from the living room too and tucked it beneath his head. The bandage was blood-soaked now, and with a low growl the alpha added another layer of gauze.
“Aaron in summary,” he said as they both resumed direct pressure on the wound. “Now you know.”
“He can’t abide causing pain,” she said.
“Or seeing it and doing nothing. He has to help. Always.”
“While the media paints all wolves in the opposite image.”
The alpha’s growl was deep, low, almost more a vibration that filled the room. Ember looked up to meet his eyes. They were hard as topaz now.
