Her vision turned to red as the pain became unbearable. The blood sputtered out of her, and each time she felt her mind drift into unconsciousness, she was jerked back awake.
Make it stop!
The waitress looked at her in horror, and the other patrons began to surround her. Someone yelled to call 911.
Unable to hold herself upright, she slid down the booth and onto the floor. It was like she was dying over and over again, and she wasn’t even allowed to feel the relief of death.
“Olivia!”
Strong arms held her. The ringing in her ears was deafening, but she managed to pick up a few words here and there.
“Shot … in the head … chest.…”
“Bullet didn’t go through.…”
“Stuck inside her.…”
“Please!” she screamed. “Help me. It hurts so bad.”
“She’s dying.…”
“No!”
Eli’s voice rang clear in her head. He was the one holding her.
At least he was here now.
Chapter 9
“No!”
Eli’s heart stopped, and his entire body went numb. Somehow, he managed to cradle Olivia in his arms. For the first few seconds, he felt absolutely nothing as he held her, then he felt everything—shock, agony, pain, disbelief. His wolf, on the other hand, was going ballistic. It scratched at him, wanting to get out. To tear apart whoever did this to their mate.
Her screams had stopped, but now she was weeping incoherently, her body convulsing in pain. Her violet eyes were unfocused and glassy, and the only thing keeping him from completely losing it was the rise and fall of her chest.
Don’t you dare. Don’t you fucking dare leave me.
“Her body’s trying to heal,” Sloane said, her face pale as she watched the horror unfolding before them. Jacob was behind her, ushering people away. “But the wound can’t close because the bullets are still inside her. Oh fuck, she must be in so much pain.”
He wanted to rage at himself, tell her he was sorry for how things went, but she wouldn’t be able to hear him. And this was no time to fall apart.
“We have to get her to the hospital,” Sloane said. “Oh, Olivia, hang on, please. You’ll be fine, as long as they can take the bullets out.”
They could wait for the ambulance, but from this part of town that could take ten minutes. The ride to Boston Med was another ten. And then another couple of minutes to get her on the operating table and explain to the doctors what was going on.
His hand went to his pocket, where the vials rested against his heart.
Or he could end her suffering now.
The decision didn’t even take a millisecond. Taking out two vials, he closed his eyes, fingers circling the cold glass.
“Eli, we need to move—Jesus Christ, what are you doing? What’s going on?”
Sloane’s voice faded away, as did all the noise around him. A warmth from within spread across his body, trailing up his arms and to his fingers, surrounding the vials with a yellow glow.
“What the fuck,” Someone—Jacob probably—gasped.
It was ready.
