Page 57 of Rescued

Mikey came over to stand near Breanna, the worry in her eyes clearing a little. “Mina’s an amazing surgeon,” she said, watching her examine Cisco’s wound. “She met her mate when he was caught in a bear trap—as a wolf. Put his whole leg back together so you’d never know it was broken, except for the scar. Of course, she didn’t know he was a shifter wolf at the time.”

“Say what?”

“Yeah,” Mikey said. “Noah woke up wolf in her veterinary office, with one of those plastic cones around his neck. I would have paid money to see that, if I was actually born yet. And from what he says, he fell in love with her on the spot.”

Breanna was trying to figure out how somebody would feel, finding out their surgery patient was actually a human in disguise. Crazy.

“What about the others?” she said.

“Trish is an amazing healer. She used to be in our pack, until she mated a crazy ass-dragon king. That’s his sister, my Aunt Mayah. She’s mated to my Uncle Tristan.” She indicated the younger-looking woman. “Mayah can do magical healing. Hopefully between them, everyone will be okay.”

Breanna tried not to stare too hard at the… dragon. It was weird even saying that inside her mind, let alone believing it.

But if she could make Cisco and the others okay, Breanna was behind her one hundred percent.

“I’m sure they will be,” she said, giving Mikey a little hug. She looked like she needed it.

Mikey went off to talk to Gunn, who put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him like she really was giving him strength.

Given a little breathing room, Breanna went outside for some air. She hadn’t seen Switch for a while, so she went looking for him.

She found him around the back of the building, both hands flat on the siding as if it were holding him up. As soon as she got near him she could hear his ragged breath, like he was hyperventilating. His wolf was growling, down in his chest.

“Switch?” she called quietly, not wanting to startle him into wolf form.

“Go away.”

Crap. He was having a panic attack. A girl she knew in college used to have them.

She walked up slowly behind him and put a hand on his back, hoping he wouldn’t pull away. He didn’t.

“Hey,” she said. “You’re okay.”

“Yeah. Sure. So you can just go.”

She realized suddenly that he wasn’t part of the pack bond. It wasn’t shoring him up like it did the others, or giving him strength.

And he was freaking out.

Slowly, gently, she slid her arms around him from behind, putting her hands flat on his belly.

“Here,” she said gently. “Breathe really slow, right where my hands are. Feel them? Make my hands go up and down.”

She could feel him struggling to slow down his breathing, feel his breath move from his chest down to his belly. “That’s it,” she murmured. “Breathe right there.”

It was a trick she’d learned, to deactivate the ‘fight or flight’ response and calm a panic attack. Something sciency about nerve stimulation.

But it worked. She felt his belly start to move rhythmically under her hands, and finally the shift in his body when everything relaxed. The wolf growl faded away.

“Shit,” he said. “How did you do that?”

“Science.”

“Yeah. Or something.”

She leaned her head against his back. “I’m sorry about the mission. I’m glad you’re okay.”

He sighed. “Did we lose anyone besides Beringer?”