Howls echoed through the night sky, each one more mournful than the last. Jess met my eyes for a heartbeat before her Dad hauled her away. I wanted to go to her, but I couldn’t risk leaving Caleb’s side. He was acting Alpha now and it was my duty to protect him. Several members of the Pack had injuries, but they stood aimlessly, as Caleb lost himself to grief. Dad laid next to the Alpha, guarding his body in death the same way he’d guarded him in life
“Is anyone trained in first aid here?” Jess’s Dad asked and Trent padded to him, shifting to human form when he reached him.
“I do,” Trent replied and Dher ad nodded.
“Anyone with injuries make your way over to the motel. Trent here will assess and triage.” Several of the wolves and men stared at her dad but didn’t move until I snarled. I snapped at a couple of wolves near me to get them moving. Our Alpha was gone, but we had to move forward. “Please, I know you’re grieving, but many of you need medical attention, like my daughter. I can’t call the police or an ambulance so we need to work together.” Shame crossed some of their faces and they started shuffling back toward Jess.
After making sure Payne would stay with Caleb for a few minutes, I padded over to Jess. Her eyes were closed so I gently nuzzled her until they opened. She smiled as she met my eyes and my tongue curled licking her face. She winced at the slight pressure.
“You get an out this time,” she murmured as I continued to gently lick her swollen cheek. “Don’t think this will be a regular occurrence.”
“I hope not,” I replied, my voice heavy in her head as my nose nudged her broken wrist. She hissed at the pain and I sent her a wordless apology. “I can’t heal this, not completely,” I told her as I carefully licked the broken wrist.
“It already feels better,” she replied, burying her other hand in the soft fur of my neck. “I was afraid,” she stopped, switching to our link. “I was afraid it would be you on the ground. Is it wrong that I’m glad it wasn’t?”
No, I answered, and allowed her to feel my relief that she was alive, the joy that came with the knowledge she was safe. “I feel the same. I was coming to you when he was…killed.” I hesitated over the word killed, unable to come to terms with the fact they’d shot our Alpha. “I left my alpha undefended.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she told me fiercely, gripping the fur behind my ear. “It wasn’t.”
“I knew their plan was to take out the alpha. Sam told me in her letter.”
She paused, as my meaning became clear.
“Why did he come?” She asked, bewildered by the Alpha’s actions
“An alpha fights with his pack,” I answered quietly. “I failed him though.”
She shook her head in immediate denial and I turned away. She tugged my head back toward her, her fingers fisted in my fur.
“Explain.”
“We knew they would attack him. Trent and I were supposed to protect him along with my dad.” I paused and she waited, sensing my guilt. “I felt your pain, and instead of guarding my alpha, I fought my way to you.”
Her forehead wrinkled at my words, not understanding.
“I left my position to go to you. I was too late though. Your father killed the sheriff;” a low growl accompanied the thought, unhappy I hadn’t been the one to kill the sheriff. “I was too late to save my alpha as well.”
“He was shot. You couldn’t have saved him,” she reminded me, lowering her head to mine, her forehead resting in the curve of bone above my eyes.
“I could have taken the bullet meant for him.”
A sharp flare of agony went through her at that thought and I whimpered at her pain. She tightened her arms around my neck, her tears soaking into my fur.
“No,” she whispered brokenly. “No.”
“I’m okay,” I attempted to reassure her, but it did no good as mental images of me lying on the ground in a pool of blood paraded through her mind. “Jess,” I said, the sound of my voice snapping her out of the living nightmare. I crouched at her feet,as she braced her hands against my bare shoulders and I rubbed the tears from her face.
“We’re alright,” I promised, dragging her hand to the spot where she’d bitten me, right above my beating heart. “Feel this and know we’re okay.” She nodded, calming as she felt the reassuring thud of my heart.
“Jesus, son. If you want to spend any time at all around my daughter, you better put some pants on.” A hand dropped over Jess’s eyes and she hiccupped which turned into a giggle when I muttered, “Yes, sir.” I couldn’t believe he’d managed to sneak up on us without.