Zach

by Catherine Lievens

  Zach pushed his hair away from his forehead and tried to wipe the sweat that had accumulated there. He hated not being able to shower as often as he wanted, but he wasn’t allowed to waste water, as Stan put it. He was just lucky to be a shifter, otherwise he was sure his wounds would have gotten infected by now. “In the kitchen.”

  Heavy steps came his way and he braced himself. Bud appeared at the door, his face already scowling at Zach. “I came by this morning.”

  Zach froze. Shit. “Oh. Ellie didn’t tell me.”

  “That’s because I didn’t tell her. She was sleeping when I got here, but you were nowhere to be found.”

  “I, uh, I went running. In wolf form.”

  “I bet you did,” Bud said with a sneer. “I bet you went running around Kameron’s house, huh?”

  Zach didn’t answer. It wouldn’t do any good anyway, because even when he didn’t go over to Kameron’s, they still didn’t believe him, and they still beat him up. In the beginning, he had tried to defend himself, but they had retaliated on Ellie, so now he just let them do whatever they wanted. If he just stayed silent as much as he could, they lost interest, and they stopped—eventually.

  Zach stayed as still as he could even when Bud’s hand shot forward, grabbing his hair in a painful hold. Zach hated his longish hair when that happened.

  Bud used the hold to push Zach around until he slammed him against the table, face down. Zach’s face was pressed into the scarred wood as Bud leaned into him, putting all his considerable weight into it and pressing the air out of Zach, and whispered, “You know what happens when you go there, boy.”

  Bud stood back and tugged on Zach’s hair, probably yanking a strand or two out. Zach whimpered, his hands flying to his head, but before he could make contact with Bud’s hands, a fist landed on his cheekbone and stopped him. Pain exploded in his right eye as his vision went white and a loud cry escaped him.

  That was only the beginning.

  Bud hit Zach in the stomach and Zach didn’t know which pain was the worst. His body was just a big, painful bruise, and when Bud let his hair go after only a few punches, he thought it was over. He was wrong.

  He fell on his knees, his arms wrapped around his stomach as he tried to will the pain away. He could hear his sister calling for him, and he knew she was going to try to get up, to get to him. He was so scared that Bud would hurt her too, and he couldn’t let him. Luckily, Bud seemed more interested in him than in Ellie.

  A kick landed on Zach’s hands where they were still clutching his stomach, and he cried out, finally falling on the floor. He tucked himself in as tight a ball as he could manage, knowing that protecting his head was important even as kick after kick nailed him in the back, on the arms, on the legs. Bud didn’t seem to realize that if he went on like that, Zach was going to be seriously hurt this time.

  He could feel blood trickling down from somewhere under his eye, his jaw was sore even as he opened it to scream, and his arms, his legs, and every single inch of his body was on fire. He was sure Bud was going to kill him today, and he couldn’t do anything but think about his sister. What was she going to do once he was gone?

  Zach’s wolf tried to rebel, to fight back, but he kept it down as much as he could. Fighting back only made things worse, and every time he had done it, Ellie had ended up hurt too.

  Zach was so concentrated on her, on what would happen, that he nearly didn’t notice that the beating had stopped. Not that it made a lot of difference by then. Everything hurt anyway, even without Bud adding other injuries.

  He startled when he felt arms going around him and tried to make himself even smaller, pain shooting from everywhere at once with every movement he made.

  “Sshh. Stay still, Zach.”

  Zach jerked his head up, yelping when pain shot down his neck. He couldn’t see much because one of his eyes was already swollen closed and the other gave him only a clouded vision, but he could see two people in the kitchen with him, and he could have sworn... “Ka-Kameron?”

  The arms went around him again, and this time he didn’t fight them. He didn’t have the energy to fight anymore, and his wolf was more than happy to let go, since it felt that they were finally safe.

  Zach felt himself being picked up, wincing every time Kameron jarred him. It was only once he was in the Alpha’s arms, safe and warm, that he remembered his sister. “Ellie!”

  Zach tried to scramble down from Kameron’s arms, but his only results were more pain and whimpers. Kameron held him closer and tighter as he started moving and cooing at Zach.

  “Don’t worry, she’s here. She was calling out when we came in and Andy went to her.”

  Zach couldn’t see much more than shadows and movement from his one good eye, but he smelled Ellie as soon as Kameron entered her room. Zach heard the big wolf swear under his breath before he gently put Zach down on the bed.

  “Ellie? You’re okay?”

  Ellie was sobbing, one hand in front of her mouth and the other clutching at her stomach. “My god, Zach, what did they do to you? Who was it?”

  “Bud. He found out I, uh, wasn’t home this morning.”

  “Is it because you were outside my house?” Kameron asked and Zach cringed. He was grateful that Kameron had arrived when he had, but he couldn’t help but think about what was going to happen now.

  “Where is he?”

  “Bud? Nick took him down. They’re outside. Jonah is looking around the house and Andy is packing your things.”

  “What?” Zach tried to straightened, but he just couldn’t.

  “Zach, I don’t know what the hell has been happening in here for the last few months, but it’s obvious both you and Ellie need help. Has she even seen a doctor since the beginning of her pregnancy? Has she been eating regularly?”

  “I—”

  “Shut up, Zach. I’m not giving you a choice here. You’re coming with us, period. You have a lot of explaining to do, but it can wait until after Jared examines the two of you.”

  Zach didn’t like the cool and abrupt tone Kameron was using. It was so different from the one he used only months earlier, when Zach still lived with him. Zach had earned this, though, and he couldn’t complain. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For hurting you. For leaving without saying anything. For not asking for help.” Zach was sorry for so many things—the most important one being that he had left his mate without explaining what was going on, why he had needed to move in with Ellie. Telling Kameron everything about Ellie’s mating and what Zach’s parents had done would have been hard, but not as much as what he’d had to endure in the last few months, and certainly not as hard as the conversation he would soon have with Kameron.

  * * * *

  Kameron was conflicted. He wanted to keep some distance between Zach and himself, both because he was afraid the man would leave him again and because he was still angry with him. But his wolf—and a very big part of himself if he was being honest—wouldn’t let him move more than a few feet away from Zach.

  He couldn’t, not after what he had walked in on, not after seeing Zach’s face, the bruises, the open wounds. He wouldn’t have recognized the small, sweet man if he hadn’t known it was him.

  Nick had had to stop Kameron physically from ripping into Bud when they entered the house. They had arrived only minutes before that, and had heard the cries even from a distance, so they hadn’t lost time trying to knock on the door. Kameron had barged in, not listening to Nick when he said Kameron should come second, being Alpha and all that crap. Kameron’s wolf had been adamant. Zach was being hurt, and they were going to save their mate.

  That made Kameron stop. He knew he was in love with Zach, and he knew his wolf was more than attracted to the man and his wolf, but Zach didn’t smell like mate, so why was he thinking of him like that?

  Not that it mattered, not after he had seen Bud kicking Zach everywhere he could reach him. Not
after he had heard the soft whimpers Zach had made with every impact of Bud’s boot. Not after seeing Zach’s blood on the kitchen’s floor.

  He had launched himself on the man, grabbing his shirt and pulling on it so hard that Bud had stumbled backward, right into Kameron’s arms. It had been so easy to turn him around and to push him into the closest wall, then to punch him right in the nose. It had hurt, but it had felt so good, and Kameron wouldn’t have stopped if Nick hadn’t hugged him from behind and pulled him away.

  That had made Kameron snap out of it, and he had rushed to Zach’s side. The man was still huddled on the linoleum floor, and Kameron had kneeled next to his love, his mate, unsure about what he could do without hurting him even more than he already was. He wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings, sure that his friends would do what they had to do to protect their Alpha.

  Then Andy had entered the kitchen, his face grim, his lips thin and pressed together, telling Kameron that Ellie probably wasn’t that fine even if his words weren’t saying it.

  Kameron had nodded and had tried to pick Zach up, his heart breaking when the man tried to make himself even smaller. He had taken him to his sister and put him down next to her on the bed, and looking at the way Zach was worrying for her even if he was still bleeding, he just couldn’t stay angry.

  He left the siblings on the bed after Zach had apologized, not wanting to start talking about it right then and there, even if his wolf was whimpering to get back to their mate. He went looking for the three men who had come in with him, feeling bloodthirsty from the idea that he could finally do something at least to two members of Erskine’s inner circle. Bud was going to pay, and so was Stan.

  Kameron found Andy and Jonah still in the kitchen. “Did someone call Jared? I don’t want to move either of them before he sees them.”

  “I did. He’s coming with one of the Nix who helped us with the raid. That way he can just shimmer them where Jared wants them to go after he examines them,” Andy answered.

  “Bud and Stan?”

  “Nick already took Bud away. He’s going to put him into one of the cells. Stan’s probably at work, so he won’t be back until later.”

  “Andy, call Nick and tell him that I want him to get Stan and put him in another cell once he’s done with Bud. I don’t care if he’s at work, he’s not going to stay in Gillham for much longer anyway, and he won’t need a job in the council’s jail.”

  Kameron would have preferred to kill both men, but he couldn’t. Zach wouldn’t want him to, not even after what they had obviously done. Kameron didn’t like to kill anyway, not when he could just make them disappear in jail. Still, he felt as if he should kill them for hurting his mate.

  “Jonah, call Thomas and Duncan, then check the house. I’m sure Bud and Stanford weren’t the only ones hurting Ellie and Zach, and I want all proof you can find of that.” Kameron didn’t really care about Jonah not being part of the pack right then, and he didn’t have other people he could ask, not yet. He hoped that would change once the old inner circle lost power, and he was going to put them down as soon as he could. The Glass Research Company wouldn’t be a problem for long, now that Glass was locked in the council’s jail. Now, Kameron could concentrate on the pack’s problems, the bigger one being those assholes who had followed Erskine when he was the Alpha.

  Andy had exited the house when Kameron asked him to call Nick, but he came back inside soon after, Jared and a blond, small man trailing behind them.

  “Jared, thank you for coming,” Kameron told the doctor. “They’re in the bedroom.”

  “I’m sure you remember Noem,” Jared said indicating the Nix with him. “He wants to become a doctor, so he’s going to help me, if it’s fine with you.” Kameron nodded and moved toward the bedroom, sure that Jared was following him. “What happened?”

  “We walked in on a pack member beating Zach up. He’s pretty bad, lots of cuts and bruises, and I don’t think it was the first time he was abused. As for Ellie... she’s pregnant, and I don’t think she ever saw a doctor. She’s also way too thin.”

  Kameron moved to the side of the bedroom, leaving Jared space to work. The bobcat shifter immediately went to Zach, but Zach pushed him away. “Check on Ellie first, please. She’s six months pregnant but she’s never seen a doctor.”

  Jared hesitated, but everyone in the room could see that Zach wasn’t going to let himself be examined before Ellie, so he didn’t even try to talk Zach into it before walking to her side of the bed. Kameron took the opportunity to sit next to Zach and reach for his hand. It didn’t matter if he was still angry, and if he didn’t know if Zach wanted him. Kameron was scared for Zach, and he needed him close.

  Zach looked at him, but he didn’t move his hand away. They watched as Jared, helped by Noem, quickly but thoroughly checked Ellie.

  “She’s too thin and dehydrated, but that’s all I can say here. I’ll need to get her to the hospital before I can examine the baby too.”

  It wasn’t much, but Zach seemed to be reassured, and when Jared turned to examine him, he didn’t fight the doc. Kameron moved away again, but Zach’s gaze never left him, not even when Jared disinfected his open wounds, making him wince and whimper softly. “Zach, I’ll need to get you to the hospital too. As far as I can tell, you don’t have anything broken, which is a miracle, but I can’t be sure. I need to do some x-rays.”

  Zach started to shake his head, but Kameron would have none of that. “He’ll come.” He looked at Zach. “I’ll go with you, and I’ll make sure you can’t even try to get out of the exams Jared will have to do, so don’t even think about it.”

  “Don’t you have to do something about Bud?” Zach asked, holding his chin up in a stubborn manner Kameron hadn’t realized he missed until then. It made him want to kiss the blond, but he couldn’t do that now, not with how things had been left between them.

  “Nick will take care of it. He’s not my Beta for nothing, and he has others to help him.”

  “But you’re—”

  “Shut up, Zach. You’re not going to win this anyway.” Kameron narrowed his eyes at the stubborn brat, and this time Zach didn’t answer. Good. “Can Noem shimmer all of us together?”

  “Sure. I guess you can hold Zach while Jared takes Ellie. I’ll take the bag,” Noem answered, and Kameron saw Zach’s mouth opening, probably to protest, so he just walked to him and grabbed him as gently as he could.

  “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Two

  Zach spent hours in the hospital, doing x-rays and every other exam Jared deemed necessary. It wasn’t pleasant. The nurses poked and prodded at him, but at least by the time they were done, he could see again, even if one of his eyes was still a bit swollen.

  His body hurt like a bitch, especially now that the adrenaline had abandoned it, leaving behind only pain. Zach was stiff and his eyes were still a little too sensitive. He had bruises in every imaginable place and in a few he wouldn’t have thought could bruise, a split lip, and a whole array of other wounds and places that hurt. Even his scalp felt as if it was on fire, and he just knew he was missing several clumps of hair.

  Zach was lying on the small bed in one of the rooms, waiting for Jared to tell him he could go home. Not that he actually had a home, but he really wanted to get out of the hospital, so when the bobcat finally came in, he was more than ready to grab Ellie and get out of there.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “As well as I can considering what happened. Can I go?”

  Jared smiled. “Not fond of hospitals, huh?”

  Zach shook his head. “Not really, but you did an amazing job here.”

  Jared really had. It had everything a normal hospital had, but the place wasn’t quite as aseptic and cold. It had been built keeping in mind that Jared might have to deal with shifters in their animal forms, and since it was smaller than a normal hospital, it was cozier. The walls were painted a light blue and the sheets on the
beds were several shades darker. The blankets were patchworks, just like the ones one could imagine being knitted by grandmas. There was a shelf with some books, a TV and decorations on the walls. Overall, it looked like a home, but with medical equipment around.

  “So, you’re fine. Nothing broken, but you’re going to have to take it easy for a while to give your body time to heal. I assume you’re feeling pain?”

  “That I am.”

  “It should take about a week for you to get better, and I want you to come back then, or if anything feels off, of course. In the meantime, we have some shifter-oriented painkillers if you need them.”

  “What about Ellie? How is she?”

  “She’s fine. I’m going to keep her here for a while, just to be sure. She needs to eat more and to rest, but the baby also seems to be fine. As soon as we’re done here, I’m going to get to her and do a second ultrasound. Do you want to be there for it?”

  Zach nodded. He didn’t like the fact that Ellie would have to stay in the hospital, but he knew she would be safe and taken care of. He wasn’t in the condition to take care of her and the baby right now. He could come and visit—that was, if he found someone who could bring him to the hospital. He didn’t even know where he was going to be staying yet. Kameron had been adamant that Zach wasn’t going to go back to Stan’s house, but he hadn’t told him where he was going to go. Hopefully, one of Zach’s friends had volunteered to take him in, maybe Andy. Zach knew Xavier, Andy’s mate, and while they didn’t really know each other that well, he kind of liked the man. Xavier seemed like a good, sweet man, and Zach wouldn’t mind staying with the couple.

  He wasn’t sure who else would take him in, if he was honest. Maybe he could stay with Derick, if Dominic allowed him.

  Once Jared was done giving Zach a list of things he shouldn’t do until he was better and a bottle of painkillers, Zach got up. He winced, every movement painful even with the pills he had taken not long ago, but there was nothing more to do, so he gritted his teeth and went on.