by Lacey Thor
Gideon shuffled his feet, trying to position himself to get in front of the professor when the need arose. But Quinn saw it in the dead eyes around them. The leader of the hunting party might be smiling and laughing, but the others were hyper-focused. They were dead men walking with only one agenda. Take as many with them as they could. How long did she and the others have before they tired of talking?
“One more move and the first bullet goes through your head,” the leader snapped at Gideon. “Let’s see you recover from that, animal boy. Now, where was I? Bonus. That’s right. Killing dear Professor Mueller would serve two purposes. One, it wreaks havoc in the pride and the wolf packs. It’ll send all the alphas into a spin while they reel from the blow your death will cause. Plus, it will draw out their bitch. Rumor has it she has a little pup in her belly. We’ve got a big target on her back. Only a matter of time before she joins you, doc. Swear.”
Quinn heard the indrawn breaths around the room but noted Professor Mueller didn’t react at all. He was obviously aware of the rumor and didn’t rise to the bait. He was the personification of calm, cool, and collected, as if it were nothing to find himself staring down the barrel of several guns in the course of his day. She could use some of that herself. Her emotions were all over the place.
“Good luck with that,” Vic drew the attention her way. “Those wolves don’t fuck around when it comes to protecting their mate.”
“Unlike your mate. He should have died in one of the labs, stupid mongrel that he is. Oh, sorry. Wrong breed, isn’t it? Wonder how much you’ll love your pet when you’re bleeding out on the floor because you spread your legs for an animal.”
“Mate,” Vic corrected.
“What?”
“He’s not my pet. He’s my mate. The man I chose to spend the rest of my life with. For as long as it lasts.”
“Few minutes, at least. Not much longer than that, I promise. Never saw the sense in dragging things out. Then again. How many bullets do you think it will take to bring down one of these shifters when compared to a human woman? Should we see? You strike me as one of those butch bitches who thinks she’s as good as a man.”
“No,” Vic countered, no emotion showing on her face or in her voice. “Just one of those badass bitches who knows the difference between a real man and a bunch of little boys playing pretend.”
“Vic.”
There was a wealth of warning in Tah’s voice, but the other woman ignored him. Instead, she stepped completely in front of Professor Mueller, spreading her arms wide and making herself the biggest and closest target in the room. Quinn understood what she was doing. Trying to draw the fire toward herself and away from Tah and Abby while also protecting the professor. And fire was coming. The rising tension had everyone pulled taut. When it broke, it was going to be bad.
“Oh, I’m going to enjoy killing you, Utah Pearce, alpha of this pride. What a fucking joke. No such things as alphas. Isn’t that what they say now? Alphas are just a made up romanticism. Gives me a good chuckle. Means you don’t exist, cat boy. Something I can get behind. Let’s make sure we get a picture of his body and send it. Blane can frame it and hang it above his fireplace. In fact, everyone aim at the alpha. His blood spills first.”
Guns moved as each of the hunters took careful aim in their direction. Tah shoved Quinn back behind him and Gabriel moved closer in an attempt to protect Tah. Fuck! This wasn’t good at all. What the hell did she do?
“I don’t think that’s the way things are going to go,” Vic vowed, dropping one of her arms behind her back while waving the other around. “I mean if they all aim at the alpha, who’s going to be able to stop me from killing you?”
The gun was in her hand before the final word left her lips, pointed straight at the guy in charge. Blood bloomed on his forehead, his mouth falling open before he fell backward. Then everything happened at once, and chaos claimed the room.
Tah gripped the side of the bed Quinn had so recently lain in. It flew across the room, crashing into four of the men and carrying them back to slam full force against the wall with the bed ricocheting against them. But there were too many others still firing and only so many targets for them to aim for.
She couldn’t move either. Abby was over her, and Tah was over both of them. There was blood. Too much blood spreading around them. Quinn was numb. She didn’t know if she’d been hit or not. Had no idea of anything except the noise of the fired guns and the overwhelming stench of spilled blood and sweat that had her gagging. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t pull air into her lungs. She struggled beneath the weight of those pressing her down into the floor.
“Stay down,” Abby ordered then grunted as Tah’s body jerked above theirs.
Then it stilled. The whole room seemed blanketed in silence. It was more overwhelming than the explosion of activity they’d just encountered. Probably because Quinn knew nothing good came from the silence. It was like an unwanted guest who’d stopped in and turned everything on end. She wanted the noise back. The yells and grunts and gunfire. Because in those moments, there’d still been the chance they’d all survive.
“Tah!”
Abby’s voice filled the room, echoing and seeming to free everyone from the invisible chains that had held them still and silent.
“Team of hunters has been taken out. Immediate threat eliminated.”
That was Jonah’s voice. That had to mean Mitch was here, too. Quinn jerked her head.
“Mitch.” His name was a catch in her throat that barely carried beyond her mouth.
“Abby!” Reno’s voice thundered through the air, and Quinn heard him tearing across the room to them.
Abby wiggled, pressing down on Quinn as she tried to move Tah off them.
“Reno, he’s not moving. He’s not moving. Tah! Wake up! Don’t you dare leave me! Don’t you dare let those bastards take you from me.”
“Quinn!” That was Mitch’s voice.
“Mitch!” Her cry was louder this time as the weight above her lightened up.
Tah had been rolled off them, and Abby immediately followed after her mate, leaving Quinn free. She edged back until she hit the wall then pulled her knees into her chest and held them tight, holding herself together while it seemed as if the world fell down around her.
Where was Mitch?
“Get Diane!” Tony’s voice fired off commands across the room. “Who’s down? Jonah, report.”
“Mueller’s down. Two to the chest. One to the abdomen. Pulse thready. Needs in surgery ten minutes ago.”
“Get him moving to one of the ORs now. Drake scrubs in. Everything he can do to save him. Understand?”
“Noted,” Jonah replied, and there was something in his voice that made Quinn wonder if there was more to the order than she understood?
“Vic’s down!” Gideon’s voice carried across the room.
“You’re hit, too,” someone else said. One of Tony’s men Quinn wasn’t familiar with.
“I’m fine. A couple of bullets. I’ve had worse. See to my mate.”
“Gabriel’s down.” Another voice. Another unfamiliar face. She needed to make a point of getting to know the men who worked for Tony.
“He was trying to protect Tah.” Abby’s voice was husky from screaming and crying. “They focused on Tah. Gabriel tried to cover him. There were too many. Too many bullets.”
Reno appeared at Abby’s side. Quinn saw her sway where she sat, cradling her husband’s head. Reno noticed also.
“Abby, where were you when they were firing?” His voice was soft, though his face was anything but.
“Behind him. He kept me behind him until he fell. Even then, he made sure to cover me.”
“I think one of those bullets managed to get you anyway,” Reno murmured softly.
“What?” Abby glanced down, and Reno took that moment to sweep her up in his arms. “Put me down! I won’t leave him.”
“Get patched up, Abby. He’s going to need you at full steam. You know how
he’ll be if he finds out you were hurt and didn’t take care of yourself. Not to mention how much Regan’s going to need you.”
“We can’t lose him, Reno. We can’t.”
“Not happening.”
“Get Tah out of here,” Tony yelled. “Holloway! The liger’s yours. Let’s get moving.”
Jensen Holloway shoved people out of the way as he wheeled in a gurney and rolled it across to where Gabriel lay while another stretcher headed toward Tah. Reno held Abby, both watching like hawks as two men loaded the big lion shifter. Jensen immediately assessed Gabriel. Tony stepped in to stop Reno and Abby from following.
“Through and through,” Tony said as he looked at Abby’s upper arm. “Stitched up and some antibiotics, and you should be good as new. See how well your mate’s antibodies have taken root inside you.”
“I’m fine, Tony.”
“I know you are, Abs, but don’t make me save your stubborn alpha’s life just to have him berate me for not taking care of his mate,” Tony teased.
“Quinn.”
“Mitch.”
His name whispered across her lips followed by a sob she did her best to stifle. It was her fault. Professor Mueller. Vic. Gabriel. Tah. All shot because of her.
“Shh, baby. I’ve got you.”
Mitch lifted her onto his lap, wrapping himself around her and holding her tight.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
She shook her head. With everything that had happened, the alpha and his mate had thoroughly protected her, putting both their lives at risk.
Tony was at her side instantly, unwrapping her from Mitch’s arms and doing a quick assessment. He ran his hands over her, and she realized he was skimming over her bloody limbs to see if any of it leaked from her. It had her gagging again.
“Easy,” Tony said then hit a particular place on her calf that had her hissing. “You took a hit here, Quinn. We’re going to need to look at this.”
“Don’t worry about me.” She wasn’t thrilled to have another bullet wound so quickly on the heels of the first, but it was the least she deserved for the hell her presence had rained down on the pride.
“Jonah! Aleksy!” Tony yelled, rising to his feet.
Mitch stood also, lifting her in his arms and holding her high against his chest. “I’ve got you. God, I wish I’d been here.”
“No!”
Having him here was the last thing she would have wanted. Mitch going down in a hail of bullets as he tried to protect her… At the thought, that thing inside her woke with a vengeance, bringing a growl rumbling up from her chest.
“Easy there, mama lioness,” Tony said as both Jonah and Aleksy joined them. Tony gave her a visual once over as if he could see everything in that casual glance. Hell, maybe, he could.
“How is she?” Jonah asked, his voice calm and steady, in contrast to the high emotions filling in the room.
“I’m fine. One bullet to the calf. Low priority.”
“You need medical attention. You’ve been shot, had a baby, had major surgery, and now, you’ve been shot again. Despite what everyone seems to think, including you, you’re not super woman. That role was already cast. It’s past time you let someone take care of you. Really take care of you.” Mitch squeezed her close, and she turned her face toward him, accepting the kiss he dropped on her lips.
“Why don’t you and Aleksy take her back to the house. He can check the leg, see if it was a shrapnel hit or if there’s a bullet in there. Then you can bunk down there. I’ll check on you as soon as I’m out of surgery, where I should be already.”
Tony patted her arm then turned, making his way to the door with Jonah at his side.
“I need you to keep watch for Jess and her wolves,” Tony barked at Jonah as he walked. “I need her and Cody in one of the ORs as soon as they land. We’re not adequately staffed for this many serious injuries at once. We’ll need to remedy that.”
She didn’t say a word as Mitch carried her through the room. She shuddered as she took in the carnage around her. Four people critically injured. Two shifters and two humans. She’d done this. Brought this right in their back door. She kept her gaze off the bodies of the hunters, closing her eyes and tucking her head into Mitch’s neck. She pushed down the emotion rising in her throat, locking it deep until she could deal with it.
More death. More destruction. All on her head. Tah had noted why the hunting parties were so ballsy as to come onto pride land. They were after her. According to the dead group in the room, they’d even created suicide groups for the sole purpose of discovering how to get to her and how to take her out. Every ounce of blame could be lain at her feet. All the blood was on her hands, and no matter how hard she tried, she’d never get the stain of it off her soul.
Chapter Eleven
Mitch had left Quinn in Aleksy’s capable hands while he went back for Emery. She wouldn’t be completely okay until she could hold her son and make sure there were no marks on him. He had to admit he’d felt the same way when he’d walked into a room full of blood and chaos and hadn’t been able to find Quinn. It had felt as if his heart had stopped until he’d discovered her sitting against the far wall behind Abby, Tah, and Gabriel. She’d looked so alone with her knees clasped against her chest. Her eyes wide with horror. He hadn’t been able to get to her fast enough.
She’d been asleep when he’d ducked in the room to check on her. He’d made a make shift bassinet for Emery out of a clothes basket and blankets then put him close beside the bed next to his mother before heading back down to speak to Aleksy.
“How is she?”
“She’s okay,” Aleksy assured him as they moved toward the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water, tossing one to Mitch before turning and leaning against the counter. “Bullet hit her in the calf, but considering all she’s been through, she’s not bad at all. I’d say her healing rivals that of any of one of us.”
“Us as in me? Or you?” Mitch asked.
“Me and it makes no fucking sense. She’s got some shifter characteristics, but she’s not a shifter.”
“How’d you get her to head upstairs before I got back?”
“She was anxious for you to get back with her son. She’s been through a lot. I’d say the last few days, but I think it goes back farther than that. Talbot did a real number on her, and I’m not just talking physically. Though that’s beyond fucked up. But mentally and emotionally, as well. I gave her some antibiotic as well as a little something to help her relax.”
“She complied with that?” Mitch admitted that surprised him.
“I didn’t tell her, and I won’t apologize for it. She needs the sleep. Her body is desperate for it. She’ll heal even faster if her body is rested.” Aleksy took a long drink, finishing the water then tossing the bottle into the recycling bin.
“Earlier, she said her healing speeds up when she was awake,” Mitch countered.
“Maybe, she thought so because she was awake to notice it, but I promise you she’ll heal faster while she’s sleeping. It’s the only time she’s relaxed enough to give up control. If we could get her to rest for at least the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours, I’d say she’d be almost good as new, and that’s as far from normal as you can get.”
Aleksy’s glance moved toward the doorway, and Mitch wasn’t surprised when Lyra walked through. She went straight to her mate and rubbed against him before settling with her back to Aleksy’s chest.
“Mitch.”
Her voice was soft and still rusty. She’d been partially deaf when she’d first met her mate. She hadn’t known she was a shifter, but her animal had managed to keep her from completely losing her hearing even in its dormant state. Mating with Aleksy and allowing her tiger to be free had corrected the damage, though from what Aleksy said, the animal muted sounds for her when she was overwhelmed. Lyra also didn’t speak aloud often. At least outside of her mate and Tony.
“Lyra and I talked.” Aleksy had one
arm across her chest and the other resting along her hip. “We’re going to stick close to here for a while. As will alpha team. They won’t stop coming for her. Or for her baby if he’s anything like his mother. If things are headed the way they appear to be between you two, you have to be ready for that. We all do.”
Mitch nodded. Things were headed that way, and no hunter would make him back away from the woman he was falling for. They needed to be ready. They didn’t have the numbers to handle another mass assault like the one that had just happened. They’d handled it, but not without casualties.
“What did you find out while you were over there?” Aleksy asked.
“Bad. It’s bad. Both Gabriel and Tah took multiple hits. Tah threw that bed across the room and took out as many as he could then used his body to shield his mate and Quinn. Gabriel tried to shield him, but he was a target. A huge one and I think every hunter in the room aimed for him.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah. Gideon took some hits but was conscious and talking. Sounds as if he moved to cover Tah, and Vic intentionally drew the bastards fire her way. I’m sure she was trying to protect Tah, as well. She tried to cover Mueller, too, but once they turned, they turned with a vengeance. Last I heard, Mueller’s coded twice on the table, but they’ve managed to get him back so far. I don’t know on Vic. No one had an update on her.”
That worried Mitch a lot. No news wasn’t necessarily good news. It was just no news.
“How about our guys?” he asked.
“Several injuries but nothing too serious. Those skirmishes were merely distractions. I’ll talk to Tony about calling in some of the other teams. We can’t be caught like this again.”
“No,” Mitch agreed. They couldn’t be caught unprepared again. “Their casualties?”
“A lot. We weren’t playing around. Those who made it out, limped away,” Aleksy assured him. “You know she’s going to blame herself. I could see the devastation in her eyes while I took care of her leg.”
The thought tore up Mitch. He wondered if any of them realized how fragile she really was. She held herself together at the seams, and those were breaking down fast. This might be the final straw to put her over the edge. Hell, the hunters might have inadvertently created what would inevitably bring them down. Quinn.