Pride Before the Fall

by JoAnna Grace

  "Found the decoy," Amilynn called from the room. Conall went in where a human male with his throat slit slumped in the closet.

  "That was him," Bristow whispered, his face turning a shade of green. "He's asked for Vivian every night this week."

  "I've got her stable," Tyrone announced. "We need that ambulance." His hands were buried deep in Vivian's pelvis and covered in her blood.

  Conall pushed Bristow out of the room. "Wait here." He walked back to Amilynn. "What can you scent?"

  "He's got a wad of cash in his breast pocket that carries Jake's scent. He was a pawn. I also recognize Jake's scent from the apartment, don't you?"

  Conall nodded and went back to Vivian. She was staring glassy eyed at the ceiling. Her mouth kept moving slightly as if she were repeating something over and over again. Conall bent down to put his ear next to her lips.

  "Tell Kasey... love him... tell Kasey... I love...Kasey... love him."

  Conall took her head between his hands. "Tell him yourself, damn it! Come on, Vivian, I'm your subordinate and I'm giving you a direct order. I know that pisses you off. Stay with me, V. I can't lose you like this. Stay with me!"

  * * * * *

  Kasey drove to the club like a bat out of hell. He'd called the Pack's surgeon, Charles, who worked at the human hospital. He had wolf and bear nurses who helped him conceal the existence of their kind. Charles was waiting on Vivian to arrive. Thanks to their bond, Kasey could tell him exactly where Vivian was shot and what she was feeling at the moment.

  The paramedics were loading up Vivian when his sports car slid into the gravel of the parking lot. He jumped out of his car and raced to the ambulance. Both of the EMTs were wolves and let him pass. Ty was crouched next to her, his hands on her body.

  "Ty?" Kasey demanded.

  "I've stopped the flow of blood in her body."

  "What! How?"

  "Don't question it. If I let her go, she's going to bleed to death."

  Kasey looked at Vivian. Her face was turning white; her eyes were open, but lifeless. When he reached for her hand, Ty yelled at him. "No!"

  "Why not?"

  "I'm using black magic. No one but felines can touch her right now or it will be undone."

  "The surgeon is a wolf."

  "By then you won't need me."

  The paramedics asked Kasey to get in the ambulance. They explained to Ty that they needed to run an IV and do some standard things the humans would expect. "Get Amilynn. She knows the magic and she's had medical training."

  Kasey ran to the blonde. "Ty needs you. I'll meet you at the hospital."

  Amilynn nodded and ran to her brother. Kasey's men had arrived alongside the human police. It was moments like this when he valued the wolves and bears who served on the local PD even though it meant dealing with humans.

  Then again, lying in that purple velvet room was a wolf. Never in a million years would he have thought Jake was the one behind all the hatred of the cats. His scent never betrayed him. Usually Kasey could smell a lie, but Jake was either clever or had only recently turned against the Pride.

  And Helena! What a kick in the balls that was. Sampson was on his way, along with Pack security, to apprehend her. She would be questioned as soon as Kasey knew his mate's fate.

  Martin walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Until that moment, Kasey hadn't realized he'd been standing dazed while chaos continued around him. "Sir. I can handle this. Please go to the hospital. Your mate needs you."

  It snapped Kasey into action. He nodded and left without another word. As he slid into his car, the passenger side door opened. Melissa jumped in. "Please?" she asked, her face nearly translucent she was so pale. "I'm scared."

  "Of course," Kasey said. They sped away to catch up to the ambulance.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Kasey paced the hallway, unable to sit still and shaking all over. Dr. Charles Blackburn, his distant cousin, had rushed Vivian into surgery what seemed like hours ago. So he paced. He knew nothing. The nurses knew nothing. The unknown and possible crept into his mind. Most of his family and all of the Pride were there to be with him. But he couldn't sit.

  He couldn't lose her. He'd just found her. She'd just realized that she loved him. Not now. God, please not now. His entire life was shifting, changing into something beautiful since he'd met Vivian. The sound of her voice when she sang entrapped him. The way she moved her body on stage and in the bedroom turned his willpower into mush. Her strength and determination inspired him. Vivian was his perfect mate. She was the missing piece to his puzzle, the key that unlocked unlimited potential in his life. He wanted to marry her, have children with her, raise those children and grow old with her, looking on the generations to follow.

  "Come to me," said an angelic voice. Kasey looked at Melissa. Her arms were open, her eyes red with tears. "Come let me hold you, Kasey." Her voice was so light, like the chiming of Christmas bells. He sat beside his mate's sister as her arms enveloped him. She hugged his head to her chest. Behind him was Bianca. Her body covered his until sisters were all around. Amilynn sat at his feet, resting her head on his knees. The men created a wall of protection and strength around the group. Melissa began to hum a melody that Vivian had sung the night of the party. It soothed him like nothing else.

  It felt like hours before a doctor, still in his scrubs, came out to talk to them.

  "The bullet went through her pretty cleanly but it hit a lot of important things before it exited. We've repaired most of the damage, but she has lost a lot of blood and I imagine she will need more. Does anyone have AB+ they can donate? We can't exactly call a local blood bank." He turned first to the Pride, the felines being the obvious choice. All of them shook their head, even Melissa.

  "I do." Tom walked over from where he'd been curled up in Ami's arms.

  The doctor narrowed his eyes, thinking. "How old are you again, son?"

  Bianca answered and the doctor tilted his head like he just didn't know if he could take the blood.

  "Please, let me help," Tom begged. "She's my aunt."

  "They have our permission, if that's what you need," Sampson told the surgeon.

  "Ok, son. Go with the nurse. Do you know anyone else with AB+ who can come?" he asked Kasey.

  "Me!" Ezekiel shouted, running down the hall. "I will." He jogged up to the group, breathing heavily. Kasey knew that the touch he gave to Amilynn's face was an involuntary reaction as he passed her to follow his brother down the hall.

  "What now? I'm assuming if you need to give her blood that she will live," Kasey said with hope, not conviction.

  "If I were all of you, I would pray that her body begins to heal the way only our race can. Human medicine has done all it will for her."

  Cries erupted from Melissa. Tyrone pulled her into his arms. Conall and Amilynn embraced one another.

  "Kasey, I need to talk to you privately please."

  He nodded and followed the doctor deeper into the hall while his family waited around the corner. "What is it?" His heart was pounding in his chest and for a moment, he was sick.

  "The bullet entered her body right by her uterus. The organ was damaged beyond repair. I did what I could, but I just don't think it was enough, sir. It's the main source of blood loss right now. Unless her shifter magic heals the uterus, I think we will have to remove it."

  "She won't be able to have children." That's what the doctor was saying. He nodded. The organ was bleeding out and needed to be removed.

  "I'm going to watch her for the next few hours, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to go back in and take it out. I'm sorry."

  Kasey looked at him with all the authority and power in his blood as alpha. "You do whatever it takes to save her life. We can deal with not being able to have children, but I cannot, I will not live without her."

  The doctor nodded and walked away.

  * * * * *

  Melissa sat watching Kasey. His whole life lay in a hospital bed fighting to live and
he could do nothing. Members of the Pack had come and gone over the long hours. People who had only known Vivian and the Pride for a matter of a few weeks were coming in to pray with the family and offer words of encouragement and support. He was doing his best to keep face and not break down.

  Finally, he came and sat by her. His elbows resting on his knees, he stared at the floor for a long time. Melissa looked at her mate. Tyrone tapped Amilynn on the shoulder and together they walked away, leaving Melissa and Kasey relatively alone. She put her arm across his back and stroked his neck.

  "Can I ask you something, Melissa?" His voice was hard and scratchy like a machine that needed oil.

  "Of course you can, sweetheart."

  Kasey looked at her with his tormented blue-gray eyes. "Could you still love Tyrone if he took away your option to have children? Could you stay with a man who stole your choices like that?"

  His question knocked the breath right out of her lungs. Why was he asking such a thing? And why would it matter right now?

  "Of course I would still love him, Kasey. Ty is so much more than just my cat's chosen mate. He is my best friend. Only Vivian could rival his closeness to me and that's because she's my blood. Why would you ask me—" She knew the answer as soon as his eyes filled with tears. "Oh God. Oh, no." She gripped her heart.

  "The doctor said that they could leave her uterus, but that it was the most damaged organ and was causing most of the bleeding. I told him to do what he must to save her life. I can't live without her, Melissa," he said apologetically. "I made the decision. And, now my wife will never be able to have children. I'll never be able to have children with her. We won't ever get to see babies with my eyes or her hair." Kasey bowed his head and cried. "Oh God, what have I done to her. This is all my fault. I should have put my foot down. I told her she didn't have to work at that club. If I had just made her obey."

  Melissa pulled him into her body. Kasey wrapped his arms around his sister-in-law. She was the lifeboat in the middle of his storm-tossed ocean. "Kasey, hush, hush, sweetheart," she soothed. "You know as well as I do that no one on this earth has ever controlled her. You couldn't have stopped her if you wanted to. This is not your fault. You can't blame yourself. I would have chosen the same thing in your place." She pulled his shoulders so that he had to look at her. "Listen to me, Kasey. You've got to be strong for her. I know this is a tragedy, but you've got the Pack looking to you right now. Why don't you go take a walk or just go get some coffee? It's nearly midnight. We've been here all day, sweetheart."

  "I can't leave. What if she wakes up?"

  "I will call you. No one will see her until you do, you have my word."

  Kasey wiped his face and took a deep breath. He nodded and smiled at Melissa, then walked down the hallway. Tyrone and Amilynn came back with coffees for everyone. Ty sat by her and gazed into her eyes. She replayed the conversation in her mind as her mate's face pulled together in pain.

  "Would you love me if I couldn't give you children, Ty?"

  "I'll never stop loving you, angel, just as Kasey will never stop loving Vivian." He saw right through to her fears. Could a dominant male love a woman who couldn't give him children? Ty touched her chin. "They'll overcome this."

  Even though tears filled her eyes, Melissa nodded and let Ty kiss her sweetly. Then he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Amilynn walked by Melissa and Ty cuddled up together, comforting one another, and wished like hell she had a love that deep to draw strength from. It was a beautiful thing and she was glad for her brother. Conall had stationed himself outside Vivian's room. God help the poor bastard who tried to get past him. He stood with his back straight, eyes forward and hands clasped behind his back like the soldier he was.

  She walked further down the hall where Nate and Tom were sitting. The poor boy, Tom, had passed out giving blood, but had seemed to recover. Their eyes lit up when they saw her. She might not have had a mate, but she had two pretty good pals here who had somehow worked their way into her heart just as deeply as her family members.

  She sat down with them and allowed both of them to touch her. Nate put his arm around her shoulder and Tom took her free hand. Ami sipped her coffee and the boys were silent for a long time.

  "Ami," Nate said quietly.

  "Yeah, babe?"

  "Don't get mad at me for asking something, okay?"

  Ami let out a huff and nodded. She knew what he was going to ask before the words left his lips.

  "Are those accusations about you and Aunt V true? Were you really, you know, strippers and stuff?"

  Ami's head pivoted to Nate then to Tom and back. Neither boy looked like they were expecting her answer to be yes. Nate didn't ask because he thought it was cool or because he wanted to go bragging to his buddies later. They had both seen the carnage of her apartment.

  Knowing there was no way she could lie to the twins, and wishing like hell she could undo her life so it didn't affect these two precious boys, she answered, "Don't think less of me. Okay? I did what I had to for my family."

  "Ami, we would never think less of you." Tom, the compassionate one of the two, rubbed the hand he held. "We just didn't believe all those things written on the walls."

  Ami's stomach rolled and she wished she were a better person. Shame and self-hatred filled her head. "I've never worried about what other people thought of me. I've always done my own thing, been who and what I wanted to be, no matter how immoral it was."

  And Ami had done her fair share of nasty deeds, from killing the men who tortured Vivian and beat her brother, to selling her body for sex to pay the rent. Her family didn't know all of the things she'd done in the sake of keeping them safe.

  "Now I find myself at the mercy of two fourteen year old boys I wish I could hide my past from." Nate hugged her closer and Tom squeezed her hand. "Unfortunately what's done is done. So yes, boys, the things written on those walls were true, of me at least. Vivian always had more scruples. There's always one thing a girl can count on, no matter what city you go to. Men are men and they think of one thing and it doesn't matter if they are dating, engaged, or married to another woman. If they want sex, they will find it and pay for it."

  "Ami," Nate said, gently wiping a tear from her cheek. She didn't know the last time she'd ever cried. "You don't have to do that anymore. We'll take care of you. We love you."

  Tom kissed the back of her hand like a southern gentleman. "You're part of our family now. And we take care of our own."

  It had been years, decades since Amilynn had let her guard down enough to cry in front of anyone. She'd often thought the tears had been beaten out of her. Here in this place with Nate and Tom acting more like adults than adolescents, Vivian's life still hanging in the balance, and all her years of past mistakes being forgiven, she couldn't help but let the tears fall. Tom plucked a box of tissues from the table beside them and handed them to Ami. Then the boys stayed silent while she gave in to the emotions she'd held in for so long.

  Bianca and Sampson finally came around the corner. Bianca smiled at the three of them comforting one another.

  "Boys, come on, we are going to go get some rest before the morning. We will be back as soon as we can," Sampson promised. The boys protested but when Sampson spoke the arguing stopped.

  Bianca bent down to kiss her forehead, offering words of comfort and begging her to come get some sleep with them. Amilynn shook her head. Nate and Tom both kissed her cheek, and she gave them smiles as they walked away. She didn't want them to leave her, not the twins or their parents. She wiped her face and looked down at the wetness on her hands. "Damn pups turned me into a sprinkler." She muttered defiantly.

  Amilynn had been staring at the wall for God only knew how long when Ezekiel came around the corner. It had been a few days since she had been near him and it pissed her off that his scent alone was soothing. He came and sat in the seat beside her. When she didn't move, he took action. Gently and
slowly, he took the coffee cup from her hand, and set it on the table. Then he picked her up and settled her in his lap.

  "Stop. I can't do this." But the truth was she didn't have the strength to fight the inevitable need for his presence.

  "Shut up, Ami." He pressed her head to his chest and cradled her against the warmth of his body. Ami nuzzled against his neck and let the rich, spicy scent of his skin fill her lungs. Ezekiel ran his hand up and down her arms and before she could fight it, sleep took her under.

  * * * * *

  When Vivian woke, the first thing she registered was pain. Someone had inserted a lighted torch into her stomach. She took in a breath, but her nose and throat were sore. The lights in her room were bright as she fluttered her eyes open. Damn, her stomach hurt. She looked around the room. Kasey was asleep in a chair. He looked upset, even in slumber.

  Vivian went over everything she could remember about the shooting. How had she missed Jake being in that room with a gun? There were scents that gave it away every time: metal, gun oil. She could kick herself for not paying more attention to the wolf spy. She could kick herself for a lot of things. How careless and reckless she had been by not watching her back.

  Then Conall had killed Jake. A member of her Pride had killed a wolf. This was not going to go over well. It was her worst nightmare come to fruition. Granted, Jake had killed a human male, shot her, allowed Helena to string up kittens in their apartment and draw in their blood. But—

  "But nothing." Kasey came to the side of the bed. He took her hand and pressed her palm to his mouth. "He nearly killed you and any assault on the alpha's mate is punishable by death. If Conall hadn't killed him, I would have. So do not waste your time feeling sorry for that bastard." It was a command—one that she was happy to comply with.

  "You look terrible, punk."

  Kasey laughed, his eyes rimmed in red. "You look just as beautiful as ever, kitty cat." He touched her face with a reverence that made her heart break. Vivian reached out with her mind and found a deep sense of guilt in him. There was something he needed to tell her and didn't want to.