Emma bit her lips. The pack was still on its way. If they were close enough, they would have heard Jace’s howl and the shots. It should bring them right here.
She had to buy time, and hope the pack was really out there, coming to rescue them.
She tossed the rifle out of the cave, hearing it clatter down the slope. Then she stuffed Jace’s gun into the back of her pants, grabbed the laptop and walked down the hill, slipping and sliding on the loose dirt. It should have been terrifying, knowing all those guns were trained on her, but she couldn’t feel fear through the fury burning in her chest. She was going to kill every one of them for hurting Jace. And if Alexander thought he was going to trap her in his golden cage again, he had another think coming.
He was a dead man.
But she walked slowly, her hands out, letting her body slump. If they thought they’d beaten her, they wouldn’t be on their guard.
As she got to the bottom of the slope, a bright flashlight caught her in its beam, making her flinch back.
“I can’t see,” she snapped. “You could at least shine it on the ground so I can tell where I’m walking.”
The beam lowered a bit, and she kept walking towards the men, passing by where the great wolf lay. She saw the faint gleam of a golden eye, watching her.
He wasn’t dead.
Relief flooded through her. If he was still alive, there was a chance his shifter healing could save him. Emma just had to buy him time. She paused. I love you too, she mouthed.
“Forget the pet,” the man said. “Keep walking.”
Emma didn’t. “Here, just take the laptop,” she said. “There’s no point in taking me. I’ve already contacted the FBI, and if you take me back to Alexander, they’ll just come after me. Leave me here and go.”
“Nice try,” the leader said. To his men, he added, “Take the girl, and kill the fucking dog.”
She heard a gun cock, and then two men rose up from the ground, guns trained on her. She threw herself on her knees next to Jace and drew his handgun. If they were going to kill him, they’d have to go through her.
Then a voice came out of the night.
“I don’t think so.”
It was followed by the unmistakable sound of ammo rounds being pumped into chambers. “I think your men should drop their weapons right now, before we kill you where you stand.”
Relief flooded through Emma. “They’re here,” she whispered to Jace. “You’re going to be okay.”
One of the men turned and fired in the direction of the voice. He’d barely pulled the trigger before a giant gray and black wolf took him from behind, knocking him to the ground. His scream was cut off as the wolf ripped his throat out.
There was silence. A dozen pairs of golden eyes shone in the darkness, and a chorus of growls filled the air.
“Want to try that again?” the voice said.
Slowly, the men rose to their feet, divesting themselves of their weapons. When they were all standing there, hands in the air, the voice said, “Pick up your dead.”
Two of the men approached their fallen comrade. The wolf stared at them, eyes unblinking, still growling. They picked up the body, and then the voice, quietly terrifying, said, “Go.”
The wolves flowed out of the night, snapping and snarling. The men broke and ran, the wolf pack at their heels. Emma, hands on Jace’s blood-soaked fur, watched them go.
Then a huge man with a face that looked like it had been carved from granite strode out of the night, toting an assault rifle. He stood over Emma, eyes flashing gold, looking down at her like she was a mess of roadkill on his front lawn.
“I guess you’re the fucking human that caused all this trouble?” he asked. Without giving Emma a chance to answer, he growled deep in his chest. “Get away from the alpha. Now.”
Chapter 21
Emma swallowed hard. This guy looked like he was about to rip her throat out, just like what had happened to the guy who shot at him. She inched back, slowly, but she kept one hand on Jace.
“He’s been shot,” she said. “He needs help. I don’t think he’s healing fast enough. He’s still losing blood.”
The man flicked his gaze over her face and dismissed her. “Trish!” he called out. “Bring the medical kit.”
A woman with a long blond braid appeared, dropping to her knees beside Jace. She handed Emma a flashlight and said, “Hold this.”
Emma obeyed, and the woman began examining Jace quickly, running her hands over him, checking the wounds.
“Is he going to be okay?” Emma asked.
Trish said, “There’s some internal damage, but I should be able to get him stabilized.” She gave Jace a shot of something from her kit, and then started putting pressure bandages on the wounds.
“Shouldn’t we take him to a hospital?” Emma asked.
The stone-faced man shook his head, muttering, “Fucking human.”
“I’m a healer,” the woman said to Emma. “And no, of course we can’t. How would we explain it if he shifted?”
“And hospitals have to report gunshot wounds to the police,” Stone-face added. “Unless you’re suggesting we take him to a vet?” The bitter sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable.
Right. Of course they couldn’t go to a hospital. Emma was beginning to realize just how far shifters lived outside human society.
“Kane,” the woman said, “we need to get him back to the territory ASAP. It’s going to be tricky removing those bullets. I can’t do it here.”
Kane. The one Jace didn’t entirely trust. Emma watched the stone-faced man as he gave a sharp whistle. There was an answering bark.
Minutes later, Emma was surrounded by a jostling crowd of wolves. Several of them stuck their noses up against her, and she stayed very still. If they all felt about her like Kane did, someone might try to take a bite.
Kane started giving orders. “A couple of you change and help Trish get Jace back to the van,” he directed. “Israel, take your team and gather up these weapons. Don’t leave anything behind that can be identified.”
Two of the wolves reared up on their hind legs and turned into human men. Naked ones. Ignoring her, they gently picked up Jace and walked off into the darkness with Trish. The others started shifting also, running to carry out Kane’s commands.
Emma shouldered her way forward, catching Kane’s arm. “I’m going too,” she said. “I’m not leaving him.”
Kane cut his eyes to her. “You’ve caused enough trouble,” he said. “You had no business getting him involved in your problems. You should have just left him alone.”
The hot anger rose in Emma’s chest again. “Right,” she snapped. “It wasn’t like I tried to get away from him without even telling him what was happening, and without getting him or the pack involved. And it wasn’t like he trailed me through two states, and insisted on getting involved anyway. I mean, you know how Jace is. Usually he just does what everyone tells him, right?”
A dark-haired, cocky-looking guy gave a short laugh. “She’s got you there, Kane,” he said. “Jace got involved because he wanted to. And if this woman is his mate—”
“She’s not his mate, Rafe,” Kane snapped. “She’s not even a shifter.”
“Jace chose her,” a third, smaller man said. Emma was having trouble focusing on the conversation, seeing as they were all standing there with their dicks swinging in the breeze.
She could see Kane getting angry. “As the head of security for this pack, it would be irresponsible of me to let her drag her trouble into our territory.”
Rafe’s face grew hard. “And as Jace’s Second, I’m in charge while he’s incapacitated. I say she comes.”
Kane was broader than the other man, and topped him by several inches. But Rafe stared him down. The third man moved up to just behind Rafe’s left shoulder, his eyes never leaving Kane’s face.
“Yes, Second,” Kane said finally, spitting out the words. He turned away. “But if she brings an army down on us and g
ets us all killed, don’t blame me.”
“If that happens, I’ll make sure I drag my broken body over to you so that you can say ‘I told you so’ with your dying breath,” Rafe said. “Jesse, make a note of that.”
A ghost of a smile flashed over the smaller man’s face.
Kane stalked off and started supervising people gathering up the discarded weapons. The dark-haired man turned to Emma, holding out his hand. “Hey,” he said. “I’m Rafe. Jace’s second-in-command.”
Emma took his hand, trying not to look down at his impressive cock. She wasn’t used to shaking hands with naked men like it was a social occasion. “Emma,” she said. “You’re the Bad Moon Rising guy, right? Nice to meet you. Um, could you put something on, maybe?”
Rafe laughed. “Sorry, left my clothes in the van. Although, if you’re going to be Jace’s mate, then you need to get used to the whole nakedness thing.”
“I guess,” Emma said. “Usually I take my naked men one at a time.”
Rafe winked at her. “What fun is that?” he asked. Emma just rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head.
“Come on,” he said.
“Wait,” Emma said. “I left my bag up in the cave. Would it be okay if I went up and got it?”
“I’ll do it,” Jesse said.
“Thank you,” Emma said. She didn’t want to go climbing up there in the dark. Not to mention that Kane would take any excuse to leave without her.
Jesse gave a brief nod before taking off up the slope.
Emma and Rafe turned and walked after the others. Kane and the rest of the wolves had gathered up the weapons and were checking the perimeter to make sure none of Alexander’s men had stayed behind. Kane was efficient, Emma had to give him that. Even if he did hate humans.
She turned to Rafe. “Jace is going to be okay, right?”
Rafe clapped her on the shoulder encouragingly. “Sure,” he said. “He’s our alpha. He’s strong enough to take anything.”
Emma appreciated the positivity, but she wasn’t so sure. Rafe seemed like the kind of person who always pretended things were great, even when they weren’t.
They walked across the rocky field. Emma could barely see, and she stumbled several times, but Rafe’s hand was at her elbow, steadying her. He seemed to be able to see just fine, and he was totally surefooted, even though his feet were bare.
When they got back to the van, Emma was relieved to see that everyone was getting dressed. Not that she was that much of a prude, but being surrounded entirely by hot naked people who were chatting away like it was nothing was a little disconcerting.
But when she saw Jace she forgot all that. The van had no seats in the back, and Jace had been laid out on some blankets on the floor. He’d changed back to human, but he was still unconscious, and he looked way too pale. Kane gave her a hostile look when she tried to climb into the back of the van, but Jace stirred slightly when she came near. “Emma?” he murmured.
Trish eyed her. “Come over here and hold his hand,” she said. “We don’t want him to get stressed, worrying about you.”
Emma sat on the floor of the van next to Jace and took his hand. It was cool and clammy, and he barely responded to the pressure of her fingers.
Suddenly, his eyes rolled back and he went limp. “Trish?” Emma called.
Trish took one look and snapped to one of the other wolves, “Get me that IV, now! He’s still losing blood.”
They scrambled to get a needle into Jace’s arm, and Trish hung a bag of blood on a hook on the side of the van. Trish pounded on the side of the van.
“Kane!” she said. “Get this thing moving!”
The others piled into the van and a couple of trucks, and they were on their way. The trip seemed to take forever. Emma knew Kane was driving as fast as he dared, but he couldn’t risk getting stopped. There was no way they could explain Jace’s gunshot wound to the cops, and Emma was probably in the system with warrants out.
The hours rolled by, and Jace just got worse. The IV seemed to be keeping him somewhat stable, but clearly there was still internal damage. His breathing was just getting shallower and shallower, and the atmosphere in the van was getting more and more hostile. Israel—the gray and black wolf that had killed Alexander’s minion—was now staring at Emma, his eyes gleaming gold. What would he do to her if Jace died?
Emma held on to Jace. She prayed he could feel her there, feel her caring.
Feel their bond.
He couldn’t die. Not because of her. Not because of Alexander Grant.
Chapter 22
Finally they passed through a small town, and then turned off into the mountains. The road wound higher and higher for what seemed like an eternity, while Jace seemed to be getting weaker, his breathing shallower. Emma held his hand, trying to will her strength into him.
They turned onto a rutted dirt road, and Emma winced at every pothole that jostled Jace around. She and the other wolves tried to steady him as best they could.
Nobody was talking.
Finally, they arrived. Emma waited with Jace, still holding his hand, until someone brought a stretcher. The wolves shouldered Emma out of the way, totally focused on their alpha. They lifted him carefully onto the stretcher and carried him off into the darkness. Emma was left alone.
She climbed out of the van, holding onto the doorframe as she stretched her stiff legs. She’d sat on them for hours, barely moving, and now she had pins and needles. The night was cold, up here in the mountains, and the stars were bright overhead.
She looked around. There wasn’t much to see—a ragged line of vehicles parked next to a flat, open field with a huge fire pit in the center. There were some cabins around the perimeter, and more tucked in among the trees on the thickly forested hillside. She could see lights in the windows, looking homey and inviting.
Everyone had scattered; no one seemed to be paying any attention to her. A wave of exhaustion swept over her, followed by anxiety. Where had they taken Jace?
Someone touched her gently on the shoulder. She turned to see Jesse standing next to her, holding her bag. That’s right. He’d retrieved it from the cave for her. She looked up at him. He was bigger than she’d thought—about six-two and well-muscled. He’d only looked small earlier because most of the other guys were even bigger.
“Are you okay?” he asked. His caramel-colored eyes were filled with concern.
She nodded. “Yeah, thanks. Do you know where they took Jace?” she asked. “I need to go with him.”
“To his cabin,” Jesse said. “Trish and Amerind are going to work on him. They’re our healers. They’re good—they’ll save him.” His voice cracked on the last words.
Emma remembered what Jace had told her about Jesse and Rafe—what the three of them meant to each other. Jesse must be crazy with worry, but he’d taken the time to check on her. That made Emma feel a little warmer.
She put her hand on his arm. “He told me about you and Rafe,” she said. “He called you his brothers. He loves you two, you know.”
Jesse rubbed his forearm roughly across his eyes, dashing away the tears he didn’t want her to see. “Yeah,” he said. “I know.” He took a deep breath. “Jace is strong,” he said. “He’ll make it. He has to.”
“He will,” she said, trying to sound confident. But she had a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. Jace should have been healing. If he wasn’t, the internal damage must be really bad. “Can you take me to him?”
Jesse hesitated, then said, “Can I ask you something first?”
“I guess,” Emma said. She didn’t know if she could answer his questions.
“Are you bonded with him?”
She bit her lip. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t know anything about shifters, except what Jace managed to tell me in the short time we weren’t running for our lives. Ever since we met, though, I’ve felt something…pulling at me. It’s like a magnet drawing us together, and I just want to be near him. And he said—”
Her voice was the one breaking now.
“He said I was it for him. For him and his wolf. He wanted me to be his mate, but it was all so strange and so sudden, and I didn’t know what to say. And now I wish—” She gulped back her tears. “I wish I’d told him yes. Maybe I could help him now.”
Jesse’s eyes flashed golden at her words. “You still might be able to,” he said. “Come on.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her across the field toward the largest cabin. Emma stumbled with exhaustion, and Jesse slowed down. “Sorry,” he said.
They walked together to the cabin and up the sturdy wooden steps. It looked inviting, but Emma couldn’t spare any attention for details. Jesse held the blue-painted door for her, and she stepped inside the main part of the cabin.
It was an open floor plan—large living room, open kitchen with stone countertops, and a rustic wood dining table that would seat ten or twelve. There was a vaulted ceiling, and a loft over the back half of the house. Someone had started a fire in the woodstove, and the room was warming up, but there was nobody in sight.
Low voices were coming from the back rooms. Jesse dropped her bag on the kitchen counter and led Emma down a short hall. She glimpsed a bathroom and two bedrooms.
Jace was lying on the bed in the larger room. There were surgical instruments laid out on a table next to the bed, and Trish and an older man were unpacking more medical equipment.
Kane and Rafe were leaning against opposite walls, as far from each other as they could get. When Kane saw Emma, a low growl rumbled in his throat.
“Get her out of here,” he said.
“He’s right,” Trish said. “I’m about to do surgery. The last thing I need is a crowd.” She looked pointedly at Kane and Rafe.
“I’m Second,” Rafe said. “I should be here.”
“And I’m the Enforcer,” Kane rumbled. “If anything happens to Jace, the security of the pack is my responsibility.”
Fugitive Mate (Silverlake Shifters Book 1) Page 12