Sebastian’s hold on her tightened until it was slightly painful. She didn’t complain because fear gripped her. If hunters were nearby, she didn’t think they’d pause to determine if any humans were among the shifters. They might shoot first and ask questions later.
“Sophia.” Sebastian crushed her to him. “Stay close to me. I will destroy anyone who tries to hurt you, and I promise to get you home safely.”
She nodded dumbly. Panic rose in her gut as Sebastian shuffled them through the crowd. He said nothing as his Guard gathered around him and others made a path. She assumed he gave orders in his mind.
As soon as they reached the main hall, Sebastian turned them left instead of right. They headed toward the back of the building, turning corners and hurrying down hallways at a breakneck speed.
All of a sudden the lights went out, and they were cast into darkness. Sophia yelped. Sebastian nearly scooped her off her feet and if possible picked up speed. What little light that illuminated their path came from the windows high on the ceiling. The shifters’ gazes reflected it, giving Sophia the creeps. All she saw were pairs of menacing eyes, and all she heard were the low growls and the click of claws on linoleum. Talk about unnerving.
They came to an exit. The only way Sophia knew was because of the slight breeze. Hinges creaked, and a shot rang out. In an instant, Sebastian zipped her behind him. Her head swam. She tried looking over his shoulder, but he pressed her face to his chest. They waited. The creepiness factor rose because no one stirred, and no one said anything.
“We’re moving,” Sebastian whispered into her ear. “Don’t look back. Keep moving. Your Guard is around you. Nothing and no one will hurt you.”
Sophia clung to him. Even though her husband’s words were thick with a suppressed shifting, he brought her comfort just being there and knowing he loved her.
They were outside running now. Sophia’s legs ached because she couldn’t keep up. Sebastian kept her moving. Shots rang out in every direction. Wolves barked and growled. Something made a tearing noise that brought bile to her throat. She’d never been so glad not to be able to see, but hearing it all tormented her just as much.
Sebastian got her to a car and wrenched the door open. She dove inside, and he followed. Gigantic wolves surrounded the car and ran as fast as the vehicle as Tom mashed his foot on the accelerator. The ping of bullets hitting metal made her retch, and Sebastian pressed her against the seat bottom and lay on top of her. The ride home took an eternity.
Sophia opened her eyes and waited to get her bearings. She must have passed out from the stress of what they had just gone through. How much time passed? She listened hard and couldn’t pick up any immediate sounds. Something soft lay beneath her, and she breathed in, realizing she lay on a bed, probably her own.
The room was dark, almost pitch black. She leaned up to an elbow and spotted a dim line of light beneath the door. The opposite side of the bed sank low, and she felt so much heat coming from that direction it was as if someone had turned on a space heater.
“Sebastian?”
Movement beside her, and she reached out. Clammy hot skin met her touch, and she gasped. He rolled over and seized her fingers, almost crushing them. When she cried out, he let go. Now she heard his panting and knew he was in terrible pain. She jumped up from the bed and fumbled for the light.
“D-don’t,” he rasped. The thick heavy sound brought fear to her gut. She ignored the command and clicked on the lamp anyway. The room flooded with light, and she turned around, dreading what she would find. A scream rose to her throat, but she swallowed it.
Sebastian lay in a heap on the bed, blood soaking almost the entirety of his shirt and staining the bed. His chest heaved up and down, although he seemed hardly able to draw in a breath.
She rushed to him as tears sprang to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “Sebastian, you’ve been shot. What are your Guard doing? Why aren’t we at the hospital?”
His eyes were shut, and he seemed to fight to open them but failed. He muttered something unintelligent, and she ran to the door to wrench it open.
“Hey! Anybody, get in here and help him.” Two of his Guard stood in the hall, both looking miserable. Tom wasn’t there, which was unusual, and she wondered where he was. “Why the hell aren’t you helping him? We need to get him to a hospital.”
Neither of the men moved.
“Please,” she begged. “Forget about how much you hate me. Help Sebastian.”
Neither spoke and she was ready to start swinging. Maybe if she beat sense into them, they would get their asses moving. Before she could follow through with her plan, Ava appeared carrying a basin with water and a small case under her arm. She didn’t approach the bedroom door but stopped halfway down the hall. Sophia ran to her, and that’s when she noticed Diana and Darla crouching fearfully at the top of the steps. They’d all lost their minds.
“What’s going on, Ava? Why haven’t any of you tried to help Sebastian?” Her voice rose as her fear grew.
A growl rang out seeming to shake the very foundations of the building. Sophia dropped to all fours because it startled her. Not to mention how loud it was. Her reaction didn’t compare to the way the shifters all crouched and whined in pain. Ava dropped the pan of water and covered her ears. She dipped and swayed and mumbled with her eyes shut.
Diana and Darla shifted into their wolf forms and scrambled farther down the stairs. Both whimpered. They lowered their heads with noses almost touching the floor. When Sophia turned around to see how Sebastian’s Guard faired, she found them suffering as well.
Alex beckoned to her, and she left the incoherent Ava to approach him. At least he was ready to speak now.
“What’s wrong with all of you, Alex?”
“Go back,” he pleaded.
She wrinkled her nose. “What? You’re the one that called me over here.”
He touched his forehead and winced. She looked on in shock as the big man fell to one knee and panted. He tried to raise his head but failed. “Go back…to him, please.”
“He needs a doctor.”
“He’ll heal.”
“He’s covered in blood. There’s no way he’s going to just up and heal without getting stitches or something to stop the blood.”
Alex spent several minutes catching his breath. Sophia began to suspect he had been hit by all the bullets flying about. There was a patch of blood on his shoulder, but it didn’t appear to be spreading. One of his arms also hung in an awkward way, but he paid it no mind.
“It’s killing me to explain,” he rasped, “but you’re so stubborn you won’t go if I don’t.”
She resisted telling him what she thought of his insult.
“He wants you close to him to protect you. With you gone from his side, he’s suffering more. Especially because he can’t do anything to protect you right now.”
Sophia’s heart broke. “But—”
“Shut up,” Alex growled. “We heal from most any wound, and if we have trouble, the alpha helps us. With his help we can heal faster. It’s a part of his ability.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. So you can help him too, right?”
He looked at her as if she had crawled out from under a rock. “No. And what’s worse is he’s half out of his mind with pain. Because he’s been hurt so badly, he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“W-what is he doing?”
“Pressing us.” Alex dipped his chin into his chest. “He’s exerting his position on us so strongly that we can’t get close to him. Only Michael and I can stand here, and it hurts like hell to do it. The girls can’t come down the hall. If we were to even try, I suspect he’d rip us to shreds.”
“There’s no way. He’s just in pain!”
“Exactly.”
She bit her lip. Her husband was so powerful he could affect the minds of his men. She couldn’t comprehend it, but she believed what Alex was telling her. “Where’s Tom?”
“Dead.”
She sagged against the wall.
“Sophia…” He panted. “Go back. Please. Before he cries out again.”
“How can I help him?”
“If you don’t know anything about digging bullets out, try to reach him through the pain. That might help. And don’t worry. It’s impossible for him to hurt you.”
Easy for you to say.
She headed back to the room and stood in the doorway. Sebastian’s gaze locked with hers. He’d been waiting eagerly for her to come back and seemed relieved that she returned safe. Regardless, the glassy quality of his eyes worried her. She could still feel the crazy heat coming off his body. Hopefully, it was natural in the healing process.
“Sebastian, I’m just going to get the basin of water from Ava, okay? I need to wipe you down and try to get you cooler. Hang on.”
He moaned, and she ran down to grab the basin. All the water had spilled onto the floor so she hurried back to their room and used their bathroom to refill it. At Sebastian’s bedside, she sat down and began ringing out the cloth in the water. She ran it across Sebastian’s damp forehead and then set it aside.
“Let’s get this shirt off you.”
He roared in pain when she lifted him just a little. She clenched her jaw, but tears streamed down her cheeks, blurring her vision. After she got the material off him and tossed it aside she saw where he had been wounded. The contents of her stomach threatened to come up into her throat, but she swallowed again and again. Gashes in his side and his back bled out, and she had to choke off a sob.
“Oh God, Sebastian, I don’t know what to do. All I know about is applying pressure. Please be okay. They say you can heal yourself. Do it. I can’t lose you.”
He tried opening his eyes wider, but his lids were heavy. When she did get a glimpse of the golden depths, they were filled with misery. “So…ph…”
She ran back for the small case Ava was carrying and opened it to find bandages. Working clumsily, she cleaned away the excess blood and wrapped his wounds the best she could. At the worse spot—just behind his right shoulder—she pressed hard and kept her hands in place.
“I love you so much, Sebastian,” she whispered. “I don’t say it enough, but I do. You told me how you felt almost right away. My big macho man, who leads so many people and runs a corporation, you never felt too proud to admit how much you care. I admire that in you, and it’s what won my heart.”
His eyes shut, and he didn’t try to open them again. She leaned closer as his breathing grew shallow. The heat hadn’t lessened one bit, and she worried she was losing him. Out in the hall, someone screamed in pain. She dared not leave Sebastian to investigate.
“Sebastian?”
He didn’t move.
She leaned closer. “Sebastian, you’re hurting them. Baby, try to rein it in. I don’t know how it works with you all, but I know you wouldn’t want them suffering like this. Try, please.”
He didn’t answer, but his ears grew fuzzy with animal hair and changed shape so that the top edges grew pointed. Was he going to completely shift? She wasn’t sure if she should keep talking to him or just wait. The transformation continued but slowly. A rippling of something under his skin startled her, and she looked on in fascination.
Her fingers ached from holding the same position so long. She ignored the pain, knowing he experienced far worse. If this little bit helped him, she was all for it.
“Sebastian, are you still with me?”
The door burst open, making her jump. She looked around to find Alex and Michael. They stumbled into the room and hit their knees, heads bowed. Behind them were Ava and the girls. The women didn’t venture farther than the doorway, but they too took the floor. Sophia and the rest of them sat in silent vigil.
Sophia’s head began to dip. She struggled to keep her eyes open. Her arms quaked and almost gave out, but she held on. An eternity passed, and exhaustion stole over her. She dipped her head, woke, dipped again. When sleep would no longer be put off, she fell forward, eyes closed, and fell face first into soft fur.
Chapter 10
Sophia sat bolt upright and looked around. She was still in her bedroom, but at some point someone had cleaned up all the mess from Sebastian’s injury. Her husband lay on the bed sleeping, but he was back in his human form. She carefully climbed over close to him and listened to his breathing. It sounded steady.
Something moved in her peripheral, and she turned to find all of the Guard lying in wolf form on the floor. They completely surrounded the bed. All slept except one half white half gray one. He kept watch, sitting up, and she marveled that his head reached higher than the bed.
“Which one are you?” she whispered.
The wolf looked over his shoulder at her. Something in the arrogant way he displayed his impatience told her exactly who it was.
“Alex? Is he okay now?” She ran her hand over her husband’s head and smoothed the hair off his face. He stirred just enough to capture her fingers and kiss them, but then he dropped off to sleep again.
The white and gray wolf walked to the door and disappeared. He came back seconds later in human form and dressed, thank goodness. His gaze, a little less chilly than usual, raked over her and then transferred to Sebastian.
“He’s fine,” Alex said. “And so are we… Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You talked to him. Hearing your voice coaxed him back enough to give us relief. He’s past the worst now and aware of everything around him. He won’t hurt us again.”
She looked at Sebastian. “You mean he knows we’re here talking?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe we should take this conversation into the hall.”
Alex shook his head. “We won’t leave his side.”
“Well, whatever. I want to know how this could happen. I mean you guys are supposed to be the best. You’re supposed to have his back and protect him.”
A vein bulged in Alex’s forehead. “We aren’t invincible even if we are strong. Humans far outnumber us. Besides, this was—” He clamped his teeth together and looked at Sebastian.
“This was what?”
Alex refused to say another word. Sophia faced her husband. “Sebastian, I know you’re awake.”
He took his time opening his eyes. Thank goodness they appeared normal now. No glassiness and back to hazel. Only then did she also realize he was no longer giving off an overpowering heat.
“Sophia.” He sat up and winced as he did so.
She tried to press him down. “You don’t need to be getting up so soon, Sebastian.”
“I’m fine.” He touched his chest. “Come here where you belong, and I’ll be even better.”
She rolled her eyes. “Can you not come on to me while we have a room full of wolves and Alex?”
Alex appeared to be insulted that he wasn’t included in the “wolves” description.
“They can’t leave my side until I’m one hundred percent. However, I won’t get there until my wife gives me what I really need.”
She hopped off the bed, avoiding his groping hands. “I guess you’re going to die then.”
He grinned. “That’s not what you were saying last night.”
“This is no laughing matter, Sebastian. You could have died, and taken all the rest of them with you. There’s something you’re not telling me. What is it?”
His eyes grew stormy, and he ground his teeth for a few minutes. Alex met his gaze.
“Don’t you dare talk to each other in your heads so I can’t hear.” She strode around the bed, stepping over reclining wolves as she went. On some level she acknowledged how crazy it was that she wasn’t freaking out over the fact that these were wild dangerous animals in her bedroom. It didn’t make sense to normal life. “If you don’t talk to me, I’m leaving this room.”
“I forbid it,” Sebastian barked.
“Excuse me?”
He sighed. “You have to stay close to me as well, Sophia.”
Her husband’s ears turned red. She guessed he didn’t like being compared to a kitten. Good to know she had a great insult should he push her patience.
He groaned in defeat. “Fine. Come back and sit down. I’ll tell you.”
She didn’t budge. Realistically, he could order Alex to grab her, and she would be nothing against his strength. However, she knew Sebastian well enough to know he didn’t want order his men to manhandle her. In fact, he didn’t allow the men to touch her at all.
“You’re determined to disrespect him, aren’t you?” Alex said, but she didn’t detect the usual dislike. Her care of Sebastian and rescuing the other wolves from his pressure must have changed his opinion of her, at least a little.
“I’m determined to show him I’m not going to be controlled.”
“You—”
“Quiet, Alex,” Sebastian ordered.
Alex went silent.
“To put it simply,” Sebastian explained. “We were betrayed.”
She gasped. “By who?”
“Belle.”
“That’s impossible!” She stopped. Was it impossible? She thought back to the party and recalled Belle’s comments and her opinions about Sebastian. Feeling like a prisoner without sympathy from her leader, she’d believed she had no way out of her situation. Would she betray all of her people just to get back at Sebastian and to run away?
Sebastian rubbed his neck. “I have to gather evidence, but I’m certain she revealed the location and timing of our gathering to the hunters. The number of them there last night makes me suspect she told them there would be two other packs present. They could slaughter three families at once.”
“Oh God.” Sophia pressed a hand to her mouth. She felt sick. To think of the number of shifters at the party, all of them being killed, would be too much. Tom was gone, but what other casualties were there? “What are you going to do?”
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