by Becca Van
He placed a light kiss on her lips. “When we get back home, maybe you and Barrett could take a nap.”
“I have things to unpack…”
Ed heard the sharp crack just before searing heat hit his arm. He grabbed hold of Prim and dove to the ground.
“Palmer, Barrett, get your asses back here now. Someone just took a shot at us.”
“What?” Palmer roared at the same time Barrett yelled, “Fuck.”
“Where are you?” Barrett asked.
“We stopped at the wayside stop. Primrose was so triggered with the mating heat she couldn’t sit still.”
“I don’t care why you stopped,” Palmer snapped. “Just tell me she isn’t hurt.”
“No, but I took a bullet to the arm.”
“Can you see whoever is shooting at you?” Palmer asked.
Ed had already been scanning, but hadn’t yet pinpointed their shooter. “No.”
“Did you see anyone following you?” Barrett asked.
“No.”
“Shit. Who the fuck would be after you and Prim?” Palmer asked.
“What about the asshole who was scaring her in her own home?” Ed suggested.
“Fuck, it could be,” Barrett snarled. “Just make sure to keep our mate safe.”
“What’s going on?” Prim asked as she lifted her head and tried to get up off of him.
Ed rolled over, covering her body with his and keeping her pinned to the ground, but he rested most of his weight on his knees and elbows. “Someone just tried to shoot us.”
“Oh god,” Prim whispered and started shaking.
“Keep your head down and do everything I tell you to. Okay?”
Prim nodded.
“I’m going to open the car door and I want you to get in, but don’t sit on the seat. I want you to crouch down on the floor.”
“Okay,” Prim whispered.
Ed reached up for the door handle, biting back a grimace and snarl when pain shot up and down his arm.
“Oh god, Ed, you’re hurt.”
“It’s just a graze, honey. I’ll be fine.” Just as he got his finger under the door handle, another shot rang out and this time the bullet went right through his hand and into the car. This time he howled with rage and pain, but what scared him most was that Primrose was in danger. He shifted his body off of hers and to the side, but he made sure that he stayed in front of her so that if the asshole aimed again, the bullet would hit him and not his mate.
“I want you to wriggle in under the car, honey.”
“But…”
“Now, Primrose.” She looked so scared, but she nodded and started inching her way across the ground to beneath the car. He got partially onto his knees and was about to help her by giving her a push, but as his hand connected with her hip, another shot rang out and searing agony shot through the side of his head. Ed tried his damnedest to keep the darkness at bay, but the pain in his skull was too much and he felt himself falling as blackness closed in all around him until he knew no more.
* * * *
Prim couldn’t stop shaking or crying. Ed was lying half on top of her and blood was pouring out of a wound on the side of his head. At first, she’d thought he was dead and the grief that gripped her had been so debilitating she could hardly breathe. It took a few moments to finally get her emotions under control and that was when she realized that he was still breathing.
She took in several deep breaths and pushed her terror aside. Ed needed her and she wasn’t about to let herself fall apart right now. She pushed at his shoulders, trying to roll his dead weight from on top of her, but he was too damn big and heavy, plus it was difficult to get enough leverage since she was half under the car. Primrose wriggled and clawed at the ground with her hands as she dug her heel into the dirt and slowly inched her way out from under the car.
She finally got out from beneath the undercarriage, but had to rest for a moment to get her breath back. She hadn’t realized until then how much care Ed, Palmer, and Barrett took to keep their weight off of her. Ed was so heavy he was crushing her ribs and she couldn’t draw in a full breath.
Now that she wasn’t panting so hard, she hooked a leg around Ed and her arms around his shoulders, and after taking a deep breath, she pushed off with her other bent leg and rolled them both over.
Prim sighed with relief and filled her lungs with air before she got to work on Ed’s injuries. She ripped strips off of her T-shirt, wadded a piece up into a pad, and then ripped strips off his shirt and tied the material to his head. She was so glad to find that his head had only been grazed with the bullet and it hadn’t entered his skull or brain.
And that was the moment she remembered the shooter. She’d been so worried sick over Ed, she’d forgotten all about him. She lifted her head and scanned the area, but she didn’t see anyone. For all she knew, she could be in the asshole’s sights down the scope of a rifle. If that was the case, there was nothing she could do about it. At least not yet. She needed to make sure that Ed’s injuries were covered and he was safe.
But it seemed that wasn’t to be.
Primrose looked over her shoulder when she heard what sounded like a boot land in the dirt behind her and she gasped with recognition. Standing behind her with a rifle pointed at her head was her ex-boss and the principal from the school she had just resigned from.
“Hello, Primrose.”
“M–Mr. Sh–Shivers, w–what are y–you…”
“Get up.”
The trembling and fear that had subsided as she worked on Ed came back with a vengeance. Her heart was slamming against her ribs and she was panting heavily, and even though she wanted to fight her ex-boss, she wasn’t going to do it now, when he could aim that rifle at Ed and shoot him again. She pushed up to her feet and stumbled to the side when her weak, shaking limbs protested her weight, but she forced herself to move away from her mate, one of her loves.
“Primrose, can you hear me?” Palmer’s voice came through faintly and she gasped and jumped a little because she hadn’t expected to hear his voice in her head.
“Palmer?”
“Yeah, sugar. Tell me what’s going on and why I can’t contact Ed.”
“He–He shot Ed.” Primrose sobbed.
“Who did, baby?” Barrett asked.
“My ex-boss.”
“Are you hurt, sugar?” Palmer asked.
“No.”
“Thank God,” Barrett said. “Where was Ed hit, baby?”
“He has three wounds. One in his left upper arm, another in his right hand, and the worst one is his head.”
“Fuck! Did the bullet pierce his skull?” Palmer asked.
“No. It grazed the side of his head and temple, but he’s unconscious.”
“Don’t worry about Ed, baby,” Barrett said calmly. “He’ll be fine. If the bullets went right through, he’ll be healing already.”
“He will?”
“Yeah, sugar. We’re werewolves, remember? We heal at exceptional rates.”
Prim actually felt his smile and realized that she could hear both of them quite clearly now. “How far away are you?” she asked as she stood staring down the barrel of the rifle.
“We’re nearly there, baby,” Barrett answered.
“You have to be careful. He has a rifle.”
“We’ll be fine, sugar. Just worry about yourself.”
Prim’s fear dissipated slightly when she felt them both push their love toward her. She imagined their faces in her mind and sent them all the love in her heart to them through their link.
“Get your ass over here now!” Richard Shivers shifted the rifle to one hand and pointed to a spot no more than three feet in front of him.
She took a tentative step toward him and was glad when her weak, shaky legs didn’t give way on her. Eying the rifle as she took another step, and then another, she wondered if she had the strength to try and wrest the gun from him, but he was a lot bigger and stronger than her and she didn’t think that she
would be able to win in a tussle with him.
Maybe if she waited long enough, her mates would get here and she would have a chance of fighting him then. If she could just fight him and get ahold of that gun, then her mates wouldn’t end up getting shot either.
“We’re here, baby. We’re coming.” Barrett’s voice sounded a lot deeper than usual, and also a little garbled. She wondered if he was changing into his wolf or fighting his animal for control. That was the only time she’d heard him, any of them, talk like that.
Primrose finally stopped near where Richard had pointed and tried to remain calm. It was a really hard thing to do when her heart was pounding in her chest and she was panting for breath, but she needed to retain some semblance of control so she could help save herself if the opportunity arose. Maybe if she got him talking to find out why he was doing this, she could talk him out of it.
“Why are you doing this, Richard? What do you hope to gain?”
“You’re mine, Primrose. I had to make my move before anyone else took you from me.”
“I’m not yours. Why would you even think that? I’ve never gone out with you or done anything to make you think that way about me.”
“The gods inside me told me you’re mine,” Richard screeched in a high-pitched voice. “When you came to me and filed that complaint against Harry, I knew time was running out. The gods knew it, too. You were supposed to come running to me when you got scared. Why did you call the police? Why didn’t you call me?”
And that was the moment that Primrose realized that the person who had been terrorizing and scaring her was her ex-boss, Richard Shivers. A shudder of fear skittered up her spine, the hair on her nape stood on end, and when she looked into his brown eyes, she expected to see an emotionless gaze, but that wasn’t what she saw at all. His eyes were full of heat as he looked her body over, but there was also insanity there.
If she could see emotion, wasn’t there a chance he was still cognizant and that she would be able to talk him into letting her go?
“I’m sorry I didn’t think about calling you when I was scared,” Prim said in a calm voice, and wondered how the hell she was doing that when, inside, she was scared out of her mind. “The police are there to help and protect, and since I wasn’t at school, it was only natural that I call them.”
“You were supposed to call me,” Richard yelled as he took a step forward and shifted the gun back to both his hands. When she felt the barrel of the rifle poking into her stomach, she wondered if she would get out of this alive, let alone without any injuries.
She pushed all the love she had for her mates through the link and hoped they could feel how much they meant to her, all the while praying that none of them would end up dead.
Chapter Eleven
Barrett had never felt fear like he was right at that moment. Of course, he’d been nervous, but never in his life had he been shit scared. The moment Ed had connected with him and Palmer before he’d passed out and shouted at them to get back to Prim would be forever etched into his mind. But he pushed his fear aside and his emotions down deep and let his wolf to the surface. His animal’s rage that his mate was in danger helped to keep him grounded and the fear at bay.
The moment Palmer pulled the truck onto the side of the road, Barrett jumped out and tore his clothes off. When he was naked, he called to his wolf and willed his body to change faster than ever before. His muscles and bones ached as they reshaped and broke, but he didn’t give a shit about a little pain. All he cared about was getting to Primrose before she got hurt.
Once the change was complete, he glanced at Palmer to see that he, too, was in wolf form, and then they headed between the trees and toward their woman. He and Palmer crouched in the undergrowth when they saw the asshole had a gun digging into her stomach.
“How are we going to do this so she doesn’t end up getting shot?” Barrett asked Palmer.
“We need to distract him. One of us can draw the gun while the other comes at him from behind.”
“I’ll do it,” Barrett said. “You’re a tad stronger than I am and we can’t take the chance he’ll end up shooting Prim.”
“I can help, too,” Ed said.
“Oh, thank God,” Prim sobbed. “Are you okay, Ed? I have never been so scared in my life. At first, I thought he’d killed you.”
“It takes a lot more than a bullet to kill me, honey.”
“Are you fully healed?” Palmer asked.
“Yeah, and my wolf is just itching to take that fucker down. He’s so full of rage, I’m having trouble keeping him back.”
“You can’t kill him,” Prim said. “He’s sick. He needs help.”
“Damn it, Primrose,” Palmer snapped.
“Please? I know he won’t get out of this without being hurt, but please don’t kill him.”
“Baby, he’s been terrifying you for months,” Barrett snarled. “If one of our wolves lost it like him, then the only thing that we could do would be to put him down.”
“He’s not a wolf, Barrett.”
Barrett sighed with resignation as he glanced toward Palmer. If their mate wanted to spare a sick fucker’s life, then that’s what they would do. It didn’t mean he had to like it. Palmer nodded at him and then crept through the undergrowth and into sight.
“Stay back unless he shoots one of us,” Palmer told Ed.
Primrose met Barrett’s gaze as he came out into the clearing. “If things go south, baby, I want you to get down on the ground. Okay?”
“Okay. Be careful Barrett. I love you. I love you all so much and I don’t want to lose any of you.”
“We’ll be fine, baby.” Barrett bared his teeth and started snarling when he saw that Palmer was in position, and he was pleased when the prick spun around and pointed the rifle at him.
“Back away, Primrose. I want you to try and get behind your car,” Palmer commanded.
Barrett kept his eyes on Primrose but also on the idiot with the rifle. His muscles were bunched, ready to leap in any direction in case the bastard squeezed the trigger. He took a step forward, keeping up the rumbling growl and making sure the fucker’s attention was on him until his mate was safely out of harm’s way. She was slowly skirting her way around her car, but she wasn’t quite there yet.
Palmer crept in behind the crazy guy and just as he raised the gun to his shoulder, his brother made his move. Palmer charged forward and rammed into the back of the dickhead’s legs and he went flying to the ground, the gun going in one direction and the bastard the other.
As Barrett leapt forward, his intention to stand over the sick prick to keep him pinned to the ground, the gun hit the ground and a shot rang out. He heard a gasp and groan, but he kept his attention on the man on the ground. There was no way he was going to give him the opportunity to get ahold of that gun again and try to shoot his mate.
But when he felt distress through their link coming from Primrose, he glanced over toward where he’d last seen her and his heart stuttered in his chest. Blood was already covering her shirt and Ed was at her side, ripping it open. Palmer spun around and then he, too, rushed to their mate’s side. Barrett needed to be with Prim, too, and didn’t give a shit about giving their abilities away. He called to his human and let the change flow over him quickly. The idiot on the ground started whimpering, but Barrett didn’t care about him. Once he was human again, he grabbed hold of the fucker’s shirt, lifted his upper body from the ground and slammed his fist into his jaw. His eyes rolled back in his head and Barrett dropped him on the ground before running over to Primrose.
“Fuck.” Barrett’s heart stuttered in his chest when he saw the bullet entry wound. It wasn’t near her heart but from what he could see, it could have pierced her lung.
“Her heartbeat is slowing and she’s having trouble breathing,” Palmer said in a hoarse voice.
“We have to change her,” Ed rasped. “If we don’t, she’s going to die.”
“Do it,” Barrett said around the lump of
fear in his throat. “We can’t lose her.”
Palmer elongated a claw and ripped open the flesh of his wrist before prying Primrose’s mouth open and holding the dripping wound over it. His brother’s life-giving essence wept into her mouth and Barrett stroked his fingers up and down her throat and nearly sobbed with relief when she swallowed reflexively.
He nodded at Ed and was pleased that Palmer didn’t remove his wrist from over their mate’s mouth until Ed had also torn the skin on his wrist open, and as Palmer pulled away, Ed pushed his arm onto Primrose’s tongue.
It seemed to take forever before it was his turn, but when Ed nodded at him, Barrett was ready. He sank his teeth into his wrist and tore his flesh open and before any of the lifesaving fluid could drip away, he had it in and over Prim’s mouth. This time, Palmer took over stroking her throat, as his wounds were already healed. As Barrett watched his blood flow into her mouth, he also kept an eye on the wound in her chest and was pleased to see that the bleeding had already slowed and the edges of her skin looked as if they were already repairing.
He looked up when he heard the crunch of tires on the dirt, but when he saw that it was Sinclair and Michael, he turned his gaze back to his mate.
“What the hell happened?” Sin asked as he and Michael came up behind them.
Barrett ignored them as Palmer explained and told Sin to call Taylor Henderson. By calling him, none of them would have to worry about explaining Primrose’s injuries or lack thereof when her body healed and accepted the change.
It took nearly three quarters of an hour for their mate’s wound to close, and in that time Taylor had come and taken Prim’s boss away, after arresting the man, for a psych evaluation. When it was safe to move her, Barrett whipped his T-shirt off over his head, and with his brother’s help, they put it on Primrose. He gently lifted her into his arms and carried her toward their truck.
“Michael, can you drive our mate’s car back?” Palmer asked.
“No worries.” Michael waved and headed toward Prim’s car.
Ed rushed ahead of Barrett and opened the back door to the truck, and he got in and gently laid Prim out on the seat with her head and upper body resting against his lap. Not once in the whole journey home did he take his eyes off of their mate, and Ed didn’t seem to want to take his gaze from her, either. His brother was twisted around in the front passenger seat, watching the rise and fall of Prim’s chest, looking for each and every breath, just like he was.