by Bethany Shaw
Everything is going to be okay.
He moved one hand through her mussed coffee-colored hair while the other applied pressure to the injury on her leg. Gene tried to control the rapid beating of his heart. The trees whooshed by as they flew down the back roads.
Her blood soaked through the shirt, coating his fingers. Fear gripped him, gnawing at the back of his mind. She needed to live. He needed her. He loved her.
It seemed like it took them hours to turn down the gravel road of the ranch when, in reality, he was sure it had only been minutes. Devon rushed down the steps, Lark following behind him. As soon as the car pulled to a stop, Devon appeared at the door, pulling it open. Gene helped Devon to lift Natalia out of the back of the SUV and carry her to the infirmary.
They laid her on the cold metal table, and Gene swallowed, seeing how pale she was. Her breath came in shallow, labored puffs.
“My mom will give blood for the transfusion unless you think she would prefer your blood,” Devon said, nodding at Claire, who sat in a chair off to the side.
“Does it matter right now?” Gene growled.
“Not at the moment, but it may to her when she wakes up smelling like another wolf,” Devon pointed out.
“Use Claire’s,” Gene said after a long moment. He didn’t want to mark her without her permission.
“Why does it matter? What about blood type?” Lark asked as she wiped a cloth over the laceration on Natalia’s forehead.
“All wolves have the same blood type,” Claire replied.
“Personal scents are very important to us,” Devon said as Claire moved her chair closer to Natalia’s bed. “It’s why we do the blood sharing in the mating ceremony. It leaves a residue, if you will, on the wolf’s scent; it mixes the two scents together. Female-to-female or male-to-male isn’t so bad, but if you do it from the opposite sex it can cause…issues. The recipient will smell the other wolf’s scent for a few days but will grow accustomed to it quickly. It can be a deterrent to other wolves as well. For example, if Gene were to give his blood to Natalia it would deter a lot of men from pursuing her as they would smell his scent on her. It’s particularly bad for the giver; they can smell their scent on the other, and it can drive them a little crazy and make them act in ways they normally wouldn’t. That’s why the mating ceremony should only be performed between two wolves in love.”
“I think she gets the point, sweetie,” Claire said quietly.
“Yes,” Lark said slowly.
Devon swabbed Natalia’s arm and injected the needle, beginning the transfusion.
“Alright let’s look at this leg,” Devon said, using scissors to cut her jeans away from the deep claw marks.
“Is she going to be okay?” Gene asked, worried. Blinking, he leaned closer and shuddered as he realized he could see her bone. If she were awake, she could attempt a shift but that could be dangerous too. Shifting after a severe injury did more harm than good.
“We have to stop the bleeding and get more blood back into her body. She could have a concussion too. Hopefully there isn’t any bleeding on her brain. Do you know how she hit her head?” Devon questioned.
“She ran into a tree while trying to get away. I found her slumped over the steering wheel,” Gene replied, grasping Natalia’s hand in his. He watched warily as Devon and Lark worked together.
Please be okay.
***
Fernando paced back and forth as he waited for the other alpha to meet him. This was it. He could feel it. The leader of the Bayou packs was finally going to admit defeat. He could think of no other reason why the man would have called a meeting. After years of persistence, victory would finally be his.
A smile slid across his face, and he stared up at the sun, letting the warmth soothe him. Natalia was coming home, and the blasted thorn in his side would be no more. The day couldn’t get any better.
“Sir.”
Fernando turned as one of his men approached. “Yes?”
“I have Malakai on the phone.”
Fernando frowned as he snatched the cell phone and placed it to his ear. “Malakai?” he questioned.
“Papa, I have some news,” Malakai whispered hoarsely.
“Why are you calling? Where is Luis?” he growled as his stomach turned.
“She…Natalia…she killed him,” Malakai responded breathlessly.
“What?” Fernando swallowed painfully. His hand gripped the phone tighter, and he looked for some place to sit down. His son was…dead, it couldn’t be, he thought.
“I’m sorry, Papa,” Malakai whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
“Where is she?” he breathed.
“She got away.”
“Go home and gather some more men. Then find her and bring her to me. Kill everyone else in their pack except for the women,” he thundered.
Fernando’s pulse roared. His ears burned as he blinked back tears. My son is dead. Anger rolled through him. The phone cracked beneath his grip and went silent. Pieces of plastic fell to the ground from the destroyed device.
“Sir is everything alright?” his man questioned.
“Change of plans. We’re no longer waiting for the meeting. Attack them now and don’t let up until every man inside that pack is dead. Women and children need be the only survivors. Feel free to use any force you deem necessary,” he ordered. Stomping his foot down, he smashed the remaining bits of the phone into the ground. Gritting his teeth, he stared at the walls that surrounded the Bayou packs home. By tonight, they would be burning. The pack would be defeated and washed down the bayou in the next few days.
If Malakai carried out his orders efficiently, then he would take down two packs within days of each other. His only regret would be not personally overseeing the death of the Harris’ pack.
Chapter Twenty-three
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Natalia groaned, slowly blinking her eyes open. Her heart hammered in her chest as she fought to sit up. She hissed when she put weight down on her hand and pain scorched its way up her arm. Dizziness gnawed at her and nausea rolled through her stomach.
“Hey, hey, you’re okay,” Gene said as he placed an arm on her shoulder. “Lay back down.”
Natalia inhaled sharply as he guided her back down onto the pillows. “What happened?” she asked, taking in the thick bandages on her wrist. Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the surroundings. She was in her bedroom. The green comforter was tucked up around her, and she burrowed further into the blankets.
“You were hurt and crashed into a tree. Harold and I found you and brought you home,” Gene replied, sitting down beside her.
The bed dipped under his weight, causing her to slide into him. Natalia sighed, relaxing into Gene. “Juarez wasn’t there. Luis said something about finishing up business in New Orleans. You should call Vincent and Daniel; they could be in trouble.”
“I’ll have Devon call to check in. How are you feeling?”
Natalia met Gene’s worried gaze. His eyebrows scrunched up into his hairline, and his warm calloused hand grazed against her jaw as he looked over her.
Closing her eyes, she shifted, accessing her injuries. Natalia bit her lip as she moved her leg. Her head pounded, and her vision blurred.
“I’ll be alright,” she grunted. “How bad is it?”
“You have a deep laceration on your right thigh, and your hand is broken. We had to re-break it so it would heal correctly. Devon said it wasn’t set right. I’m guessing it broke while you were shifted and partially healed when you transitioned back,” Gene said quietly. “Your lacerations are stitched up, and your hand is bandaged. We’ll have to keep an eye on your thigh. Devon wants you to wait at least twenty-four hours to shift.”
Natalia nodded as she opened her eyes. They drifted to the spot where the pack and play was supposed to be. “Where is Adrian?” she questioned.
“He’s fine,” Gene assured. “Lark has him. We moved his bed from your room so you could rest undis
turbed. Do you want me to have her bring him in?”
“Yes,” Natalia said adamantly. Gene got up slowly, and she reached out to grab his hand. “How long was I out?”
“You were out for the night. It’s almost lunch time,” Gene said.
Her stomach grumbled loudly, as if just realizing how long it’d been since she’d last eaten.
“I’ll bring you some food too,” Gene smiled.
“Thank you.” Natalia relaxed back into the plush pillows as her eyes drooped closed. Relief flooded her and she sighed.
“Hey,” Lark said as she walked into the room with Adrian in her arms. “How are you?”
Natalia beamed when she saw her son. “Better now.”
“He’s been good. He just woke up and got changed,” Lark smiled, sitting on the bed and adjusting Adrian so Natalia could see him.
“Thank you for looking after him,” Natalia acknowledged. Her arm throbbed as she lifted it to move the blanket.
“You should thank Gene too. He hasn’t slept at all. When he wasn’t in here watching over you, he was helping me take care of Adrian. I’m not sure he really knew what he was doing in regards to Adrian, but it was super sweet,” Lark offered. “I think he likes you—both of you—a lot.”
Natalia flushed, her face burning. “The feeling is mutual.” Her heart warmed at the idea that Gene—the man she was falling for—loved her son too. Natalia wondered if she could really be so lucky.
“Here, I brought you some chicken noodle soup,” Gene said as he knocked on the open door. Lark stood up and moved out of the way. “Devon’s going to call Daniel and Vincent, and then he’s going to come check on you.” He set the bowl on the end table and placed his knee on the bed. “Let me help you up.”
Natalia grimaced as Gene wrapped a firm arm around her and helped her to sit up. Her body throbbed and pain ricocheted through her leg. Gene propped the pillows around her before handing over the bowl of steaming soup.
“Are you okay?” Gene asked once she was situated.
“Yes,” Natalia whispered as the ache ebbed away.
“Here I can take him,” Gene offered turning to Lark. Natalia watched in awe as he carefully cuddled her son to his chest. Meeting his eyes, she got lost in his gaze. She wasn’t falling in love with him—she was already in love with Gene.
***
Devon ran a hand through his hair as he sank into the desk chair. The ringing phone echoed in his ear as he waited for Vincent or Daniel to answer.
“Dev,” Daniel answered on the forth ring.
“Daniel,” he responded gruffly. “I got word that you two might be in the middle of a war zone.”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“What’s going on?” Devon asked, leaning forward onto the desk.
“Juarez has been attacking the pack non-stop since yesterday afternoon. I’m not sure what happened to intensify the situation, but it’s not looking good. With all the fighting, we haven’t been able to get close enough to make contact. We think they’re on the brink of falling. Juarez has been relentless, and his tactics are getting desperate,” Daniel said quietly. “It is a good thing they are buried deep in the bayou, or the locals would have caught on to the fighting.”
“You two should get out of there and come home,” Devon said after a long moment. “There isn’t much the two of you can do to help if you can’t even get in.”
“Vincent’s looking into a route in through the bayou. He thinks there is a secret road, but…”
“Do what you can but come home—both of you.”
“We will,” Daniel said with a sigh.
***
Daniel watched as Vincent weaved through the trees and jogged toward him. The mosquitoes buzzed around him, and he swatted his neck as one bit him. A small breeze blew the trees and bushes that hid them from Juarez’s scouts.
“Did you find a way in?” Daniel questioned.
“Not exactly a way in; it’s a way out. But first, I have some news,” Vincent smirked.
“What?” Daniel asked.
“Natalia’s little tango with Luis and Malakai. She killed Luis. Fernando Juarez is fuming. Guess where he’s going after he finishes up here,” Vincent said, giving his brother a pointed look.
“Abilene.” Daniel shook his head. “How did you get close enough to find that out?”
“I have plenty of experience sneaking out of bedrooms, Daniel. I just put my skills to good use.”
“Must everything be a joke to you?” Daniel growled.
“Must you take everything so seriously?” Vincent replied, rolling his eyes.
“So you didn’t exactly find a way in; what does that mean?” Daniel asked, trying to get his younger brother to focus.
“Well, what I found looks like an evacuation route. It’s a way in, but the ultimate way out, and—judging by the way they were loading the bus—they plan to use it very soon.”
“We should try to help. They’ll need someplace to go. Juarez will chase them down,” Daniel said.
“You want to try and make contact with the Bayou pack?” Vincent asked warily.
“Yeah! It’s the right thing to do,” Daniel said after a long moment. He’d made mistakes in the past; it was time for him to atone for them—one way or another.
***
Natalia winced as Devon unwound the bandages on her thigh. She was ready to get out of bed. After spending an entire day on her back, she was growing restless—even if her body still hurt every time she moved. Gene sat beside her on the bed. His thumb traced a circular pattern over the back of her hand, helping to soothe her.
“This looks really good. You can shift if you want to. It will help it to heal faster. Your wrist should heal completely when you turn into a wolf, and these lacerations should be minimal when you return to human form. I would be really careful on your front paws, though. The ground is still really wet from all the rain, and it’d be easy to hurt yourself again while the bone is still weak,” Devon warned. “In fact, I would just go for a walk. No running yet.”
“I can go with you, if you want,” Gene offered.
“Okay,” Natalia agreed, resting her head on his shoulder.
“She’ll need help getting to the clearing on this leg,” Devon replied. “It’s probably going to hurt the first few times you shift. If the pain is too intense, stop. Don’t force it. Take as long as you need to. Lark and my mom are looking after Adrian. Do you have any questions?”
Natalia shook her head as she bit her lip.
“Let me know if you do,” Devon responded. He stood up and walked to the door.
“You ready now, or do you want to wait?” Gene questioned, meeting her gaze.
“Let’s do this. I’m sure I’ll feel better after this, and it’d be nice to be able to take care of my son without help,” Natalia said determinedly.
“Alright,” Gene agreed. Looping his arm under her armpit, he stood up. Gene pulled her flush against him and carefully eased her off the bed. Natalia grunted as her feet touched the carpet. Putting the majority of her weight on him, she took a tentative step forward. She gritted her teeth at the spike of pain that jolted up her leg.
Gene froze and she inhaled sharply, taking another step forward. “I can do this,” she told herself aloud.
Gene admired her determination as they slowly made their way outside of the house. Her forehead glistened with sweat, but he could tell by the set of her jaw and the gleam in her eyes she wasn’t going to give up.
“You doing okay?” he asked. The soggy grass slurped beneath them as they entered the tree line.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Let me know if you need help. I know when I was injured a few months ago, I almost passed out after my first shift.”
“Hmmm.”
“You know you scared the hell out of me the other day,” Gene told her honestly as he helped her sit down on a rock.
“I was scared myself,” Natalia admitted. “I transitioned my feet. I
did not know you could do that.”
Gene smiled. “You can do just about anything. When you’re fighting for your life, you can do things you never imagined you could.”
Natalia grimaced as she slipped her sandals off. “Are you staying with me the whole time? I have never turned in front of someone before.”
“I don’t have to. If you want me to walk away, I can go just through the trees down to the creek.” Gene pointed to the water that ran about fifty feet from where they were.
“It is not that I do not appreciate your help. I just do not know if I can do it with someone watching,” Natalia explained. “Thank you for being here for me.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” Gene knelt down in front of her, clasping her smooth hands in his. Heart pounding in his chest, he swallowed, meeting her chestnut eyes. “I love you, Talia.”
Her mouth popped open, eyes widening as she gasped. Shaking her head, she looked away. “Even after everything? All the problems I have brought here?”
“Yes! And these problems weren’t because of you, Talia. They would’ve happened regardless. I love you and Adrian,” Gene said. Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned in, pressing his lips lightly against hers. She sighed as her lips caressed his, her hands winding into his hair.
“I love you too, Gene.”
Placing one last kiss to her lips, he pulled back. “If you’d like, we could shift together,” he offered. Her brown eyes flicked to his with uncertainty. “I’ll go first,” he added.
Hands on the hem of his shirt, he lifted it over his head and grinned as her gaze followed his movements.
“Alright,” she smiled.
Raising her hips, she carefully lowered her shorts. Gene’s hand rested on his belt buckle, a groan escaping his lips as she continued to undress. Inhaling a deep breath, he focused on the task before him. She needed to shift so she could get better.
“You go first,” he said, allowing his eyes to wander over her perfect form once before meeting her gaze.
Nodding, he grasped her hand and helped her to her knees.
“Take deep breaths, close your eyes and try to relax. Once you complete your transition, you’ll feel better almost instantly,” he encouraged.