One Second (Seven Series Book 7)

by Dannika Dark

  “Over my dead body!”

  “As you wish.”

  Judas pulled out a gun, aimed, and fired.

  ***

  Austin braced himself when the gun appeared. He was too far from Judas to rush him, and shifting would expose Lexi, making her vulnerable.

  He had to take the bullet.

  That’s what a man did for his life mate—the mother of his child—the love of his life.

  The bullet pierced his flesh like hot fury, searing through the skin below his right pec and channeling through his chest cavity. The pain was immense but irrelevant. The only danger was if it had pierced his liver or ricocheted off bone and punctured another vital organ. These were injuries he could heal from, but not if the bullet was still inside him. A wave of relief struck him when hot blood ran down his back, indicating the round had made a clean exit. Packmasters challenged each other in wolf form, so at least he would heal some during the shift.

  The moment he looked up at Judas, fear struck him like an Arctic wave.

  Judas lowered his gun, and his jaw slackened.

  Austin slowly turned around. Lexi’s eyes glittered with pain, her mouth open in disbelief as her fingers grazed over a hole in her shirt where blood was soaking into the fabric.

  Not his blood.

  Hers.

  The bullet had gone clean through Austin and struck Lexi in the right shoulder.

  Lexi’s knees buckled, and she fell. He caught her and gently set her down, kneeling before her and brushing her hair away from her ashen face.

  “It’s gonna be fine,” he said. “Just breathe slowly.”

  She grimaced and curled into a fetal position. “It’s coming… I can’t stop it.”

  When Austin snapped his attention back to Judas, the wolf inside him became one with his spirit, and they were both enraged. The two had collided in an explosion of emotions that took him to a primitive place in his mind—a dark place from where few men ever returned.

  Austin could see by the remorse in Judas’s eyes that he hadn’t meant to hurt her, and that’s what pissed him off the most.

  Moreland, one of Church’s men, knelt beside him. “I’ll take her to Church; he knows healing magic.”

  “There’s no time,” Austin said through clenched teeth.

  “The road’s a twenty-minute walk, but I can half that.”

  Judas remained still, and Austin was uncertain if he was contemplating escape. Alphas didn’t shoot each other in the back; there was no honor in that, especially with so many witnesses.

  Moreland gripped his shoulder. “I’ll call Church and tell him where to meet us.”

  “I don’t want her going back to his place,” Austin said. “That’s time lost. Take her to my house, and call Edward Graves.”

  “The Relic?” he asked to confirm.

  Austin nodded.

  Lexi cried out, seemingly in more pain from her belly than the bullet that had gone through her clavicle.

  “Shhh, baby. It’s okay.” He soothed her, stroking her cheek with his hand. He wanted to say he was going to protect her, but he’d already fucked that up.

  His mind scrambled, and he finally shouted, “Katharine!”

  His mother was the only one he could trust. She had delivered babies and healed enough wounds that he was confident she might be able to help.

  Austin’s mother appeared and quickly said, “You need to stop the bleeding.”

  “Go with Moreland. He’s taking her home and calling the Relic. Stay with Lexi until I make it back.”

  He bent down and pressed a chaste kiss to Lexi’s mouth. “I’m so sorry,” was all he could say, tears streaking down his nose and wetting her cheek. “Please forgive me.”

  “Don’t leave me,” she pleaded, clutching his arm.

  Seeing her this way decimated him, as if he were standing on the ashes of a dream from long ago. Austin had succumbed to his animal spirit, and faster than a heartbeat, he shifted to wolf form.

  He turned, a deadly growl erupting from his lungs and settling in his throat. The humid air smelled of fresh blood, aging oak, muddy clay, and frightened rogues.

  His wolf sensed the alpha in front of him as the enemy. Judas dropped his gun and, in a dramatic swirl, shifted into a magnificent silver wolf, just like Lexi’s. Only his was pure silver, absent of dark markings.

  In Austin’s peripheral, he saw a Vampire delivering a crushing blow to a rogue before walking out of sight. Austin communicated to his wolf that these men were allies and fighting alongside their pack, and part of that was done through emotion and visual association.

  Judas’s wolf crouched low, his tail straight and sharp fangs pronounced under the moonlight.

  Austin stepped forward, the pads of his front paws sinking into the soft dirt, keeping his focus on Judas, even though in the back of his mind he knew they were carrying Lexi off. If his wolf got distracted, Judas would move in for the kill.

  They simultaneously vaulted toward each other, colliding midair in a crash of raw power.

  Austin bit down on Judas’s back, his teeth piercing through flesh and releasing hot blood to taint that silver fur. It filled his mouth, and now he had the taste of vengeance on his tongue.

  He propelled himself forward using his hind legs, struggling to knock the wolf off-balance and onto his back. Judas went for his throat, and Austin slipped around him.

  Austin growled and barked at once—a warning.

  A threat.

  A promise.

  They unleashed their rage, slamming into each other and rearing up on their hind legs to get at each other’s throats, hoping to latch on to ensure victory. Austin bit a chunk of his ear, and it ripped. Judas’s wolf retaliated, ducking down and chomping into his front leg so viciously that teeth scraped against bone.

  Austin yelped and wrenched away before Judas went for his belly and did some serious damage. As they circled each other, Austin observed his enemy’s wounds. Judas was bleeding from his right ear, and some of that blood was dribbling into his eye, causing him to shake his head and paw at his face.

  Head wounds could lead to fatal mistakes. When blood gets into the eyes, it becomes difficult to see. Not only that, but it will scare a wolf to taste and smell his own blood, creating skittish behavior.

  Before Judas had time to regain his confidence, Austin attacked. When he chewed through fur and punctured into flesh, he shook savagely and unmercifully.

  Judas’s wolf attempted to bite Austin’s side, but his fur was too dense, and Judas lost his grip.

  Voices shouted around them, and it was then that Austin noticed a slow gathering. He recognized a few faces watching, and his heart swelled with pride that they must be winning the battle.

  Austin lost his balance and flipped into the water, immediately rising to his feet as Judas shifted to heal.

  Bastard.

  Austin charged out of the water toward Judas with an unflinching determination to take him down no matter what form he chose. The alpha had broken the unspoken rule about healing during a challenge; alphas fought with honor, a quality that often set them apart from other Shifters.

  Judas swung his left arm and struck Austin’s snout. A burst of pain radiated through his skull, and he shook his head, briefly disoriented.

  No one interfered when Judas went for his gun.

  Two of Austin’s packmates were barking ferociously, trying to alert him that they were ready to go in for the kill if Austin would just give them the command.

  But he didn’t.

  Judas turned, the gun in hand and blood dripping from a gaping wound on his head.

  With lightning speed, Austin leapt as the gun fired.

  The force of impact knocked Judas onto his back, and Austin bit into his wrist, sinking his teeth even deeper when Judas tried to fight. The gun tumbled out of his hand, but Austin didn’t let go—tearing and thrashing until his hand was nothing more than a dangling appendage.

  Judas wailed, punching at Austin’s side
with his good hand and trying to throw him off. Austin looked at Judas, eyeing the steady pulse that thrummed beneath the soft skin of the alpha’s neck.

  Images of Lexi entered his mind.

  Lexi.

  She needed him. Fear spiked his senses, and he backed off, staring at Judas for a considerable time as he debated whether to finish him off or not. His wolf wanted to, and he sure as hell wanted to, but this bastard needed to become an example. Killing him would be too easy and came with the risk of making him into a martyr.

  Prison, on the other hand, would break him and prove what a foolish, incompetent leader he was.

  Austin delivered a look to Reno, and there was no need for words; Reno knew exactly what to do, even if Austin was unwilling to shift and communicate it to him.

  Reno nodded. “Let the bastard rot in Breed jail. Tie him up!” he shouted. “Tie up every last man who still draws breath and gave his fealty to this pile of manure. Bind their hands behind their backs so these animals can’t shift to heal. Since this one doesn’t have much left of a hand, bind his arms.”

  Reno turned back to Austin as those around him obeyed his orders. “Your mate needs you.”

  That’s all Austin understood before he sailed through the crowd like a gale-force wind, his paws barely touching the ground.

  Chapter 31

  I’d never felt so overwhelmed with relief as when I laid eyes on my home through the windshield of Lorenzo’s Ferrari. And maybe what made it extra special was when my water broke in his passenger seat.

  We pulled up the dark driveway, and he glanced at me with a look of trepidation.

  “Send us the cleaning bill,” I said.

  His eyes narrowed slightly. “That’s not my concern.”

  “Never delivered a baby?” I asked weakly.

  He glanced at his box of cigarettes and then back at my stomach. “Are you having labor pains?”

  I tipped my head to the side and glared. “What do you think?”

  He popped open his door and got out. “I think your mother-in-law shouldn’t have made a run to the store and left me alone with you.”

  The door slammed, and he rounded the car, looking pale and ready to faint.

  When Moreland had made it to the road, carrying me in his arms, Lorenzo and another car were waiting. Katharine insisted that Moreland drive her to the store to purchase supplies, and that made me nervous because whatever she needed was more than what we had in our medicine cabinet. It wasn’t just the labor pains she was concerned about; it was the gunshot wound to my chest. If they weren’t able to reach Edward, then only Katharine would be there to get me through this. The bullet had torn through my chest and ricocheted off bone, moving up to my shoulder in the back. Katharine said that when she pushed hard enough, she could feel it.

  I’d lost a lot of blood.

  Too much.

  It scared me enough that I drank the entire bottle of water Lorenzo had given me. I didn’t know how to compensate for blood loss, but when my skin became clammy and my heart slowed, I knew my prospects were grim.

  Lorenzo lifted me out of the car and carried me toward the house.

  “How’s my mother?”

  He feigned a smile. “Let’s just say if she had been born a wolf, she would be an alpha.”

  Lorenzo opened the unlocked door, and I rested my head on his shoulder.

  “You’re a good man, Lorenzo. I know I’ve given you hell over the years, but that’s what cousins are for, right?”

  “Stop doing that.”

  “Doing what?”

  He gave me a punishing glare. “Trying to make peace with me. That’s what men do when they’ve given up and they want to go to the spirit world with a clean conscience.”

  “Fine. Then you’re still an asshole.”

  He moved up the stairs. “Which room?”

  I tried to remain focused, but it was difficult when everything was rushing by me so fast. At least in the car I could take my mind off the pain by staring at the feather hanging from his rearview mirror. It kept my mind centered on something outside my body so I wasn’t focusing on myself. As we ascended the stairs, it seemed as if my universe had become a searing pain in my chest and arm, only briefly forgotten when the contractions came on.

  “I want to be in my bed. My room. My things. I want Austin,” I murmured.

  “You haven’t changed much since we first met. Talking too much when you would be better served keeping your mouth shut.”

  “You’re trying to get on my bad side again,” I said with a small grin.

  He reached the top of the stairs, breathing heavily. “You’re injured and need to reserve your energy. Keep still, don’t speak, and your mother-in-law will be back soon. Which is your room?”

  After a silent beat, his eyes darted down at me.

  “You told me not to speak.”

  “Such an insolent woman.” He moved down the hall and peered into the open rooms. “How about the one with the model airplanes? That looks like you and would explain what you’ve been doing for all these years instead of making babies.”

  “Keep going. To the left. I’m going to forget you said that, but Santa won’t. He keeps a list,” I muttered, hoping humor would distract me from the pain.

  The feel of my soft bed against my back was divine—something I’d taken for granted all these years. I never realized how much I loved home until I smelled my house, felt the familiarity of my sheets, and took comfort in seeing all my memories scattered about the room. A home is an extension of a person, and my home was family, love, and laughter.

  Lorenzo returned with a wet towel.

  “What are you going to do with that?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, looking down at it. “I thought you might need it.”

  The poor man looked conflicted, and it made me wonder if he was even in the house when Ivy had given birth.

  I touched my shoulder. “Has the bleeding stopped?”

  He withdrew the soaked material they’d used to bandage me and ripped the hole in my shirt wider. “It’s still weeping. I can’t use my healing magic while the bullet is still in your body. We’ll have to wait for the Relic. If he doesn’t come, then…”

  “Then what?”

  He stood up straight and pinched his chin. “Then I’ll need a really long spoon.”

  “You have a terrible sense of humor.”

  The front door slammed, and heavy footsteps barreled up the stairs until they found the open door.

  Edward breezed into the room and dropped his bag on a chair. “I came as soon as I heard.”

  A look of relief swam across Lorenzo’s face, and he backed up like a deer retreating from a predator.

  My Relic briefly examined my chest before retrieving a pair of scissors from his bag and slicing my shirt straight down the center.

  “You can leave now, Mr. Church,” he said, not taking his eyes off my wound. “Looks like a large bullet. Did it exit?”

  “No. I think it’s lodged in my shoulder behind my back.”

  He cut away my bra and then reached around with his fingers, pressing my back until I winced. “Yes, there it is.”

  Having a professional put me at ease, especially seeing how adept and confident he was. Edward placed a cold stethoscope against my chest and asked me to take in a few breaths.

  “Well?” I asked. “What’s the diagnosis?”

  “You’ve been shot, and you’re having a baby,” he said, his voice deadpan.

  It made me smile to see he had a sense of humor after all.

  Edward placed his stethoscope on the nightstand. “I can’t know for certain without X-rays, but I think you have a collapsed lung. Is there pain?”

  “Yeah, but I thought it was from the gunshot.”

  He bit his lip and averted his eyes.

  That scared me. The last thing you want your doctor to do is look worried.

  “I’m going to insert a chest tube to relieve the pressure, and it’s a painful
procedure. If we don’t do something about it now, it’ll become harder for you to breathe.” He opened his large bag. “Let’s try it first with a needle.”

  My eyes widened. “That’s a big fucking needle!”

  “The good news is I don’t hear any fluid in there, but you have air in your chest cavity that’s putting pressure on your lung. We need to release some of that air so you can be comfortable. Let me clean you up a little before we begin.” He wiped down the site with a cold antiseptic.

  I turned my head and searched for something to focus on—something that would take me to another place where I didn’t have any worries. I centered my gaze on a miniature vase on the dresser with a green sucker sticking out. It was a keepsake from a candy bouquet Austin had given me a million years ago when we stayed our first night in this house. It reminded me of a simpler time when the only thing that mattered was how much I loved him.

  Edward bandaged my gunshot wound and pressed his fingers around my chest, searching for a spot for that big-ass needle. I kept my eyes focused on the green sucker as the cold antiseptic circled around one spot.

  “You’re going to feel some pressure,” he said.

  He wasn’t lying. Just then, I got a contraction that was powerful enough that I didn’t focus on the needle going in. I pulled my legs up and closed my eyes.

  “Just one more minute while I attach the valve.”

  I heard a quiet hissing noise and felt the pressure in my chest leaving, allowing me to breathe easier.

  “That’s nice, isn’t it?” he said. “I’ll just tape it down, and we’ll release the valve every so often to check if you’re mending properly.”

  I turned toward him as he was taping down a funny-looking piece of plastic below my collarbone.

  Edward removed his plastic gloves and tossed them into a wastebasket. “I need to see how far along you’re dilated.”

  “I’ll help with that.” Katharine entered the room briskly and set a few paper bags on the floor. “Why don’t you step into the hall while I get her ready,” she said, her voice projecting authority.

  “Time is of the essence,” he murmured to her, slipping into the hall and keeping the door cracked.

  Katharine helped remove my shredded shirt and bra and then pulled off my pants.