by Jen L. Grey
"It's just me." Micah's voice was right next to my ear, and then he touched me again on my arm. "I'm going to take this blindfold off you."
I was glad for the warning because when he removed it, the light hurt my eyes. I blinked several times as he bent down, getting the key out of the lock. After a few seconds, my eyes adjusted to my surroundings, and I turned to find a familiar shaggy blond wolf charging an older man who seemed to be barely holding his own. Although I hadn’t seen him since the tour, I’d recognize Kai anywhere.
I glanced around, taking in where the hell I was. It looked like an old automobile repair shop. There were empty cabinets shoved against the walls, and a small, portable table with three chairs sat in the corner about twenty feet away from me. The ground was concrete, and dust coated everything. Where the garage doors should have been was replaced with steel doors. I glanced across the area to the single door that opened into the room.
"Liam is about to go out of his mind." Micah shook his head as he unlocked my left hand.
Micah's found me. As he unlocked my other hand, I grabbed the end of the tape and grimaced. This was going to hurt. I took a deep breath and ripped it from my lips. Damn, that hurt.
I'll be there soon. Liam's words were a promise.
"Do you know how much trouble you're causing us?" Micah's golden eyes were full of annoyance and seemed even lighter against his dark olive skin. His athletic frame was stiff, and his black shirt molded to his muscles. The southern heir was only a few inches taller than me, but he was filled with disdain. "If it wasn't for Liam losing his damn mind, none of us would be here."
"Thanks for your concern." Even though Micah was an asshole, he was nothing compared to Simon.
I turned my focus over to Kai's wolf form, who was forcing the older man into a corner.
The older man lifted both hands in the air. "Look, I'm not even shifting. I don't mean any harm."
"Says the guy who kidnapped me." Was he really trying to act like the victim right now?
"Look, it wasn't anything personal." The older man stumbled back as Kai continued to circle him. "We needed payment, but I still can't figure out why they're here." He pointed to Micah.
I spun around. "Did you hire them?"
"What? No." Micah's eyes widened. "Even if I don't like you and wish you would go away, I wouldn't do that. Not to Liam. He's too unstable about you right now."
Something sounded from the back. When I turned around, I saw another wolf enter the room. It wasn't someone I recognized.
"Micah, who is that?" I pointed to the door.
He spun around, and his whole body tensed. "I don't know." He shook his head. "Stay back. You can't fight in your condition."
Micah shifted right in front of my eyes, his clothes shredding. He bared his teeth at the wolf, who didn't appear impressed.
I wasn't sure what the hell to do. I wasn't a helpless damsel in distress, but at the same time, I didn't want to cause more problems. The heirs hated me enough already.
Micah's dark brown wolf charged at the other and went straight for the jugular. At the last second, the tan wolf rolled to the right and got back on its four legs.
I turned to find the man, who had appeared to be helpless, holding a gun. His hands shook as he held it directly at Kai, which made the man even more dangerous. A scared gun wielder did stupid things.
There was no way I could stay on the sidelines while both of them risked their lives for me. Liam, are you okay?
Yes, I'm almost there. He howled, and it didn't sound far away at all.
At least, he was near.
The tan wolf attacked Micah. He raised up on his two hind legs and landed on Micah's back. Micah immediately fell backward, throwing all of his weight so that he landed hard on the other wolf.
Kai bared his teeth at the scared man and ran straight at him. Kai’s eyes locked on the hand holding the gun.
Micah stood back up on his four legs, and he went for the wolf's neck. The other wolf countered his move, moving his neck, but it was too little too late. Micah sunk his teeth into his flesh, causing the other wolf to wail.
When the older man turned around to find out what was happening, his eyes widened as he saw his friend being taken out. Kai was only inches from his hand when the guy aimed his gun at Micah at the last second.
No.
The gun went off, and I jumped in front of Micah. Even though he didn't like me, he had just saved me, and I couldn't let him go like that.
Mia! No! Liam's dark brown wolf ran into the room a split second before the bullet hit me in my left shoulder. The impact forced me to fall backward, and I thudded to the ground.
Chapter Six
Raw pain poured through me. When the bullet had first hit, I hadn't felt anything, but now it was the most excruciating pain I'd ever experienced.
Liam's dark brown wolf ran to me, his frightened eyes looking me over.
I'm fine. Obviously, I wasn't, but the truth wasn't going to put him in the right headspace.
Don't even lie to me right now. His wolf whimpered as he sniffed my wound.
Evan ran into the room in human form, his eyes landing on me. He hurried over, dropping down beside me. "Mia, what the hell happened?"
"The man that Kai is fighting.” I stopped, taking a deep breath. The pain seemed worse when I spoke. “Tried to shoot Micah." I turned my head to find Micah staring at me with blood dripping from his mouth. The man he'd been attacking lay still at his feet.
Then, I turned my head to Kai. He had the guy's hand that had been holding the gun crushed between his teeth, not letting him get free. The gun was only a few feet away from them.
Thank God, neither one of them was hurt, or I'd have gotten shot for no good reason.
Evan squatted down beside me and gingerly touched my shoulder.
A deep growl emanated from Liam.
"Stop it." Evan glared at him. "I'm checking her wound. You’re being an idiot." He placed his hand on my shoulder. "I need you to sit up so I can see whether it went all the way through your body."
"Okay." I wanted to say no, but there was no point. We had to see how bad off I really was. I gritted my teeth as I began to rise. The pain was so bad I felt dizzy, but I pushed through it. Luckily, Evan helped me up with my good shoulder.
"It didn't go through." He took a deep breath. " It's not lethal, but we'll need to get the bullet out as soon as possible before she bleeds out." His eyes went to Liam. "Go round the others up. We need to figure out who took her and why so we can leave and get her cleaned up."
Liam shook his head no. I'm not leaving you.
Please, I want to go home. I stared into his eyes, desperate.
Fine. He backed away and ran out the door. Call me if it gets worse. This will only take a few minutes.
"I can't believe you took a fucking bullet … for him." Evan's gaze flickered at Micah and then settled back on me. "He's been an asshole to you."
"In all fairness, haven't all four of you been?" It was meant to be a joke, but it fell flat.
Evan winced at my words. "Yes. Yes, we have." He stood up on his feet again and glanced at me. "Can you stand?"
"I think… so." God, it really hurt, but it wasn’t like being on my feet was going to make it any worse. Warm blood spilled down my shirt and onto the ground. "Why are you in human form?"
"The same reason Micah was supposed to be. All of us heirs aren't in the same pack, so we can't communicate in wolf form. Some of us must stay human. Micah and I are the strongest in human form, so it makes sense that we stand on two legs instead of four. We have a change of clothes in the SUV just in case something like this happens though. We all need to be in human form to handle this." Evan flattened his hand and pushed hard on my wound.
A loud groan left me, and my head began to spin. "Aw, shit. A little warning would've been nice." Tears spilled out of my eyes, and I had to remind myself to breathe.
Micah's dark brown wolf moved to stand behind me, supporting some of my weight.
A small whimper left him.
It was strange having two heirs take care of me. If this would've happened just two weeks ago, they all would've left me behind to die.
"I promise I'll behave." The older man's voice shook, and for the first time, I got a good look at him.
He was balding and on the thinner side. He had to be around the same height as me, but there was something truly odd about him. His eyes looked younger than his actual appearance. He tried to lift both of his too-thin hands in the air and then took a deep breath.
Kai growled but dropped the man's hand from his mouth. He ran over and grabbed the gun before trotting back over to us.
"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." The man grabbed his wrist and held on to it tight.
Right then, a sandy brown wolf entered the room, walking backward as he growled and stared right at the tall man stepping through the door. Liam came from behind as they herded the other man next to the scared one.
"We've got it from here." Evan nodded at them. "You have to put pressure on your wound. I need to keep an eye on these two idiots while the others shift back."
I'll be back in a moment. Tell Micah and Simon to stay while Kai and I shift back. Liam nodded at Kai, and the two headed for the door.
"Micah and Simon, Liam wants you to stay here and be back up for Evan until they get back here."
Simon growled but went to sit next to Evan's feet as they stared the two men down.
"I told you this was a stupid idea." The older man shook his head. "This was bound to happen. When you get a task like that, you should know better than to say yes."
"Shut up." The other man growled.
The two men favored each other, but the more confident one seemed to be several years younger.
"I told you to listen to your father, but do you?" The older man shook his head as he stared right into my eyes. "When I saw her, I knew something wasn't right. She's different, and they're scared."
"I said shut up, Dad." The guy's eyes glowed with alpha will.
Evan walked over to them and arched an eyebrow. "Your dad may be on to something. I'd speak up if I were you."
"He's already said too much." He glared at his father.
Simon growled and headed toward them, taunting them.
The younger man stood still and huffed. "This is ridiculous. You are just kids. Are you really expecting us to be scared?"
"We aren't the ones who are backed into a corner." Evan raised his eyebrow, and the corners of his mouth tipped slightly upward.
If I hadn't gotten to know him better, I wouldn't have even noticed it. When I first met him, I’d thought he was expressionless, but he wasn't. It was just that varying emotions caused only slight changes to his overall indifferent features.
Liam breezed back into the room in human form with Kai right on his heels.
"We've got to get her medical help." Liam came over to me, his eyes on my face. I can feel the pain you're in.
"I can take care of it." Evan turned toward his friend. "We just need to get back on campus. It's not lethal, but I bet it hurts like hell."
"Are you sure?" Liam looked at my blood-soaked clothes and the puddle of blood that was growing beneath me.
"Yes, but the sooner the better." Evan arched an eyebrow.
"Simon and Micah, go shift back." Liam's eyes landed on the two men in front of us and the unconscious wolf on the floor. "We've got to take care of business."
The two wolves nodded and ran out the door.
Liam touched my face and leaned his head toward mine, breathing me in.
Despite the pain, I relished his touch. It felt like it had been so long since I’d seen him.
"Kai, will you help her?" Liam turned and looked at my friend, who stood several feet away, watching it all.
To say I was shocked wouldn't even begin to describe how I was feeling. Liam was willingly allowing Kai to help me. It almost seemed like I’d woken up in an alternate reality.
"Of course." Kai had another shirt in his hands, which he ripped into two pieces. "Here, let's put this around you. It'll do better than your hands."
As Kai positioned the shirt rags, tying them around my shoulder to cover the open wound, Evan and Liam sprang into action.
"Why did you kidnap my mate?" Liam's words were low but clear.
"Your mate?" The son's mask of indifference slipped. "She's … your mate?"
"I told you this was strange." The older man shook his head.
"You're not helping." The son glared at his father.
"I'm going to ask nicely one more time," Liam growled the words. "Why did you kidnap my mate?"
"We didn't know she was your mate." The son's face lost some of its confidence.
Evan reared back and punched the younger one square in the jaw, making him crumple to the ground.
"And you thought they'd protect us." The older man laughed. "They send us after one of their own heirs' mates. I told you to ask more questions."
My world seemed to tilt. One of the council members had sent them after me. Mr. Hale wasn't lying when he said he wanted me gone.
Kai tightened the torn shirt around my arm, making me groan in pain.
"Be easy with her." Liam glanced back and scowled at Kai.
"The tighter it is, the better it will staunch the blood flow." Kai lifted both hands in the air and stepped back. He glanced at me. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine." I was losing a lot of blood, so anything that would cut down on it was good with me. My head was beginning to feel a little dizzy.
"Are you trying to say that one of our fathers paid you to do this?" Evan shook his head.
"Not just one; all of them." The old man shook his head, and his eyes landed on the wolf on the other side of the room. "I was their pack alpha, and I don't know what happened, but I can barely even shift anymore. They had to take charge, but their mother is struggling worse than me. We had bills to pay, so when the council called, we thought we might get a chance to get a healer to help her and me."
"Enough." Liam's chest heaved as Simon and Micah entered the room, dressed in jeans and black shirts. "Do you expect us to believe that?"
The room began to spin, and my legs gave out from underneath me.
Kai's strong hands wrapped around me. "She's losing too much blood."
"Simon. Micah." Liam glanced at them and then came over to me. "Deal with them the way you see fit."
"Hell, yeah." Simon's maniacal laugh echoed against the walls.
"Come on." Liam picked me up, cradling me in his arms.
My head landed on his chest, and the beating of his heart comforted me.
Why didn't you tell me you were getting dizzy? His face was lined with worry. "Evan, let's go. We have to go get her situated."
"Okay." Evan patted Micah on the back. "I'll be back to help clean this mess up."
You can't kill them. They were struggling. It didn't seem right, especially if it was for their own pack and family.
Honey, there's no way they can make it out of this alive. Liam headed to the door. I can't be here to oversee it, and you won't last much longer if we don't get this bullet taken care of. The longer we wait, the more your wolf is going to try to heal over it, which won't be good. You could start bleeding internally.
"Don't let her go to sleep." Evan caught up to Liam's side. "I'm going to get the car, but don't jar her." He rushed out the door ahead of us.
"I'm going to stay here." Kai touched my arm before frowning. "I'll check on you later."
Why in the world did you take that bullet? Liam moved slower, trying not to jar me.
Because it would've been a direct hit on Micah. The tall, dark, muscular man had saved me, and it didn't seem right for him to die. I couldn't let that happen.
We walked down a hallway, and the sound of a gunshot echoed in the halls.
"Please, I'm telling you the truth." The old man screamed.
"You tried killing one of our own," Simon shout
ed the words. "And blamed the council for your sorry-ass attempt."
"Calm down, Simon." Kai's voice was loud. "We aren't killing them. The council wants us to take these three to them."
Thank God. I took in a deep breath of Liam's comforting musky sandalwood scent. I thought they'd kill them, and they don’t deserve that.
They don’t deserve it? Liam shook his head, and his forehead creased. They tried shooting Micah, and they kidnapped you. Because of them, you're bleeding.
But you heard them. It was self-preservation. For some reason, it stopped me from hating them. They weren't doing it out of hate; they were protecting their pack. It's sad that they had to resort to this in order to try to protect their pack and family.
What do you mean? He hurried down the hallway, and some natural light soon filtered in.
I glanced around the room, trying to get my bearings. Obviously, if they were in need like that, it'd been for years. Why didn't a city or district alpha step in? Isn't that their role? To tend to all the packs’ needs and figure out how to help them?
Yeah, it is. He furrowed his brows as we approached a glass double-door that had seen better days. There was a large crack in the glass of one door, and the other door was nothing but shattered shards littering the ground.
The bright sun bore down on us as we stepped outside.
I blinked several times until my eyes acclimated. There was no telling how long I had the blindfold on. The light didn't usually bother me like this.
The Escalade was pulled right up to the front, and the back door was open.
Evan was in the driver’s seat and glanced over his shoulder. "Let's move."
Liam smoothly stepped into the backseat of the car and shut the door, cradling me in his arms. "Go."
Immediately, the car moved forward.
It was silent for a few moments before Evan glanced in the rearview mirror at Liam. "Do you think our parents really did this?"
"I don't know." Liam leaned his head down and pressed his lips to mine. You've got to stay awake. You can't fall asleep. We're only ten minutes away from the academy.
"Don't give me that bullshit." Evan's voice was his normal low scary one. "There was a reason I didn't make your ass leave her that night after the KSU football game. I wouldn't have trained her if I hated her. And damn, well, I like her. Besides, after seeing what she did for Micah, she's officially one of us to me. So, don't try to give me that half-assed answer. Don’t hold back the truth."