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I looked down at the floor and gathered my thoughts before addressing her again. “I trust both of them. I know Sawyer comes across as being tough and cold, but he’s not. He just wants to protect Lincoln and me.”
My mom came across the room and put both hands on my shoulders. “If it hadn’t been for him, I would have died today. Willa too, probably. I’m sorry I was angry, Sloane. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. He’s his father’s right-hand man. It’s hard to believe that he’s on our side, but if you trust him…”
I put my hand over hers. “I do. He wants to stop his dad just as much as we do. The only reason he went back today is because Lincoln is still there.” My face fell and my stomach knotted. “He’s in bad shape. He got caught helping Willa and me escape. He’s the whole reason we were able to get away, and he’s paying the price for that betrayal.”
She reached up and patted my cheek. “If you say you trust him and that he is your mate, then that gives me no other choice but to trust him, too. But be careful with him. I know you think he’s good, but his father is very evil. And if Alpha Dane knows Lincoln betrayed him, then, well, let’s not go down that road.”
She gave me a tight-lipped smile.
She didn’t need to tell me twice. My mind was already reeling with what Sawyer had said about Mikey having free rein on Lincoln. That sicko could do anything to him.
The infirmary door burst open, and two men brought in an injured wolf that I didn’t know. My mom and I sprang apart. My mom hurried to the other side of the table and instructed the men to lay him down gently.
She started barking out orders, and the two guys fell in line, getting her what she needed before disappearing out of the room again.
I stepped up to the table. The guy was unconscious, and he looked like he was barely breathing. He had a long laceration that stretched from his right shoulder all the way down to his hip bone on the left side. The wound was deep, and his chest was painted crimson from the blood loss.
My mom used a damp cloth to start cleaning up his chest.
My stomach turned. He’d been cut so deeply you could see all the way to the bone. I wasn’t sure how he was even still alive. My hand flew to my mouth as bile crept up my throat, making me gag.
My mom’s eyes darted up toward me. “Are you going to be all right?”
I swallowed and exhaled slowly. I stood taller and met her gaze. “Yes, I’ve just never seen an injury this bad before.”
My mom slumped down, and she looked down at the man with a small shake of her head. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and even she looked a little pale. “Neither have I. I have a feeling we will see worse before the war is over.”
Guilt washed over me again, and I had to remind myself for what felt like the millionth time that this wasn’t my fault.
My mom must’ve read my thoughts because she looked at me again. “The fighting was coming whether you came back home or not, Sloane. These men who have joined us… They’re all missing their daughters or sisters. Some even had their wives taken. He seems interested in any woman of childbearing age, regardless of whether they are mated. Alpha Dane hurt a lot of people. Don’t blame yourself.”
My throat felt scratchy, making me clear it before I could speak. “I know. It’s just hard not to.”
My mom pointed toward the table. “Hand me the scissors and the alcohol and the sutures. And I know it’s not your fault, and I know you know it too, but I’m going to keep reminding you so that any time you feel guilt slipping in, you know the truth.”
I handed my mom the requested items while I slid my gaze over the injured man. He had cuts all over his body and a particularly nasty one on his temple.
“Do you want me to clean up the head wound?”
My mom stood on her tiptoes and looked up to where I was pointing. “Yes, please. I fear he is also going to need a blood transfusion, and fast. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
My mom cut some of the suturing string off. “I did ask some of the girls to start collecting blood and bring it to us, as I feel there might be a need for it.”
I dabbed at the guy’s forehead, cleaning the cut as best I could. This wound was also deep. I could see the soft tissue.
Emotion clogged my throat. “Do you think he’s going to make it?”
My mom pressed her lips together into a thin line. “I’m not sure. These wounds are deep. Even if we do get them sutured, he will need blood. The risk of infection is high. They definitely know how to cut deeply, and he won’t be in any condition to shift for a while. Willa’s wound was just as bad. The infection is what worries me the most about her and everyone else.”
“Poor Willa.” I’d known she was injured, and I’d seen the infection, but at the time, I’d been so caught up in saving our lives and escaping that I hadn’t even seen how badly hurt she truly was.
Willa might be emotional, but that girl was a fighter.
“She said that you gave her a clean bill of health, for the most part?”
My mom sighed and leaned against the gurney as she worked. “The infection seems to be under control. It looked swollen last time I checked, but still better than when she first got here. The antibiotics I gave her are helping. When I first saw her leg, I feared we might have to amputate. Thank goodness it won’t come to that.”
My eyes widened and my belly churned. It had been that bad?
