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My leg nearly gave out from the pain, and I had to drag myself to the window to peer out.
Lincoln lay unmoving on the ground. Mikey looked worse for wear, too. He was covered in blood, and it looked like he had a leg and an arm broken. The arm was mangled, and the bone was sticking out by his elbow.
A car turned down the drive, the tires crunching on the gravel. It wasn’t Alpha Dane. I’d know my dad’s Ford Bronco anywhere.
Mikey must’ve realized it wasn’t his dad. He managed to get to his feet, and somehow, he ran into the trees, disappearing.
I pushed off the windowsill and hobbled to the door. My leg pinched, sending spasms through it every step I took. I pushed past the pain, determined to get down to Lincoln. I clutched the banister, using it to support my weight as I hopped to the lower level.
My knee gave out, and I pitched forward onto my hands as I hit the bottom step. I pulled myself back to my feet, crying out when my leg twisted. I did my best to shuffle so I was only bearing weight on my good leg.
I made it out of the house and down the porch steps as the car rolled to a stop. Then I collapsed next to Lincoln.
His eyes were shut. Oh no. I didn’t think he was breathing.
I shook him. “Lincoln! Lincoln! Wake up.”
My vision tunneled, and a weight pressed down on my chest. My fingers trembled violently as I placed them on his pulse point. It was thready at best. I bent over and listened. He was breathing, but barely.
A car door slammed shut, and the gravel crunched as someone approached.
“Sloane,” my dad called out as he raced to me.
I glanced up and couldn’t stop the sob. “Daddy.”
He wrapped his arms around me and held me to him. His fingers threaded through my snarled hair, and he made a hushing sound. “I’m here, my love. Where are the other wolves who did this?”
I pointed to the spot Mikey had disappeared. “He went that way.” I grasped his arm tightly. “Alpha Dane is coming. Daddy, someone told Mikey we were here. They knew.”
My voice went hoarse, and I glanced around, half expecting Alpha Dane to appear with a group of men ready to kill us all.
That didn’t happen, but he would be here soon. Someone close had betrayed us. We needed to know who. No one would be safe until we did.
My dad exhaled and pressed my face against his shoulder. “I’m getting you both out of here. Put your arms around my neck.”
I did and clung to him. He scooped me up in his arms like I was a small child and carried me to the car.
Mark opened the back of the SUV for him, and he gingerly sat me inside. He touched my face and turned it from side to side. A grim expression settled over his features as he surveyed the damage. I could only imagine what I must look like.
“My poor girl. I never wanted any of this for you. I only ever wanted to protect you.” His voice cracked and his eyes misted.
The dam broke, and tears spilled from my eyes.
He pressed a kiss to my temple. “I’m going to make this right, Sloane. I promise you. We will make this right.”
He squeezed me tighter and then backed away from me so Mark and Brandon could put Lincoln into the back with me. They laid him down beside me as best they could, given the small space. His body was limp and unmoving. Once we were both situated, they closed the trunk and hurried back into the car.
We sped down the drive, throwing up gravel and debris up in our wake and creating a huge cloud of dust.
I leaned over Lincoln, pressing my ear to his chest, and listened to the dull, uneven thrum of his heart.
Stay with me, Lincoln. Please stay with me. I love you.
Twenty-Three
Sloane
I kept my ear over Lincoln’s chest the entire car ride home, making sure that his heart didn’t stop. It thrummed stronger now, but he hadn’t woken up.
