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Sherlock, Penelope, and Jacques all followed them out the door. Jacques led the way into the back of the squad car, hopping right up into the back seat.
“We can’t bring you guys.” Stephanie wondered if her psychic connection to the dogs went both ways. The dogs didn’t speak English, but could she tell them they’d have to stay there and wait for her.
“Just let them pile on in,” Bennett suggested as he watched Penelope attempt to sit in Kane’s lap. “They’re pretty determined, and they’ll be welcome at the packhouse.”
As she squeezed into the backseat with Annie’s head on her lap, Stephanie hoped she would be. Sherlock was warm on her feet as he settled into the floorboard, his head propped on Stephanie’s knee so he could keep an eye on Annie. Since Kane couldn’t drive with a pit bull on his lap, Penelope had to settle for sitting near Bennett. Jacques was everywhere, watching through the windows and staying alert. Images of the wolves from his perspective rushed through Stephanie’s mind. They were massive monsters that towered over the little chihuahua, capable of snapping his head off with one bite.
Stephanie didn’t feel she had much more advantage than the tiny dog.
Bennett was in the front passenger seat, but he turned around and reached for her hand as the squad car rushed through traffic. “Stephanie, I’m so sorry. This never would’ve happened if I hadn’t left. I should’ve been there. I should’ve come back sooner.”
She was sick with worry, and the waves of nausea were coming closer together now as she felt Annie’s pulse getting weaker. It felt like she should be angry, but Stephanie knew she had no real cause to be. “I was the one who insisted you drop me off this morning,” she reminded him softly, wishing she could erase that sad look from his eyes.
“But I was the one who agreed to it. Every part of me told me not to do it. I should’ve figured out a different way.” His hand clung even more tightly to hers.
“It’s not your fault, Bennett. It’s mine. I should’ve closed up and gone to the packhouse with you like you’d asked.” If only, if only, if only. There weren’t many decisions Stephanie regretted as a mother, but right now, she had a big one.
“She’s going to be very well taken care of, Stephanie. I promise.”
Stephanie pulled her eyes away from Annie and looked up at Bennett. He was her high school sweetheart. According to what he’d told her, he was her mate. It was a strange term, one she’d never thought to use for a lover. Right now, though, as she felt a deep sense of connection and trust with him, it felt right. Bennett meant every word he said, and she knew it.
That didn’t mean she didn’t have questions, which felt like a constant in her life at the moment. “Will I be able to stay with her? Or will I have to leave?” she asked quietly.
Another swell of pain moved across his face. “You can stay,” Bennett said. “No one is going to question that. I never should have.”
The drive felt like an eternity, though it was really only a few minutes. Kane had been in contact with someone ahead of time, and as they headed up the long driveway, Stephanie saw a garage door open. Several women and a couple of men met them in the garage as they pulled inside.
“I’ve got her feet. Hayden, can you get her arms?”
“No problem.” A brawny man wearing a Eugene-Springfield Fire t-shirt moved Annie off Stephanie’s lap with remarkable ease. He and a blonde man maneuvered Annie through a door and into the house. The dogs all came along as escorts, not even asking for permission.
A woman with long gray hair and beads around her neck pointed her finger. “I’ve got the dining table cleared off. Put her there, please.”
“I’m getting the last few things from the altar room,” shouted a woman about Stephanie’s age with butterscotch brown hair before she disappeared down the hall.
A teen girl peered around the corner and grinned when she saw the dogs. “Come here, puppies! You can come in the kitchen with me! Good dogs, I’ll get you some treats!”
Several blankets and a pillow had been spread out on the dining table, turning it into a makeshift operating table. A woman in scrubs stood next to it. She was geared up with gloves and had a tray laid out with several instruments. As soon as Annie was on the table, she was peeling back the gauze and evaluating the wound. “I need to get some stitches in her right away to stop the bleeding.”
The woman with gray hair sat down at the end of the table, right near Annie’s head. “Annie, my name is Joan. We’re going to take care of you. I just want you to stay with me, okay?” She put her hands on Annie’s shoulders, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.
The woman with the butterscotch hair came back, laying out several crystals and herbs on the table on the opposite side of the medical woman’s instruments. Then she quickly turned to Stephanie and took her by the shoulders, her brown eyes gazing into hers. “Hi, my name’s Lori. Are you injured, too?”
“No.” She could barely hold her bile back. “I just want her to be okay.”
“We’re going to do everything we can, and that’s more than it might seem. Some of it will look very strange, but I expect you’ve seen a lot of that today.”
An ironic laugh escaped Stephanie’s throat as a tear trickled down her cheek. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”
Lori smiled. “Trust me, I would. Why don’t you have a seat right here. Brody, get her some water.”
“Sure thing.” The blonde man who’d helped carry Annie in headed off.
Bennett came to sit beside her as Brody handed her a glass of water. “Are you sure you want to stay in here? I can easily find a spot for you to lie down.”
“No.” Stephanie felt like absolute shit, and she was barely staying upright in the chair, but she couldn’t leave Annie. “I need to be here.”
Another man entered the room. “How’s she doing, Dawn?”
