Chapter Thirty-Eight
Luca
“This way,” a sharp female voice—Katie’s—cuts through my panic roaring in my head. “Bring her down here; I can help.”
My arms lock tighter around Sofia. She’s limp; blood has soaked through her clothing. How much has she lost? Every instinct in me snarls against the idea of following Katie. She’s leading us downstairs—toward the basement. The place that smells of death and desperation. My wolf thrashes.Not there. Not again.
“I can’t—” My voice cracks, jagged with fury and fear. I stand stock still as Katie pulls open a door and calls out to one of the other omegas.
“Now, Luca,” Katie snaps. “Or she’ll bleed out in your arms.”
Jackson’s hand clamps my shoulder, urging me forward. His eyes say what I already know: however awful it is down there, Sofia dying in my arms would be worse than not trying to help her. My feet feel like stone, but I force them to move. Resentful ofevery step I take.
“Put her down on the table,” Katie directs, and I do as I’m told. I grasp Sofia’s hand and squeeze it tight in mine as Katie cuts away Sofia’s top, revealing the gunshot wound to the side of her abdomen.
“Get out,” I snarl at Jackson. He raises his hands in a defensive stance and turns his back. He gets it; he wouldn’t want me to see his mate undressed either.
“I mindlinked Doc,” he says from outside the door. “Sofia had sent him further away with Tyson when she got here and realized we couldn’t be contacted. He’s on the way back. I’ll send him down when he gets here.”
“Why isn’t her wolf pushing the bullet out?” I ask as Katie washes her hands and puts on gloves.
“Silver bullet. Her wolf would be mostly dormant. I don’t know how she even managed to extend her claws in this state. I need to get it out so she can heal,” Katie responds before glancing at me. “Are you her mate?”
I nod without taking my eyes away from Sofia. “Okay, then stay. Your presence will help. But keep quiet, and don’t get in my way. Got it?”
“Whatever she needs,” I whisper, bringing her hand to my mouth and kissing her knuckles. “I’m her mate, and I’m not going anywhere.”
I stroke Sofia’s damp hair back, ignoring the bile that burns my throat as Katie works. The metallic stench of blood saturates the room. The sound of her gloved hands digging inside Sofia’s body makes my stomach twist. My wolf claws against my ribs, howlingto tear Katie away, to do something—anything.But I lock my jaw until it aches. Nothing matters except Sofia being okay.
Even unconscious, her eyebrows are scrunched up, and her scent is tinged with the unmistakable bitter tinge of pain. This is all my fault. I wanted to keep her safe, but instead I put her and everyone else in danger.
Minutes bleed into an eternity. My whole world shrinks to squeezing her fingers in mine, to the fragile rise and fall of her chest.Finally, Katie curses softly and pulls a warped hunk of silver free. She drops it on a tray with a sharp clatter, then bends to stitch Sofia closed.
The door bangs open. “Katie?” Doc stumbles in, his breath hitching when he sees her.
“She’s lost a lot of blood. I’ve only really done a patch job. Enough to keep her alive so you can get her home. I don’t have the equipment to do scans or check for internal damage here,” she responds as she finishes bandaging Sofia up before making eye contact with Doc. A glimpse of the former Katie appears as her face softens when she takes him in.
“You did good, kid,” Doc whispers.
For a heartbeat, her eyes shine. But then she blinks, and the emotion passes. Like a mask visibly slides into place, and Katie goes back to the hardened version of herself she has become. “She’s stable enough to move. Get her out of here.”
I slip one arm beneath Sofia’s knees, the other behind her shoulders, and lift her carefully into my arms in a bridal carry. She feelsfragile. Too light. I breathe her in, grounding myself. She’s still here.
Careful not to jostle her, I carry her up the stairs and back outside.
The omegas stand around, huddled together in small groups; uncertainty hangs heavy in the air. They look to Katie for leadership when she comes up. I guess she has become their alpha in the absence of a real alpha to hold them together.
“Where the hell is Ryan?” I ask, realizing there’s no sign of him.
“Beta, something is wrong with the alpha,” Rob, one of the warriors, answers. “After you took Sofia downstairs, he shifted again, scented the omegas, and took off into the forest. He’s been blocking out mindlinks ever since. Jackson went after him.”
Fuck.We always knew it was risky for him to be here on the full moon. But I can’t leave Sofia and follow after them.
“It’s moon madness,” I tell Rob. His eyes widen, and his eyebrows shoot up. “I don’t know where the tranquilizer gun went when I shifted. You need to find it and then find Jackson. Find out where they are and shoot the alpha. He’ll be unconscious for about twenty minutes afterwards. I shifted inside, near the main door.”
“Yes, Beta,” Rob says, nodding his head before moving.
“Why the hell did you bring a moon-mad alpha wolf here? Where’s Alpha Elliot?” Katie asks, and it hits me how long she’s been gone. How much she has missed.
