“Cooper.” His voice was wobbly, and I had him wrapped in my arms in seconds.
“It’s all good, D. It’s going to be fine,” I soothed. I looked around the Sanctum, noticing that Pryce—Bonnie’s Omega mate—was there with his cubs strapped to his chest, as well as Dominic, who was her other Packmate and Courtland’s second-in-command.
“What do you need?”
Bonnie shook her head. “Nothing, really. The SUVs are loaded up with everything we might need, as well as some of Tanner’s first aid supplies. Courtland says they’ve got a couple of buses on standby to ferry everyone out if a full evacuation is needed, because ATVs will only get us so far. He said he’s managed to secure an entire town about four hours away, and if need be, we can all relocate there until the danger has passed.”
I nodded, because it all sounded reasonable to me. I just felt useless. “Do you need us?”
Bonnie shook her head. “Go home. Find your mates. Get prepared.”
I gave her a serious look. “Don’t wait, Bonnie. You should go now. You guys have been through enough already.”
She pinned me with a soul-piercing expression. “Take care of them, Coop.” The ‘or else’ was implied, but she didn’t need to say that to me. If anything happened to any of my Pack… I couldn’t even think about it.
“Call us if you need any help. We’re here if you need us.” I hustled Darius out the door and onto the ATV. “Any word from Corvin? Beckett?” I swallowed hard. “Kitten?”
He shook his head. “Beckett is contacting parents and he’ll have to go with the kids whose parents can’t collect them. Corvin is searching for Kitten.”
I raced toward our Packhouse. We’d pack what we could, but the rest was up to the Goddess to protect. We rounded the corner, and came face to face with an SUV. “Fuck!”
I swerved, skidding out on the shoulder of the road, and the SUV swerved too, ending up in a ditch on the other side. I hit the brakes, and looked over at Darius.
“You okay?” I yelled at Darius, checking him over. “The cubs?”
“We’re fine, Coop. Who the fuck is that? Isn’t that Merrick’s vehicle?”
I leapt out of the ATV, sprinting to the car in the ditch. Ripping open the passenger door, my heart stopped at the sight of blood and a woman’s body on the back seat. “Kitten?”
As my brain caught up, I realized it wasn’t Kitten, but Rosa, the Alpha General’s little sister. In the driver’s seat was Eris, one of the young Manix Alphas.
“What the fuck happened?”
Eris looked pale. “She hit her head. They said I had to get her to Doc Tanner. I don’t fucking know how to drive!” The panic in his voice was nearing hysteria.
I sucked in a deep breath and calmed my tone. “It’s all good, kid. I’m here now; we’ve got this.” I looked over my shoulder. “Darius!” I called, before looking back at Eris. “Scootch over, okay? I’ll get you both to the Doc’s office in one piece.”
Darius pulled open the back door, and he gaped at the girl in the back. But not for longer than a breath, because then he was sliding in beside her and slamming the door. I quickly backed the SUV out of the ditch and drove back toward town, looking in the rearview mirror at Darius, who was checking her pulse.
“How long has she been out?” he asked Eris, pumping those calming Omega hormones out into the air like they were Vicodin.
“About fifteen minutes? She woke up halfway to the car, but then fell unconscious again.”
I frowned. That was a long time, but hopefully her shifter nature might protect her a little more.
I pulled gently to a stop in front of the doctor’s office. “Go get Tanner and the spinal board, okay?” I told the boy loudly. If he could hear it, Tanner would too. The vampires had some crazy good hearing. “D, call Bonnie and tell her Rosa’s here. Someone needs to be here with her.”
Darius nodded, his phone already out. Tanner appeared, Eris in tow, along with a spinal board. I was right. He could hear us out here.
“Slow down, mate. Now, start from the beginning. Where did she hit her head?” As Tanner slowly pumped Eris for information, I helped him maneuver Rosa from the back seat with as little movement as possible. Though, if she did have spinal damage, that horse had probably already bolted, considering Eris had apparently sprinted with her to the car and then nearly crashed her into a ditch. I didn’t say that though; the kid was already panicking. If she did have any major injuries, hopefully her shifter healing and Tanner’s surgery skills could fix them.
I carried her into the doctor’s office, then helped Tanner shift her to the bed. Eris didn’t leave her side, and after the second time Tanner had to tell him to move, I pulled him back to the waiting room. “Stay here, Eris. Call your parents to come and get you.”
Eris shook his head. “This is my fault. I’m not leaving her until she wakes up.” I could have argued with him, but the set of his jaw told me that it was no use. He was in shock too, and no amount of logic would break through the haze right now.
“Okay, but call your parents anyway, because they’ll be freaking out.” I paused. “The Omega with Merrick and Murphy—where is she now?”
Eris shook his head. “They were still in the forest. I think they were trying to herd the goats back or something.”
