"So you can save her?" I croak after swallowing multiple times.
Thankfully, the beta doctor doesn't look up from his swabs and bottles of medicine when I speak to him. "She will need to be taken to a hospital for proper around the clock care. I can get her stitched up and ready to rest and heal, but Vivian will need a full check-up. From what I can see, she's in serious need of some fluids and nutrients. None of which I can do in the middle of a shootout."
My curiosity about who the hell this man is and all the other people Trent seems to have in his pocket rises for a moment, but I bat it away. It's unimportant right now and I'm honestly just really fucking thankful to have my woman in front of me.
I'll deal with the bruises around her throat, hand, and her state of undress later. Once she's not bleeding out in my hands, I'll process the fact that my omega was seriously abused while in captivity.
Captivity...
Once the doctor nudges my hand away, everything becomes a sickening blur. I'm not cut out for a life of blood, guns, death, and chaos. Especially not when my mate is at the center of it.
Vivian's blood stains the sheets below her, worsening as cleaning solutions are applied. When the needle for a tetanus shot is stuck into her, I think I might throw up. I can't fathom a fucking rusty ass knife slicing through her soft skin.
The only bruises and marks that should adorn her perfect body are love bites and the passionate fingerprints of her mates.
For just a moment, probably in reaction to the pain of getting her knife wound dressed and stitched, Vivian groans. Her eyes flutter open for no more than a moment.
"Riot..." she whimpers, shattering my heart and forcing my mind to accept that she needs the other man to be okay.
"Little Omega," I whimper, not caring how weak I sound. "You need to keep fighting. All of your energy needs to be focused on healing."
As if the skies open up in the brightest sunshine, my mate opens her eyes one more time and looks at me. Then the rain begins, and she sighs my name before closing her eyelids again. "Kade..."
"I'm here. We're all here." Swallowing the desire to keep her all to ourselves, I place a kiss on her forehead and provide some reassurance. "Riot's here too, my love. We'll take care of both of you."
Vivian doesn't respond or open her eyes. I can't look away from her unconscious features even as the doctor grunts and groans about the lucky shot that went clean through the man on the other cot.
Nothing matters right now beyond her. My omega. She's alive and it will fucking stay that way.
Two
Silas
The beta should always be the designated driver in high emotion situations. This is one of those moments where it really fucking sucks being the least run by my instincts.
I'm not immune to the horror in the back in any manner. Everything in me is screaming to climb back there and make sure Vivie is still breathing. The only difference between me and my alphas right now is the fact that I won't rip the steering wheel off and crash us into an oncoming car.
"How's she doing?!" I shout over my shoulder. I'm unwilling to take my gaze off the road. If the only thing I can do right now is get my omega and the other guy to the hospital, then I will damn well do it.
"Still the same," Jarek replies. "So is he."
If I weren't already frowning at the road with concentration, I would after his statement. I didn't ask about the new alpha, yet Jay included him without hesitation.
There's a slight bitterness coiling in my gut over the concept of Vivian claiming another alpha. Maybebitterisn't the right term. I'm fucking terrified though. Three alphas, one beta. I'm further down the road of priority once again.
Just because I can control my emotions—"Fuck," I grunt, verbally cutting myself off from that negative bullshit.
Our designations don't mean anything in the grand scheme of things to Vivian. Hell, during her last heat she cried over me leaving the nest. I'm just as fucking important as the others, even if she has a third now.
"Few minutes," I call out, blasting through a yellow light. The doctor in the back grunts at the same time a loud thud rings out. "Careful back there!"
The grumbling and growling of Kade and Jarek in a tight space together with two strangers and their hurt omega doesn't bode well. But we've managed the thirty-five minute drive to the nearest hospital just fine. Well, everyone is still alive. That's the best we can do right now.
Whipping the van through the emergency lot, I throw it into park with as much gentleness as I can muster. Nurses are rushing out of the sliding glass doors as I dive into the back with my pack.
My eyes land on the alpha with the gunshot wound and slice through his face. I gulp audibly, fighting the urge to go over and check on him. Jarek's with him, holding the bandages in place to staunch the bleeding, but what shocks me is Jay on the bed with him.
"Doc said his shoulder needed to be elevated above his heart to slow the bleeding," Jarek whispers, face pale, clothes drenched in another man's blood.
