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The alpha gave a bow and moved away.
“Are you going to say goodbye to your rescuer?” I asked Hero as we watched the other alpha leave.
“Beatrice rescued me,” was all she said and then walked in the other direction.
I watched her go and then turned to catch up with Dalzell.
“I am in your debt,” I said without preamble. “You saved my mate and a girl she considers a sister. And with no thought to your own safety.”
“My lord, there is nothing I despise more than someone taking advantage of… I’ll not say weaker. Your mate was prepared to commit murder, of that I am sure. Do I believe she went back to put a bullet in his brain? Well, she has not denied it—being mostly unconscious and all. But only a coward and villain attempts to violate… No. I won’t make you angrier than you are.”
“You ain’t as jovial as you appear.” I frowned.
“I take the responsibilities of an alpha seriously. Protect and Preserve.” He looked past my shoulder. I turned to see what caught his attention. Hero. She stood talking to Orley with an armful of clean bedding in her arms. “That girl just learnt the wrong lesson.”
“Oh?”
“Do you think a girl like that will open up to anyone after her ordeal? She just learnt not to trust her judgement. Which is a shame since I’ve seen nothing more impressive than when she swung that candlestick. Anyone could see she was terrified.”
I grunted. Alphas. We were enslaved to our dynamic as omegas were.
“Stay until you are rested,” I told him.
“No. I am expected in London. I should have been there yesterday…” His eyes flicked once more to Hero. “That one… No. Never mind. Take care of your mate, Lord Paxton.”
He turned and left without another word, but at the last moment I caught him throwing one last appraising look at Hero before leaving.
“Pax?” Jack recalled my attention to where he stood in the door to Beatrice’s room. “The doctor wants us.”
The doctor and his mate stood by the window.
“Bullet went right across her ribs. Chipped the bone but hit nothing vital. Doctor did a decent job of cleaning the wound, but I redid the stitches because I don’t know how clean his instruments are. The greatest fear is infection. Now she needs rest. No knotting. Nothing strenuous. Do not stress her.”
“Why then does she look so damn near to death’s door?” Jack asked, his voice tight with restrained anger.
“She is only recently out of her heat, already exhausted. Add in the wound and the oppressive weather…” He shrugged. I had no more medical knowledge than the next man, but Orley’s faith in him would have had me believing the sky purple if he claimed it so.
“What do we do?” I asked, because Jack had relapsed into a brooding silence.
“It is best if she feels your skin on hers. I don’t know what the situation with her bites is, but I advise you both to take care of her. If you can…” the doctor flushed. “If you can try to go into rut, the acid in your saliva will help. Take her toxin in, it will prompt her body to heal… Licking the wound… Many doctors consider it unsanitary, but a mate’s saliva might help when paired with regular cleaning of the wound. That is the best I can offer.”
His mate gave us a warmer smile. “I shall give the housekeeper instructions on her diet and medicines to prepare. I’ll be back tomorrow. Good night my Lord, Colonel.”
The tension in my shoulders released. He had not ordered us away from her. We were to stay close and tend to her.
He backed out of the door, lips pressed together into a thin smile. Did he think to give us hope with that?
Then we three were alone.
Our omega slept heavily, dosed with poppy juice. Jack stripped, his clothes tossed into the room, but his bearing spoke of an uncertainty I could not help.
Goddess, being a mate came with a level of… The strength of my emotions meant I couldn’t isolate just one. Perhaps the confusion would fade once she was healthy. For now, I’d just have to hold her close and hope the galloping of my heart would transfer to her and she’d wake in the morning fighting fit and prepared to… I heaved in a sigh. To move forward.
“Sigh?” Jack asked from the other side.
“We can’t be angry with her,” I told him, all too aware of how fragile she was. “What we must not do is blame her for her decision to help her friend. It takes an omega’s strength and bravery.”
He opened his mouth to speak but closed it, allowing me to continue.
