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Luc knew there would be no convincing Drasko he wasn’t a lousy protector. Drasko would have to work this out on his own, or else maybe Amara could convince him it wasn’t his fault.
Luc focused his attention on Rone, smoothing a hand across his brother’s cool brow.Hang on, brother,he pleaded again.We’re almost there.
None of them would’ve been in this position had Luc been home, but he accepted every assignment without complaint, serving on more missions than the other trackers. Luc was so consumed with the need to protect the other trackers, that he’d lost sight of what really mattered—his family. And because of that, he forced his pack to put themselves in harm’s way. His service to his country had always been on behalf of his family, what he knew his chieftain fathers expected of him, but he was starting to wonder if it was worth the sacrifice.
* * *
Amara
Amara paced the cabinfloor, jerking up at every wolf howl, panic gnawing a hole in her gut. It had been hours since Luc left, and still no word. She stopped only to add logs to the dwindling fire and check outside, though each time she saw nothing but a night as black as pitch and glowing wolf eyes looking back at her.
She froze at the sound of wolf howls, followed by thewhump, whump, whumpof a helicopter in the distance. If Johnson had sent soldiers to take her, she wasn’t leaving without her mates. Peering through the window, she watched the helicopter land in a nearby clearing, scattering snow across the landscape. Then her heart caught in her throat when the door slid open and Drasko jumped out.
Heedless of the icy wind that pelted her face, she threw open the door and ran toward her mate, jumping into his arms with a cry of joy. Drasko held her tight, his face buried in her hair.I thought I’d lost you,he said to her through thought, the only way to speak with the deafening sound of the helicopter blades above them.
Me, too, she said, running her hands down his arms.Are you okay?
I’m fine.He pulled back, clutching her shoulders when Luc and Hakon emerged from the helicopter.
She heaved a sigh of relief when Hakon took her in his arms and plastered her face with kisses.You don’t know how worried we’ve been,he said to her through thought.
Before she could answer, he handed her off to Luc, who took her in his arms. She clung to her handsome tracker, the father of her unborn son, so relieved to have him back with her.
Get her back to the cabin,Hakon said, his face grim,while we bring in Rone.
Amara tried looking over Luc’s shoulder.What happened to Rone?
He gripped her by the elbow and led her to the hut.He was shot.
What?Her heart rate quickened.
She nearly tripped over her feet while looking over Luc’s shoulder as he dragged her back to the cabin.
Bile projected into her throat when Hakon and Drasko carried a bloodied wolf through the door, laying him on the bed.
“Is he dead?” Drasko asked, his voice breaking like shattered ice.
She ran her hands across his matted and bloody fur, feeling his neck, relief sweeping through her when she felt the slightest of pulses.No,she answered, knowing she didn’t have a second to lose. Closing her eyes, she summoned every ounce of her healing magic, warmth flooding her hands and spilling out of her fingers. Channeling her magic into her mate’s slowly beating heart, she envisioned his tendons, bones, and organs repairing, his veins strengthening, and his heart once again beating fiercely.
Come back to me, Rone,she pleaded.
Time slowed to a standstill, and there was just Amara and Rone, her sweet gamma who took such loving care of her family.
Come back to me, she repeated, sweat pooling on her brow as she poured more and more magic into him.
It wasn’t until that moment that she realized how close her mate had been to death, for she hadn’t had to use this much magic since healing Agent Johnson of stage four cancer. After exhausting every ounce of her magic, she finally felt his heart quicken and then pound out a steady rhythm. Wiping sweat from her forehead, she sat back on her heels and looked into Rone’s dark wolf eyes.
Amara?He reached for her, his wolf paws grazing her cheek as he spoke through thought.Are you alive, or are we both dead?
Clinging to his paw, she brushed a kiss across his fur.We’re both alive,she said, tears blurring her vision. She briefly wondered why he didn’t shift back into his human form, but realized he was probably too tired to exert the extra energy.
I went crazy.His glossy eyes reflected his watery voice that projected inside her head.I thought they’d killed you.
She kissed his paw again and again.I think I’d go crazy if I lost you, too.
His tail wagged, his eyes heavy with fatigue. I want to take you in my arms and make love to you all night,he said through a yawn,but I think I’ll sleep first.
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.I’ll see you in your dreams.
