Hang in there,I told Bay through the mind-link, not even sure if she could hear me.
The rest of the ride was tense and anxious. Ten minutes away from the pack, I notified them we would need medical assistance when we arrived at the house.
What happened?Uncle Nate asked.
James and Bay are injured.
And Crystal?he asked.
I gave her a sideways glance. There was a slight bruise on the side of her face.She's fine.
At the sight of my home, I felt some relief. When I had left, I never imagined I would return. The gates opened and I flew up the short driveway.
Curtis stood waiting with a couple of the medical staff. I stopped the car and turned it off. Curtis opened the door and helped James out before he turned his attention back to Bay.
"We need to move them to medical," Curtis told me as he moved Bay onto a gurney.
Through all of the chaos, it was only when Curtis and the medical staff left that I saw Keri. Crystal looked between us before she said something about checking on our injured friends and then left.
"You left without any backup," Keri said angrily. Her presence was unexpected.
"I didn't need it," I replied with a shrug.
"Why would you do that?" she snapped. "We're your friends and we have your back."
I smiled. It was so like her to be angry with me.
"The same reason why you faced a beta on your own and nearly died. I did it because I had to."
She continued to glare at me for a few more seconds before her glare wavered and I saw her concern.
"You were worried," I said. She nodded. "Of course I was. You're my friend."
After everything we had been through, the ups and downs, we were still friends.
"Yes, I am."
I walked to her and hugged her.
"I'm sorry," she said, and I hugged her harder.
"Let's leave it in the past, Princess," I told her. I didn't want to waste any more energy on the past.
"How did you guys get out?" she asked as we started to walk to the medical center.
"It's a long story." I wasn't ready to go into all the details just yet.
First I needed an update on my friends. And then I needed a moment alone with Crystal. I rubbed my forehead, feeling the adrenaline that had carried me through the trauma of our incident with the Keepers starting to wear off and I felt tired. My jaw still ached.
Cade walked to me and the sight of my sister beside him made me feel more emotional than I could deal with.
"Kyle," Scarlett said, throwing herself at me. I caught her and gave her a big bear hug. "You're okay."
"I'm fine," I assured her, pulling away slightly to look down at her.
"You're not fine," she insisted, taking in the bruise and slightly swollen side of my face.
"It's nothing," I assured her. James and Bay were in worse shape.
