My body jerks from the agonizing pain as she searches for the bullet. I thrash about, trying to remove her fingers, but Julian and two other wolves quickly pin me down. What feels like an eternity of torture ends as her cold fingers are removed from my body, and my flesh no longer feels like it’s on fire.
“Got it. Fucking silver,” the voice states, wincing in pain. “We need to get her to Dr. Grace, though. The flesh around the silver will become necrotic soon if it’s not cut away.”
“I know,” Julian snaps, lifting me into his arms. The sensation of him standing causes me to scream in pain, and the mate bond reaches out to me, caressing my mind and filling me with love and warmth.
“Hannah, bite down on me if you need to, but I need to get you out of here,” Julian coos, pressing a kiss to my temple before he looks toward the room. “Get everyone to the trailer. I’m going to meet up with Fabian outside,” he orders before taking off, his long strides rushing up the stairs from which we descended into the basement.
The jarring movements have me screaming in pain, and my vision blurs. I am on the verge of passing out, and judging by how tightly Julian is holding me, he knows this too.
I struggle to breathe through the pain, the ringing in my ears reappearing while Julian turns down hall after hall. He calls for me to stay awake and to hang on, but the thought of passing out and not feeling this pain anymore becomes increasingly desirable.
Cold air brushes against my skin, over the hole left by the bullet. I bite my lip, trying to hold back another scream of pain as my vision turns black for a moment. Someone ahead curses, worry seeping into the air.
“How the fuck did she get shot?” a familiar deep voice asks, the anger in his tone registering past the ringing in my ears.
“A hunter got her after we thought they were all dead,” Julian answers, the cold disappearing as warmth surrounds me.
“She is shivering like a leaf,” Fabian says. This voice belongs to Fabian.
“I know. So hurry up and drive back to Haven Trail so Dr. Grace can save her,” Julian snaps back at our friend.
An engine roars to life, and I try to push past the ringing in my ears to focus on anything but the pain in my chest while my body jerks back.
“It’s okay, Hannah,” Julian coos, pressing a kiss to my temple. “She’s fucking cold,” he growls, one of his arms leaving my body only for something heavy and warm to wrap around me.
“Fuck. Do you think the bullet was drugged?” Fabian asks.
Drugged? Was I drugged? I wonder. My vision fades in and out, shifting from blurry to black dots covering it. I fight to stay conscious, to focus on anything but the sweet escape that sleep promises me. Fabian’s and Julian’s voices become muffled, like I’m sinking into a deep ocean, with the water blocking all sound from reaching me.
“Hannah!” someone calls my name through the murky haze that threatens to take me. “Hannah!”
The pain takes over, and all sound ceases to reach my ears. I try to take a deep breath, to focus, but darkness finally surrounds me.
63
Julian
Fabian skids to a stop in front of the pack infirmary in Haven Trail. Dr. Grace is already waiting with a team of wolves and vampires, throwing the passenger door open. Reluctantly, I hand Hannah to them, knowing they’re my best chance at her surviving her wound.
“She might have been drugged!” I shout as I climb out of the Hummer, racing behind the gurney that Hannah has been placed on.
“She was. I can smell the wolfbane in her blood,” Dr. Grace calls over her shoulder, the vampire’s glowing red eyes meeting mine. A look of worry is etched on the doctor’s face as she runs beside the gurney, ordering the wolves out of the way. Hannah is pale, the wound from the bullet already starting to smell like decay.
“I need A-neg to operating room one, now!” Dr. Grace shouts to a passing nurse, who stops in her tracks before racing off down a smaller hallway.
I stay silent, anxiety and fear of losing Hannah gripping my heart in a death grip until we reach a set of double doors where two nurses are already holding them open for Dr. Grace and her team to rush through. I hurry to join them, wanting to be there as they heal my Hannah, but a hand grabs me, holding me back as the doors close. I snarl, turning around to find Fabian holding me back with an apologetic smile.
“Let me go!” I order, placing an alpha command on him.
Reluctantly, he releases me, and I rush forward, slamming my hands against the solid doors, but they don’t budge. Frustrated, I bang on them, the fear and anxiety of not being there for my injured mate making me slowly lose my mind.
“Julian!”
I pause, looking back at Fabian, who has once again grabbed my arm, the scent of my blood reaching my nose.
“You need to stop and think. Hannah is in the best care right now, and you need to breathe and let Dr. Grace do her job to save her!” he shouts, his words finally registering in my mind.
Looking around, I find wolves watching me warily, distrust in their eyes. I sigh, slowly closing my eyes and reaching out to the mate bond. I can feel Hannah’s presence. I feel her warmth through the bond. She is still alive, thank the Goddess, but she is so weak. The bullet caused more damage to her than I originally thought, and Hannah is hanging on to life. She is most likelyholding on for Saben, not wanting to leave our son and join the other side.