Reflections of the Wolf (19 page)

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay a little while longer? Most of the pack will go for a run in a little bit, and now that they know you’re with me, they won’t mind if you watch,” he said, brushing his thumbs over her cheekbones. A stab of longing shot through her, and she almost said yes, but his insinuation that she had already accepted her place as his mate made her shake her head silently.

“I’m too tired, perhaps another time,” she whispered, trying not to let her emotions overwhelm her.

“Okay, let’s go say our good-byes, and then we can go,” he said, and he pulled her with him toward the crowded back yard again.

“I can call a cab. You stay for the party,” she said, resisting.

Liam just rolled his eyes as he led her back to the crowd. He took her over to his parents who both swept her up into warm embraces. She felt a little guilty at giving them hope for something that she wasn’t completely sure was a given, but she smiled and thanked them for the party graciously. Just as Liam and Tina started down the driveway to Liam’s truck, a large, gray Jeep came roaring to a stop just a few feet from them. Instantly Tina knew something was wrong. A sense of foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach.

“Liam!” a voice yelled from the Jeep, and Liam let go of her hand to run for the vehicle. It was Owen that jumped out the door of the muddy Jeep, surprising Tina. He was dressed in a pair of slacks and nothing else. Not even shoes on his feet, but his chest and arms were covered with blood.

“Shit! What happened, Owen? Are you okay?” Liam said, rushing to his friend’s side to look for injuries.

“Cash! The poacher! We were tracking him, and he got a shot off. Cash took it in the shoulder! He had already shifted to his skin when the bullet hit him! He needs help!” Owen said, choking on the words, and Tina’s blood went cold. Immediately her training kicked in, and she ran to the passenger side of the Jeep to yank the door open. Sitting in the seat slumped over was the gorgeous cowboy who could own the stage with his smile alone. He was covered in blood, and his skin was an eerie gray color.

“Liam, go get Caroline, now! I will need her help!” Tina said, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him turn and run for the backyard again. A small measure of relief shot through her that he didn’t hesitate or argue. “Owen, help me lean the seat back. I don’t want to move him much, but I need room to get up there and stop the bleeding.”

Together Tina and Owen worked to recline the passenger seat of the Jeep so that Cash was lying almost flat. Tina climbed up over his lap to kneel between the seats so that she could see the bloody wound in his left shoulder. It was a couple of inches over his heart, but just below his shoulder blade. She listened to his breathing as she ran her fingers over the underside of his shoulder.

“There’s no exit wound. The bullet is still in there,” Tina said out loud, and it was Caroline who responded.

“Lungs? Breath sounds?” Caroline asked as she stood on Cash’s other side taking his pulse.

“Stable. I don’t think the lung was punctured. He needs a doctor to get the bullet out, Caro,” Tina said as she reached for the hem of her shirt and ripped a strip off to stuff into the bleeding wound.

“Devin, can’t he shift and heal?” Caroline asked, and Tina heard Devin’s negative response.

“He’s unconscious, and injured as a human. He can’t shift right now. If he did, the wound would heal with the bullet still inside. Can you take the bullet out? If not, we will have to call on a doctor from another pack,” Devin said, and Tina could hear the concern in his voice.

“You guys don’t even have a fucking doctor here? Are you kidding? All of this and no damn doctor?” Tina said angrily. She was not going to sit here and watch Cash die.

“Our doctor passed away several years ago, and no one else in the pack has studied medicine. It doesn’t matter! He can’t go to a human hospital for treatment, he’s not human!” Caroline said.

There was a moment of tense silence as everyone absorbed the dire situation. Tina turned to look out the vehicle’s front window, and made eye contact with Liam’s gorgeous blue eyes. “I know where to take him, but it means trusting a human with your secret,” she said as she turned her head to meet Devin’s hard stare. A slight nod from the Alpha was all she needed, and she jerked her cell phone from her pocket to call the only man on earth that she knew she could trust with anything.

Chapter 15

They reached the small apartment building in thirty minutes, which was astonishing considering it was an hour away from the den. Three vehicles pulled to a stop on the quiet street, and unloaded their occupants. Liam and Rafe jumped out of Liam’s truck and headed to the Jeep to help get Cash out. Devin, Damon, and Caroline followed as they got out of Damon’s navy-blue Mustang. Finally, out of the Jeep came Tina, Owen, and Ryley. Tina ran ahead to the building to hit the bell, and the buzzer sounded a moment later, unlocking the secured door.

The men all helped to gently ease Cash from the front seat and into the apartment as Caroline walked next to Cash’s head, holding the makeshift bandage from Tina’s shirt over his wound.

As Tina led them down a short hallway, a man stepped out of the doorway of the apartment on the end.

“Tina?” a husky baritone voice asked, and Liam went cold with jealousy. Who the hell was this that she trusted enough to share their secret with? he thought to himself.

“Thomas! Thank you so much for helping us,” Tina said as she reached out to grip the tall man in a hug.

“Of course, Tina, I’ll do what I can. Bring him in here and lay him on the table so that I have better light. What happened, and why can’t he just go to the emergency room?” Thomas asked.

Liam helped the other men settle Cash on the dining room table before turning to get a look at his mate’s older brother. The sense of relief he felt that this was her sibling was immeasurable. Tina flushed guiltily as she hurried to explain the situation.

“Tommy, he’s not exactly like everyone else, so he can’t be treated in the hospital. He’s part wolf, and he was shot by a poacher. The bullet is still in his shoulder, and if it doesn’t come out he might die. You were the first person I thought of, and the only one I can trust to keep their secret.” Tina stood steadily, holding her brother’s astonished gaze.

“What? I’d ask if this was joke, but he’s bleeding on my table, so…” Thomas said in a confused voice.

“Please, can we explain later? He needs help right now.” Caroline’s voice was wobbly and scared as she continued to apply pressure to the wound.

Her words seemed to jar Thomas from his shock, and he moved immediately to open a black medical bag pulling supplies from it. “How long ago did it happen?”

“About an hour now,” Owen responded, looking like his mind had separated from his body for the time being. Liam moved to place a hand on his cousin’s shoulder and exchanged glances with Rafe, who moved to Owen’s other side. Liam could only imagine how he would feel if it were one of his brothers on the table.

“Tina, grab some bandages from the bathroom. Caroline, when I say move, I want you to move the bandage and immediately pour some of this water over the area to clean the wound, okay?” Thomas and Caroline seemed to work well together as they inspected the injury. “It’s deep, so I’m going to have to dig a bit to get it out. I need some of you guys to hold his arms and legs so that he doesn’t move.”

Devin and Damon both moved to hold Cash’s torso and arms still as Ryley and Liam moved to hold his legs down. Owen continued to stare blankly at the scene, and Rafe remained at his side in case he needed to support him. He was still shirtless and covered in his brother’s blood. Liam grimaced but tried to focus on what he was doing. Tina had returned and was holding a small desk lamp high over Thomas’s head to light the injury.

“All right, hold him. Here goes nothing,” Thomas said and began to work the bullet from the mangled flesh. It was several tense minutes before he shouted jubilantly, “I’ve got it! Now I just need to irrigate the wound, and then we can sew him up.”

The four men moved away to give Thomas more space over Cash, and Liam went to wrap his arms around Tina as she watched her brother work. Once Cash was sewn up, everyone sighed with relief and relaxed minutely.

“Well, I don’t know who any of you are, but would anyone like a shot of whiskey?” Thomas said with a small smile as he walked across the room to open a small cabinet and withdrew a glass bottle and several shot glasses. Everyone chuckled, and everyone but Caroline accepted one.

After choking down the shot, Liam took Tina’s empty glass from her and set it down on the coffee table. She turned to him and took his hand, causing him to smile down at her. “Thomas, I want to make some introductions, and then we can explain everything. This is Liam Gray, my…well…my date, and you know Caroline. Those two men are her fiancés, Damon and Devin Gray. The two blondies are Rafe and Ryley Whetstone, Liam’s brothers. The half-naked man in the middle is Owen Gray. It’s Owen’s brother Cash that’s lying on your makeshift operating table.”

Thomas shook hands with all of the conscious men, but he stopped when he reached Liam, who still had his arm around Tina’s waist. Thomas seemed to take his measure just as Liam surveyed him back. Thomas Jameson was a fairly good-looking man, probably made better by his education and career choice. Doctor’s always seemed to have the upper hand with the ladies. He had short, dark-brown hair and a mustache and goatee. His face was similar in shape to Tina’s, and he had her same chocolate-colored, almond-shaped eyes. His nose had been broken in the past and wasn’t set straight, and based on the calluses on his hands and knuckles, Liam was guessing his muscular stature came from boxing or martial arts. Liam smirked inside, an interesting hobby for someone that relied on their hands for their career.

After several quiet moments the two men both nodded and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Liam, wish it were under more pleasant circumstances,” Thomas said gesturing to toward the unconscious man.

“You, too, Thomas, and thank you for helping Cash,” Liam responded sincerely. He had a gut feeling that he could trust Thomas, and he was relieved to find he actually liked him, too.

“Yes, Dr. Jameson, thank you for saving my brother’s life,” Owen said, his voice laced with emotion as he finally relaxed and sat on the sofa. His eyes remained glued to Cash’s prone form, refusing to look away.

“You’re welcome. I promise you that I will keep doing everything in my power to help him. Now I think you need to start at the beginning, because I really thought I heard someone say that my patient is part wolf?” Thomas said, laughing, but his laughter died away quickly when no one corrected him. “Oh hell, Tink, what did you get me into?”

“Tink?” Liam questioned.

“Tinkerbell. I’ve called her Tink since she was about four years old and she was so small she could walk under the tables at her preschool class. She was tiny like a fairy,” Thomas explained with a warm grin as he took a seat in a chair and gestured to the others to sit as well.

“I didn’t know that, T,” Caroline said, laughing, too.

“It’s not a term of endearment I share with anyone,” Tina said, showing a bristle of irritation on her face. Liam scooped her up and settled with her on his lap in a chair across from Thomas, who watched. He seemed to be taking in the nuances of their relationship, and his small smirk of approval encouraged Liam.

“It’s definitely an endearment, Tink. I don’t give everyone nicknames. Now tell me about my patient,” Thomas said, and Tina launched into an explanation.

Everyone helped fill in the gaps and explain how Cash came by his wounds as well as what being a werewolf meant and how he would be able to heal himself once he regained consciousness.

“Fuck a duck,” Thomas said as they finished their explanation, and he moved back to the cabinet to get another shot of whiskey. “If my sister wasn’t here, I would say you’re all crazy. Maybe I should say that because she
is
here with you.”

“I know it’s a lot to take in, Thomas, but—” Tina said, but she was cut off by Cash moaning and moving on the table.

“Shit, he shouldn’t be conscious yet. Guys, can you all stand around him. If he starts thrashing, we may have to hold him down again,” Thomas said, hurrying over to Cash. All of the men, including Owen this time, surrounded the table and waited.

After several moments Cash’s eyes drifted open and his cloudy gaze met Liam’s as he stood over him, tensed and ready to move on a moment’s notice. “Liam? What the hell happened? Where am I?”

“You’re at Tina’s brother’s place. He’s the doctor who just dug a bullet out of your shoulder,” Liam answered. Cash’s eyes drifted back closed, and everyone held their breath.

“Well, the fucker must have got it, because I don’t feel a thing,” Cash slurred, and a nervous laugh rippled through the group.

“Cash, can you shift? If you shift, your wolf will heal the wound. You will still be weak for a day or two, but you won’t be in danger of dying,” Devin said. His voice had taken on that rough authoritative tone that he only used as Alpha of the pack, and Liam sighed with relief when Cash nodded slightly.

With everyone right there watching Cash shifted. His jeans ripped from his human form as fur sprouted from it, and his bones arched and cracked into their animal shape. A whine of pain burst from his furry throat as his body settled into its wolf form, but Liam could see the bullet hole immediately start to close up and heal. Cash was going to be just fine after some rest. Another day of healing and he wouldn’t even remember the injury.