The Vampire's Bat (17 page)

Seamus fought to breath as the air was being pounded
out of his lungs with every jolt from
Kace’s
feet
pounding into the ground in powerful and swift strides. He knew he’d lost a bit
of blood, and even though he saw his blood drip down
Kace’s
back, he wasn’t worried about losing too much. He was a paranormal, so even
though he needed blood to heal faster, he still had fast enough healing to aid
him until he could get what he needed from his mate.

Light around them brightened as they broke through the
tree line on the final stretch to the infirmary. With sharp pains shooting
through his head from being held upside down, he didn’t argue for
Kace
to stop as it would slow them down. He’d suffer
through the humiliation this time. It was for his beloved, and he had his
victory against Scott. Yes, he had been human, but with the method he used to
kill him, Seamus hoped he conveyed the message that he wasn’t just some
mild-mannered medic
,
especially when it came to
his beloved. Being a doctor who knew enough about anatomy and a vampire who
wasn’t repulsed by blood made him a vamp not to mess with.

Kace
took the stairs two at a
time on his way up to the infirmary. As soon as they entered the room,
Kace
finally put him down. Seamus held his head to stop the
spinning at the sudden change in posture before it was clear enough to rush to
his mate’s side.

Maysa
was placed on their bed in the hospital room. Marley dropped the bag by the bed
and exited the room.
Alphy
didn’t stay either and
left along with
Kace
. Katie had already gotten a line
started, and at Katie’s instructions Reese was gathering and placing items they
would need. He looked like he was on the brink of breaking down, but he also
carried the look of determination.

After he washed his hands, Seamus worked with care on
his beloved. He was grateful she was not conscious. Her one leg had stepped
into a steel trap. It was broken and had to be reset
,
but with her shifter healing, it had already started
to heal and he had to re-break it before setting it.

Her arm had serious damage as a spike had torn at some
of her muscles, and her leg on the same side also had a spike, but it would be
fine after some stitches.

It was dark outside when Seamus finished. His body was
so weak that he shook as he moved around cleaning himself up. “Katie, do you
have enough strength to make rounds to the other patients?”

“Sure. You get some rest. I’ll take Reese with me.
C’mon Reese, grab that other bag in the kitchen, and double check it to make
sure the tablet is in it and charged.”

Reese and Katie exited the room leaving
Bronya
and Nix the only others in the room. Seamus was sure
to drink some water, and after he changed into some pajamas, he curled up next
to his beloved. He didn’t remember his head ever hitting the pillow.

Chapter Eleven

Maysa’s
whole body hurt, but so did her bladder
,
so she tried to bring
herself to come around. She tried to think about where she was and what happened.
Her memory rushed back, and she tensed.

“
Shh
, beloved, you’re safe
now.” Seamus’s words slurred through the darkness. His hands rubbed her belly,
but her body throbbed too much to relax and enjoy it too much. Before she could
say anything, Seamus rolled out of bed and helped her to the bathroom. The
process was slow and severely painful, but after they were tucked back into
bed, she was about to ask how he knew but he answered before she could ask.

“I can sense your emotions and physical needs or pains
if they are strong enough.”

Maysa
let his answer sink in for a minute. “Seamus, what happened to the little girl
and to Scott?”

“Scott is dead, and Abby is safe, as are you. I
promise you, sweetheart, you have nothing to ever fear from Scott ever again.
And I always keep my promises.”

The day went by fast. It was quiet, for the most part,
and she used that time to rest. She couldn’t do much else as Seamus wouldn’t
let her out of bed. The only two interruptions were when little Abby came up to
thank her for helping her, and when her parents came up to tell her good-bye.

“Wait, you’re leaving?”
Maysa
asked, shocked and a bit dismayed as she sat on her bed, looking up at her
parents. “I hardly got to spend any time with you.”

“I know, dear. But you have a mate now, and we just
don’t feel right staying here.” Her mother tried to sound like it was no big
deal, but
Maysa
had been through so much that she
wanted more time, so it was a big deal to her.

“You can’t go back to the Philippines.”
Maysa
tried to argue.

“We know that, and we’re not,” her father answered.
“We are heading to your aunt’s, in California.”

“What about
Becca
?
And what about the search for Allie and Quinn?
You aren’t
giving up on them, are you?”

Maysa’s
mother, Judy, continued to try to reassure her. “Of course not, dear. Your
alpha here says he’s continuing to search for them and anyone else that may be
a victim to that monstrosity of a company, and we need to heal and start our
lives over. The council here already approved new identities for us, and we’re
going to head out today. I know it isn’t much of a notice, but there’s a job
available for your father to apply for, a real good one, and we wanted to try
and get it. And school will be starting soon, so we wanted to get
Becca
enrolled so hopefully she won’t fall too far behind.”

Maysa’s
shoulders slumped, and her heart hurt. Tears began to well in her eyes, and she
wiped them away as they fell. Her father sat beside her on the bed and wrapped
her in a hug. He kissed the top of her head. “We are all so very proud of you,
my little mayflower. You helped to save us and all those other shifters at the
lab, and you saved that little girl yesterday.”

After a round of hugs and kisses, her parents left.
Maysa
was about to feel herself get lost in her dismay when
her mate wrapped his arms around her. His closeness and the calming balm of his
scent soothed her, and she felt happy once again.

“Mayflower, I like the sound of that. Can I call you
that, too?” Seamus asked.

“Sometimes.”
She looked sideways at him.

“Sometimes?
When can I use it?”

“When you’re good.”

Maysa
laughed out loud as Seamus growled and pounced on her, pinning her to the bed.
He ran his hot tongue across her mating mark. “I’m always good,” he said just
before he bit down, piercing her artery.

Maysa’s
eyes rolled back and her body tried to bow, but Seamus’s body pinned her down
as her body rolled through an orgasm. Her mate above her ground his cock, still
covered behind his slacks, between her legs and stiffened as he groaned out his
own pleasure.

After he licked her mark shut, which sent a shudder of
delight down her body, she hummed and relaxed.

Nix’s voice sounded embarrassed as he spoke to them
through the room divider. “Uh, guys? Can you at least open a window or
something?”

Seamus’s displeasure rumbled through his chest. “Be
thankful we didn’t do anything more.”

“Aww, come on, Sea.” Nix was whining now. “I want my
mate just as much as you want yours.”

Seamus huffed, blowing a puff of air over her mark,
which sent the pinpricks of goosebumps down her back and over her arms. “Fine,”
he grumbled.

It wasn’t long before
Alphy
came to talk to Seamus and Nix.
Maysa
was still stuck
in bed, so she couldn’t do anything but listen in on it.

“Hey, Sea.
How’s Nix doing?”
Alphy
asked.

“His healing is slow. His ridiculous attempt to escape
yesterday
didn’t help.
”
Maysa
could tell Seamus was teasing.

“Yes,
Bronya
told me about
his idiot move.”
Alphy’s
voice sounded a bit strict
,
but from the chuckles, and Nix’s protests, she
could tell they were teasing him
.

“I’m right here
,
guys.” Nix sounded like he
was
mock
pouting.
Maysa
had to cover her mouth to smother her snickers.

Alphy
continued. “Gale insists the officers’ mates should be allowed to attend the
officers’ meetings if they so choose. She claims the best way to support us is
to know what we are planning on doing. She has a point, and I don’t think I
have it in me to argue with her about it. I wanted you to join us in our
meeting, and since Nix is up here, I thought about having Betty and Connie make
a continental breakfast up here for everyone.
Is
that
okay
with you?”

Seamus touched her mind.
“What do you think,
Maysa
?”

“I’m okay with it,”
she responded. She smiled wide at Seamus’s
consideration to her thoughts.

“Sounds fine,
Alphy
.
If he’s not too busy, can you send Reese up here? I
can send him to task on rearranging some things around.”

“Will do.
Thanks, Sea.”
Alphy’s
steps grew distant as he left
the room and headed back downstairs.

Maysa
reached out and touched Seamus’s mind. It was an ability she was learning to
use, and she truly loved it. She liked being able to have a private
conversation in such an intimate way, anywhere, without anyone else listening
in.
“Do you go to a lot of the officers’
meetings?”

“I am an officer in an
unofficial way. Until
Alphy
declares otherwise, I am
the healer of this pack
,
and therefore I am an
officer. Did you not have one where you are from?”

“No. Medical aid for anyone
was hard to come by, let alone for shifters. That’s why I chose to go into the
medical field, so I could help others where help isn’t normally available. Some
help I am now.”
She frowned.

“Do not feel so sad,
sweetheart. What I am trying to offer to others is help, where help isn’t
available, and
Alphy
supports that. We are going to
build the first paranormal hospital that will be available to all paranormals.
Tyler had even mentioned he was looking into setting up partnerships and
alliances with the councils in other countries so they could have access.”

Maysa
stayed quiet, thinking over what Seamus said as he went around doing check-ups
on all the other patients. He was right. They were going to help more than just
one country—they were going to help many. And the more she thought about it,
she realized she wasn’t just going to help day-to-day paranormals. They were in
a war with a company who was torturing shifters, and her new pack and her new
mate were in the forefront, fighting them. They would need her, and she was
happy knowing she was helping to fight back at the company who had done so much
harm to her, and who still had two of her siblings, somewhere.

****

Seamus kissed down his
beloved’s
back in an effort to wake her in a good mood. He had felt how hard it was for
her when her parents had left. Even though he had distracted her, she still had
it and other things on her mind that she was attempting to process. But this
was going to be an early morning with a lot of people to arrive soon, so he
needed to push her, but gently.

Maysa
moaned and wiggled. Another moan sounded, and Seamus realized the second one
wasn’t from his mate. It was coming from the other side of the divider. His
beloved silently shook in a quiet chuckle.
“Sounds like
Bronya
had the same idea for her mate as
you did,”
she whispered in his mind.

“We really need a place of
our own.”
Now it was his turn to
feel depressed. He hadn’t been able to enjoy his beloved’s body since he bonded
with her. He felt like his balls were going to fall off. He was hard, all the
time. Either they had no privacy, or she was injured.

Seamus rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
Within the next fifteen minutes, the upstairs apartment began to fill with the
officers, and six mates, which was including
Maysa
,
Bronya
, and as Tyler was attending, Betty. The girls set up
several metal serving containers filled with breakfast burritos, croissant
sandwiches, muffins, and finger fruits like grapes, strawberries, and bananas,
already peeled oranges, and cut apples. Also, carafes of coffee and pitchers of
orange juice were placed.

Maysa
,
Nix, Henry, and Peter sat in comfortable chairs, all with their feet propped up
to help them relax. They were given plates of food, and everyone else started
filling the seats around them.

Finally, with everyone sitting as
comfortably
as possible and eating from plates in their laps,
Alphy
began the meeting.

“Thank you for coming
,
everyone, and I especially
welcome you, ladies. I was given some news yesterday that Ryker wished for me
to share with you today. Ryker has found his beloved in the rhino we have
rescued.”

Seamus hadn’t told anyone, as it was his brother’s
choice who and when to tell. He also knew that after talking with
Alphy
, he’d chosen to keep it hush-hush until today’s
meeting. Why, Seamus could only guess. And as the room erupted in happy
congratulations, Seamus began to wonder if it was because of Enzo, who looked
extremely shocked. The smile on his face also looked
forced
,
and his body seemed tense.

After a few moments,
Alphy
quieted everyone down and continued. “The rhino, as well as others, are unable
to shift. We have determined it isn’t by choice, but Seamus is working on the
issue. He’s been keeping me up to date with all of the refugees’ health, and we
are both very grateful to all of you and the others who have sacrificed the
time and effort to caring for the ones who need help.

“Also, Seamus and
Maysa
, you
may be happy to hear that we were able to pull some strings, and the
manufactured home is being shipped out today.
Kace
has a good crew, and they are working hard to prepare the site.
Kace
, when do you think it will be ready for moving in?”

“Tyler was able to pull the strings needed for
permits. Everything else is construction. We should be finished with everything
by the end of next week.”

“Wow, that’s incredible,” Seamus said, shocked.

“It is,”
Kace
responded
seriously. “Permits take forever, and all that other stuff we did for the park
model homes, and are still doing, and still plan to do, it is all crazy fast.
Some of the refugees have volunteered to help, and it was mentioned that it could
be a good therapy for them, so I’ve separated them into groups, led by my guys.
They each have their own project they’re working on.”

Seamus nodded. “It
is
good for them, so long as they aren’t overworked. But I have been keeping my
eyes on them, and they are doing well. I believe being able to have control
over something, helps them. And all of them are thankful to us for all we have
done, and are continuing to do for them, so this will help them feel like they
are contributing to us, which they are in a big way.”

“That’s good to hear. Thank you,
Kace
,”
Alphy
said and then looked around the room at the
others as he continued. “Though a few of the refugees have left to start new
lives, the others have expressed to me that they are invested in staying here
with us. Also, families who have been approved to join us have started to
arrive. One family arrived last night, and three more will arrive sometime over
this weekend. This will give us the manpower we need to build and to fill
positions in our pack business in investigations and security, which our
approval has finally come through for.”