Chapter 38

Alpha Gabe

Once I was back to the ranch, I immediately got on the phone with Alpha Chris. That asshole had some explaining to do. My pack was three times the size of his, and I had allies all over the country. All over the world in fact. They took a weak way out, shooting a wolfsbane dart at one of my highest ranking wolves. Dawson came from a long line of Beta's. In fact, if he hadn't of stayed in my pack, he was supposed to be Beta of his home pack. His grandfather was not happy when his mother told him that Dawson wouldn't be coming there to be Beta. Next in line was Dawson's sister. They had really hoped to avoid having a female Beta, but so far it had been working out just fine.

The phone rang three times before anyone picked it up. I asked for Alpha Chris when the she-wolf answered and she placed me on hold for what felt like forever. "Gabe. To what do I owe the pleasure. Again." He bit out on the other end of the line.

"You have some explaining to do, that's what you owe the pleasure to. Don't fuck with me Chris, I'm not in the mood." I was fuming.

There was a pause. "Very well. How can I be of service Alpha Gabe." He sounded a bit sarcastic, but I bit my tongue.

"One of your patrols shot Dawson with a fucking wolfsbane dart. What kind of pussy shit is that?" I asked. Werewolves had an unspoken rule that you don't use wolfsbane for every day use. It was strictly for torture tactics during war, or to put down feral wolves.

"Excuse me?" Alpha Chris sounded very surprised.

"You heard me. If he dies, I'm coming for you. You hear me?" I knew I was getting ahead of myself. I needed answers. I was to exhausted and angry to care at the moment.

"Yeah I don't know anything about that. Tell me what the dart looked like. I'm going to have to investigate and call you back."

I rubbed my hands over my eyes. I needed sleep. "It was a dart, red and blue feathers. The dart was at least five inches long."

"Alright, give me till tonight. I assure you I knew nothing of this. I will call you back." Alpha Chris hung up before I could say anything else.

I decided I needed to go check on the situation with the horses that were arriving today, they should have been here already and Ashlynn hadn't been here to receive them.

I walked down to the stables and to my surprise, Jenna was there helping Cody put the mares into stalls. "So now my wife is a ranch hand," I chuckled.

"It's all hands on deck Alpha," Jenna snapped back. "Besides, I'm doing this for Ashlynn. All we did was weigh them and put them in the stalls. She will do the rest when she gets home tonight."

I had to admit, my wife looked hot in a pair of jeans and cowgirl boots. "Alright then, I'm going to get some sleep. I'm about to pass out. I'm expecting a call from Alpha Chris this evening, so if I'm not awake, please wake me." Jenna gave me a kiss, and I turned to go get some sleep. This has been the longest two days.

***

Ashlynn

The nurses chased me out of Dawson's room throughout the day. At one point, the head nurse said I should go get something to eat and take a break from the room. I didn't want to, but I realized I was pretty hungry. I'd spent the bulk of the morning and into the afternoon, my hand on top of Dawson's, my thumb rubbing back and forth over the top of it. The machine's continued to beep, but it actually gave me comfort as I listened to his steady heart beat.

I was sitting in the hospital cafeteria, stirring a cup of coffee mindlessly, while I stared out the window. I smelled the wolf as soon as he was near me and came to a stop next to my table. I turned to him. He was tall, had sandy blonde hair that was showing slight strands of grey along his temples. He had lines around his eyes that showed he smiled often, just as he was doing to me now. "May I help you?" I asked him, when he didn't say anything.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. Are you Ashlynn Cane?" He was still smiling. It wasn't anything weird, just friendly. I noticed that he had Dr. Cortez on the right pocket of his white lab coat. I relaxed a little.

"I am."

He took the seat across from me. "I'm Dr. Cortez, the Intensivist here. I've taking care of Dawson Campbell. I was told you are his mate." He makes a point to look at my collar where I should be marked.

"Yes, I am. We just found out actually. But we work together at the Lone Wolf Ranch. I'm the veterinarian there." I pause for a second, "Is there something you would like to tell me Dr?"

His smile fades and he's suddenly more serious. "I was just wondering if you know how he happened to get shot with a dart with wolfsbane in it? It's very uncommon, especially with there not being any disputes going on. I also have seen any hunters around here in years."

"I'm sorry, hunters?" I ask.

"Yes, wolf hunters. You've never heard of them?" He looks shocked.

"Yes and no. I mean I have heard tales of them, I didn't think they existed anymore. I went to college with a lot of humans, nothing of them seemed to have had a clue that I was a werewolf." Now he has me thinking about this stupid dart and hunters.

"I see. Well Montana has seen it's fair share of them. That's beside the point. Being his mate, it's good for his wolf if you spend as much time with him as possible. Right now his wolf is subdued from the poison, but it would help his body to flush it out, if his mate is close. Even with that, it's hard to say when he will wake up. Since we don't know how much was in that dart, I didn't know how to dose the reversal agent, so I gave him a dose that was a guess. I'm sure since you are a vet, you know the importance of proper dosages of medications," the doctor is trying to explain it to me, but it's not necessary, I already know what he means.

"Thank you doctor. I will be sure to spend as much time here as I can. However, if you want me to do that, you should maybe ask the nurses to stop kicking me out of the room. I don't really care if they draw his blood in front of me. It's not like I will faint." I give him a smile and he chuckles.

"No I don't suppose you would. I'm sure though, that you don't want to be in the room when they are cleaning and bathing him. Your wolf may not like it very much, you know they are possessive," he says.

"I can bathe him, why do they need to do that?" I asked. I was actually kind of mad about these she-wolves checking out my mates naked body.

Dr. Cortez laughed, "See that's what I mean. Can't have a jealous mate attacking my nurses now can I?"

I shake my head, "No I suppose not." I stand to go toss my empty coffee cup in the trash and to head back to the ICU. "Thanks for the chat doctor, I think I will go spend some time with my mate." He nods and I head back to the ICU.

When I walk into Dawson's room, nothing has changed. He's still laying there, eyes closed, hooked up to monitors and I.V. fluids. The nurse is in the room, spiking a bag of some sort of yellow substance. "What is that?" I ask her.

"Oh this? It's the reversal agent for wolfsbane. We are giving him a low dose every twelve hours, since we don't know how much he needs." She finishes what she's doing and goes to walk out the door. I touch her arm as she passes me.

"Can I help you with something Ms. Cane?" her voice is soft and caring.

I shake my head, "No. I just wanted to say thank you for taking care of him."

"Of course," and she turns and walks out of the room.

I choose that moment to walk over to the bed. I lean over and gently place a kiss on Dawson's forehead and then on his lips. He doesn't stir. I just want him to wake up. This has been a very long day, and I'm exhausted. Looking up at the clock, I see it's early evening. I know those mares are at the ranch and I'm supposed to do their well checks. I sit in the chair at the side of the bed and hold Dawson's hand.

"Listen Dawson, you can't leave me. I just found you. We have a long life to live, together. I need you to wake up." I say out loud. Nothing. Not even a twitch. "Ok big guy, I've got to head back to the ranch and look after some mares. I promise you I will come back." I stand to leave, giving his hand a squeeze. I swear I felt his hand twitch under mine, but then nothing else happens. It must have been my imagination.

I leave, but not before letting the nurse know I have to run home for a bit. I give her my number and tell her to give me a call if anything changes. She gives me a nod and a gentle smile, and I head to the parking lot to make the drive back to the ranch. Hopefully I can get there and take care of the mares before I'm to tired to function. It's amazing how doing nothing can make you just as tired as a hard days work. I guess worry will do that to you.