Chapter 46

The journey to Moose Creek was a scary one for Aubrey because she kept worrying whether Eric would make it to their destination alive or not. He was very weak because he had lost so much blood and every step she took caused him pain.

Please, don’t die on me, Eric. Please, don’t die.

Those words kept playing over and over in her head as she ran beside Mirabel. When they finally reached the Grey’s residence, they went in through the backyard quietly to avoid being spotted by neighbors.

Mirabel knocked on the back door with her muzzle rhythmically three times and waited. A few seconds later, her teenage daughter, Janice, came to unlock the door.

“Hey, you’re back already?” Janice greeted. “That was fast. I thought you guys were going for a showdown of the century. I wasn’t expecting you back until morning. Where’s Dad?”

“Janice, please go to my room and grab some clothes for me and Aubrey to wear,” Mirabel said, ignoring her daughter’s queries. “Hurry up!”

“Oh, is that Aubrey Silver? Sorry, I didn’t recognize you. Hi,” Janice said with a wave at Aubrey.

“That’s Aunt Aubrey to you,” her mother corrected. “Now go fetch us some clothes quickly.” To Aubrey she said, “Come on, let’s take him to the basement. I have all my medical kits stored there.”

“Who’s the naked guy?” Janice asked as she left the kitchen to do her mother’s bidding.

The basement was a spacious room that had been set up to look like a mini clinic. There was a consultation section with a bed and mobile curtains, then there was the treatment area with two beds, monitors and a number of instruments that you would find in a local hospital. There was even a storage locker filled with a variety of medical supplies and medications.

“Wow…” Aubrey said, amazed.

“I know right,” Mirabel said with a smile. “Your mate isn’t the first wounded werewolf that I have had the privilege of treating. Come on, let’s lay him on the bed.”

With Mirabel’s assistance, Aubrey gingerly lowered Eric’s limp body on one of the beds in the room. Although he was unconscious, he groaned the moment his body touched the bed. His injured thigh was swollen, and the wound had turned purple.

“He’s burning up,” Aubrey said. “That’s a nasty fever, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s to be expected judging by the severity of his injury,” Mirabel said.

Aubrey covered Eric’s nether region with a bedsheet just in time before Janice walked in with an armload of clothes for the she-wolves.

They switched to human form and got dressed briskly. Mirabel swung into full work mode as she rummaged through her medical supplies locker to grab analgesic and surgical tools to extract the bullet. She began by administering the painkillers to him to make the process bearable for him, then she sterilized the injury site before tying a plastic cord around his upper thigh to serve as a torniquet. With forceps, she probed the open wound to see how far the bullet was embedded in his thigh. Fortunately, the bullet wasn’t deep and best of all, no major damage had been done.

“Eric is one lucky guy,” Mirabel remarked as she worked. “No exit wound, no artery or bone was hit, so I’d say we are in the clear here.”

“He’s not going to die?” Aubrey asked hopefully.

“Absolutely not. This is what is called a flesh wound,” Mirabel said and held out the tiny bullet that she’d fished out with her forceps. “Here’s the little bugger.”

Aubrey exhaled with relief. “So, he’s going to be ok?”

“Yes, Aubrey. Eric is going to be ok,” Mirabel assured her with a warm smile. “He’s only weak because of all the blood he has lost. I’ll treat the wound now and get some fluids in him. He is going to be fine. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Is he your boyfriend?” Janice asked Aubrey.

“Don’t be nosy, Janice,” her mother chastised her. “Your work here is done.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Janice said and saluted smartly. “Are you guys hungry? I could whip up a quick meal for you two if you want.”

“That would be fabulous,” Mirabel said gratefully. “Thank you.”

Janice left to go prepare the meal, leaving Aubrey and Mirabel behind to watch over Eric who was now sleeping peacefully.

“Janice is a really great kid,” Aubrey said. “You and Eli have done a great job with her.”

Mirabel smiled. “Thank you. She can be a handful at times, but some days, like today, can be good. But you’re right, she’s a great kid.”

Aubrey pulled up a chair and sat beside Eric’s bed so she could watch him sleep. She thought about all the silly arguments she’d put up with him before, how she’d run off to work and dropped a note for him after their night together in Anchorage. Eric had shown her that he was ready to have a serious relationship with her, but she had sabotaged that opportunity because of her stubborn pride and her childish fantasy of being mated with an Alpha. How stupid she’d been!

“What you said in Chatanika about Eric being your mate, was it true or did you just say that as a clever comeback to Darren?” Mirabel asked her.

“It’s true,” Aubrey said quietly. “We found out on the last Full Moon Feast.”

“We?”

“Eric and me. We smelled each other but we weren’t what either of us expected as a mate. Especially after our previous encounter.”

“Do you mind explaining what you mean?” Mirabel asked tentatively.

“The morning when my betrothal to Ryan was canceled, Eric and I, you know, had sex,” Aubrey confessed shyly. “At that time, I just wanted to let out my frustration at being rejected by the Alpha of my dreams, whom I thought I was in love it. But looking back now, I know for certain that I wasn’t in love with him. I was in love with the idea of my childhood dream of being mated to the most eligible Alpha in the clan from a respected pack. I knew Ryan didn’t care for me, but I was willing to be married to him anyway because he fit the image that I had created in my mind of what my ideal partner should be.”

“And then came Eric,” Mirabel said quietly.

“Then came Eric,” Aubrey repeated softly as she gently brushed away Eric’s hair from his forehead where he lay sleeping. “He was everything I didn’t want; playful, emotional and a Beta. I thought I was too good for him, but there I was, lonely and unhappy and yet, he was willing to accept me the way I am. I would have been very miserable if I had married Ryan, but I know deep down in my hear that with Eric, a lifetime of happiness awaits me.”

Mirabel wiped a lone tear that ran down her cheek with a finger. “This is by far the sweetest love story I have ever heard. You two are the perfect example of opposite attracts. No wonder the ancestors fated you to be mates. It’s so beautiful to see.”

Aubrey smiled. “I hope he still feels the same way about me when he wakes up. This whole episode with Luke Thompson and whoever he’s working with may have messed up Eric emotionally.”

“You underestimate the power of love, Aubrey. Besides, don’t forget he’s your mate and the pull that comes with that connection is too powerful to ignore. This little hiccup is not enough reason to change his feelings for you, trust me.”

“Dinner is served!” Janice announced as she descended the basement steps. “Who’s hungry?”

“I am,” Mirabel replied cheerfully. “Come on, Aubrey. Let’s go eat.”

Aubrey hesitated. “Can I have my meal here?” She asked.

“Come on up, Aubrey. There’s nothing you can do for Eric right now. He just needs to sleep off the medication and trust me, he’ll be knocked out for a couple more hours, so he won’t even know you’re here. Don’t worry, he’s fine.”

“Ok,” Aubrey said, reassured. As she followed Mirabel and Janice out of the basement, she couldn’t help but notice how exhausted she was. She had succeeded in finding her mate and rescuing him from his captors with the help of her werewolf family, and now it was time to refuel and prepare for the next phase of this saga—saving her father from that raving lunatic, Luke Thompson.