The kill

The kill
He worked as fast as he could. Trying not to think about the amount of blood that was in Bella’s fur, or that the floor beneath her was covered in the sticky substance.

‘Doc, I need your help. But I need you not to let anyone know,’ he mind linked the pack doctor.

‘What is it?’ he responded.

‘The luna has been injured. Four deep gashes along her back. She has lost a lot of blood. I have bandaged up her wounds as best as I can, but I can see that the dressing is getting soaked through. What do I do?’ Logan asked desperately.

‘Can you take her to the hospital?’ Doc asked.

‘No, we are stuck for the moment’

‘That’s bad. Keep pressure on the wounds and try to get her to the hospital as soon as possible. I will take the nurse and start prepping for your arrival,’ Doc said.

‘Doc, is there a way I can check on the pups?’ Logan hesitantly asked. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

‘They are large enough that you should be able to hear their heartbeat if you place your ear against her stomach,’ Doc told him.

Logan hesitated for a moment longer. He then bent down and placed his ear against the wolf’s stomach and used all of his advanced hearing to listen. First, there was nothing. Logan’s heart sank. Then, a faint flutter. He focused on it. He thought he could hear two different sounds.

‘I can hear them, but they are faint,’ Logan told the doctor.

‘That gives us hope, at least. Get them to the hospital as soon as possible,’ Doc said.

All Logan could do was to sit beside his luna and press his hands against the dressings that covered her wounds.

‘How’s it looking?’ he asked Bastian.

‘I think the boss is winning, the rogue is definitely looking more beat up. How’s Bella?’ Bastian answered.

‘It’s not good, but she and the pups are alive. We need to get her out of here,’ Logan said.

‘Char is going crazy. She is mind linking me that Mickey and she knows something is up and now the Doc says he needs to leave the shelter,’ Bastian informed him.

‘I blocked Mickey. I don’t want him to know yet. Not while we are still trapped like this,’ Logan confessed.

‘I know how you feel. I haven’t told Char about it either,” Bastian said.

---

The fight dragged on, and Graham was getting desperate. He had seen Logan make a run for Bella and heard her soft whimpers, which he hoped meant that Logan was dressing her wounds. But that was just a temporary solution. They needed to get Bella out of here.

Devon tried to dodge another one of Graham’s attacks, Graham wounded the rogue again. The other alpha was covered in wounds, and Graham knew he would become weaker as the fight went on. The victory would be Graham’s. Devon knew it as well. But he would drag it out as long as he could. Hoping that he would outlast Bella.

Graham couldn’t let that happened. He needed to finish this now. He put all his frustration, desperation and fear into his attack and launched himself at his opponent.

Devon tried to dodge, but Graham altered his direction enough to compensate for it. He tumbled into the rogue that raised his arm to protect his throat. Graham bit down on his arm and heard it snap. He let himself feel a moment of excitement as Devon growled in pain. Graham then bit down again, severing the lower arm of his opponent.

Devon fell back, and Graham followed. Graham shifted to his full wolf’s form as they fell. His wolf demanded the kill. As they hit the floor, Graham’s wolf buried his teeth in the rogue alpha’s throat and, with a sense of victory, he tore the windpipe from Devon’s body. There was a quiet wheeze, and then the rogue was gone. Graham’s wolf roared.

The next second, Graham shifted back to his human form and rushed to the desk. Logan was gently pulling Bella’s wolf out from under it. He stepped back as he saw Graham. No one was foolish enough to come between an alpha and his wounded mate.

Graham’s chest clenched as he saw the state of Bella’s wolf. He couldn’t stop the soft whimpers that he let out as he bent down and picked her up.

“Doc is waiting for us in the hospital,” Logan said. Graham nodded and sprinted towards the exit.

Graham could feel the mate bond grow weaker with each step he took. He couldn’t lose her now, not when he finally could get her help. He promised himself that he would never leave her if she survived. No, he thought, he would never leave her regardless of if she lived or died.

He burst into the hospital and the doctor was standing right inside the doors and guided them into a room. Graham knew that Bastian and Logan were close behind him, but all his focus was on his mate.

“Put her on the table,” Doc said. Graham did as he was told, keeping one of his hands on the head of the wolf.

Doc’s pale face and serious expression told Graham all he needed to know as the doctor removed the temporary dressings.

“She needs to change back to human form,” Doc said. Logan and Bastian immediately turned their backs to the table, and a nurse gently placed a blanket over the wolf.

“Ellie, you need to turn back. Please, love, just do this one thing and then you can rest,” Graham gently coaxed.

There was a small whimper from the wolf, and Graham gently stroked its head.

“Come on, Ellie, you can do this,” he told her.

With a quiet growl, the wolf slowly shifted back to its human form. Graham could see the agony of the process, and his wolf whimpered.

“Good, now please leave, alpha,” Doc said. Graham growled. He would not leave Bella’s side.

“I’m sorry, alpha, but you can’t be here while we work,” Doc insisted.

“Come on, boss. You will distract them if you stay. Let them work in peace. We will be right outside the door,” Bastian said.

Graham looked down at Bella and then at the doctor.

“Her life takes priority. If we lose the pups, it will be devastating. But I can’t lose her,” he growled at the doctor.

“Understood, alpha,” Doc nodded.

Graham walked out of the room with Logan and Bastian. Outside, there was a warrior waiting with three pairs of shorts. Graham put on a pair and grunted a thank you.

“I have given all clear to empty the shelters and told Char to gather the family and get to the hospital. They don’t know why,” Bastian said.

Graham flinched at the thought of telling James his daughter was fighting for her life. He didn’t want to deal with any of it at the moment. He just wanted Bella.

“We will deal with it,” Logan said, as if he had read Graham’s mind.

“I need to tell James,” Graham sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

As if summoned by his thought, James came walking down the hall. Graham sighed again and straightened his shoulders.

“How bad is it?” James asked as soon as he reached the three men.

“It’s bad,” Graham said. Bastian and Logan left the two men to intercept the others.

“What happened?” James asked. Graham told him what he knew. He had just bits and pieces of information that Bastian had given him. No one would know exactly what had happened in the cells until Bella or Betty could tell them. If they survived.