Chapter 49

Everyone was sitting around the table and enjoying the meal and each other's company. There was laughter and good conversation. The servants were attentive and kept the plates cleared and glasses of tea flowed.

Just as the servants were passing out dessert, a shot rang out. A groan. A scream. A hoarse shout.

She was knocked to the ground and strong masculine hands cradled her gently as the owner of the hands holding her cried.

Jaxson grabbed Charlotte and clutched her to his chest as blood bloomed from the wound in her side soaked her blouse. He felt someone trying to pull him away from her. Holding her tighter to his chest, he felt tears well up in his eyes.

Whack! That got his attention. Looking up to the person who had hit him, he roared out, "Mine!"

"Not if you don't let me stop the blood flow, Jaxson! Let me take care of her."

Misty grabbed the linen napkins from the table and began to press them to Charlotte's wound.

Jason slowly realized that the person who had struck him, smacked him, really, had been Misty. The second thing he realized was that Henry was assisting her not taking the lead. Third, Amber had her weapon drawn and was speaking to Graeham and Hunter about security.

"Jaxson, I need you to concentrate on your training. I need your help or I'm going to have your brother and dad move you out of the way." Misty said, in a short manner, focused on Charlotte's wound.

"No!! Bear not leave!" His animal roared.

"Then help me!" Misty shouted at him.

Jaxson was suddenly taken back to his field training and just as quickly, his mind focused. Taking a deep breath, he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a folding knife and handed it to her. "Careful. It's incredibly sharp."

Opening the knife, Misty sliced up Charlotte's blouse to reveal her wound. "Shit. I was afraid of that!"

Jaxson, seeing what Misty was talking about, felt his blood chill.

"I have to get her to the clinic. We have to sew this up. The bullet went through, but I need to make sure that there isn't any other internal damage."

Jaxson picked Charlotte up as gently as he could. Hearing her gasp, he gritted his teeth. "I know baby. I'm sorry. I can't stop it from hurting."

"It's okay, not your fault." Charlottes said through gritted teeth.

Charlotte passed out from the pain.

Jaxson almost ran to the next block to the town clinic. Only stopping to allow Henry to unlock the door and lead him to an exam room.

"We have an ultrasound machine. I'll roll it in here for Misty to use while we get her IV started."

He was quick and was back soon enough. getting it plugged up and turned on. Misty used as little gel as possible, because she didn't want to get it in Charlotte's wound. Checking as thoroughly as possible, Misty released a sigh of relief.

Looking at the two men, she said, "It's a through and through. Easy close. No surgery."

Henry reached into the cabinets and the refrigerator and took out three different bags and an IV kit. Tossing them to Jaxson, Henry turned to his sister and handed her a suture kit.

Jaxson was just calming down, realizing that his world was in the hands of two very capable people.

Miney stood in the doorway watching her youngest watch his mate get sewn up from a bullet wound. Walking over to him, she gave him the information that she had. "Your father, brother, Bill along with your friend, Hunter are out tracking down the shooter. Your dad, Bill and Rio are in their fur. When the town residents heard what had happened, they offered their noses as well. A few wolves and cats." At his disconnected nod, She reached out and pulled her cub to her. "What are your instructions when the shooter is found?"

"Take them to the old cabin by the forest. Chain them up and let them hang from the rafters. Tell Graeham that if he wants any piece of this person, he might want to go with me. Because there might not be anything left by the time I'm done with them." Miney reached up and kissed him, then turned and left.

That's when Misty broke the silence. "Uh, guys....we might have missed something."

Pointing to the screen, everyone went still and silent.

Suddenly a gruff voice said, "My cub...."

Henry could see Jaxson start to shift and rushed to try to stop him. "Jaxson! No! There's not enough room. If you shift in here, you could hurt Charlotte and the cub."

He stopped and looked at the screen. It was just a spot on the screen, darker than the rest. But he was smart enough to know that it could very well be his cub and not an anomaly.

Misty's phone rang breaking the silence. She answered it then passed it to Jaxson. It was Bill.

"Yes?"

"No. Take him to the cabin. Mom knows where. Ask her where if you aren't sure and ask Graeham to meet me at the garage for the Alpha house."

Disconnecting the call, he handed Misty back her phone.

"How long will she be out?" he asked Misty.

"Take your time Jaxson and go handle your business. I will be giving her a light sedative to help her sleep. It shouldn't hurt her or the cub." Nodding, he turned to Henry.

"You know what she survived the last time. What will this do to her? Mentally and physically?" He wanted to know what he was going to deal with. He would never not want to take care of her and he needed to know the best possible way to do it.

"She should be fine, truthfully. She was almost completely healed, with the exception of some lingering headaches and the occasional nightmare. I recommend therapy, if they start back up."

Jaxson nodded and said, "Take care of her. I'll be back when I'm finished."

When he exited the clinic he was surrounded by many town residents. They were concerned about their new Luna. Once her had reassured them, he continued to the multi-car garage of the Alpha house. Bill, thankfully, had brought his Jeep back down the mountain. Going to it, Graeham was waiting on him. The two men nodded to each other and got into the vehicle. They were silent all the way up the mountain and neither spoke until the cabin came into view.

Turning off his Jeep, Jaxson turned to his mate's grandfather and said, "This is going to be ugly. I hope you have a strong stomach. You might get to have him, if I leave anything."

" I would expect nothing less." Graeham replied.

As they stepped up onto the porch of the cabin, the door opened and Hunter and Bill stepped out. "He's hanging from the rafters as you requested. Do you need or want us to stay?" Bill asked him.

"No. Go back to town and stay with mom and dad. We'll be back when we are finished. Are there shovels here?"

"Everything you need is in the cabin."

Jaxson didn't respond and turned to go into the cabin. Inside was a smallish man hanging from the rafters by a rope that had been wrapped securely around his wrists. He had a few facial bruises and a busted lip. Looking at him dispassionately, he was attempting to decide how to deal with him when Graeham made the decision for him.

He had picked up a very sharp knife that had been left on the table and walked over to the man and kneeled down and cut his Achilles tendon, making the man scream.

"If somehow you are able to get down, you can't run. I have sliced through your Achilles tendon. You can't walk or run without it." Graeham then took the knife and cut his shirt off of him. What the man lacked in stature, he made up for in muscle. Graeham smiled and drew the knife down one side of his spine, cutting deep and sown to the hip.

Turning to Jaxson, he said, "Your turn."

Jaxson, who was standing in front of the man, grinned. The grin struck terror in the man. Holding up his right hand, he allowed it to change into a paw. "The woman you shot, she's my mate. Not only is she my mate, we are relatively sure that she is pregnant with our first cub. As an Alpha, an heir is very important.

As a man, the continuation of my line is a dream that every man has. When we get done, you will have given me the name of the person or persons who hired you, and if you do it quickly, we might grant you a swift death. However, the longer you resist, the more you will experience pain. Great pain. What you have experienced so far is nothing." Drawing a deep breath, Jaxson said, "I was in the military for almost twenty years. Do you have any idea of the type of training that I give? I was in a very specialized unit. A unit that did a lot of dirty work. I have learned ways to torture a man and still keep him alive. How to remove body parts without them bleeding to death. How to use the application of heat and cold to create pain beyond belief. So, you will talk."

Leaning into the man, Jaxson took his transformed paw and jammed his claws into the man's pancreas. The man screamed again.

"Who hired you?"

"I don't know!"

"Wrong answer!" picking up the knife, Jaxson walked around to the man's back and took the knife and ever so gently, lifted a layer on skin and began slicing it down the length of his back. The man screamed in a horrifying fashion.

"Damn. That looks like it hurts." Graeham said.

"Who hired you?" Jaxson demanded once again.

This went on for an hour or more with thee man growing so hoarse from his screaming that his voice was almost gone. Finally, Jaxson looked at him and asked the man, "Would you like me to stop? To end your pain? I can, you know. All you have to do is give me the information that I asked for."

Crying, the man sobbed out, "I really don't know. But there is an email on my phone with the information on how and where to find the girl"

Graeham walked over to retrieve the backpack that had been with the man. Unzipping, he found a phone. Looking over at Jaxson, he said, "Passcode?"

The man whispered it to Jaxson and Graeham opened the phone and located the email app. Opening it, he found the email the man was talking about. He forwarded it to himself and shut down the phone.

Jaxson had been watching and Graeham nodded to him. Turning back to the man, Jaxson asked, "Any family?"

"No. None."

"Good" So quick that when Graeham blinked he almost missed Jaxson slashing the man's throat from ear to ear. Then he reached up to cut him down and carried him outside to a grave that had already been prepared before they had gotten there. Making sure that no smells emanated from the grave several bags of lye was poured in before dirt was thrown in.

By the time they were headed back to town, it was close to late evening and both men wanted a shower before seeing their women.

Standing in the shower, Jaxson thought about the acts he had just committed and wondered if he was any better than the two that Rio had killed, Marco and Tony.

Watching the water and blood go down the drain, he knew that no matter how dark his acts had been, he would do it again to protect his mate and his clan. He also knew that Graeham would as well. Without hesitation and without remorse.

Turning off the shower, Jaxson grabbed a towel and hurriedly dried off. Going into his closet he grabbed jeans and a t-shirt, then throwing on his running shoes, he rushed downstairs. Only to be met with Graeham. He had done the same thing.

"Agnes?" Jaxson asked.

"Didn't see a thing. She is over at the clinic with Charlotte, Amber and your mom. Your dad and Hunter saw us, though." Graeham replied.

"Neither one will say anything. It would only serve to traumatize them both, even more."

Graeham nodded his agreement and the men went the next block over to check on Charlotte.