Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Icrawl toward the unmoving shifter.
No. No, no, no—
He’s face down, his face buried in the ground. He’s significantly larger than the other wolves, probably weighing at least five hundred pounds. His fur is the same dark brown as my hair.
This isn’t Caleb. There’s simply no way.
It can’t be. It’s not him. It’s not.
I grab the shifter’s torso, holding back a sob as I slide my fingers through the matted fur. Then I shake him, trying to wake him up. He needs to get up. We need to get out of here.
“No.” My voice is hoarse. Breaking. “Get up.”
I grab his paw, examining the light pink marking. I know this pattern.
It’s mine, only lighter.
Caleb.
I give my mate another shake, desperate for him to do something, anything, other than this. He doesn’t make a noise. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t do anything.
Nothing.
I instinctively throw my body over Caleb’s, protecting him as an armored van swerves down the empty road leading to the clearing. HPAW soldiers begin to pour out the back, shooting before they’re even fully out of the vehicle.
I curl my arms around Caleb’s head.
The soldiers don’t seem to notice Caleb and me. They’re focusing on the shifters—the ones still moving. Their nervous, fidgety gazes travel right over us. I risk sitting up, shoving at Caleb’s shoulder.
“Wake up,” I hiss. “Come on, Caleb. Now isn’t the time to nap. Get your heavy ass up.”
Please.
Daniel shot him. I need to stop the bleeding. Caleb’s fur is tangled and matted with dirt, probably from his journey here, making it impossible to sift through.
I have no idea where the fuck we are, but we must be close to the border if the shifters were able to make it here undetected. HPAW would have sent every soldier at their disposal if they knew Caleb’s pack would meet us here.
They’d risk anything for the opportunity to take Alpha Knox down.
The bond is nonexistent as I drag my fingers through his knotted fur. It’s probably because I cut off my marking. That’s why. It’s not because Caleb is dead.
I ignore the aching pain in my head, chest, torso, and practically every other part of my body as I shove my shoulder against Caleb’s side, rolling him onto his back. I get him about halfway on his side before finding his injury.
Blood pours out of the front of his head. There’s so much of it.
I gag, dry heaving as I see what’s become of his left eye.
No. No, no—
Daniel shot the inner corner of his eye, and the pressure pushed most of his eyeball out of the socket. It bulges, his eyelid unable to close. Everything about it is wrong.
I don’t know how to fix this. Should I apply pressure? Will that make it worse?
I drag Caleb’s head onto my lap, searching the back of his head for an exit wound. There isn’t one, and I smooth my hand down his blood-soaked fur before pressing my fingers against his neck.
Where is his pulse?
Where the fuck is his pulse?
“Caleb, stop,” I whine, shoving my fingers harder against his throat. “This isn’t funny.”
He still doesn’t wake up, and I give him a rough shake before pulling even more of him onto my lap. I look around, desperate for help. He needs a doctor, but I can’t carry him out of here by myself. He’s too heavy.
Shifters surround me on every side, most fighting off HPAW, but a few pointedly forming a circle around Caleb and me. I didn’t notice. The shifter closest to me has no fur around its ankle—right where a chain was wrapped around it. Adam.
He backs up into me, his fluffy tail and butt pressing against my shoulder.
I ignore it, too focused on Caleb.
“Please,” I beg, my voice hitching. I don’t even know who I’m asking anymore. “Wake up.”
I give his shoulders a hard squeeze, hoping it will be enough to make him open his eyes—well, eye—but he still doesn’t move. His good eye is halfway open, the lid not completely shut, but there’s no life behind it.
I avoid looking at the bulging one.
I’m faintly aware I’m hyperventilating as I run my hands down Caleb’s head, my movements frantic. I understand the basics of medical care, but only for humans. I don’t know how to care for a shifter, and it’s hard to see anything underneath the thick fur.
Pain-filled screams and curt orders ring out around me. They’re coming from the HPAW soldiers, but they’re quickly dwindling. There are too many shifters, and the men who arrived only minutes ago are already almost gone.
Their mangled bodies scatter the ground. I don’t care. None of it matters.
One HPAW soldier sprints toward a truck, clearly planning to climb inside and drive away, but a shifter lunges at him from the side and knocks him down. He screams as sharp teeth tear into his flesh and long claws tear open his chest. Within seconds, he’s silent.
To the right, another guard meets the same fate, but he manages to shoot down two wolves in the process.
I turn back to Caleb.
My fingers are coated with blood as I bring them to his neck, searching again for a pulse. I can’t find anything, and I’m growing desperate. I missed it. I have to be missing it.
I give up and place my palm against his snout, hoping to feel breath.
Nothing.
A shifter bursts through the barricade of protection around Caleb and me. They transform into their human form mid-step, and Logan falls to the ground beside me. His naked skin is coated in blood, his muscles bulging.
He’s wearing the same panicked expression he had when he found me in that cabin all those months ago. His eyes are wide, and he shakes his hair out of his face as he kneels on my right. His white marking flashes in my peripheral vision as he reaches for me.
I flinch.
Logan’s brown eyes meet mine. “Evelyn… Let’s go. We need to get you out of here.”
He reaches for me again. I shove Caleb’s head into his arms, rage mounting as he brushes his alpha aside.
“Caleb’s hurt,” I explain. “His eye.”
Logan doesn’t look at him, and it pisses me off. Why isn’t he looking at him? We need to get Caleb out of here.
Where is Doctor Greg? He must be nearby, probably in the woods helping the injured.
I hook my arms under Caleb and shift to my knees. He’s outrageously heavy, but with Logan’s help, we can carry him out of here. I don’t care if I pull every muscle in my body in the process. It’s going to happen.
I gesture to the bottom half of Caleb’s body. “Grab his legs.”
Logan grimaces, his eyes briefly flashing to Caleb before returning to me. He again ignores Caleb as he reaches for me, touching my arm.
“We prioritize the living.”
The words hit like a punch to the gut. I refuse to digest them.
I jerk my chin toward Caleb. “Exactly. Come on!”
Logan rips my arms away from Caleb, making me drop my mate to the ground. I scream, the angry noise ripping from my throat as he forcibly pulls me away. My fighting is useless, and Logan throws me over his shoulder before taking off into the woods.
No. No—
I scratch at his back, drawing blood. What is he doing?
The wolves who were once surrounding us break away, leaving Caleb exposed. No. I claw at Logan’s back, trying to climb over his shoulder. Why is he doing this?
“Stop.” I’m begging. “Please.”
Caleb is supposed to be the strongest wolf of the pack. He’s not allowed to be taken down by one singular gunshot. That’s bullshit.
I’m brought into the woods, quickly losing sight of Caleb.
“Logan!”
Sash appears out of nowhere. Her long, brown hair is matted with mud and dirt, and she’s wearing only a pair of loose pants. I’m shoved into her bare, toned arms. My feet finally touch the ground, but Sash’s hard grip keeps me from running.
“She’s a flight risk!” Logan shouts, his back already to us as he transforms into his wolf and sprints back toward the fighting.
I throw my elbow back, slamming against Sash’s ribcage. She grunts but doesn’t otherwise react as she pulls me deeper into the woods.
The sound of gunfire is far away now.
“He’s hurt,” I say, ripping at Sash’s arms. “Logan left him there, and the shifters aren’t protecting him. Caleb needs help.”
Logan is a traitor, but Sash cares for her brother. She won’t let them leave Caleb there unprotected. She’ll have him brought back.
Sash ignores me, continuing to pull me away from the gunfire. I fight her every step of the way, but she’s able to easily overpower me. Several minutes pass before we reach a gravel road, and Sash forces me toward a waiting car.
She rips open the back door, and a flash of blue hair and loud screaming fills my senses before my head is pushed down and I’m forced inside. I land halfway on top of Bells, my body flattening hers as the door is slammed shut behind me.
Sash is already leaving, her back to me by the time I scramble off Bells. Sash transforms into her animal form, then disappears between the trees. I yank on the handle, but the door doesn’t budge. I can’t leave.
At least not through the back doors.
I spin around, locking eyes with the shifter in the driver’s seat. I don’t recognize him.
“Don’t even try.” He gestures toward Bells. “She can confirm it won’t work.”
My panic mounts. “You have to understand. You have to—
The man puts the car in drive. “Alpha Knox is dead.”
False.
I blink. “No. He’s not.”
The shifter takes a long minute to respond.
“I’m sorry, Evelyn.”