Chapter 16
Colton held the door to the examining room open as Smokey carried Theo in and placed him gently on the exam table.
Looking into his mate’s eyes prompted him to want to kill the bounty hunter immediately, but that would have to wait.
Theo needed both him and Norm close by since his body still shook with fear from the fight in the meadow.
Leaning down, he kissed Theo’s forehead before moving next to Norm at the head of the bed.
There they both stood motionless, each grasping one of Theo’s hands.
Mac entered, leading Ollie over to a chair near his cousin, and said, “I’ll have Colton get you some scrubs to put on while I take care of Theo.
” He frowned as Ollie sat down gingerly, aware now that his mate was in pain, even though he’d denied it, but Ollie’s exam would have to wait—his cousin needed him first.
Turning to Theo, he carefully ran his eyes over him, noting the fearful expression on his face and constant shivering—symptoms that his patient was in danger of going into shock. He grabbed several blankets from the cupboard on the wall and quickly covered him, asking, “Is that better, Theo?”
Nodding, Theo stuttered, “T-t-t-thank y-y-you.”
After handing the scrubs to Ollie, Colton took Theo’s blood pressure and other vitals, relaying them to Mac. Then, he looked down at Theo and asked, “How’s the cub? Still moving?”
Theo shook his head, which was the only answer he could give as tears appeared in the corner of his eyes.
The fear that his decision to take his cousin to the meadow might have led to the death of his cub replaced the fear he’d felt when he saw the wolf charge him.
And if that were the case, he would never forgive himself.
Mac placed his hand on Theo’s shoulder and said, “Don’t go there…remember, just because you can’t feel it move doesn’t mean anything’s happened to your cub. Remember, he responds to your emotions…especially the spike of fear you felt in the meadow.”
“So, the cub could be reacting to Theo’s fear?” asked Norm.
“Yes…much like a cub in the wild would, Theo’s cub would remain still in an attempt to hide from any threats,” Mac explained, rubbing Theo’s shoulder soothingly and noticing that his patient had stopped shivering.
It was a good sign; the threat of Theo going into shock had diminished.
“We’ll do an ultrasound in a minute, but first I want to feel your belly, okay?
” After Theo nodded, Mac pulled back the blankets, lifted Theo’s shirt and placed his hands on his patient’s belly, gently pressing down on the cool skin in a circular motion.
Smokey’s eyes were glued to Mac’s face, looking for any sign of a problem with the cub, but the doctor was giving nothing away. Frustrated, he was about to demand to know what Mac had found when Norm grabbed his arm to get his attention.
“Don’t,” Norm mouthed when Smokey looked at him.
He could only hope his mate would agree without question since it would have been impossible to keep Theo from picking up the panic Smokey was feeling.
As it was, it was a miracle it hadn’t happened yet since Norm could see it reflected in the tightness of Smokey’s muscles.
Pulling down Theo’s shirt, Mac said, “I felt your cub move so…”
“Thank fucking gods,” Smokey growled, exhaling the breath he’d been holding. Squeezing Theo’s hand, he asked, “Did you hear that, Shining Star? Our cub is a strong one.”
Before Theo could respond, Mac held up his hand to stop Smokey.
“I said I felt him move, which I agree is a good sign. But I need another ultrasound to make sure he’s okay,” he explained.
“The most recent scan of your cub showed he was healthy, and that’s a positive sign—especially after surviving an event like this.
This next scan will be about a day later, so I’ll be able to compare them to confirm that everything’s as it should be. Any questions, Theo?”
“How come I didn’t feel my cub move?”
“He only moved in response to my kneading of your stomach,” Mac said, smiling. “And he only did it because he didn’t like me disturbing him.”
“Oh…but he’s okay,” Theo said.
“I’m pretty sure he is,” Mac replied. “The ultrasound will give us visual proof of that.”
“When will I be able to feel him move?” asked Theo.
“It depends on how soon you feel better,” Mac said. “Once your body relaxes and your feelings settle down, your cub will return to his normal behavior.”
Nodding, Theo said, “Okay…I understand.”
“Good. Now, if you’re ready, let’s do another scan, okay?”
~/~/~/~/~
After reading the warrant twice, Jackson threw it down on his desk, cursing the judge because he’d signed it without proof that the crimes occurred. It wasn’t the first crooked judge who didn’t care about ignoring the law, and it wouldn’t be the last.
“Is it valid?” asked Groose.
Sighing, Jackson replied, “Yeah…it is, unless I can prove Theo’s parents didn’t file a complaint with the Alpha…and the only way I can do that is to get a sworn affidavit or testimony from them.”
“Shit! Can’t you challenge it without getting them involved?”
“I can, but Theo and Norm would have to surrender first…and it would also put me on the defensive since it would be before the same judge who authorized the arrest warrant…and who clearly is in the Ghost Bear Alpha’s pocket.
The only real choice I have is to get Theo’s parents to swear they did not file the complaint the warrant is based on. ”
“Fuck!” Groose muttered.
“Yeah…that about sums it up,” Jackson said.
“Since the warrant is valid, what do you want me to do with the bounty hunter? Smokey had me lock him up pending his interrogation,” Groose said. “But there isn’t any reason to hold him based on that.”
“Right, but I have every right to hold him for trespassing on my property. He’s a wolf and knows better. The law is very clear on that…he should’ve contacted me for permission first before setting foot on my land.”
“And attacking pack members,” Groose added.
“I’m within my rights to have him put to death for that,” Jackson mused, thinking about which way to proceed.
Eliminating the bounty hunter would only result in the Ghost Bear Alpha finding another one willing to capture Theo and Norm.
And the next time, the two might not be so lucky.
The only solution was to get the warrant withdrawn, and in order to do that, he needed Theo’s parents, which meant their rescue had to be soon.
“By the way, he’s also demanding to see you,” Groose said, smirking.
“Fuck him,” Jackson replied. “Tell him I’m busy seeing to my pack members and he’s gonna have to wait.”
Chuckling, Groose rose and said, “Will do, boss. Anything else?”
“Yeah, double up the patrols and keep them close. I doubt there’s another bounty hunter out there, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
“Already done,” Groose said before leaving Jackson’s study.
Leaning back in his chair, Jackson thought about Theo’s parents and what role they might have played in the Ghost Bear Alpha’s getting the warrant.
If Ollie was right, Theo’s parents couldn’t have filed a complaint since they’d been locked up in the Alpha’s basement as his slaves for a long time.
But what if they agreed to do it to gain their freedom? Or were forced to do it?
Picking up the warrant, Jackson scanned it, looking for the date of its issue.
He shook his head in disgust when he realized someone had signed it a month before Ollie saw Theo’s parents chained to the wall.
Unfortunately, it didn’t prove that they hadn’t been involved in obtaining the warrant, only that, if it was a deal that would free them, the Alpha hadn’t kept his part of the bargain.
And then there was the whole affair with Arald that Theo’s parents were involved in.
No one knew why they’d done that, especially since, according to Ollie, Theo’s parents loved him very much.
But Jackson couldn’t ignore what they had done to their only son.
And now, if it turned out that they had signed the complaint, they would be complicit in putting Theo and Norm back in jail again.
And that just didn’t jibe with what Ollie had said about them.
That realization led Jackson back to his original conclusion that the only way to void the arrest warrant and protect Theo and Norm was to get a sworn statement from Theo’s parents.
And in order to do that, they had to be taken from under the Ghost Bear’s nose.
Luckily for him, his pack had the skill to do just that.
Picking up his phone, he sent a text to Dylon and Zane, telling them to meet him in his study in half an hour and bring everything they had about the planned rescue.
Then, slipping the warrant into his desk drawer, Jackson rose and headed out of the room to check on Theo and his cub.
According to Groose, Ollie had protected Theo from injury, but the cub might not have survived.
The stress of Theo’s worry about his cousin’s safety might have affected the cub, and that would mean Smokey would be demanding to kill the bounty hunter—as allowed for by the High Council laws.
But that would open up a whole new can of worms that Jackson would prefer to stay closed.
He could only hope the lack of a message from Mac requesting his presence meant Theo and his cub were doing fine, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until he saw it for himself.
~/~/~/~/~
Jackson pushed open the door to the hospital room and saw Theo asleep in Norm’s arms while Smokey stoically stood guard next to the bed.
Judging by his rigid stance, Jackson could see how close to the surface the grizzly’s anger was.
Not wanting to wake Theo, he silently gestured for Smokey to join him in the hallway before walking from the room.