Chapter 9
Fox
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I bellow out the mantra as I watch the car that holds my brother’s mate inside plunge over the guardrail and soar down the embankment.
Almost as though we rehearsed it, Ogre, Sly, and I pull over to the shoulder, and start sliding our way down the dirt and grass to the car. Ogre has the presence of mind to grab his first aid kit, but I suspect, from the damage I can see, that what he has in it would be comparative to trying to stick your finger in a gushing hole to stop the impending deluge of water. It’ll be nothing more than a band aid, but it’s better than nothing considering the goal is to keep Nicole breathing.
“Sly, Ogre, you check him, then get him out since we want to transport him to the clubhouse,” I command as I manage to get to the passenger side of the car and peer inside.
Nicole is unconscious, her head, face, and arms are covered in blood. I have no clue if it’s from the fractured glass, or if it’s really even her blood or his. All I know for a fact is that her pulse is weak and thready, which isn’t a good sign. Using my shifter strength, I manage to open the mangled passenger door so I can crouch next to her and catalog her copious injuries.
“C’mon, pretty girl, your mate’s on his way so you need to stay with me until he gets here, and trust me, seeing you like this is gonna send him wavering over the edge of sanity. Open your eyes for me so I can ask you what hurts for a better evaluation,” I mutter, pleading, my hands gently palpating her arms and legs. Her right arm and leg are at awkward angles, and I can see where the engine broke loose from its bolts and was thrust through the dashboard and eventually went through the metal of the passenger side dashboard, because there’s a piece of steel that's embedded into the meat of her lower leg.
“Pres, she doesn’t look good,” Ogre says as he comes to stand next to me. At my devastated look, he states, “We’ve got the driver contained, so once Chaos gets here with the box truck, we’ll toss him inside before the authorities arrive.” I can’t help but wonder how far behind us the ambulance and police cruiser are. Surely, someone called it in. We’re running out of time to fix this before one, we lose Nicole. Or two, we’re asked a myriad of questions we don’t want to answer. “It’s her I’m worried about right now. We need another cage because there’s no fucking way she’s going to be able to ride on the back of anyone’s bike.”
I’m torn right now as to what to do, and I don’t like the feeling one bit. Normally, I’m so far ahead on the potential scenarios, complete with all of the possible outcomes, that I act on my gut instincts without thinking things through. It’s one of my “gifts” so to speak, but right now, I’m at a loss.
“I’m going to give her some of my blood.”
“Won’t that bind her to you?” Ogre asks.
“No, because it’ll be a healing infusion, not a claiming mark. If Stealth were here, he could do it himself and it would accomplish the same thing,” I advise. “The problem is, because of how she’s situated and sitting, I can’t get the blood to drain into her mouth, and the seat is busted, so I can’t lay that back either. Fuck, I hate this!”
“Let’s get her out and lay her on the ground,” Sly suggests. At my glare, he shrugs. “We’re going to have to get her out of the car at some point, Pres. If we do it now, you’ll be able to do what you’ve gotta do to save her. At least she’s passed out so she shouldn’t feel the pain from being shuffled around. But we need to make it quick, her heartbeat is slowing some more, and she looks a bit gray.”
“Okay, gonna need all three of us so we don’t jostle her too much,” I reply.
Reaching in, I manage to cradle her head and upper torso in my arms, although it’s not straight on, it’s more at a sideways angle, but for now, it’s the best we can do with what we have to work with. Sly eases her legs out from the gully of the floorboard, using his strength to snap the piece of metal so all that’s left is the piece embedded directly in her leg, then we ease her out with Ogre stepping in to use his arms as a backboard of sorts. We move away from the car until we find a somewhat flat area, then gently set her down.
“Pres, I called and one of the prospects is on the way with a spare cage, shouldn’t take him long to get here,” Sly informs me as I take Nicole’s left arm in my hands.
It’s bruised up and there are several cuts that are scattered from her hand to her bicep, but nothing that will prevent me from trying to help her.
“Here goes nothing,” I murmur before I extend my incisors and bite into my arm, then lower my wrist to her face so that I can force my life essence into her mouth. It takes her a moment for her survival instincts to kick in, but slowly, she begins to swallow. As my blood slides down her throat, I notice that her pallor is improving and it’s less grayish and more ivory.