by Cheree Alsop
The room spun. Alex lowered onto his back on the table before he fell off. He could feel his heart slowing. The silver was making his blood pump sluggishly.
“You’ve got to take it out,” he said, his words slurred.
Siale and Kalia exchanged a wide-eyed look.
“The doctor will be back,” Siale said quickly.
“Yeah, and Colleen will know what to do,” Kalia said.
Alex shook his head. Darkness pressed at the edges of his mind. His stomach cramped and he could barely think. “The silver’s in my bloodstream.” He swallowed against a tight throat, willing his heartbeat to hold. “If anymore leaks from the bullet, it’ll put me into cardiac arrest.”
Tears filled Kalia’s eyes. She looked to Siale for help.
“I, uh...” Siale shook her head. “I don’t know what to do.”
Alex grabbed her arm with his good hand. He couldn’t even close his fingers. “Cut my shoulder. Take out the bullet. Flush the wound. My body can take over after that.” His hand fell away as the weight became too much to hold it up any longer.
Their voices were muffled to his ears. He couldn’t keep his eyes open.
“I-I can’t do it,” Kalia said.
“I’ve never removed a bullet before,” Siale replied, her voice unsteady. “He needs pain-killers.”
Alex’s heart gave a silver-filled pump. He groaned at the pain of the blood flowing through his body.
“There’s,” he took a breath. “No time. Do it.”
Panic filled Kalia’s eyes. Siale looked from her to Alex. Resolve hardened in her gaze. She pushed past Kalia and grabbed the tray. She spoke quietly, but Alex couldn’t make out what she was saying. The ting of metal instruments sounded muffled to his ears. He could barely breathe. He felt himself slipping away.
A dull pressure pressed against his shoulder, then knife-edge pain followed. He gritted his teeth, willing himself to remain silent.
The sound of his blood dripping to the tile floor resonated with the clink of metal against metal and the sound of the blade pulling through his skin. He felt the pressure as instruments dug for the bullet. The pain was dulled by the burning of his body from the silver. He concentrated on breathing, the simple rise and fall of his chest that normally didn’t require thought, but felt as though it would so easily stop if he didn’t force it to happen.
A louder chink of metal against a countertop sounded. More drops fell as the wound was flushed with warm water. A small prick followed. The sound of thread being pulled through his skin was loud and harsh, like sandpaper against a chalkboard.
If the girls spoke, Alex couldn’t hear them above the rush of blood that pounded against his ears. The sigh of air from his lips came with less of a struggle as though the removal of the bullet had lessened the amount of silver in his body enough that his normal systems were remembering how to function on their own.
“Alex?”
He realized he must have dozed off. He opened his eyes. The light from above bored into his retinas. He shielded them with his left hand. It felt like it weighed a ton.
“Can you sit up?” Siale’s quiet voice reminded him of what had happened.
Flashes of the mall, the firefight, and finding Kalia tied in the room beneath the mall made his heart race. Memories of the hounds, werewolves with crazed eyes and death in fangs sent chills up his spine. He could hear them howling and whining as they pursued him and Kalia. He had killed so many, tearing out the throats of werewolves who deserved to live.
“Alex?”
The hand on his arm made him flinch. He shook his head, willing his eyes to focus on the present. He saw both Kalia and Siale watching him. He took a deep breath and pushed himself up. Kalia took his left arm, helping him to a sitting position. Siale’s hand fluttered near his knee as though she didn’t quite dare to touch him after all they had been through.
“There’s a couch in the main room,” Siale said. “You might be more comfortable there. You need to rest.”
Alex eased carefully to his feet. Though his still felt weak, it appeared his legs were willing to hold him. He let the girls guide him through the door of the operating room and into the wide cavern of the warehouse. The need to sleep and heal pushed against the backs of his eyes, beckoning for him give up walking and sleep where he stood. He forced himself to continue until his fingers brushed the upholstery of a brown and orange checkered couch.
He sat, but couldn’t bring himself to lie down and sleep. The girls stood in front of him, watching him anxiously. They needed reassurance. Fear was clear on their faces. He wouldn’t leave them to worry alone.
“Red should be back soon,” he said with a reassuring smile. “I’m sure he and Jaze are together. It was quite the battle at the mall, but we knew to expect such a thing and we were prepared.”
He didn’t tell them that they had never gone against such odds and with so few werewolves to fight with them. He didn’t mention that the hounds were something they had never accounted for, and that he and Kalia got lucky when they found the delivery truck. Werewolf soldiers for the General who killed relentlessly and would obey his orders sent another shudder through Alex’s body.
Kalia voiced what she had been keeping inside. “What if they find us here?”
Alex didn’t need to ask who ‘they’ was. She had just gone through what was probably the worst experience of her life, and he was trying to tell her that they were safe in a warehouse in the same city.
“We’ll be okay,” he said.
He was about to offer for them to sit with him and wait when a sound caught his ears. He rose slowly.
“What is it?” Siale asked. Her hand touched his arm.
Alex didn’t know if she meant to touch him or if the action was unconscious, but the brush of her fingers on his bare skin sent a thrill of warmth up to his shoulder.
Alex had to will his thoughts to focus. He listened carefully, waiting to hear it again. There it was, the quiet fall of footsteps in the alley. Dread washed through him. He didn’t know if he could protect them all, but he would fight. He took a step forward, placing himself between the girls and the back door.
“Someone’s here,” he said softly.
More footsteps followed. The girls stood behind him, their breaths abated. Alex looked around for a weapon. He couldn’t phase again without pushing his heart too far after all he had gone through, and he didn’t have a gun. There wasn’t anything else in sight. Alex’s hands clenched into fists.
The door swung inward, bathing a rectangle on the floor with bright sunlight. Alex squinted, trying to make out the silhouettes of whoever waited in the doorway.
“Alex and Kalia, thank goodness.”
Alex breathed a sigh of relief at Jaze’s voice.
“Alex!”
Cassie burst around the dean and ran down the stairs. The sight of his sister alive and unharmed made Alex want to laugh and cry at the same time. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He held her with his good arm.
“I’m so glad you’re alright,” he said.
“I thought you were dead,” she replied. “We couldn’t find you and when the General disappeared, we thought he had both of you.”
Her eyes met Kalia’s. Both girls were crying. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” Cassie told Kalia. She reached out and pulled Kalia into the hug, too.
“Kalia!” The rumbled voice made everyone turn. Boris stood at the top of the stairs, relief on his face as he looked down at his sister.
Boris followed Jaze down the stairs along with many other werewolves. Several bore gunshot wounds or jagged fang marks from the hounds. These were assisted into the operating room.
After checking her over to make sure she was alright, Boris caught Kalia up in a tight, relieved hug. Jaze reached Alex at the exact time his sister’s hug was about to strangle him. He ducked from beneath her arm. The motion made his head swim and he stumbled. Siale caught him with a hand on his elbow.
Jaze looked him over quickly. “You smell like silver,” the dean noted. “Are you alright?”
A hand flew to Cassie’s mouth as though she had just noticed the bandages and the bruises that colored his chest in black circles bigger than his fist.
“I’m fine,” Alex reassured her. “Siale and Kalia got the bullet out, or I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
“You’re barely standing here now,” Cassie replied.
Tennison came up behind her and set a hand on Cassie’s shoulder. “You sure you’re alright?” his sister’s boyfriend asked.
“I’m okay,” Alex replied. Chet and Dray reached them with Trent and Tennison close behind. Trent had a bandage on his forehead that made him look a lot tougher than the sixteen year old could usually manage. Everyone else looked beat up but they were still standing.
“You operated on Alex?” Jaze asked, his eyebrows lifted as he looked at Kalia.
Boris stared at his sister in shock.
Kalia shook her head with embarrassment. “I couldn’t.” She pointed at Siale. “But she did. She saved his life.”
The attention of the little group shifted to Siale. Alex felt her fingers slide off his arm. He noticed the absence of her touch as though she had taken all of the warmth in his body with her. She seemed to shrink behind him as if hoping everyone would forget about her.
Jaze reached out a hand, breaking the silence. “Siale, I’m glad to see that you’re doing so much better,” the dean said. “Thank you for removing the bullet.”
Siale accepted his gesture. “You’re welcome.”
“Wait.” Cassie’s eyes were wide. “You’re Siale? Like the Siale Alex saved in the body pit?”
Alex winced at the term and Siale’s face paled.
Cassie noticed her mistake. “Uh, sorry. I mean, you guys survived together. You were so brave. I wanted to meet you and say thank you for giving Alex a reason to survive that horrible situation.”
Siale’s eyebrows pulled together as light filled her soft gray gaze. “Are you his sister?”
Cassie nodded proudly, just fine with speaking about Alex as though he wasn’t standing right there. “Yep, his twin. He has a tendency to do rash things, and I was worried when we got here that he’d done something foolish again, like getting shot.” Her eyes glittered. “Which apparently he had. Thank goodness you were here.”
“It’s a small world,” Tennison agreed.
Siale nodded, her voice soft. “With the General taking out as many of us as he can, werewolves helping each other isn’t such a coincidence anymore. It’s survival. We’re all we have left.”
Her words seemed to echo through the warehouse, defining the werewolves who helped each other down the stairs and to the operating room. Chairs and tables were being brought out while other werewolves simply sat against the walls. Everyone looked completely worn out. The sadness on many faces let Alex know the battle hadn’t been survived lightly. Lives had been lost to the General again.
Another group of werewolves hurried down the stairs. Alex was glad to see Red with them. The werewolf’s green and brown eyes found their group standing near the couch.
“I’m glad your students made it back safely,” Red said, reaching them with Rafe and Colleen following close behind. The wiry man smiled at Kalia and Alex. “I was worried these two wouldn’t make it back.”
Siale returned the smile. “They’re too tough to give up. Dad, this is Alex.”
Chapter Thirty
Alex stared at Red. “You’re Siale’s dad?”
Red stared right back. “Wait. You’re that Alex?”
Within the space of a heartbeat, Red had Alex caught in a hug even tighter that Cassie’s had been.
“You saved my daughter’s life,” Red said, his voice tight.
“Dad, let him breathe,” Siale told her dad with a small laugh, trying to push his arms away. “He just got shot.”
Red held Alex back at arm’s length and looked him up and down. “You look like crap,” he said.
Alex couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Thanks to your daughter, I’m alive to feel that way. She and Kalia got the bullet out.”
Red’s eyes flicked to Kalia who waited somewhat sulkily beside her brother. “You’re Kalia?” Red exclaimed.
At Kalia’s nod, Red let out a whoop. “Mission accomplished, boys and girls!” he said loud enough that the entire warehouse couldn’t help but overhear. “Kalia is here safe and sound!”
Cheers went up through the room. Alex could hear the occupants of the now crowded operating room taking up the shouts as well. Boris actually smiled with everyone’s joy that his sister had made it back safely.
Red set a hand on Kalia’s shoulder. “When Jaze told me about his student being captured, I couldn’t stop thinking of Siale and how I felt when she was taken.” He looked at his daughter. “I never gave up looking, and I would have stopped at nothing to find you.” His gaze brightened with tears as he looked back at Kalia. “Those of us who were injured or killed saving you would gladly do it again. I’m so happy you’re here safe.”
Kalia smiled as tears trailed down her cheeks. Cassie hugged her again and Colleen followed. Soon all of the werewolves from the Academy and many more from Red’s warehouse were caught up in a huge, solemn group hug. Relief and determination filled the room. They had survived. They had accomplished their mission and the General was gone from their city, for now at least. Together, the werewolves would do all that they could to protect each other and fight as one. They were a family; they were a pack.
The werewolves from the warehouse hurried away to help those who were injured. Alex sank onto the couch, unable to stand any longer.
“Get some rest,” Jaze said, reading his exhausted expression. “We’ll do what we can to help here.”
Kalia tried to linger, but Boris pulled her away, demanding to find out what had happened after she was taken from the car.
Siale patted a pillow that rested against the arm of the couch. “Come on. You know you need it.”
Alex lay down without arguing. His shoulder throbbed, reminding him how lucky he had been. His eyes slipped closed despite his werewolf instincts that demanded he stay alert. The silver, fighting, and the flight for their lives had taken so much out of him. He felt himself drifting to sleep.
“I didn’t think it would be like that.”
Alex didn’t know how much time had passed. He opened his eyes to find Siale sitting with her back against the couch. Her brown hair fell around her shoulders in waves that brushed his bare chest. Her scent filled his nose, chasing away the smells of werewolves, bandages, blood, and dust from the warehouse.
She spoke softly as if to herself. He wondered if she thought he was already asleep.
“I kept dreaming about meeting you again,” Siale said without turning around. “I kept imagining what it would be like. You saved me down there. If it wasn’t for you keeping pressure on my wounds and fighting to help me stay awake, I would have died like the rest of the werewolves.” Her voice quivered. “I think I wanted to die.”
Alex didn’t know what to say. Hearing the pain in her voice made his chest ache. He wanted to hold her and comfort her, but didn’t know if it would be too much too quickly. He didn’t want to scare her away.
“Hearing you talk gave me something to focus on,” Siale continued. “Your words were like an anchor holding me fast in the middle of a storm that tried to pull me under until I drowned.” Her voice caught. “I-I lived through so much at that place, and I saw so much. I was ready to give up.” Her shoulders hunched as though the admission weighed her down. She leaned her forehead against her bent knees. “I’m still not sure why I survived.”
“Because I asked you to stay with me.” Alex’s words were soft, a whisper.
Siale turned to look at him. What he saw in the soft gray depths of her eyes ate at him. There was pain and a glimmer of haunted horror that reflected how he had felt when he saw his par
ents die. He remembered Red mentioning that he had lost both his wife and his daughter. Alex wondered if she had seen her mom killed. He swallowed against his tightening throat.
There was raw honesty in her voice when she said, “You told me you would fight for me whenever I stopped fighting. I held that in my heart and repeated it so many times it’s become a part of me. You gave me what I needed to live; you told me stories about your life. You were my lifeline, and then you were gone.” She lowered her head. “I thought I would never see you again.”
Alex didn’t care that his shoulder throbbed when he reached out to her. He put his fingers beneath her chin and lifted gently. She peered at him from her lowered eyelashes that failed to hide the tears she tried to keep from falling.
“I never stopped thinking of you,” he admitted.
“Why?” she asked and there was a tone to her voice as though the answer was the very most important thing in the world.
Alex said the truth the only way he knew how. “Because when you left, you took a part of me with you.”
Her tears broke free, slipping down her cheeks to pool on his palm.
“I’m broken,” she said, her voice wavering.
Alex lifted one corner of his mouth in a half-smile. “I don’t know where the scars end and I begin anymore.”
She set a hand so gently on his injured arm that he barely felt it, but warmth ran through the wound and straight to his soul.
“I know where you begin.”
Her words healed something inside of him, connecting things that had jagged edges and frayed ends. He sucked in a breath, accepting it, grateful for it.
She moved her hand to his cheek. His skin tingled beneath her touch. “Sleep, Alex. I’ll keep you safe.”
He closed his eyes, aware of the protector who watched over him. She was fragile and cracked, a piece of glass traced by lines ready to shatter, yet she still stood as he did. The thought calmed his heart.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
He heard her quiet outlet of breath as though she gave a small laugh without a sound. He could picture her smile touching her soft gray eyes, eyes that were no longer filled with physical pain. The hand that touched his cheek again was steady and warm.
