“My panther is agitated, too,” Winter huffed, his eyes flashing between icy blue and amber.
Garrett pulled out his phone to text someone, and as soon as he got a reply, the officer cursed. “They said they are waiting a little longer. There are no lights on in the house, and they don’t believe the men are in there.”
“Oh, they’re in there,” Cole stated. “I wish there was a way we could get closer.”
“This isn’t my jurisdiction,” Garrett warned. “Memphis police has to take them down.”
“They don’t hold anything over us,” Talon said, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the house. Dane saw the determination in his alpha’s eyes, and his panther sat up in excitement. They were about to go to war for Dane’s mate, and he could already taste the enemy’s blood on his tongue. “Dane, Winter…shift.”
“No!” Cole barked when the order was given, and even though Cole didn’t agree, he couldn’t stop a direct order from the alpha. The verbal order was followed up with anger and a push of power so strong, Winter and Dane fell to their knees, barely having time to strip out of their clothes before Talon forced their shift.
“Stay here with Garrett,” Talon ordered as he stripped off his shirt.
“No,” Cole roared, slamming his hand into Talon’s shoulder. Dane’s panther froze, snarling in their direction as his alpha slowly looked down at the contact.
“I know you are a mate to my Guardian, but right now, I have made the decision to save your fucking life. It’s best that you back off now.” Talon followed his statement up with amber eyes and a flash of his canines.
“Cole, you need to stay here,” Garrett interrupted. “It’s safer for you.”
“Because I’m human?” he barked.
“Yes, because you’re human,” Talon replied and dropped to his knees to shift.
Dane’s panther looked over his shoulder and saw the anger and desperation in Cole’s eyes a moment before the alpha’s voice rang through his mind.
Let’s end this for your mate!
The moon was barely hidden behind the clouds as the three panthers closed in on the home, sticking to the shadows as not to be seen by the officers. Dane’s beast licked his lips as the scents of evil crossed his nose.
The men were nearby. He could smell them from the yard of the neighboring house. Talon’s beast paused, allowing Winter and Dane to come to their alpha’s flank. A noise inside the home sent the beast inside him to a new level of anger. As a predator, the thrill of the kill was a living, breathing need inside. To taste the blood of an enemy was a constant craving only one who protected the ones they loved understood.
It’d been awhile since the beast had been in a good fight, and he was poised and ready to take these human males down. There was one thing he took from that fighting ring, and it was to fight as if your life depended on it each and every time.
Two males in the backyard.
Talon’s words turned Dane’s head to the left. He didn’t hear what his alpha had, but that wasn’t going to stop him. His beast huffed and took a step forward when those two males tucked themselves close to the exterior of the house, peeking around the corner to look for the police. What they didn’t notice were the three animals who crouched low and out of sight. The leaves of the tree above their heads hid them carefully. Just as a panther in the forest, they had the advantage of surprise on their side.
Guns.
Talon’s voice inside Dane’s head was calm. They all knew these men would shoot at a moment’s notice. With the law breathing down their necks, they were scared. Their time was coming to an end, and they’d fight their way out if necessary.
Dane was going to end them before they ever got the first shot off. In his mind’s eye, a vision of Olivia, broken and dying, appeared, and the need to take them out ran like hot oil through his veins.
Dane, Winter…Take the male to the right. I’ll take the one to the left.
Both beasts huffed as a sign of acknowledgment. It was time to go.
Talon’s beast took off at a dead run, his paws making no sound as he rushed across the backyard of the home. At once, all three leapt into the air and took the men to the ground. Dane’s mouth covered the throat of one, his canines sinking into human flesh. The feel of the skin breaking, blood oozing through the flesh, satisfied his beast, but only for a moment. The panther wanted to play with his prey, whining when the kill command came into his mind. At once, the animal jerked his head, ripping the throat from the male beneath him.
Talon’s panther approached, blood dripping from his chin. With a jerk of his head, the alpha and two panthers’ eyes landed on another male fleeing from the home. In his hand, he held a Glock, and he was heading in the direction they’d just come.
Cole!
Dane’s cry echoed into his alpha’s mind as they took off at a dead run, praying they got to the male and sheriff before the man could harm anyone.
“I can’t believe they did this,” Cole complained and ran his hands through his hair. They’d put themselves in the fight with the cartel. It was one thing to offer protection. It was another to go after these dangerous men on their own.
“They did it to protect you,” Garrett explained. “Let them take care of this.”
“It’s dangerous, and it wasn’t their fight,” Cole reminded the sheriff. This was military business.
“You have a lot to learn about them,” Garrett said, leaning his ass against the hood of his car. “When one of their own is threatened, the shifters feel it is their right to end it. Because you are a mate to Olivia and Dane, you are considered family, and no one comes after the pride’s family.”
“Fuck,” Cole swore and began to pace. There had been no sounds coming from the direction of the house. He didn’t know where Dane was, and his protective side was as strong as if he was a shifter.
Cole swallowed past the lump in his throat. He had a bad feeling deep in his gut, and he never discredited that feeling.
Never.
The sheriff backed away to reach into his car, and at the moment, Cole couldn’t give a fuck less. His eyes were trained on the area where the panthers had disappeared. As exasperated as he was with Dane, he wasn’t so pissed off that he didn’t worry. The only thing that gave him a little relief from the stress was knowing that Olivia was safe on the pride’s land.
“There’s still no word from them,” Garrett sighed as he climbed out of the seat with one foot on the ground so he could casually prop his arm on the top of the car’s door.
Cole knew the sheriff was something unlike him or Dane. He was an angel of sorts, and Cole knew to watch him for any sign of something amiss. The panthers had grown to trust Garrett in some ways, but like all cats, they were skittish around anyone who wasn’t part of their pride.
“When are they going to move in?” Cole wondered aloud.
“Soon,” the sheriff replied and narrowed his eyes toward the spot Dane and the others had run. Cole closed his eyes and tried to use the lack of sight to heighten his hearing, but he still couldn’t make out any sounds.
“Dane, where are you?” Cole whispered to himself and moved around toward the side of the car. Garrett started to say something, but his voice froze as the sound of someone running reached their ears.
“Get in the car, Cole,” the sheriff warned, barking out the order. The sound of his own blood pressure thundered in his ears when the man running toward them passed under a streetlight.
“Is that…”
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Three shots rang out into the night, and Cole fell to his knees. A pain exploded in his chest and he grasped at the source. When he looked down, blood spilled through his fingers where they were pressed against his ribs.
A roar unlike anything he’d ever heard rang through his ears. Grunts and shouts became muffled as his body began to shake. He knew he was going into shock, and with each second that went by, he struggled to breathe.
“You knew this was going to happen!” Dane yelled at
the sheriff as he held Cole’s bleeding body against his. He was blinded by the tears. Cole was gasping for air, and Dane knew he probably had a punctured lung. There was no exit wound, and that scared him to death. “This is why you wouldn’t let me interfere and change him yet! You son of a bitch!”
“It wasn’t up to me,” Sheriff Lynch said through gritted teeth. Winter pulled the sheriff away before Dane could go after him. If he wasn’t holding the man he loved in his lap, he surely would be ripping that angel to pieces with his claws.
He didn’t know if the male from the cartel had been captured or killed yet. He wasn’t in his own right mind when he turned the corner and saw Cole take three bullets to the chest. No matter how long he lived, Dane would never forget the sight.
“D…Dane,” Cole gasped.
“What is it?” Dane sobered, using his shoulder to wipe away the sadness rolling from his eyes. “Try not to talk. Harold is coming.”
“Not…going to…make it.” Cole swallowed, coughing on his next breath. Blood coated his lips, and the gurgling coming out of his chest meant things were about to go from bad to worse.
A comforting hand landed on his shoulder, and Dane immediately knew it was his alpha. He felt the alpha’s power calming him, making him understand what had to be done. It was too close to Olivia’s change. His panther would go feral if it had to go through another change so close to the last.
“We will care for you,” Talon whispered as he knelt next to him. Cole’s eyes fluttered like he was fighting off sleep, and Dane was helpless. “He’s dying, Dane. Make the decision.”
Dane glanced around at the men who’d gathered. Military, police, and a few of his pride watched on as the sound of ambulances could be heard in the distance. What needed to be done to save Cole was not something a human hospital could do. It wasn’t up to them to fix his mate.
“Cole,” Dane cried. “You have to take my blood. I need you to drink as much as you can. When the pain starts, you have to keep going.”
Cole nodded, closing his eyes again. Dane shook him until his mate’s eyes were on him again.
“Promise me,” Dane growled, trying his best to keep Cole awake.
“Promise,” Cole whispered.
Dane brought his wrist to his mouth and extended his fangs. He didn’t even register the bite of pain from the laceration to his vein. Cole’s fingers folded over Dane’s wrist as if it was a lifeline he knew he needed in the last moments of his life.
The male’s eyes locked on his, desperation spilling from his gaze. Dane willed him to fight, praying he would be able to change Cole, and that the healer would arrive in time to give him the first dose of medicine to dull the pain he was about to experience.
“Drink it, Cole…damn it!”
Dane’s life slowed, every voice around him dulling into the sound of white noise. Nothing existed except for the pair of eyes staring back into his amber ones. With the presence of his beast, he pushed at the panther that lived inside him to stand down while he gave their mate a new life.
Cole’s body began to squirm with each pull on Dane’s wrist. He urged his mate to drink by whispering words of encouragement, but at the point when Cole started to scream around his wrist, Dane was sure he was beyond hearing anything but the sound of his own cries.
“Someone help him!” Dane roared when Cole’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body convulsed. The blood had entered his bloodstream, and there was nothing he could do to stop the pain. There was no healer there with a syringe filled with medicine to ease him.
“We need to get him in the car, Dane,” Winter said, squatting down to help, but Dane’s possessive growl and flash of his canines had the Guardian narrowing his eyes. “Don’t make me knock you the fuck out.”
Cole’s screams echoed through the night, causing the residents of the homes around them to come outside to see what was going on in the street. Dane finally pulled Cole’s face to his chest and looked around. Several Memphis officers and three men dressed in military uniforms surrounded them, blocking the view of the crowd.
Dane steeled his spine and stood, holding Cole close to his body. Sheriff Lynch held open the back door to his personal car. He couldn’t bring his patrol car for the takedown of the cartel, and Dane was grateful, because he wouldn’t be able to hold Cole in the backseat of the sheriff’s car.
“Harold will meet you at the pride,” Talon said, closing the door as Garrett sped away.
“Hold on, Cole,” Dane said as Cole screamed. “We will get you some relief soon.”
Dane looked up when he noticed blue lights flashing out the window. He’d thought they were still in the area with the Memphis police, but it didn’t take long to realize they were giving them an escort to the pride.
“Why are they doing this?”
“The Colonel asked them to,” Sheriff Lynch said from the front seat. “Take care of Cole and yourself. I’ll explain everything later.”
“Okay.” Dane nodded and prayed they’d get back to the pride in record time.
Chapter Seventeen
Olivia yawned and laid down on the couch in the alpha’s living room. The older women of the pride insisted she get some rest, and she couldn’t agree more. Evie and Hope had already retired to a room upstairs, and the males were on duty for the night. Landon was fast asleep, and she smiled, remembering the time she had spent with him that evening. They’d ended up watching a movie and shared dinner a few hours ago.
She hadn’t heard anything from Dane or Cole, and she was starting to worry, but one of the Guardians assured her that if anything happened, they would be the first to know. As of an hour ago, everything was still quiet. She took that as a good sign.
“Olivia,” Evie whispered, shaking her arm. “Olivia, wake up.”
“Hmm,” she mumbled and blinked. It took a moment to register, but behind her stood Winter and Savage. The concern on their faces told her things were not as okay as she had thought when she fell asleep. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s been an accident,” Winter began, taking a knee in front of her as she sat up.
Fear like nothing she’d ever felt rolled down her spine. “What? Who? Where are Dane and Cole?”
“They are at the healer’s,” Winter replied, but held up his hand when she began to stand. Evie’s hand wrapped around her arm, and the panther inside her snarled a warning. “Cole was shot, and Dane has given him his blood.”
“Oh, my god!” Olivia screamed, shooting off the couch. “I need to go.”
“Wait, we don’t know how well you are going to take this,” Evie warned. “We’ve never had to change a human male with a shifter female mate.”
“What?” Olivia swayed where she stood, but Evie held her grip tight. “I have to see them. How’s Dane?”
“Dane has been sedated,” Winter advised her. “We don’t know if you should go…”
“Fuck you, I’m going,” she growled and jerked her arm out of Evie’s grasp. “You can’t stop me.”
She didn’t even bother with her shoes as she bolted out the back door. Cole’s screams echoed into the darkness. The porch light to the healer’s home shone brightly, but she didn’t need the light to see. Her panther’s eyes were already shifted, guiding her with its enhanced vision.
A wave of nausea hit her hard when she pushed open the door. Ranger, Kye, and Hope all stood quickly as she entered. To her right, Dane was passed out from the drugs he needed to keep him sane. Cole was in the same room she’d been in when she was turned after almost dying.
“Let me see him,” she snarled, unleashing her claws as Hope came to stand between her and the door to her mate’s room.
“We need to make sure you are okay,” Hope said, her voice soft and soothing.
“Has he been given a sedative?” Olivia asked when Cole screamed again.
“Yes,” Harold answered as he came out of the room wearing his special gloves. He reached into his pocket and retrieved some more, tossing them to
the two male Guardians. She saw the look in their eyes the moment the decision was made.
“You will not sedate me!” she cried, feeling the claws unleash from her human fingertips. The beast inside her wasn’t going insane…yet. No, it was pissed they were keeping her from her mate. “He is my mate, and I will care for him as I see fit. I’d advise you to back the fuck away.”
“Olivia,” Hope warned. “You don’t understand.”
“I do,” she spat. “If you want to fight me, I will win, Hope. This is not up for debate. I will see my mate, and I will care for him. When Dane awakens, I will care for him, too.”
“You can’t care for them both,” the healer stated, coming to stand next to Hope’s mate, Ranger. “You will go feral.”
“The only feral you’ll see will be my rage for you not letting me care for my mates!” Olivia was getting tired of their bullshit. She was perfectly capable of caring for them. “I’m sure you’d be angry if you were kept from your mate if he’d been fucking shot too, Hope. So, don’t you dare start giving me this nonsense about being feral.”
Hope relaxed, raking her gaze over Olivia one last time before she smiled widely. “Let her see Cole.”
“What?” Ranger yelled, coming to his mate’s side.
“You heard me,” Hope replied, shaking her head. “She’s not going to go feral.”
“Thank you,” Olivia replied and stormed off to the exam room Cole was in. The room hadn’t changed one bit since she’d been there. The scent inside was that of her mate and the blood of the man who’d changed them both.
Olivia found a clean cloth in a drawer by the sink, wetting it with warm water from the tap. She approached Cole as he calmed. The medicine the healer had given him must have finally been working. Thankfully, it was kicking in, because his screams were terrifying. No one should have to go through that much pain.
Oh, she remembered bits and pieces of her change and the pain associated with it, but she also recalled being cleaned up by the females of the pride, Cole holding her, and the moment she awoke as a panther. The time frame had been a blur. In her mind, she had either been out five minutes or five days. It all just melded into one slideshow of memories.
Dane (Rise of the Pride, Book 8) Page 15
