Omega Magic

by Maggie Hemlock

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Logan

  I pushed myself against the wall as Hemlocks flooded past me minutes behind Jessie and Jeb. My heart still pounded against my ribs and I panted for air. Why was it so hard to breathe? Nothing was broken. I was whole.

  I stared at the door waiting for more intruders or more Hemlocks. I looked anywhere except Zoey’s prone barely breathing form. I couldn’t think about how young she was or how brave she was like the rest of her pack. I couldn’t think. I just had to watch the door.

  “Once we’re sure the pack’s gone through and it’s clear we’ll move her out to the tent,” Bane said without looking at me. His full attention on his open medical bag, the oxygen tank, and his patient. Anger peaked in his scent every few seconds and I pushed myself closer to the wall. He wasn’t mad at me, but the world was upside down and I didn’t know if all the Hemlocks on Hemlock Mountain could stand it right side up again.

  “Wrynn and the others are setting up a medical tent and have food,” Bane said.

  Despite his anger filling my nose every time I caught his scent his voice was just as calm and steady as his healer’s hands.

  “It’s what we do if the whole pack has to go out. We fight to the last Hemlock standing. Though, it won’t come to that now. With all those wolves after him he’s a dead man. It’s more tradition than anything else now.”

  Darian was the last Hemlock to pass through our room. He conducted himself just like an Alpha in the wild bringing up the rear protecting against threats others missed and ensuring no one was left behind.

  I heard his heart stop for a second when his eyes landed on Zoey. I closed my eyes unable to look at him. I was the only Hemlock with her when she was hurt, and I was barely a Hemlock. She was hurt because she protected me and my baby.

  “Wolf now, Alpha. Human emotions later,” Bane said through gritted teeth. “If her wolf’s strong enough, she’ll pull through. No rest for anyone until he’s dead. You said it yourself.”

  “It’s clear. I triple checked,” Darian said before his body contorted into his wolf’s and he was off to catch up with the hunters to ensure Jeb was dead once and for all.

  I followed Bane through the long twisting hallways carrying his medical bag in my mouth as he maneuvered the oxygen machine and Zoey with grace I’d never seen before. He cradled her in his arms like the pup she was. Unconscious and barely breathing she looked tinier than ever. All of her sass and spark paled out and her hair matted in blood.

  “Clear the way!” Wrynn howled when we opened the door. Fresh air flooded my nose but was tinged with a vaguely familiar smell. The parking lot was full of Hemlock cars and open-side tents a buzz with worried chatter and the smell of food.

  Leslie. That’s what it smells like. It smells like the day Ryan tried to blow up the school. Is Leslie okay? Where are the pups if Wrynn and Ross are here? Who’s taking care of them? Wrynn looks like he’s ready to deliver that baby any day. He shouldn’t be here either.

  “Come on,” Wrynn waddled over to me as I trailed behind Bane and Zoey. “Come on. Under the tent and out of the rain.”

  I looked up. It wasn’t sweat and blood covering me. It was rain. How had I missed that?

  “Barry!” Wrynn called out. “Ultrasound!”

  Nurse Barry joined us, but neither of them hurried me towards the tent. Beeps and other hospital sounds filled the parking lot as Bane hooked Zoey’s frail form up to machines. I ignored them all except for the slow-moving heart monitor.

  “Can you shift back for me, Logan?” Nurse Barry asked.

  I did and looked at Wrynn.

  “It’s all gone quiet again. I can’t hear Jessie. I can’t hear anyone on the pack link.”

  “Darian said it would shut down again once they were out there.”

  “Where are the babies?” I asked.

  “With Daisy and Sophie. They’re back at the academy with Gary and a few others. Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know,” I said fighting back tears I still hadn’t cried. “Is she going to be okay? Is Leslie okay or is there a second war raging on campus? You’re really pregnant you should sit down.”

  “You both should,” Ross wrapped an arm around either of our shoulders and led us back to the tent.

  “Thanks, Ross,” Nurse Barry said.

  “You sit here,” Ross helped Wrynn sit down in a chair next to the ultrasound table. “You up here. Do you need help?”

  “No,” I slid onto the table. “Is Leslie okay? Do we have to get her back?”

  “She’s fine. Her brothers were easily sent home once she set out the gunk-bomb as she’s calling it. No one was hurt. We just need to make sure you and the baby are okay.”

  “How are you so calm?” I grabbed his arm as Nurse Barry turned on the monitor and lifted my shirt. “Did you have a vision?”

  “Needs, must. And the pack needs a calm presence here.”

  “My baby was okay before. Jeb did an ultrasound.”

  “What?” Wrynn asked.

  “He wanted my baby.”

  “Well, he won’t be able to take anything or anyone once we’re done with him,” Wrynn took my hand.

  I ignored the cold shock of the gel and studied his hand. Less than an hour ago when I told Zoey to run I was prepared to die and never see any of them again. Now, she lay a few feet away struggling to live and I was fine surrounded by people worried about me.

  “I’d trade places with her if I could,” I said as the whooshing filled the tent. “She got hurt protecting me.”

  I recounted the story in painstaking detail and the parking lot fell quiet as everyone came over to listen.

  “Don’t say you’d trade her places. She wouldn’t want that,” Ross said. “She’s a Hemlock. She knew what she was doing. It’s in our blood. It’s in our souls. We protect the young and the unborn of the pack. She’s at the weird age between being a pup and an adult, but she’s still a Hemlock.”

  “If she dies tonight it’s my fault,” I blinked away tears and stared at the blue canvas above my head.

  “No, it’s not,” Wrynn squeezed my hand.

  “Enough of that,” Doctor Bane walked over and turned the monitor, so I could see it. “See that. See them. That’s your baby. They’re healthy and safe and no worse for wear despite everything that happened tonight. If you want to lay blame put it where it belongs. It belongs with Jeb.”

  When Doctor Bane finished speaking he walked to the far side of the tent and sat down in a lone chair. His eyes never left Zoey, but his lips moved as if he was talking to someone we couldn’t see.

  “Nurse Barry,” I grabbed his arm as he turned off the ultrasound machine. “Be honest with me. Is Zoey going to be okay?”

  “I hope so,” his expression turned grim. “Her vitals are critical, but more stable than we expected. It’s up to her wolf and how strong she is.”

  “Can’t you do a surgery or something?”

  “There’s too much damage to her skull. Cutting her open risks more damage to her already very injured brain. She’s an omega, but our wolves have self-healing abilities too when critical injuries happen. The lore is full of Hemlock omegas surviving mortal injuries. So, there is hope.”

  “There’s always hope,” Wrynn squeezed my hand.

  “Can you help me to her?” I asked. “My legs feel like jelly.”

  “Of course,” he managed a smile.

  Sitting in a chair next to Zoey I lost what composure I had. Maybe a person can only be kidnapped three times before they lose their level head. Holding her small pale hand in both of mine I buried my head in the table and let go of everything.

  “Shh…” Wrynn wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

  But there was no comfort for any of us with Zoey fighting for her life.

  “What do we do now?” Nurse Barry asked Ross.

  “We wait for the Alphas to get back and we brace ourselves for a fight if there’s something unseen out there.”

  Chapter
Thirty-Six

  Jessie

  The blood sucker was fast, but not fast enough. His scent covered the small service road. This time our wolves out front cut him off from his escape car and he had to rely on sheer speed. His trail cut off into a thick wooded section and my wolf howled.

  Howls filled the air behind me as my pack mates and brothers raced to catch up. The pack link was silent, but we didn’t need the advantage of surprise. I wanted him to feel the dread and panic he made so many people feel. I wanted him to know that each breath his burning lungs sucked in was one inhale closer to his death.

  The others grew closer, but I didn’t slow down to wait for them. There was no honor in being the first to arrive at a kill nor the one to strike the killing blow. All fangs were one fang on a hunt for survival.

  Jeb’s scent grew stronger as the rain fizzled out into a mist. He was moving slower. Vampires use enchantment to enthrall their victims they aren’t endurance hunters like wolves are.

  The first ray of morning sunshine danced on a greasy lock of hair turning into a thick tree line. He could run, but there was no hiding and sooner or later he’d have to stop. Endurance and willpower would only get him so far. Out numbered and out of his league he had to know he was a dead man.

  He sprang from a tree but missed his jump landing in front of me instead of on me. I met his red glowing eyes with a growl and the fight was on. Hearing my growls, the pack raced faster, and I lunged for Jeb’s throat. His jagged claws dug into my sides sliding down leaving behind gashes, but I didn’t stop. He shifted to protect his throat with his shoulder and my first bite landed there.

  He fought to see another day, but I fought for every omega harmed by him. For every omega taken away from their lives and families to dirty buildings and forced to carry his spawn. I fought for the mate he kidnapped and put through hell and the little sister he might have killed.

  His claws sliced back up my sides and I bit him again tearing away a chunk of flesh and sinew from his shoulder. My teeth hit bone before I stopped. He let out a guttural cry of pain and cursed, but I didn’t stop. The gashes in my sides healed even as he inflicted new ones.

  Howls filled the air and Monta appeared behind him. A well-timed pounce onto his injured shoulder sent him to the ground. In the wild, prey knows the longer they stay upright the higher their chances of survival. Once a wolf pack has you down you never stand up again.

  With the others joining, Jeb didn’t know who to fight. He swung his jagged claws wildly scratching and trying to sink his fangs into anything he could to regain the blood the battle stole from him.

  Darian’s paws came down on his forehead holding him into place. This time he couldn’t shrug or wiggle away to protect his throat and I sank my teeth into him for the killing blow.

  I backed away with Darian once Jeb stopped twitching and watched the others. We didn’t eat our humanoid enemies, but when the pack was in a frenzy the bits of flesh left behind were too small to bury.

  “I’ve got to get back to him,” I shifted back running my hands over my still stinging sides.

  Darian shifted back and got a closer look at my sides.

  “Have Bane look at those.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I panted.

  “I’ll be back as soon as this lot comes back to their human senses. Tell them we’re okay. Tell Wrynn not to worry,” Darian said. “Take control. Bane will be tired. He’s distracted anyway. If Zoey needs anything get it, buy it, steal it, kill for it, if you have to.”

  “Always will,” I shifted back into my wolf and followed the Hemlock marked scent trail back to my mate and all of our waiting omegas.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Logan

  When the tears stopped a numbness spread over me. Everyone and everything moved in slow motion around me and time didn’t move at all. The sun rose, but in the shade of the picnic tent the world was still dark. I held Zoey’s hand waiting for her finger to twitch or for her to make even a small sound, but she lay still and silent.

  “Ross,” Nurse Barry whispered trying to interrupt the stark silence of grief, “it may be time to consider saying your goodbyes.”

  “Not yet,” Ross shook his head with a brave sniff. “Not yet. We’re Hemlocks and we’re not giving up on her yet.”

  “Logan,” Jessie’s voice reached my ears, but since I didn’t smell him I didn’t move. It was my imagination. My brain trying to play something familiar and comforting to soothe the jagged edges of the bright lifeless morning.

  “Logan,” Jessie said again, and a warm familiar hand settled softly on my shoulder.

  “Jessie,” I whispered, but didn’t move. How was I supposed to tell him I was the reason his youngest sister lay dying in a tent on a dirty parking lot? That the last thing she probably heard was the sound of her own bones giving way under blunt force trauma.

  “Come here,” he tugged my arm and I stood up to hug him. His shirt was ripped to shreds. Most injuries don’t translate from our wolves to our clothes, but the bad ones do. He smelled like blood, sweat, and grime but I didn’t care.

  “The baby?” he whispered.

  “Is fine,” Doctor Bane rejoined the group and looked Zoey over again.

  I opened my mouth to apologize for Zoey getting hurt on my watch, but it was Ross who told Jessie what happened.

  “Nothing new,” Doctor Bane said.

  The tent fell silent. It was the silence only death ushered in. The collective breath-holding of respect for the fragile nature of the bodies and minds we put through hell.

  Jessie let go of me and walked over to Zoey. His expression was stoic but worry and pain danced through his gorgeous brown eyes.

  “Someone give me a phone,” Jessie held out his hand.

  “I don’t think we should call Mom and Dad until we know for sure,” Ross joined him. “There’s no need to get Mom all worked up.”

  “She might want the chance to say goodbye to her child,” Nurse Barry said.

  “One of you give me your damn phone! Mine’s back in the woods somewhere!” Jessie snapped.

  “Here,” Wrynn said.

  His attention turned away as Darian and the others arrived back. Chatter and whoops of victory cut through death’s silence shaking those who stood vigil to their core.

  Jessie slid his thumb around the phone as if he’d forgotten how to make a call.

  “Need help?” Darian asked as the others joined the vigil around Zoey.

  “No, I got it,” Jessie said.

  A second later, a familiar set of voices sang out from Wrynn’s phone.

  “The Grim Howlers now?” Darian asked, but Jessie didn’t answer.

  He lay the phone next to Zoey’s ear and stroked her hair. I looked around at the three brothers gathered closest to her bed and the tears came again. Darian, the oldest brother who she adored, but never got enough time with. Ross, the sometimes surrogate parent, sometimes best friend. And Jessie, my Jessie. The brother she argued and bickered with, but who she was adored none-the-less.

  “There you go, Zoe,” Jessie whispered. “It’s okay. Whatever you need to do is okay.”

  I turned away as he spoke. I couldn’t bare to watch him say his last words to the little girl I failed to protect.

  “If it’s too much, it’s okay. We love you, Zoe,” Jessie’s voice cracked, but he kept talking to her. “But if you can come back to us, alright? We’re all here. He’s gone. No one will ever hurt you again.”

  “I’m sorry. I…” Ross walked away with a sob caught in his throat, but Jessie never looked away from Zoey.

  When Jessie ran out of words the music played on. Her favorite song stuck on repeat the lyrics burning into my brain.

  “I lost sleep watching you dream. Were you dreaming of me when you smiled in your sleep?

  I didn’t want to wake you, didn’t want to take you from your silent happy place.”

  In the silence, I sat down next to Jessie and rested my head on his shoulder.

&nb
sp; “I have to call home. Our parents deserve to know,” Darian stood up.

  “Uh-huh,” Zoey whispered.

  It was a small sound that I wasn’t sure she actually made, but the whole tent turned to her.

  “No,” she gasped. “Just no.”

  I let out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

  “Zoe?” Jessie asked breaking the group’s silence.

  “The baby?” Zoey opened one eye squinting against the light. “Logan? That baby?”

  “The baby’s fine,” Jessie said. “Thank you, Zoey.” He kissed her forehead. “Thank you for protecting my mate and baby.”

  I tried to find words to speak to her, but nothing came. There was no way to thank her for taking a blow which could have ended the life of my baby before it even started.

  “It’s okay, Jess. It’s okay. As long as the baby’s okay. Okay, don’t call Mom. She’ll yell and my head hurts,” she squinted against the light to see Darian.

  “I won’t, yet,” Darian said.

  Then she was gone again, but the heart monitor which had been near silent since turning on beeped steadily.

  “She’s going to be okay,” Doctor Bane said. “Now, I’ve got to go.”

  “Good luck, cousin,” Darian said.

  Doctor Bane walked away with only his personal medical bag in hand.

  “Where’s he going?” Jessie asked.

  “He has personal business to take care of.”

  “What about Zoey?” I asked. “How can he leave her like this?”

  “Nurse Barry does have a medical degree. He just likes being a nurse. He’ll pick up the hard work while Bane’s on vacation.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Jessie

  “Do you need anything else?” Logan asked Zoey for the fourth time in an hour.

  “I’m alright,” she smiled.

  She was still pale and cringed if she moved her head too quickly or whenever someone turned on the overhead light. So, once she was settled into her bed at the clinic Logan and I sat with her in the dim room listening to that ear bleeding band. Only this time, I couldn’t complain about it.