Another shifter stepped forwards, one Matthew had never seen before. He smiled, face twisting unpleasantly, with a dangerous glint in his eyes that sent a shiver through Matthew.
“That’s not how this is going to go. You have ten seconds to hand him over.”
“Not going to happen,” Sebastian replied, standing up to his full height, sounding every bit as scary and intimidating as the shifter he was facing off against.
The two FW shifters moved forward to stand either side of him, forming a loose semicircle around Matt and Ro. Ro looked wary but raised his fists and took a strong stance. Matt, with almost no fighting experience, tried to end things the only way he knew how.
“I’ll go with them,” he offered weakly.
“Do you want to? Honestly and truly?” Sebastian asked, not turning towards him.
Matt hesitated.
“Then you don’t have to go anywhere,” the Alpha said.
Morgan gave a signal and some of the wolves shifted while other approached in human form. It went from order to chaos in the space of a heartbeat, Sebastian and the FW taking on the aggressors without hesitation. Sebastian took one out with a heavy blow to the side of the head then ducked and rolled to the side to avoid the wolf that pounced at him, kicking the animal hard enough to throw him backward.
Two wolves jumped one of the Warriors and he crumpled to his knees. The barrier broken, two of the men ran towards them, one going for Matthew and the other for Ro. The second Warrior lunged at the first man, taking him down mid-stride and the other was taken by surprise when Robert lashed out with his fists, breaking his nose, before Sebastian grabbed the intruder by the collar seconds later and shoved him back into the melee.
Matt sought out the stranger who’d spoken. He’d shifted into wolf form as the fight had begun. He was on top of the first Warrior, his muzzle wet with blood. Then he looked up, catching sight of Robert who, in that moment, stood unprotected. The wolf lunged for him.
Matthew acted on instinct, the kind that would have made his father proud, and shoved himself in front of Ro, taking the brunt of the impact as the wolf hit them. There was a blaze of pain as the wolf’s claws dug into him and his jaws clamped down. The noise and voices around him faded into the distance as the pain grew louder, eclipsing all else.
Chapter Seventeen
Zack was looking forward to seeing Matt again. Which was stupid since they'd soon be parting ways for good. But he’d been eager to hear Matt’s voice on the phone the previous night and now, getting back to the cottage, it felt a little like coming home. Or at least, the closest he’d been to that feeling in a very long time.
Maybe he needed to reconsider. If he and Matt could spend some time together, get to know each other, maybe there could be something more between them. James’ words had been enough to convince him that, with the Warriors, he would be able to offer Matthew something more than the unstable life of an exile, waiting for the next rogue to try and take them out. It wasn’t the safety and stability of a Pack, but it was something more than a life of loneliness and danger. Whether that was something Matthew wanted or whether, with time to consider, he’d see the error of his choices, well that was something Zack was interested to find out. And he knew they could have that time together. James had promised him that.
They were twenty minutes from the cottage when Graham took a call.
“We’ve got trouble,” was all he said as he put his foot on the gas.
“What kind of trouble? Is Matthew okay?”
Graham didn’t answer, just drove faster.
Whatever had gone on was all over by the time they arrived. There were a handful of Fenrir’s Warriors milling around. Ro stood near the doorway, looking pale and shaken, but other than a few cuts and bruises he seemed unharmed.
“Ro, where’s Matthew?” Zack called, jogging towards him. Ro pointed towards the house. Zack could smell Matt’s scent but it was eclipsed by the scent of blood.
Stepping inside, the scene that greeted him was as bad as any accident scene he’d attended as a paramedic.
One of the Warriors lay on the table, blood gushing from deep wounds in his leg and neck. Two others tended to him.
Sebastian knelt next to the couch and on it lay Matthew, still and quiet. He was breathing, each breath labored, his heart still beating but slowly. Most of his shirt was soaked in blood.
“He’s been badly mauled,” Sebastian said, pressing hands firmly against wounds on Matt’s neck and abdomen. “They brought a rogue with them, a renowned tracker, but unstable. Matthew attempted to protect Ro but once the rogue was on him, he wouldn’t stop. Bear Lake’s own wolves pulled him off.”
Graham followed Zack in, speaking animatedly on his phone.
“Three hours to our nearest medical help,” he said to Sebastian.
Seb shook his head. “Try the nearby Packs. Make sure they’re aware of the urgency and that he’s an Omega. It might be enough to sway them.”
Nodding, Graham stepped back outside.
The Warriors moved their own man outside. “He’ll be okay. Needs some tending,” one of them called as they left.
Zack crouched near Matthew’s head, letting one hand ghost across the Omega’s pale face. Matt didn’t react to his touch. Zack tried to take a closer look at his injuries and Sebastian moved aside for him.
It was bad. Very bad.
“He won’t survive for long enough to heal all this without help.”
“I know,” Seb replied. “We need to get him to a medical center. The neighboring Packs are our best bet.”
A first aid kit was produced and Zack made quick work of applying pressure bandages over the worst of the wounds, focusing on his work and not the reality that lay in front of him.
Graham returned, shaking his head.
“They won’t help. Connections to Bear Lake and to Gray Valley. We’re on our own. If we get him in the car now, we can have him in a clinic in three hours.”
“He won’t make it. He has an hour, two at most. He needs a blood transfusion and surgery to close up the lacerations to the blood vessels in his neck and abdomen.” The truth of Zack’s own words was stark when spoken aloud. Matthew was going to die without help. And there was only one option left to get it for him.
“Where’s the nearest human hospital?”
There was a brief pause before Sebastian replied. “Forty minutes away.”
“You can have our vehicle but we can’t be any part of this,” Graham said.
“I’ll take him myself,” Zack replied, moving to gather Matthew into his arms.
“We’ll come with you,” Sebastian offered.
“No,” Zack shook his head. “It’ll be less suspicious if I go alone. You look like hell and Ro isn’t much better. Look after him. I’ll do my best to take care of Matt.”
He picked the Omega up, following Graham who led the way to the car and helped him lay Matthew in the back seat. Sebastian gave directions to the hospital as they settled Matthew as comfortably as they could, covering him with a blanket.
As Zack moved to get in Seb caught him by the shoulder and pushed a cell phone into his hand. “Call us as soon as you can.”
He nodded his thanks and got in, putting the car into drive and speeding away.
Zack was thankful for how well signposted the hospital was. He pulled in next to the sign for the emergency department and carried Matt inside, ignoring the security guard yelling at him that he couldn’t park there.
The waiting room was quiet.
“I need some help here, please. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
It took a moment for his words to have any effect, the receptionist peering up at him. Then there were calls and shouts and the double doors into the emergency room were pushed open, a woman in scrubs making her way to his side.
“What happened?” She tried to look Matthew over.
“He was attacked. A dog or a wolf or something. I didn’t get a good look.”
“We need
a gurney out here,” the woman called over her shoulder before leading Zack towards the doors. “What’s his name?”
“Matthew. He’s twenty.”
The gurney materialized and Zack laid Matthew down. Almost immediately he was shouldered out of the way as more people crowded around, pushing the gurney inside. He followed.
“This is Matthew, twenty-year-old male, victim of an animal attack,” the woman repeated.
“I see wounds to the neck, chest, and abdomen and evidence of significant blood loss,” a man with a stethoscope around his neck said as he conducted a quick survey. “We have a carotid pulse,” the nurse called, fingers pressed against Matt’s neck. “Weak but present.” “No radial pulse,” someone else called.
“Okay people, let’s get on top of this. Barry, take a set of vitals. Annette, let’s get two large bore IVs in, take bloods and do a group and cross. Once the lines are in we’ll push fluids. Ethan, pull some O negative from the stores, we start with that until we get some cross-matched. I’ll page the surgeon on call and let the OR know to expect us.”
Zack was itching to step in and assist, knowing the routine intimately but he also knew he’d get in the way more than he’d help. It was vital they start replacing some of the fluid Matthew had lost. He still had a pulse, Zack could hear the weak beat of his heart, but it was struggling, his limbs poorly perfused.
He watched as they got a line into his arm and, after some difficulty, another into his groin. The blood pressure monitor struggled to get a reading.
A man in scrubs jogged into the cubicle, sparing a quick glance for Zack before turning his attention to Matthew.
“What have we got?”
“Hemorrhagic shock from an animal attack. He’s got lacerations to the neck, chest, and abdomen. Massive blood loss. No peripheral pulses. Wounds on the neck and abdomen are still bleeding.”
“Theatre two is on standby. The anesthetist will meet us up there. Let’s not waste time.”
Zack went to follow as they moved Matthew towards the elevator. He was stopped by a hand to his arm. The receptionist. “There’s a waiting room. I’ll show you. And I have some forms for you to fill out. Are you family?”
“Brother,” he answered hoarsely, knowing it was the only answer that would allow him to be kept in the loop.
The minutes passed by with excruciating slowness. Zack took to pacing the floors of the empty relative’s room. He called Sebastian to let him know he’d gotten Matthew as far as the hospital, then he called Andrew.
Finally, the surgeon arrived, pulling off a surgical mask and taking a seat. Zack took it as a cue to sit too, struggling to keep himself still.
“You got him here just in time. He’s out of danger. We’ve repaired the worst of the damage, transfused him with blood and he’s stabilized. He’s being transferred to the intensive care unit but if all goes well we expect to move him to a regular ward by tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you. Can I see him?”
The man regarded him. “You can, once he is settled. Is there anything I should know about Matthew? Has he ever been ill before, had scans, anything like that?”
“No, nothing like that. He’s always been healthy. Did you find something we should be concerned about?” Outwardly, Zack was worried but calm. Inside, he was panicking. What had they found? Something in his blood? Were they on the brink of discovery?
“There were some… irregularities in his organs that we could see on ultrasound. Nothing to be concerned about. It’s rare but often present since birth and usually found incidentally.”
It took Zack a minute to work out what the doctor meant. But of course, Matthew was an Omega. To human technology, he’d probably look like a hermaphrodite, with both male and female sexual organs.
“As long as he’s going to be okay.”
“I won’t lie. He’s lost a lot of blood and his recovery will be long. He’ll have scars but no permanent damage to his internal organs.”
Zack was already calculating how quickly he’d have to move Matthew from the hospital. The first day or two would be okay, it would just look like he was making a great recovery. But after three or four days, the exceptional healing would become apparent. They’d start to ask questions, talk about more tests. Zack and Matthew needed to be well gone before then.
It was almost midnight by the time they allowed him in to see Matthew. He was hooked up to machines, looking pale and drawn. But his chest rose regularly and his heartbeat was strong. Zack sat next to his bedside, reaching one hand out and intertwining his fingers with Matt’s.
“I’m glad you’re okay. When I saw you lying there, in all that blood-” a noise had him looking up, as a nurse checked in on them. He lowered his voice, knowing that if Matthew was listening, he’d hear him just as well. “You were so brave, jumping in to protect Ro like that. He won’t forget that. Glenoak won’t forget that.”
He squeezed Matthew’s hand, hoping the younger man could hear him, would know he was there.
“I spoke to James about you. About us. That’s what I was coming back to talk to you about. I thought, maybe, if I join the FW you might come with me. They can keep you safe, can keep us together. We could spend some time together; see where things go. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, because it won’t. It won’t be the easy life of a Pack. There’ll be danger and hard work and lots of moving around. But I’ve seen what the FW are doing. It would be an honorable life. A life worth living. More than those fairytales you grew up with. More than holding the secondary line in a Pack that judges actions and not people.”
Matthew stirred and sighed, squeezing Zack’s hand in return before settling back to sleep.
Chapter Eighteen
Waking was much harder than Matthew thought it should be. He fought and lost a dozen times, sinking back to sleep. Something kept pulling him under but gradually his body began to win the battle. He quickly wished it hadn’t.
He hurt. Pain like he’d never felt before. The light assaulted his eyes and he moved a hand to cover them, only to find himself tethered to something.
“It’s alright, Matthew. Try not to move. You’re in hospital,” a strange voice said. He stilled, turning his head to see an unfamiliar woman standing beside him.
“What happened?” His voice was hoarse.
“You don’t remember? You were attacked by a dog and badly injured.”
Dog? It took a minute for him to get his bearings and make sense of things. The woman was human, not a shifter. And he was attacked by a fellow shifter and not a dog. How had he ended up in a human hospital? It was one of those things that should never happen unless you were close to death. Oh.
He tried to move again, pain shooting through him. There were wires stuck to his skin, tubes jutting from him. Around him, machines beeped loudly. How was he here? Where was Zack? He could smell the other wolf, very faintly, beneath the smell of antiseptic.
“Matthew, please lie still. Do you need more pain relief?” The nurse moved so they were eye to eye, her concerned face watching him.
“Where’s Zack?” he asked. It was a struggle to get the words out, his throat dry and sore.
“Your brother? He just stepped out. I’m sure he’ll be back any minute.”
The nurse did something and Matthew’s world became fuzzy, sleep pulling him from the world once more.
He woke to find a different nurse by his bedside. The pain was still there but dulled by whatever was running through his veins. Peering down at his body, he seemed to be more bandage than flesh. The worst of the pain was in his neck and his abdomen. Just that small movement drained his energy and he lay back, letting his eyes close.
“I’ll send your visitors in.”
He drifted back to sleep, waking again to the opening of the door. Blinking his eyes open, he turned to greet Zack.
“Matthew.” It was a voice he knew well, but it wasn’t Zack's.
“Mother?” The woman in question stood by the door, as if afraid to step furt
her into the room.
“Where’s Zack?” he asked. He had been here, hadn’t he? Matt was certain he’d smelled his scent earlier.
“Gone. He dropped you at the door and took off.”
No, that couldn’t be right. Zack wouldn’t have just left him. And Matt had heard him while he slept, had woken to his scent.
“He wouldn’t have just left me.”
“What can you expect when you associate with rogues, Matthew?”
The disappointment was heavy in her voice, an emotion he was very familiar with.
“Zack’s not a rogue.”
His mother pursed her lips. “He was exiled from his Pack.”
He knew nothing he said would change her mind.
The door opened again and his eldest brother, Arthur, stepped in. “We’re almost ready. Father’s talking to the doctor.”
“Ready for what?” Where was Zack?
“To take you home, of course,” Arthur replied, exasperated from even that small exchange. He’d never had much patience with Matt. “You’ve caused enough trouble, Matthew. Don’t make things any worse than they already are.”
“I’m not going home. I’m going with Zack.” He hadn’t dreamed that, had he? Zack telling him they were leaving together? But the memory was faded and hazy. Had it been the drugs talking? Matthew’s subconscious? What if it hadn’t been Zack? What if the Alpha had never been here?
“That rogue you were cavorting across the country with? He’s gone. Dumped you here and left. You’re lucky we found you because he wasn’t coming back. Anything could have happened. Anyone could have picked you up.”
The door opened a third time and the person Matt least wanted to see stood there, not crossing the threshold.
“We’re leaving. Get him dressed.”
The nurse returned, pushing past his father.
“You really should reconsider. He’s not well enough to be moved. He’s still on IV fluids and pain relief.”
“Our own doctor will take care of him,” his mother reassured her.
The Alpha's Wish: Lost Omegas Book Three: A M/M Shifter Romance Page 9
