by Alisa Woods
Mace glared hatred across the growing expanse between them. Jak knew this wasn’t over. Mace would search the ends of the earth for Arianna and kill Jak, if at all possible. Jak would just have to make sure he never got that chance. He and Arianna kept inching backwards until they reached the forest.
Then they turned and fled into the darkness.
Arianna felt like her mind was ripping in two.
Her mate, her alpha, was furious. Furious. As she backed away from Mace, fleeing with Jak, Mace’s hatred reached across the night air and choked her. Part of her knew this was wrong—this vile, deadly hatred shouldn’t come from her own alpha, the man who was supposed to love and protect her—but her wolf whimpered to return to him, all the same.
It took every ounce of human inside her to withdraw her claws from Jak’s shoulder and still remain by his side. And seeing his injuries, his blood-covered body, made her tremble even more. She hated that she had added even a tiny scratch to his pain… because Jak was her savior. He may be a beta to the world, but in her eyes, he was all alpha. The good kind. The kind who, before her eyes, was giving up everything, risking everything, including his own life, to free her. Even with the turmoil in her mind, her love for him glowed like the sun.
Her inner torment lessened with more distance from Mace. And once they turned into the darkness of the forest, it eased considerably. She and Jak were running now, Jak leading her but keeping close by her side. He still held the gun, so he couldn’t hold her hand. His other one was slick with blood and hung at his side in a way that made her stomach clench. His chest and legs were also drenched with the dark red stain—she was amazed he could still walk, much less hurtle through the forest as they were now, with all the blood he had already lost.
“It’s going to be okay, baby,” he kept saying over and over. “It’s going to be all right.”
She kept a hand on his shoulder, claws retracted, so she could gently squeeze it in response. Her throat was too thick for words, and her breath too ragged. It seemed to take forever, but eventually, they reached the fence. She handed Jak’s phone over to him. Everything had gone wrong with their plan up until now: she half expected Jak’s program to deactivate the security system with a special app on his phone to fail utterly. For them to be trapped. Breath heaved out of her as she waited, but with a few swipes on his phone, the hum of the electrified fence ceased.
“Can you climb it?” Arianna asked as he handed the phone back to her. She couldn’t imagine how he could in this state.
“Not much choice, have I?” He gave her a lopsided grin, half filled with pain.
It wrenched her heart.
“You first,” he said.
She almost insisted that she help him up, but she knew he would fight her on that, and that would only slow things down. They needed to get off the estate before Mace changed his mind and came after them with guns. Arianna clamped the phone in her mouth and quickly scaled the chain link fence, dropping down the other side. Her heart thudded as Jak tried to do the same, only one-handed, with a gun held in his mouth and a body slick with blood.
He groaned several times, each one piercing her heart. When he reached the top, she didn’t know if he would make it. He handed the gun down to her and stayed there for a heart-stoppingly long moment before rolling off his perch. She couldn’t help crying out when he hit the ground. She rushed to him, hands out to do something, anything, to make sure he was okay.
He groaned again, longer and deeper. “Let’s not do that again.” His voice was wheezy.
She let out a short, shaky laugh through the tears threatening to spill and helped him to his feet. But he was considerably less steady now. He paused to swipe at his phone, and the electric hum of the fence started up again. Jak had thought of everything, including closing off their escape route, in case Mace came after them.
She shuddered. She knew that would happen eventually.
The tromp through the rest of the forest was considerably slower now. She carried the gun, and Jak draped his arm over her shoulder, but she could tell he was barely making it.
When they broke free of the trees, Jak’s car was waiting for them. Arianna sighed in relief. They were going to make it. They were actually going to get free.
As they lumbered toward the car, Jak said, “Baby, I think you need to drive.”
“Really?” she said, trying to keep her voice light. “I thought you might take me for a tour of the nightclubs in Seattle.”
He chuckled, but it just ended in a cough. She helped him into the passenger seat and hurried around to the driver’s side. Once she was inside, she tucked the gun under the seat.
“You need a healer,” she said, reaching to the back seat and pulling up the stash of clothes Jak had put there. She didn’t bother with pants, just threw on a t-shirt so they wouldn’t get pulled over for indecent driving.
“I know one downtown.” Jak wheezed, and she hated the sound of it. “The address is in my phone, under Richter. Just plug it into the GPS.” Then he seemed to melt into the car seat with exhaustion, eyes drifting closed.
Arianna scrambled to do as he said, then started the car and put distance between her and the Red pack estate. It almost seemed like a dream, like they were heading off to UDub for class, not running away, never to return. After a few blocks, she pulled over. Jak was shivering, and the car wasn’t warming up fast enough. She brought more clothes up from the back and struggled to get a t-shirt over his head. He resisted, but without much force, not even opening his eyes. He just mumbled some protests then lolled his head to the side and let her work. She got the t-shirt on, but just draped his jacket over the rest of his body, hoping it would keep him warm.
She threw the car into drive and barreled toward downtown. It was killing her not to speed the entire way, but they couldn’t afford to get stopped. She hoped the GPS wasn’t leading her astray—this part of downtown was run-down and shady-looking. Probably filled with city shifters in low-life gangs. That was one reason her family stayed to themselves, just a small pack out in the country. The biggest “city experience” she’d had so far was attending UDub. But Jak needed a healer, and this was where the healer lived. She would just have to act like she had a clue about what she was doing and get through it.
The address of Jak’s healer was an apartment in a decrepit tenement, number 3B.
She parked and struggled into the rest of her clothes before going around to the passenger side. Jak had fallen asleep on the ride over, but she wasn’t alarmed until she couldn’t wake him back up. Kneeling on the edge of the passenger seat, she tried to gently shake him, calling his name… nothing worked. Tears blurred her eyes, but there was no time for that. Hands shaking, she pressed two fingers to his neck. He still had a pulse, and she could see his chest rise and fall, but it seemed to be in jittery movements. Her shifter genes gave her more strength than your average college girl, but even she wasn’t going to be able to haul Jak out of the car and up three levels to the healer. Not to mention that he might get hurt along the way.
Biting her lip, she tucked the jacket tighter around Jak to keep him warm and reached over him to grab the gun from under the driver’s seat. She tucked it into the back of her pants, which seemed ridiculous, but openly carrying it seemed to flash a neon sign to the darkened street, inviting trouble. Then she locked Jak into the car and strode up to the apartment with her head held high.
You’re a shifter and you’re armed, she told herself. You can do this. She kept her head up as she climbed the concrete steps and buzzed the door for 3B. She couldn’t help looking back to the car, checking on Jak, but he hadn’t moved.
There was no answer.
Come on! Her heart lurched and jumped around as she buzzed the apartment again and again. What was she going to do if the healer wasn’t home? It was the middle of the night, but who knew? Maybe he was out at the clubs. That’s what Mace and his pack did every Saturday night. Something banged inside the apartment complex, startling her,
and she stopped buzzing. There was no window to peer in, but she heard some kind of rapid pattering, maybe someone coming downstairs, so she held off on buzzing again.
She waited.
Nothing happened.
Just as she was about to push the buzzer button again, the door cracked open. Inside was a woman in flannel pajamas and a thin tank top. Her pink fuzzy robe was hanging off one shoulder, crooked, like she’d just thrown it on, and her hair was mussed.
“Who are you?” the woman asked.
“I… I’m a friend of Jak’s,” Arianna said, surprised at the shakiness of her own voice. She cleared her throat. “I’m looking for Richter.”
The woman lifted an eyebrow. “Well, you found her.”
Arianna was speechless for a moment. All the healers she’d known were men, all shifters with some kind of medical training. It wasn’t that female shifters couldn’t be healers… it was mostly that they were so rare that Arianna hadn’t met many others. Especially out in the country.
She had better make sure, just in case. “You’re a healer, right?”
The woman narrowed her eyes. “I’m out of the business now. Shifters bring nothing but trouble into my life.”
Arianna didn’t know what to make of that, but it didn’t matter right now. “Jak’s hurt. Badly. He needs a healer… please. He gave me your name and said you could help.”
The woman bit her lip and peered around Arianna. “Jak, huh? Where is he?”
Arianna stepped back and gestured to the car. “I couldn’t move him. Besides, there’s so much blood…”
The woman sighed as she peered at the car. “All right. I’ll be right back. Need my kit.” The door slammed in Arianna’s face, but she only hesitated a second before sprinting back to the car. The street was dark except for a few buzzing streetlamps. If this healer woman was going to work on Jak in the car, she would need some light. Arianna hopped in the driver’s seat and edged the car forward so it was directly under the white glare of the lamp. Then she parked, and checked Jak’s pulse again. She could feel it, but his skin was clammy and cold. He mumbled something when she touched him, but he wasn’t really awake.
The healer returned a minute later, a black leather bag in one hand. She peered in the passenger side window then opened the door.
She pulled the jacket away from covering his body, then wrinkled up her face. “Jesus, what a mess.” She looked to Arianna. “We need to get him in the back seat. Easier to work there.”
Arianna jumped out of the driver’s seat and raced around to the passenger side. The woman pulled off Jak’s blood-soaked t-shirt, then together, she and Arianna wrestled Jak out of the front seat and into the back. He was still only partially awake, and his flailings got in the way more than helped. The healer climbed in the back, practically on top of Jak… who still had no pants on. Arianna felt her face heating, but there wasn’t any room for modesty right now. Not that Jak would probably have minded having the petite, blond healer perched on top of him. Arianna slipped back into the front and watched the healer go to work, wiping away the blood, probing his wounds.
“Do you have a first name?” Arianna asked.
The healer glanced at her then went back to examining Jak’s wounds. “Sarra. You?”
“Arianna.”
She nodded. “All right, Arianna, I’m seeing a bullet wound to the shoulder and deep lacerations in his thighs and side. No major organ wounds that I can tell, but one of the slashes in his leg nicked an artery, and he’s lost a lot of blood.” She finally looked at Arianna. “Anything else I need to know about?”
Arianna shook her head. “It was a bad fight.”
She wrinkled up her nose and turned back to Jak. “Are there any good ones?”
They didn’t speak as Sarra dug a needle and thread out of her bag and started with the gaping bullet wound in Jak’s shoulder. The pain of the stitching must have started to rouse Jak. He groaned a few times, his head moving a little. When she plunged the needle into his skin again, he tried to sit up, pushing Sarra’s hands away with his good arm, even though his eyes were still closed. Sarra shoved his chest down into the seat with one hand and smacked Jak on the face with the other.
“Hey!” he said, his hands flailing up in front of his face.
“That’s for messing up my stitch, Jak Roberts.” Her voice was frosty.
Arianna held her breath. There was more than just a messed up stitch charging the air.
Jak creaked his eyes open and peered at her over his raised arm. “Sarra?”
“I’m trying to stitch up your sorry ass.” But her tone had warmed a little. “Lie down.”
He obeyed, but a half second later, he was up again. “Arianna!” His frantic gaze swept the car.
“I’m right here,” Arianna said quickly, and his gaze found her face.
He breathed a sigh of relief and eased back down to the seat.
Sarra lifted one eyebrow, taking in the whole exchange, then went back to sewing up Jak with renewed speed.
He winced as she dug into his wound. “Lost your gentle touch along the way, Sarrabear?” He breathed through his teeth.
“Only for guys who don’t call the morning after,” Sarra said coolly. “Those get special treatment when they show up at my door covered in blood and towing a new girl along.”
Jak grimaced. “Oh come on, Sarra. It wasn’t like that.”
Sarra tugged on the stitch, keeping it tight, but also causing Jak to grunt. Arianna bit her lip, hating to see him in pain, but knowing the stitching was the only thing that would stop the bleeding. Jak’s normal shifter healing ability was useless without enough magic-filled blood to make it work. Arianna gripped the edge of the front seat, watching Sarra’s needle dip back into Jak’s shoulder.
“So that wasn’t you who rocked my world for a couple weeks and then disappeared? That was some other hot shifter?” Sarra asked coolly. “Good to know. By the way, who’s the new girl?”
Jak let out a pain-filled breath, and Arianna could see him sneaking looks at her. He didn’t need to worry about anything. She knew a handsome shifter like Jak would have had lots of girls before her. She also knew he had just given up everything to save her. There was nothing Sarra or anyone else could say or do that would change that. Or change how Arianna felt about him.
“Arianna is…” He paused, sucked in a breath. “If I could make her my mate, I would, Sarra. Just like I would have with you, if you hadn’t been so stubborn.”
“Oh, that’s how it was, huh?” But her voice was teasing, and she snuck a glance at Arianna. “Well, your new girl’s pretty tough, hauling your sorry ass into this part of town. I’ll give her that.”
“She was in a bad situation, Sarrabear.” Jak winced again at Sarra’s stitching. “I had to get her out. And she needs a place to stay. Just for the night.”
Sarra sighed. “I figured that out as soon as I saw the mess you made of her car. You have any idea how much blood you’ve lost?”
“A lot?”
“A shit ton.” Sarra shook her head. “I honestly don’t know how you keep avoiding actually dying, with all the trouble you seem to find.”
“That was a long time ago,” he said.
“And yet here you are, about to bleed on my carpet again.”
He smiled at that. And Arianna felt a gush of relief at seeing it. She was keeping quiet, letting them have their banter, hoping that would mean Sarra would fix everything that needed fixing. And let them stay, at least for a little while. Jak would heal fast once the stitching was done, but there could be complications. It would be good to have a healer nearby, just in case.
Sarra moved down to his legs and started stitching there. The gashes were deep and ugly and oozing blood even faster than the bullet wound. Jak was naked, but Sarra didn’t seem to notice. Or at least she didn’t say anything, just lapsed into a quiet focus on her work.
It wasn’t until Jak was stitched and able to stumble up to the apartment—with Arianna’s a
nd Sarra’s help—that Arianna finally let herself believe he would be okay. Jak collapsed on the bed in Sarra’s spare bedroom. It was more of a studio really, filled with canvases and paintings of the forest. The bed was just a small cot, barely a foot off the ground, and Jak took up most of the space.
Arianna watched as Jak fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down. Sarra disappeared and returned with an arm-load of blankets and sheets. One was for Jak, but there was a second set for Arianna.
“The couch is pretty comfortable,” Sarra said.
She bit her lip and looked down at Jak. He was already snoring. She didn’t want to leave, but she also didn’t want to offend Sarra, given how much help she was graciously giving her ex-boyfriend and the girl he showed up with.
“Or you can sleep on the floor in here,” Sarra said softly. “Probably better to have someone watching him overnight.”
Arianna met her gaze. Tears pricked her eyes. “Thank you. For everything.”
Sarra gave a small smile. “Jak’s a special guy. I hope you know that.”
Arianna nodded vigorously. “I do. I promise.”
Sarra gave her a nod, then ducked her head and closed the door on her way out. Arianna settled on the floor next to the cot, edging as close to Jak as she could. She ran her fingers lightly through his hair, softly, so he wouldn’t awaken. Then she laid her hand on his chest, so she could feel it moving. Even in his sleep, he snuggled into her touch. She closed her eyes, and drowsiness swept over her.
She was quickly drifting into dreamland, but she already felt like all her dreams had come true.
The sun pried open Jak’s eyes.
He blinked rapidly, but it still was blinding him. Then he moved his head, just slightly, finding a different cool spot on the mattress below him, and the flood of light dimmed. Only thin slices of sunshine made it into the room through the slatted blinds, and one had just happened to land on his eyes. His mind was still swimming up from the deep, hard sleep he had been in, but now that he could see again, he realized he must be in Sarra’s studio. Apparently, she was still painting, something that made his heart glad even before the events of last night came rushing back.
