by Honor James
“Stand up slowly, love,” he told her as he moved so that he could pick up the wolf. Gently as he could he lifted her and paused when one of the younger males growled in warning at her whimper of pain. Looking to the wolf Miklos held his gaze until the younger animal looked away understanding just who was in charge. “Go, love, nice and slow since I can’t see around her bulk,” he said. He softly spoke to the pregnant wolf, assuring her that she’d be fine and that her babies would be just fine, too.
She moved up slowly and then toward the house very slowly, each step aching as she took it but she knew that she had to move slowly. “I feel like I am running a marathon,” she confessed as she heard the sound of all the paws coming toward them and with them. “Walking this slowly, it’s the oddest thing to feel as if I am running, when we are only walking.”
“I know, but we can’t move too quickly,” he said softly as they made their way up onto the deck. “We’ll leave the door open and do this in the kitchen I think,” he told her. “Can you go to the hall closet and grab the dark-blue sheets?” he asked as he eased through the door, around her, and moved to the table. “We’ll lay her on them and keep her covered with them as I work on her.”
She moved to the closet and pulled out the sheets he had asked her to bring forward. When she had the table covered she looked around and saw several of the males around and watching intently. “Why didn’t they take out the intruder, Miklos?”
“They did him some damage but would have pulled back when he took off to guard her. Since she’s pregnant with the big guy’s pups their primary concern would have been watching out for her. They knew I’d be back eventually and if I hadn’t taken care of him one of them would have while I watched her,” he told her as he gently laid the female down on the table. Murmuring to her softly she watched as he stroked her fur before looking to her. “In the master bath under the counter is a big-ass first-aid kit in a black bag. Grab it all please,” he requested.
Harker nodded. “Is it all right if I run up the hall?” She was out of her element and she wanted to run. She wanted to race through the house and back to him. She hated that the she-wolf was hurting and so injured.
“As long as you don’t start running until you are out of the room,” he told her with another look to her. “They won’t hurt you, love, but they are on edge so let’s not take any chances.” He was nervous as well having all the wolves in the house, well, most of them. He never let them inside so he wasn’t sure how they’d react to anything.
She nodded and turned, walking slowly from the room and as soon as she was out of their line of sight she took off at a run for the medical kit in their bedroom. She paused as she pulled the kit out and holding it close ran back toward the kitchen and slowed when she got there, walking in sedately. “I have the medical kit, Miklos, where do you want it?”
“Over at my side,” he told her softly as he slowly pushed out a chair for her. “Open it up,” he said once she’d sat it down. “I need you to pull on a pair of gloves, unwrap the hooked needle in the blue package, and thread it with the thread that’s on the yellow spool. Give me a good length, about a foot long,” he said and, keeping one hand on the wolf, reached into the bag to pull out a tube of antiseptic. “Once you’ve done that, unwrap a needle and grab the little bottle in the fridge with the white label in the butter section on the door.”
She smiled as she looked at him and then nodded. “You do know that as a fireman I do have some medical training as well and I could be helpful if you wanted,” she said as she licked her lips as she threaded the needle and laid the utensils out like a well-placed surgery.
“Sorry, just a little freaked out right now,” he told her with a half grin before it slid away. Wiping his forehead on his upper arm he let out a sigh. “You’ll need five cc’s in the needle and then you’ll pinch the skin at her neck to give it to her there. It’ll be enough to relax her and keep her still while we stitch her up, but won’t put her right out.”
She nodded and then, ensuring the needle had no air bubbles in it, pinched the skin at her neck and soothed her. “I’m sorry, mamacita. We need to do this so that you don’t hurt for a little while, love.” Her voice was calming and assuring. “Miklos is going to fix you right up, darling, so that when your pups are born we will be able to have them falling all over us, all right, sweetheart?”
Glancing to her Miklos smiled softly. “See, darling, I told you she’d be the best mate ever,” he said softly to the wolf. Stroking her fur lightly he listened carefully to her breathing and heart rate. When it was low enough and steady he straightened up slowly. “All right, can you clean the wounds and talk to her? I need to wash up and then we’re going to stitch her up and get her settled.”
She nodded and as she began to clean the wounds she spoke softly to the injured wolf, her tone soothing and calming even as she cleaned. “He is a wonderful mate. I only hope that I can live up to being as nice as he is.”
Starting at her words he frowned as he washed her hands. “I think that I’m the one that has so much to live up to,” he told her with a smile. Grabbing a towel he dried his hands as he moved back to her. Kissing her neck gently he rubbed his cheek over hers. “I love you, Harker, and if anyone’s the better half in this relationship it’s most definitely you, my love.”
She shook her head and smiled. “I love you, too, Miklos, let’s get our girl here sewn up and then later we can lay in bed and tell each other how much we mean to each other but right now we have too many of our family here watching us.” She smiled at him and then turned her attention back to the injured wolf.
“You want to stitch?” he asked her. At her look he rolled his eyes. “Fine, make me the bad guy.” He took out the scissors and snipped away at her fur carefully around the wounds. He got as close as he could before pulling out a razor and scraping, very, very carefully at the stubble. Rinsing everything clean with straight saline he took a breath. “All right, love, I need to you to keep her calm and to hold the light for me. I’m going to try and make these as small and shallow as I can so she’ll heal faster. If she starts trying to get up you’ll need to give her another two cc’s of the drug, no more than that. I can’t chance her having a reaction to any more especially with the pups.”
Harker nodded and stroked the wolf’s head as she kept close to her and spoke lightly, gently. She felt for the poor animal. No one and nothing deserved the marks that she held, especially not a pregnant someone or something. “We don’t want to chance too much of the drug because of your pups, darling.” She said when the wolf whined, “We need to make sure that we take just enough of the edge off so that it doesn’t hurt too much but not enough to hurt your pups. That’s right. See, I told you that Miklos would take care of you, sweetie.”
Listening to Harker speaking, Miklos began to stitch the three deepest gashes in the wolf’s side. The other one was pretty shallow so he’d leave it alone and give it a second cleaning before he bandaged her up. “Once I’m done we’ll need to set her up a shelter close to the house. I’m sure she’ll stick near for a couple days if for no other reason than she knows we’ll check on her. After that we’ll just have to hope that she takes it easy.”
“We should likely try to wrap the injuries as well, Miklos. Taping them wouldn’t last and just cause her more hurt and pain when she tears them off with her teeth.” Because she knew that if she was all hairy and had to have something taped onto her body, she would be a very unhappy being.
“I will, I’ve got wide gauze wrap in here that I’ll use. It’s designed to tear away easily and won’t get stuck in the wounds or irritate the stitches. The stitches are the dissolving kind so I won’t worry about them. Big thing though is getting antibiotics into her but I don’t think I’m going to have enough for a daily dose beyond tomorrow.”
“I can call in a favor and ask to have some sent to us or we can pick it up tomorrow.” She knew several doctors, vets, and a whole gamut of medical professionals, many of whom o
wed her favors in a major way. “We will make sure that she and her pups heal and are well.” She stroked her hand over the she-wolf’s head and scratched under her ear as she spoke.
“We’ll have to get some vitamins for her, too, something she’ll be thrilled with.” He rolled his eyes at that, remembering the first couple weeks of her pregnancy. “She really, really hates me trying to sneak anything past her. She is the only animal I know that can find a pill in a marrow bone, eat all the bone around it, and spit the pill out just as perfect as it went in.”
“We can always ask for injections of vitamins for her as well as the antibiotic.” She was calculating just how many injections the wolf might allow them to give her and realized she had actually taken the first one fairly all right. “Which one is her mate, Miklos? I’m surprised that he isn’t all but sitting on top of her to watch us care for her.”
“The one that’s about two feet to my left and just slightly behind me,” he told her as he focused on his stitches, trying to make them nice and tight. What he didn’t mention was that the wolf in question was in the best position to take Miklos down and have him by his throat before he could make a sound.
“Right, behind you and watching over his mate.” She wouldn’t expect anything less from a wolf than to watch over and protect his mate from the best position available. She used some of the saline and poured it over the wound that Miklos was stitching. “You were losing sight of the wound with the blood, honey, sorry.”
Looking up he smiled slowly. “Thank you, love,” he said softly, leaning in to steal a quick kiss before bending back over his work. Rolling his shoulders he cut the thread and went to work on the last of the deep cuts. Feeling the wolf’s body tense he stopped. “Give her the second shot, Harker,” he told her softly, remaining still, the thread slack so he didn’t pull until she was relaxed again.
Harker grabbed the needle and soon had it depressed into the wolf’s neck. A smile on her lips, she rubbed at the wolf’s neck and massaged the medication in. “Go ahead, Mik. She’s relaxed more now, honey. You should be able to finish but you will have to hurry, all right?”
“Last one,” he said gently, stroking her fur lightly. “I promise, Mommy, after this I’m all done. We’ll get you bandaged up and give you someplace warm to sleep inside tonight. Tomorrow you can go out and do what you need to, but tonight you’re staying put so I can make sure you don’t pull these stitches.” Going back to work he stitched and tied at a faster pace knowing that he didn’t have a lot of time before she would want to move. Tying off the end he cut the last thread before grabbing the saline bottle to wash off the wounds. Looking around he frowned. “In the bag there should be a tube of salve,” he said.
She turned and grabbed the bag closer and as she rummaged felt one of the wolves come close to her and brush against her knee. “Don’t worry. I’m just looking for some salve so that we don’t let the bandages get stuck to her wounds. She will be fine, I promise.” She didn’t reach out, didn’t dare to with the blood on her hands. “Here it is.” She tugged it out along with the bandages and tape. “All right, here we are.”
Taking the salve he spread a good amount over the wounds before taking the gauze pads and laying them over the wounds. Tearing off the gloves he looked to her. “I’ll lift her if you’ll wrap the gauze roll around her and the bandages.”
Harker nodded and since she didn’t have on gloves she scratched the wolf’s head once more before switching places with Miklos. “All right, on three.” She counted down and when he lifted her she began to quickly, efficiently roll the gauze. She had years of practice with medical training and was able to make quick work of everything. Finally done she tugged off some of the tape, stuck it over the wounds, and rubbed her belly gently. “There you are, love.”
Laying the wolf down Miklos gently stroked her fur. “Stay with her for a moment while I set up a bed for her and her mate.” Kissing the top of the wolf’s head he murmured softly to her for a time before moving down the hall. Grabbing an old comforter he pulled out the mat he had around for all the birthings, knowing that with the scent of pack on it she’d be more comfortable. Carrying it to the living room he settled everything by the fireplace before starting up a low fire. “We’ll have to keep the fire going. I don’t want her cold tonight,” he commented to Harker as he returned to pick up the wolf and looked to her mate. “Come on, big guy. Let’s get you both settled so the others can ensure all is well before they head out for the night.”
“We can sleep down here on the couches with them, Mik. That way if they need us, we will be here.” Harker smiled at him and watched as all the wolves shifted around them. “They aren’t all going to stay in here tonight, are they?”
Shaking his head as he eased as carefully as he could to his knees he laid down the wolf and adjusted the comforter to support her head at the right angle. Moving back he stepped out of the way as he went to Harker. “No, they’ll assure themselves for a few minutes that she’s all right. Then they’ll leave but they’ll stay close to house for the night or as long as we need to keep her inside. Her mate will stay with her though,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around her.
“All right, honey.” She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. “We will still sleep on the couches because I don’t want to be far from her right now, darling, all right?” She was worried about the wolf and her puppies, very much so.
“We won’t be far,” he promised softly to her. “Why don’t you pull the comforter off the bed and I’ll drag the cushions onto the floor for a bed?” he suggested, stroking back her hair gently. Kissing her cheek he looked up at the first soft whine. “Looks like they are ready to head out. Go and get the blankets, love,” he said before letting her go to let out the wolves.
She moved through the halls and toward their bedroom. She pulled off their comforter and pillows and with those in hand she dragged them into their living room. “I think it’s funny, Mik, you are putting us on the floor instead of the couch.” And she wasn’t complaining either. “I’m glad you did, I didn’t want to sleep without you holding me.”
“Actually,” he commented as he shut the door after the last wolf, “I was a little more concerned about getting pushed off in the middle of the night should you want more space.” Moving to her with a grin he pulled the cushions off both couches and took the comforter from her to spread it over them. “It won’t be super comfortable but it’ll do for tonight.”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we are here for them if they need us.” She watched as the alpha curled up protectively and carefully around his mate, his tongue lapping at her even as he watched everything around them. “He loves her. I never thought wolves could have such love, but he does, doesn’t he?”
“Wolves are extremely family oriented. It’s part of their strength,” he told her as he shook out the second comforter and spread it out before taking the pillows and tossing them down. “They mate for life and it is love. If their mate dies they mourn deeply, often leaving the pack behind if it’s strong enough to survive. If it’s not they will remain until a new alpha can be chosen or until the pack is strong enough. They eventually die of a broken heart from the loss,” he said, turning to look at her.
She moved to him and touched him lightly. “That’s how I feel about you, Miklos. If anything happened to you it would kill me.” Her fingers stroked over his hair. “I love you, Miklos, deep and real and if you ever were lost to me it would literally kill me.”
Pulling her closer he kissed her. “Me, too, love,” he breathed out, but he was willing to go through that for hurting her as he had, big noble ass that he was. “Go and get ready for bed. I’ll stay here until you get back and we’ll switch,” he told her as he stroked her hair gently.
“All right.” She leaned into his touch and nodded before sighing and standing up. “I won’t be long, I’m going to steal a pair of your boxers and a T-shirt to sleep in because I don’t feel comfortable sleeping nake
d with our friends here.” Strange, she could sleep nude with him any day of the week but any other eyes around and suddenly she was Modest Mary.
Chuckling he nodded. “Kind of like having the relatives eyeballing you, isn’t it?” he asked in a teasing tone. “Go ahead and swipe whatever works for you, love. Hurry though, they won’t sleep as long as we’re awake and she really needs rest more than anything else.”
“All right, I will be right back.” She walked out of the room but ran down the hall. Quickly she found a pair of what looked to be ancient boxers and an old SWAT T-shirt. Pulling them on and tugging her hair up quickly and knotting it she once more ran down the hall, but slowed to walk back. “All right, your turn, darling.” And the bed he made looked so appealing on so many levels. She was exhausted. Too much had happened that day and she was more than ready for sleep.
Moving slowly he kissed her. “Climb on in, love, I’ll be back in a little while,” he said. “I’m going to shower before joining you.” Rubbing her back lightly he moved past her toward the bedroom.
She watched him as he left and took the side of the cushions closest to the couches. That way he was between her and the wolves for both their peace of mind and hers as well. Covering up she closed her eyes for just a moment, but instead was out cold.
Coming back out in an old shirt and a pair of ratty shorts he stopped when he saw she was asleep. Shaking his head he added another log to the fire before checking on the wolf female. “Looking good, little mother,” he said softly as he stroked her fur. “Get some sleep and we’ll give you a big meal in the morning.” Patting the alpha’s head he moved to the cushions and lay down. Carefully he rolled Harker toward him as he settled down. “I love you, Harker,” he murmured softly as he stroked her hair even as he slid deep into sleep.
