His Wolf's Choice

by Mary Goldberger

  Garin!

  Kala walked out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs when Kelsey came rushing down them a worried look on her face.

  “What’s wrong?” Kala asked concern on her face.

  “I tried to call Daya and someone from the hospital picked up,” Kelsey explained. “Daya was attacked leaving work tonight and she, along with her assailants, were find about half an hour ago. Daya is being prepped for surgery since she was stabbed…”

  Kala didn’t let Kelsey finish turning for Trevor’s office even as she raised her voice although she used their private link at the same time.

  “Trevor!”

  At the sound of her voice both echoing around the hallway and in his head, Trevor came rushing out of his office.

  “Daya was taken to the hospital,” Kala explained keeping her tone calm. “Kelsey and I are going to see how she is. You need to call her uncle just in case they need consent for the surgery.”

  Trevor nodded his head even though his eyes narrowed and seeing the look Kala spoke quietly. “I’ll tell you about it when we get back.”

  “Kelsey, let’s get going.”

  Kelsey was already heading for the door when Kala called this out and Kala shook her head once before joining her giving Trevor a quick nod of her head.

  Trevor waited for them to leave before he headed to the office closing the door behind him and immediately walked over to the phone to make the call his mate suggested.

  “Hello, Jordan,” he greeted when it was picked up on the other end. “It is Trevor, and I have some bad news to tell you.”

  Two thousand miles away, Garin woke from a sound sleep when his wolf howled waking him.

  Something is wrong.

  He was out of bed, dressed, and packed before he picked up his cell phone dialing a number.

  “Garin.”

  “What happened?” Garin spoke urgently surprised when there was silence on the other end at his abrupt question. “We, my wolf and I, can feel something is wrong.”

  He heard Trevor sigh on the other end. “Kelsey called Daya and it was answered by someone at the hospital. She was told that Daya had been attacked and was waiting for surgery. Kala and Kelsey went to the hospital while I called her uncle. I just got off the phone with him when you called.”

  “How is she?” Garin asked grabbing his bag just as the door opened to his room, and he glanced over to see Alec whose face showed his surprise at what he saw. “I’m coming home.”

  “Garin,” Trevor protested, but Garin wasn’t going to argue on this matter.

  “Alpha, I apologize but I’m needed there.” He hung up after saying this wincing slightly.

  “He isn’t going to like being hung up on,” Alec remarked when Garin did a quick scan of the room before heading for the door where he was standing.

  “I know,” Garin agreed closing the door behind them just as Alpha Female Whitney walked over to them a smile on her face which turned to a frown seeing the bag in Garin’s hand.

  “Where do you think you are going?”

  Garin and Alec bowed in respect, but neither one answered her question heading for the stairs to the first floor.

  “I’ll talk with Alpha Leonardo,” Alec assured Garin who nodded his head although there was a question on his face.

  She must be important for you to leave a mission without a second thought, Garin heard in his head.

  He didn’t reply but gave Alec a single nod of his head.

  They reached the bottom floor and Garin was heading for the door when Whitney stormed after him.

  “Garin,” she called catching him by the arm bringing him to a stop.

  “Yes,” he uttered politely keeping it indifferent feeling his wolf draw back from her touch which he found odd.

  “You can’t leave me,” she whimpered stepping closer to him, and for one moment, the feelings he thought were dead came to the surface, but two things happened which belied those feelings.

  He looked at her noticing for the first time the mate mark on her neck that he had tried to ignore, and then there was a sense, a feeling, that Daya was calling for him.

  “I need to get going,” he uttered politely removing his arm from her hold. “Alec and the others will take care of your safety.”

  Giving her a small bow in respect of who she was, Garin turned and headed for the SUV that was parked outside the house waiting for him at Alec’s orders.

  He climbed inside and with a nod of his head, the driver put the vehicle in gear driving away from the house. Garin didn’t even look in the rearview mirror his mind preoccupied with worry for Daya even while his wolf paced inside him.

  Standing on the steps, Alpha Female Whitney stared after the vehicle her eyes narrowed into slits.

  “He will be back,” she murmured to herself with a small smirk before turning to go back into the house.

  Alec met her at the entrance with a bow, and she tossed her hair over a bare shoulder.

  “When the Alpha hears about this, he won’t be happy,” she ordered in a sharp voice. “Make sure Garin is back before I tell him about it.”

  Alec slid his hands into the pocket of his jeans, but it was Jaime who spoke up coming down the stairs.

  “Garin will be back when, or if, he can, Alpha Female,” he stated striding over to Alec. “There is something more important he needs to take care of.” Nodding his head to Alec, he stated. “I’m going to take over Garin’s patrols for him.”

  “All right,” Alec agreed following the younger fighter wolf as he left before turning back to the woman in front of him who was glaring at them.

  “Alpha Female.”

  He bowed his head before turning just as the door opened, and Alpha Leonardo along with Alpha Ralph walked into the house.

  “I heard about it, Alec,” Alpha Leonardo said immediately waving his hand for him to follow. “Let’s talk in my office.”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  In his office, Jordan was making final arrangements for his departure when Bryan stepped into the room a frown of worry on his face.

  “I heard,” he uttered watching his friend lift a worried look to him.

  “I’m leaving you in charge,” he told Bryan making sure he had everything before snapping close his briefcase. “Tobias will be your second while I’m gone.”

  “What about…?” Bryan’s words dropped off when Jordan just looked at him.

  “I had a look at the accounts this morning,” Jordan remarked gathering his things and leaving the office with Bryan right behind him. “If I leave him in charge, we will be broke before I pass away.”

  “There will be a fight,” Bryan uttered while they headed to the door and outside.

  Jordan sighed wearily looking up at the sky where the sun blazed down on him. “Do you think you and Tobias will be up for it?” He turned to Bryan a question on his face. “Because I don’t want Daya involved unless absolutely necessary. He rejected her, he doesn’t get to make amends and think that it will get him what he wants.”

  “Daya isn’t stupid,” Bryan replied with a lift of smirk on his face. “Besides, Tobias likes a fight and I will support my son to the fullest of my ability. You just go and take care of our girl.”

  Jordan didn’t say a word but clamped a hand on Bryan’s shoulder before he strode down the stairs to the waiting vehicle.

  Chapter 9

  Daya opened her eyes with difficulty shifting them around the room stopping when she caught sight of her uncle asleep in the only chair in the room.

  “Uncle Jordan,” she whispered hoarsely wondering if he could hear her since he was sleeping.

  Just as the thought popped into her weary head, his eyes snapped open and a second later he was out of the chair striding over to the side of the bed.

  “Hi, sweetie,” he uttered with a tired smile leaning down to grab her hand in a light, but firm grip.

  “What happened?” She asked a frown coming to her face. “I remember two men approaching me
after leaving work…”

  “You’ve been out for almost three days,” he explained watching her eyes widen at the news. “After you passed out, someone found you along with your attackers and all of you were rushed into the ER. The knife was still in your thigh and when one of the doctor’s pulled it out, they nicked an artery. You started bleeding and lost a decent amount of blood in the process before they were able to stop it. As your next of kin, they needed my signature in order for you to have a blood transfusion and for them to repair the damaged artery.”

  “Am I okay?” Daya asked worried glancing down at her leg.

  Jordan chuckled. “You are fine although you will need to take a rest for a few weeks, but the doctor assured us that you will have full recovery of your leg. You were lucky the knife didn’t hit any major arteries and didn’t destroy the muscle.”

  She sighed in relief closing her eyes, but they flashed open again when the door opened to reveal a small, petite and pretty nurse.

  “So the patient is finally awake,” she remarked with a small laugh, and yet there was a hard look in her eyes when she started toward the bed.

  Jordan caught the look but didn’t say anything to Daya seeing she had caught it too by the confusion on her face. He shook his head once at the question on her face deciding to tell her later about the nurse’s attitude.

  “Do you need anything to drink, Miss Stevens?” The nurse asked waving a hand to the water container. She was a little to close that she knocked it over and the container full of ice water fell onto the bed, and Daya jerked when the cold water hit her exposed skin and drenched the sheets covering her. She paled when pain stabbed through her at the sudden movement.

  “No, nothing, thank you,” Daya muttered in a tight voice trying to deal with the pain racing through her.

  The nurse smiled, made a few notations in the medical file she carried, and walked out without a second word.

  Jordan held his tongue and anger when Daya pulled at her wet gown before gently peeling back the soaked sheet.

  “What did I do to piss her off?” She asked a hint of laughter and pain in her voice.

  Jordan opened his mouth to respond when he thought better of it seeing that she needed a dry gown and sheets before answering any questions. “Let’s get you a fresh gown first.”

  Going over to the sink, he grabbed the extra gown she was given and walked it back over to the bed. “You go get out of that wet gown while I change the sheets on the bed.”

  “You are playing my nursemaid,” she teased slowly moving to the edge of the bed and putting her feet on the floor. When she went to go stand, her face paled and she sat back down heavily her thigh screaming at her at the pressure she just put on it.

  Jordan watched her before he offered his arm for her. “Use me to lean on for right now,” he suggested softly watching a stubborn look cross her face before she sighed in defeat.

  Using his arm, she leveled herself to her feet gritting her teeth when the pain became stabbing, but she forced herself to move with her uncle’s help to the bathroom.

  Giving him a weak smile, she entered the bathroom using the counter of the sink as her walking aid and Jordan made sure she would be all right before he closed the door, so she could dress in privacy.

  Once the door was closed, he went over to the bed and stripped it down putting the wet sheets on the floor before grabbing the other set which was bought in with the gown.

  He was just finishing when the bathroom door opened and Daya stepped out holding on to the wall.

  “I would have never believed it if I didn’t see it for myself,” she commented eyes shifting to the freshly made hospital bed, and Jordan chuckled helping her back to it.

  Using his arm to steady herself, Daya lowered herself to the edge of the bed wincing slightly before easing back after giving her uncle a nod of appreciation.

  “Why don’t you go back to sleep, Daya,” he suggested watching her eyes began to close even while pain still covered her face. “We will talk more later.”

  “But…okay, Uncle Jordan,” she started to protest before changing her mind relaxing back against the bed as much as she could.

  She drifted off to sleep not too long afterwards, and he left the room heading for the nurse’s station when the nurse from earlier came out behind the desk a soft smile on her face. He frowned at her until he realized her attention wasn’t on him and turning, he watched Garin walk over to him a worried look on his face.

  The nurse walked over to join Garin who merely gave her a nod of the head in greeting before turning his attention to Jordan.

  “Is Daya awake?” He asked in a rough voice running a hand through his hair.

  “She woke for about thirty minutes, but I told her get some more rest,” Jordan replied with a slight glare at the young shapeshifter especially since it was obvious he cared about Daya.

  “Good,” Garin replied relief in his eyes, but Jordan saw the hint of disappointment, too.

  Pushing those thoughts to be back of his mind for now, Jordan turned to the nurse who was trying to get Garin’s attention. “If you ever pull a stunt like you did in there a few minutes, I will make sure you lose your job,” Jordan growled in a low voice satisfaction flashing through him when her eyes widened, and she swallowed.

  “It was…an…accident,” she stammered cutting herself off when she saw Jordan’s eyes narrow.

  “What happened?” Garin uttered in a hard note.

  The nurse immediately started to tear up turning to Garin. “I accidentally knocked over the container of ice water on Miss Stevens. It was an accident, I swear, Garin.”

  Jordan watched Garin’s eyebrow go up at the use of his first name and then he turned to Jordan with a questioningly look, which Jordan answered promptly with a single shake of his head.

  “I suggest you go back to work,” Garin advised in an expressionless voice, and the nurse nodded her head before sending a mocking smile aimed at Jordan.

  “Show some respect,” Jordan growled watching her eyes narrow at him.

  Then she gave Garin a soft, sultry smile before walking away and Jordan shook his head turning to Garin.

  “That nurse is going to make me lose my temper with a woman for the second time in my life,” Garin growled in a low voice.

  Studying the younger man, Jordan saw the weariness and strain on his face although he noted absently that some of the tension had disappeared after hearing Daya woke up.

  “Garin,” Jordan kept his tone low. “We need to talk. Let’s head back to the pack house because I want to bring Trevor and Kala into the mix, too.”

  He could read the questions in Garin’s blue eyes, but he nodded his head.

  “I want to glance in on Daya first, please,” Garin asked getting a nod from Jordan who watched him walk over to the room where Daya was resting.

  Opening the door, Garin stood there for a moment staring at the woman on the bed before he closed it turning back to Jordan.

  “I need to make one more stop before we leave,” Garin remarked heading for the nurse’s desk where he immediately addressed the other nurse on duty who listened without interrupting him.

  After a few minutes, he gave her a smile and she nodded her head getting up from the seat to leave the work area with him.

  “Okay, I’m ready now.” Garin rejoined Jordan who gave him a searching glance before shifting his gaze to the nurse who the younger man was talking to at the desk head for Daya’s room.

  They left the hospital without much conversation each lost in their own thoughts.

  Jordan was thinking about his first meeting with Garin two days ago when the shapeshifter had arrived at the pack house. Remembering his face on that day, Jordan gave a silent chuckle realizing that Garin had made an impression on him from the first moment they met especially after Jordan noticed how much Garin was worried about Daya.

  I guess that was what Trevor was talking about when he first called us, Jordan spoke to his wolf who growled in a
greement.

  Our niece still has some questions to answer though, his wolf uttered with a growl.

  Once at the pack house, they entered the house heading for the kitchen where Kala had been hanging out since Trevor put the pack on cautionary alert.

  “Al…” Garin began only stopping when Trevor gave him a sharp look before tilting his head to the woman standing at the window looking out onto their training grounds.

  She whirled when she heard Garin’s voice a smile drifting across her face. “Garin,” she squealed darting across the room to throw her arms around him.

  “Tammie.” Garin greeted without much emotion peeling her arms from around his neck and walked away from her to the refrigerator where he got himself something to drink. “Would you like anything, sir?”

  He glanced over his shoulder at Jordan who shook his head and joined Kala, and Trevor, at the counter.

  “How is Daya?” Kala asked looking up from her drink worry on her face.

  Jordan smiled slightly. “She woke up briefly before Garin arrived. The doctor came by earlier to let me know that she is going to make a full recovery, but she will be in pain for the next few weeks, so she won’t be able to work.”

  “Will she be able to attend classes?” Kala frowned, and Jordan knew what she was thinking since she was close to graduating.

  “Yes, as long as she doesn’t over do it.”

  After grabbing himself a soda, Garin stood near the refrigerator staring down at the can listening to what Jordan was telling the others, although he and his wolf were upset that they hadn’t been there when she woke up.

  We wanted to be there, his wolf snarled slightly upset at the delay.

  When Garin had entered the hospital, Alec had called him with some new information until Whitney had gotten on the phone asking about his return complaining that she felt safer with him. Garin held onto his patience telling her when he was able before asking her to put Alec back on, which she didn’t like from the angry retort he heard her say to Alec.