Chapter Thirty-Four
There’s been an incident. Get to quadrant 36A NOW. Theo demanded through the mindlink.
Without explaining, Graham split off from his alpha, heading further West. As he drew near the quadrant he caught a faint scent of his mate. The scent was quickly smothered by something stronger: fear… blood.
As he got closer he saw a small group of men, some shifted into their lycan forms some not. They were standing around, looking as though they were waiting for the grim reaper himself. If something had happened to his mate, that’s exactly what they’d get. Theo appeared in front of the men, holding up his hands to slow him down. Graham shifted seamlessly. One moment he was running on all fours, the next he was pacing on two feet toward his friend.
“What the fuck happened? Where is she?” he bellowed.
“I caught the scent of rogues on quadrant B. Me and most of the men went hunting for them but I had three stay in A to make sure none had slipped through. They…” Theo gulped. “They found Catherine out by the fenceline and they thought she was with them.”
Graham’s heart stuttered, stopped and then resumed at an abnormal rhythm. “They contacted you! That’s protocol!” Graham said furiously, knowing they hadn’t.
“One of them, Ryan, thought to take matters into his own hands,” Theo tried to explain.
At that Graham’s blood went cold. He shoved Theo aside and followed the thick stench of blood. He noticed the toppled tree and his steps faltered. There was a thick path of blood and at the end of it, Catherine’s limp body, being held up by Thomas, one of the younger promising recruits. Thomas looked up, guilt lining his features. Graham picked him up by his neck.
“Did you do this?!”
Thomas shook his head. “I swear… I tried to stop…”
“Not hard enough!”
A soft, cold touch gripped his ankle. His eyes shot down and he found Catherine staring up at him. Relief flooded him like a warm shower after a frigid morning run. He dropped Thomas and then dropped to his knees. He cupped her face and kissed her lightly. Then his eyes went over her body. He couldn’t tell what her injuries were. There was blood everywhere, trickling out of her mouth, oozing out of her arms, seeping into the ground below. His entire being filled with rage. He shook with it.
“I…called you…” she whispered. It brought his attention back to her face and he ran his thumb over her cheek causing her eyes to flutter closed.
“I heard you, Baby. Hush now, save your strength.”
She licked her chapped lips and nodded. Her eyes opened again and she glanced to her right. “He… saved… me,” she whispered looking at Thomas who continued to hold his head in shame.
“Later, Baby, we’ll talk later. Just rest. I’m here now,” Graham whispered, pulling her closer. Her eyes drifted closed again and her breathing became deeper.
“What the fuck?!” Jensen roared, just now coming upon the scene. Graham stood, cradling Catherine’s limp body in his arms.
“They thought she was rogue,” Graham hissed, unable to meet his eyes. This was his fault. All of it in an attempt to force Graham to submit. Jensen walked over and reached a hand out to touch her. Graham ripped her away. “You don’t deserve to touch her!”
Graham ignored the hurt in his alpha’s eyes as he started to run back to his home. On the way he mindlinked the pack doctor and told her to meet at his house. He then mindlinked Theo to bring those responsible to the dungeon to wait for him. Theo argued with him, trying to convince him to go easy but he heard none of it.
He slammed the mindlink closed as he entered his house. He took Catherine to their bedroom and laid her flat. He took a moment to catch his breath and steal himself before he started to remove her clothes.
Graham stared down at his broken mate. He took a deep breath. He removed her pants first, exposing the bruises covering her legs and the exposed bone of her ankle. Then he removed her long-sleeved shirt. He took a moment to compose himself. He felt his nostrils flare wide at what lay before him. She had long gashes down her arms where the blood continued to run freely. Her collarbone had been punctured and cracked, he could see it because her flesh had been ripped from her body. The worst part was… she wasn’t healing. Not as quickly as she should anyway.
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Chapter Thirty-Four
A moment later his front door burst open and the calm of his home turned to chaos. He covered her quickly with a blanket before a group of people came in. Nancy and her assistant rushed forward to begin checking Catherine’s vitals and hook an iv to her arm. Jensen came in next. He’d found clothes to put on, most likely brought by Rebecca who stood in shock beside him. His two guards, Mark and Henry, waited in the hallway. Natalie came in and took Graham’s hand. Theo most likely called her since he’d be busy with his orders. She covered her mouth with her hand as Nancy read off the visible injuries. With the help of her assistant they turned Catherine and listed off the claw marks and damage on her back that he hadn’t seen himself.
Graham needed to collect himself but he couldn’t leave. Sensing this, Natalie pushed him to the side and sat him in a chair by the wall. She went to his dresser and pulled out some sweatpants for him to step into. Unable to sit, he started to pace. With his hand on his chin, he watched Nancy speak in hushed tones to her assistant. The worry in her face made him sick to his stomach.
“What is it?” Jensen bellowed, unable to control his curiosity any longer.
Nancy jumped and looked between the two men. “She isn’t healing like she should, Alpha. I’ll have to suture her and give her some medication that will hopefully speed things along. Um… Mr. MacTavish, am I to take it this woman is your mate?” she asked. Graham could only nod. “Alpha Jensen, it would help speed things along if he could mark her.”
The room grew deathly quiet as Graham glared at his alpha. Jensen kept his face impassive, something Graham recognized when he was making a calculative decision. Rebecca gasped at his hesitation. “Will she heal with the medication?”
#
U
“You son of a…” Graham started, fisting his hands.
“Yes, Sir… She will heal but it will take a day or two for her to be fully recovered while marking her would…”
*Then get her the damn medication!” Jensen ordered before turning to Graham. “Unless you have something you’d like to agree to?”
Graham couldn’t stop himself. In a flash he was across the room with the alpha pinned to the wall by his shirt collar. Gasps erupted around him while Mark and Henry stepped behind him, one with a hand on each of his shoulders.
“You care so little about your own flesh and blood?” Graham hissed.
He knew his eyes were flooding with tears of anger and frustration. Jensen kept his face unreadable as his own eyes moved to the innate figure on the bed. For a moment a look of desperation and guilt crossed his features. He looked back at Graham and his expression hardened.
“I must think about what is best for my pack.”
Graham shoved him against the wall before releasing him and stepping back. He spat on the floor at his alpha’s feet. “And you wonder why I refuse to take your role?” Graham turned his back on Jensen and went to his mate. He took her hand and nodded at Nancy for her to begin the treatment.
“Graham?” the voice was that of one of Jensen’s gammas, Caleb.
“What?!”
“I keep getting calls from the main gate by Sterling…”
“What of it? Talk to Jensen.”
“Well… they are saying there is a woman there by the name of Juno Travis… She’s causing quite a disturbance, refusing to leave. She even tried to ram her car into the gate. She’s upset saying her friend in Blackmoore is in trouble. She keeps naming you as the injured woman’s mate. What would you like us to do?”
Graham gripped Catherine’s hand tighter. Had Catherine called Juno when she couldn’t reach him? He didn’t carry his phone on the training field, something he would never do again. Had his mate been forced to reach out to someone an hour away because there was no one in Blackmoore to save her? Guilt swam through him, hot and heavy. Natalie placed her hand on his shoulder, following his train of thoughts.
“Let her in.”
2/3
Surrendering to Destiny
Chapter Thirty-Five
Catherine came back to the surface of consciousness as if she were being slowly dragged up from the bottom of the ocean. She felt heavy, sedated and groggy. There was a soft pressure on her hand that grew tighter as the voices around her strengthened. She wanted them to stop. It was this desire that urged her to the surface of that ocean.
“I’ll not leave until she wakes.”
“That could be days!”
“She’ll wake up soon and then I’ll start tracking them.”
“Graham, you must think of the pack as a whole. You cannot put yourself above everyone’s safety. If there is an attack, will you be able to keep her safe?”
Graham sighed. His voice was hoarse and low as if the arguing had physically exhausted him. “I don’t put myself above everyone else. I put her. It is not expected to rain for days, I’ll track them just as well if I leave tomorrow.”
“And if she’s not awake by then?!”
Catherine opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling of her and Graham’s bedroom. The grip on her hand tightened and she glanced over to see Juno. Her face was tear stained and blotchy with emotion. She gave Catherine a shaky smile.
“Jensen, you’ve forbidden me from marking my mate. You’ve refused her a treatment that would have made her recovery easier. I have lost more respect for you today than I thought imaginable. Let me stay with my mate until tomorrow. That’s all I’m asking.”
“And if you wait too long and can’t find them?!”
Catherine noticed Theo and Natalie sitting on the floor by the window. Natalie was curled up in Theo’s lap while he stroked her hair. They both realized she was awake and waved. Someone cleared their throat on her other side and she saw Mary and Rebecca watching her with misty eyes. Rebecca handed Mary
another tissue.
“I’ve never failed you before, Jensen,” Graham said. “Besides there is nothing more you can do to me that you haven’t done already. Withholding my mate bond is punishment enough.”
Catherine looked to the doorway to see Jensen and her mate facing off. Graham’s shoulders were slumped in defeat while Jensen’s chest was raised and his breathing was harsh. How long had they been fighting?
“A pack of rogues came up to our fenceline. They were one line of defense away from infiltrating our pack and my daughter was caught in the crossfire. I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re her mate. You are our best tracker. If there was someone else I’d be standing in front of him right now!”
“Well you’re not. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Graham said, before turning to lock eyes with her.
Tears immediately sprang to her eyes and he strode over to her. He didn’t show any surprise at her being awake. He cupped her face and kissed her. He placed his forehead against hers and smoothed her hair back as she gained control of her emotions. Her hands shook until he took them between his. He sat on the bed beside her.
“Hey, Beautiful, how are you feeling?”
Catherine sniffled. “Like I got hit by a cement truck.”
He gave her a tight smile. “I know, Nancy said you might feel like that. Theo, get the medicine.”
Theo groaned from where he sat.
“I’ll get it, Dear,” Mary said quickly. She got up from her chair and hurried into the bathroom. Graham glared at Theo who just gave a smug smile and a shrug. “Here you go.”
Catherine thanked her and took the two pills and the glass of water. Graham helped her sit up to drink and she winced at the pain.
“Goddess, why does it hurt so much?” she hissed while looking down at the blood dampened bandages.
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