A Wolf's Oath (16 page)

No one should touch her,
the wolf
snarled.
She’s ours.

Ryan isn’t going to do anything. He’s our brother besides
he’s faster than we are at the moment. Look, they’re already near
the shore. We have to do what’s best for her,
Sebastian reasoned, before beginning to swim towards the
coastline. He could feel his strength returning as his body purged
the last traces of silver from his system. His stroke became surer,
his body easily cutting through the water and he was soon at the
shore. Striding from the freezing water, he quickly covered the
distance that separated him from his mate. Lifting her from the
unforgiving pebbles that lined the coast, he gathered her into his
arms, his hands immediately going to the wound at her head. His
fingers came away red and bloody and his heart began to race as
panic once again flooded him.

She shouldn’t be bleeding anymore. Why is she still
bleeding?
He was vaguely aware of his
brother moving around him, but his attention was focused solely on
his mate. “Erica wake up sweetheart,” he pleaded, gently shaking
her prone form within his arms. She didn’t respond to him, her body
cold and still within his embrace. Though he knew that she could
only be killed by decapitation, he was unsure of how much pain a
single body could take before it simply gave up the will to live
and became a husk of its former self, permanently damaged from the
trauma it had suffered. Blood continued to pour from the wound on
her head and he could feel his own run cold in response. His eyes
frantically scanned their surroundings, searching for something to
stem the flow but he came up empty. There was nothing but rocks on
the barren strip of land that they were on. Though he didn’t like
the idea of Erica's battered body lying against the cold and
uncomfortable rock that formed the shore, he lowered her against
the pebbles, quickly stripped himself of his shirt before gathering
her back in his arms.

He placed the damp material against the large gash on her
head, assured that he was doing all he could to help her heal. His
moment of peace was short lived as the already wet shirt became
increasingly damp as Erica's blood began to seep through the
crumpled layers pressed against her scalp. His senses were so
focused on her that he could hear her heartbeat and the blood
flowing through her body. The constant stuttering of the usually
strong organ wasn’t reassuring, telling him that her heart was
having immense difficulty completing the necessary task of pumping
blood around her body and keeping her alive.

“
Good thing I took this out of my pocket before I jumped into
the water,” Ryan mused as he watched his brother cradling Erica's
limp body. Picking the phone up from the pebbles, he quickly
dialled his cousin.

“
Tobias, it’s Ryan.”

“
What’s wrong?” Tobias demanded upon hearing the serious tone
in his normally jovial cousin’s voice.

“
Sebastian and I need help. I’m not sure he’d want me telling
you this, it was almost like pulling teeth getting him to tell me,
but we don’t have a choice anymore. He found his mate but she’s
been hurt bad.”

“
How bad?” Tobias pressed anxiously.

“
She was caught by hunters. They must have wanted information
seeing as they kept her alive as long as they did and let’s just
say that they didn’t use the gentlest methods to try and get her to
talk.”

“
Where are you, I’ll have someone come to pick you up as soon
as possible.” Ryan quickly relayed the information of where he
approximated their location to be judging from the distance they
had run to Tobias. “That’s a fair distance from the clans Ryan,”
Tobias remarked.

“
I know. How long do you think it will take for help to
arrive?”

“
I know someone who has a helicopter in that area, I’ll ask
them if they can bring you back here. I’ll call you right back.”
The call ended with a silent click and Ryan turned his attention
back to his brother.

“
How is she Sebastian?”

“
The bleeding is finally beginning to slow but she won’t wake
up Ryan. She’s barely breathing.”

“
Help is on the way. I just called Tobias and he’s getting
someone to collect us. Once we make it back to the estate there are
doctors who can have a look at her. She’s going to be fine. She’s
managed to survive this long, I don’t think she’s going to give up
at the final hurdle.” His phone began to ring within his palm and
seeing who the caller was Ryan quickly answered. “What did they say
Tobias?”

“
Chris has agreed to help. He says that there’s a field nearby.
Go there and he’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

“
That quick?”

“
The life of Sebastian's mate is on the line, of course it’s
going to be fast.”

“
Thank you Tobias, we’re on our way right now.” Ending the call
he touched Sebastian on the shoulder to gain his attention.
“Sebastian, Tobias has sent help, we’ve got to go. Our ride is
going to be here any minute.”

Sebastian nodded, before he stood, keeping Erica close to his
chest hoping that the warmth from his body would penetrate hers and
help maintain a healthy temperature. “Let’s go then.”

The brothers took off, remembering a field they had passed on
their journey and heading directly for it, hoping that it was the
right one. They weren’t wrong. A helicopter waited for them in the
centre of the open space, the noise from the blades was immense
especially with their sensitive hearing but they moved towards it
regardless of the pain in their ears. The helicopter took off as
soon as they entered, lifting them away from the ground and moving
steadily towards the estate. Sebastian was distantly aware of Ryan
covering his ears with large headphones, the noise diminished
significantly but his attention was focused intently on Erica. She
had yet to show any outwards signs of life, her lips were steadily
turning blue and her breathing had become raspy as she struggled to
inhale. His only comfort was the knowledge that the bleeding had
finally stopped.

The trip back to the estate passed in a blur and before he
knew it the blades of the helicopter were winding down as it
settled on the grounds of the estate. The doors of the large
building flew open as they disembarked and people poured forth.
Some Sebastian recognised others he didn’t and he was too
preoccupied with the need to get his mate medical attention to care
as he moved quickly towards the gathered crowd.

“
I need a doctor!” he shouted, hoping that there was one amidst
the throng.

His wish was granted as not one but three people stepped
forward, claiming that they could help. He was lead into the estate
and down a little used path to the infirmary. Though injuries were
common among wolves, their ability to self-heal from most injuries
made doctors mostly obsolete except in situations like this and
Sebastian was never more grateful for the fact that the estate had
several for cases of emergency than he was at that moment in
time.

The infirmary though small appeared much like what he assumed
human hospitals looked like; white walls, hard floor and a few
beds. The smell of disinfectant heavily laced the air and he had to
resist the urge to sneeze as he followed the doctors
inside.

“
Put her on the bed,” one of the doctors ordered. He quickly
complied, gently lowering her still form on to the
mattress.

“
Don’t worry, we’re going to do everything we can,” another
said trying to reassure him. “Now just step back so we can get to
work.

He did as he was told without complaint and watched them
work. Their voices were steady and calm as they relayed
instructions to one another and their hands were in constant
motion. He had never felt so helpless, the doctors were strangers
to him and he was trusting them to save the life of his mate. His
eyes narrowed as a large needle was inserted into Erica's arm, she
winced at the pain and Sebastian sighed with relief at the first
sign of life she had shown since he had pulled her from the water.
The needle was feeding a liquid into her body and though he didn’t
know what was in the liquid, he assumed it was helping. The blue
tinge to her lips was fading, and her cheeks were regaining colour.
The bruises on her flesh were beginning to fade and she sighed with
relief as the pain began to ebb. Her body apparently greedy for the
healing liquid quickly emptied the bag that contained the clear
fluid. The doctors rushed to replace it and it was soon gone as
quickly as the first. They continued to replace the bag until her
body stopped consuming the liquid so fast. The liquid now moved
into her body at a steady drip rather than leaving the bag in a
rush.

Apparently satisfied with their work the doctors left Erica's
side to talk to him. “She’s going to be fine. Everything is healing
by itself now as it should. Her body just didn’t have the energy
necessary to heal before. We’ve fixed that now and she should be
fine when she wakes. There are some tests we would like to do when
she comes round.”

“
But she’s going to live?” Sebastian interrupted, anxious to
have his worries put to rest.

“
Yes. There isn’t a risk of her dying now.”

“
Thank God,” he sighed in relief. “Can I sit with her until she
wakes up?”

“
I see no reason why you shouldn’t. Just don’t remove the
needle from her arm.”

“
Ok,” he agreed, before moving away from the doctors to grab a
chair from the corner of the infirmary. Placing the chair at
Erica's side, he sat down and grasped her free hand, lightly
caressing the healed skin. “You had me worried sweetheart. Make
sure you never do it again otherwise I’m going to be very mad at
you. I’m sorry to say this love but the secret is out. I had to
tell people about us being mates to get you the help you needed.
Don’t be too mad at me when you wake up ok?”

He was distantly aware that two of the doctors had left the
room, leaving only their spokesperson with him. His hand gently
touched the now healed wound on her head, relieved that it had
repaired itself so quickly. Erica groaned beneath his questing
fingers and he pulled them back as though he had been burnt. Her
eyelids began to flutter as she struggled to open them and his
heart leaped in his chest.

“
Erica? Erica sweetheart wake up. I think she’s waking up!” he
called excitedly to the doctor, pleased that she had recovered so
quickly.

The doctor moved to his side just as her blue eyes opened.
She blinked trying to bring everything into focus.

“
Erica, thank God you’re awake sweetheart, you had me so
worried.”

Her eyes turned to him and as she looked at him a frown
appeared on her face. “I’m sorry but just who are you?”

Chapter
Seventeen

Vincent stood in the centre of his decimated base of
operations, his grey eyes calmly taking in the carnage that
surrounded him. The bodies of his fellow hunters covered the floor,
their savagely brutalised corpses reminding him of why they sought
to remove this particular threat to humanity from existence. Others
may have scoffed at them but they knew the threat was real. The
werewolves were out there and they were deadly. The blood of his
comrades coated the floor and in the bright light of day he could
see the blood spatter that also covered the walls. Bloody paw
prints told him who had committed the act, though he needed no
proof to confirm his suspicions.

Ten men had been on duty the previous night. It might have
seemed excessive to an outsider, having ten armed men guard a
single apparently defenceless female and under different
circumstances he too might have thought the measures extreme.
Vincent, however, knew better than to underestimate the enemy, even
if she had been tied to a chair that she couldn’t have escaped from
without help. His caution had proved to be reasonable but he had
apparently taken them too lightly despite the seemingly
overwhelming show of force. The wolf was gone and his men were
dead. Only one had escaped to tell him of what was happening while
he was away reporting his progress to his section leader, leaving
nine men dead. Members of their organisation knew the risks that
came with their job, they knew they faced death but they were
prepared to take the risk to make the world safe. Most distanced
themselves from their families to protect them from retribution
from the wolves. Most however, didn’t mean all, there would be
families devastated by this attack.

“
Peaceful?” he scoffed, remembering his captive’s pleas for
release and her adamant belief that the wolves were a peaceful
people. “This looks real peaceful to me.”

The remaining members of his branch worked steadily around
him, removing the bodies from within the warehouse and piling them
outside. The bodies would have to be burned, the organisation
couldn’t afford to attract outside attention and nine dead bodies
was the fastest way of doing just that. The organisation couldn’t
be assured of support should the world come to know of the
existence of wolves and so they chose to keep their activities
secret, protecting the world and receiving no credit for their
sacrifices.

The last of the bodies removed, he summoned the remaining
twenty odd members of his branch to him. A slight rise in his voice
was all that was needed for the men to form two straight lines,
ready and awaiting his orders. His men were well trained and well
disciplined; they had to be if they were to survive. The outside
world may not have known it, but they were at war and the
organisation acted accordingly, training their members well. “Are
they all outside now?”