Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (35 page)

speak.

“Always gotta be a hero, huh?” She stroked his face,

cutting off his second effort to talk. “Rest. You’re going to

be all right now.”

He closed his gorgeous blue eyes, heaved a deep

breath, and lost consciousness. His body was bathed in

blood, his hair matted with it. He must’ve gotten those

injuries when the creature threw him to the ground. Her

hand trembled as she smoothed back the strands of blond

hair. Long lashes rested against his cheek. God, he was

burning with fever.

“Christ Almighty,” Jax murmured. “Somebody get a

stretcher. We’ve got to get him home.”

Micah took off.

Nick’s hand landed on her arm and squeezed gently. His

eyes were calm. “He’s going to be okay. Trust me.”

She searched the commander’s face for any sign of

deception. “Is that your word as a PreCog?”

“It is. He’ll have a rough go of it, and it’ll be a near

thing, but he’ll survive.”

“I have a feeling that’s more than you usually say to

people about the future.”

He gave her a faint smile. “You’re right. But then, I

think you’ve earned the truth, especially if it’s good

news.”

She swiped at her tears. “Thank you.”

“No, thank
you
.” He winked. “And I have a feeling Ben

will be full of gratitude, too.”

Micah returned with the stretcher and, working together,

they got Ryon situated. She was hardly aware of another

group off to the side working on Ben. Her sole concern

right now was for her mate. Inside, her wolf paced

anxiously.

Ducking well clear of the whirling blades, Jax and

Micah got Ryon into the helicopter. Then Micah gave her a

hand up and a shy smile that pulled at his scarred face. As

though realizing how he might appear to her, the man

turned away and busied himself with Ryon. She was

saddened that Micah was going through such a tough time,

and she prayed he was getting better.

And not relying so much on the pills she’d seen him

popping more often than maybe he should. But she

couldn’t dwell on that at the moment.

“Go, go!” Jax yelled to Aric, and then they were

airborne.

She stayed by Ryon’s side and prepared for the two-

hour flight home. The compound,
home
. Such an odd

concept. But it filled her with warmth to realize she was

about to make her place with such awesome people.

Reaching down, she took one of Ryon’s big hands in

hers. His palms were as hot as the sands of the Sahara.

His face was deathly pale, eyes closed. Although the

helicopter’s deafening noise prevented her from hearing,

she could see the jerky rise and fall of his chest as he

fought to breathe. Despite Nick’s prediction, she couldn’t

help but be fearful. She tried their mind-link.

Come on baby, stay with me.

Tightening her grip on his fingers, she pressed a hand

over his heart. Every sluggish beat pulsed as though mired

in glue. As the sun rose higher, and the minutes ticked by,

the deep, telltale rattle in his chest worsened. She

remembered something he’d told her not long ago, when

Micah had been hurt and she’d been so afraid.

I’ll always move heaven and hell to come home.

Now her fears had come to pass.

Aric’s anxious voice filtered through their headsets.

“How’s he doing?”

Jax shook his head. “Hurry, man.”

Aric pushed the bird full throttle, eating the miles

rapidly. But as the forest below rolled by, Daria could

feel Ryon slipping away in spite of his fierce battle. In

spite of the commander’s words. His breathing had

become shallow, his features slack. She couldn’t stop

touching him. His hair, his face. As if she might somehow

keep his soul bound to this world.

“I love you, my mate. Please don’t go,” she whispered,

even though he couldn’t hear. The men were listening

through their headsets, but she didn’t care. She kept talking

to him.

Her brave wolf gave it everything he had, right until the

compound came into view far below. Any minute, Ryon

would be in good hands.

Daria gazed down at him, and froze. Underneath her

palm, his chest had gone completely still. No rattle, no

movement at all. He wasn’t fighting any longer, wasn’t

breathing. Horror washed over her.

“Oh, baby,
no, no
! Jax, my God!”

“Come on, buddy, Nick’s never wrong. Don’t do this,”

Jax begged. He looked at Micah, his face white. “Get his

head. I’ll do the compressions.”

They worked together, each passing minute an eternity,

carrying a man they all loved beyond reach. Their frantic

efforts met with failure, and by the time Aric put the

chopper down, it seemed hopeless.

Ryon was gone.

As long as she lived, the sight of Mac and the others

rushing away with his lifeless body would remain burned

in her memory. Hardly aware of her actions, she stumbled

after them, a zombie. A moan built in her chest, and

escaped in a painful wheeze.

Halting in her tracks, she clapped her hands over her

ears. “Nooo.”

Suddenly, Nick was there. His strong arms were pulling

her backward, enfolding her. She buried her face in his

chest and let the black wave take her. How long they clung

to each other, sharing their terror of the news that she was

certain would come, and the stark anguish, she couldn’t

have said.

Finally, Nick stepped back and raked a hand through his

dark hair. “You love Ryon, and he’s a good friend. One of

my best men. Remember, I said he’d have a battle, but that

battle is
not
lost. We’ll face this together, okay?” He held

out a hand.

The simple gesture touched her. “Absolutely,” she

whispered, and put her hand in his.

Together, they walked inside.

• • •

Under the watchful eye of Ryon’s many friends, Daria

paced the small waiting room. Prayed harder than she ever

had in her life. She couldn’t stop trembling.

The doctors had resuscitated him, but only after the

promised battle. And they were saying damned little about

his chances, despite what Nick had said.

Complications from the creature’s bite and the gunshot

wound in his leg were the ultimate concern. The bacterial

infection had spread through his bloodstream, ravaging his

internal organs. He’d developed pneumonia, and his fever

had climbed to a frightening one hundred and eight

degrees.

Anyone but a shifter would’ve been dead.

They were pumping him with massive doses of

antibiotics, along with painkillers. After several hours

with no change, Nick left to make a few phone calls. One

of which included notifying General Jarrod Grant of

August’s claims. Daria had pulled Nick into a room and

told him in private every single hateful word August had

gleefully related to them. Nick’s blue gaze had darkened

with every word.

“I knew absolutely nothing about this,” he had said in a

low, dangerous voice. “But I will get to the bottom of it,

take out August and everyone invoved in this horror, if it

takes the rest of my life.”

And she believed him. She didn’t envy Nick and the

general the unpleasant task of starting that investigation.

Nick returned shortly, taking a seat across from the group.

Jax eyed him. “What’s up?”

“When Ryon’s out of danger, I’m calling a meeting and

I’ll tell all of you at the same time.” He exchanged a

knowing look with Daria that the others didn’t miss. But

they didn’t push.

Daria rubbed her arms and shivered as Mac appeared,

her expression kind. Daria’s stomach dropped to her toes.

“Ryon can have visitors now. One at a time, and keep it

brief.”

Daria lurched to her feet. “Please, how is he?”

“Hanging in there,” she said with a gentle smile. “That

man has the willpower of an ox.”

Jax nodded at her. “You go first, honey. We’ll wait.”

“Thanks.” She studied each of them, taking at least some

comfort in the way they were rallying around her. In a

short time, these wonderful men had become very

important to her. She could see why Ryon was close to

them.

Daria turned and made the walk down the corridor, the

longest of her life.

And tried desperately to convince herself that, if the

worst happened in spite of Nick’s prediction, she would

be strong enough to say good-bye.

• • •

He was suffocating. Drowning in an ocean of pain. He

tried letting himself sink and fall forever into the darkness

just to escape it. But each time, they tormented him,

pulling him to hover just below the surface. To stare into

the soothing peace of death on one side, the beautiful light

of life on the other, allowing him to reach neither.

“I want my mate,” he told them, repeatedly. Or dreamed

he did. Perhaps they heard, because each time he

whispered the word, something strange and pleasant

swirled through him, chasing away the agony if only for a

while.

He clung to that lifeline, the word and the warm feeling

after. It was all he had to hold on to. All that mattered.

Until he heard her voice.

She told him to hang on, that she loved him. Would

always love him. She said so many things, but all he

grasped was
I love you
. Harder than ever, he fought to rise

from the endless void. For her.

“Daria?”

“Hush, baby. You’re very sick, but you’re going to get

better. Just rest and get stronger. I love you so much.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t,” she whispered. “Nobody can make me,

staying right here. Sleep.”

Ryon drifted, relishing Daria’s cool fingers raking his

hair, messaging his scalp. Stroking his face and lips. When

the pain became almost too much and his soul was tempted

to slip from its exhausted shell, he called to her. A soft

touch, the quiet strength of her presence became his reason

to cling to this earth.

Slowly, however, the fog began to part. His thoughts

became more lucid, awareness of his surroundings

sharper. His eyelids still refused to budge and his limbs

were encased in cement, but he sensed that Daria did

leave for short periods of time. He understood.

She never stayed away for long. She was steadfast,

urging him to get well.

For his mate, anything.

• • •

“Hey, you.”

For a full minute, Ryon didn’t comprehend that he’d

awakened and opened his eyes. The fog parted gradually

as he rose to the surface. Gentle light filtered through the

filmy haze covering his vision. By slow degrees, the haze

dissipated, and he found himself staring into a pair of huge

brown eyes.

“Baby,” he rasped.

Eyes that immediately filled with tears. Happy ones, he

guessed, from the way she beamed down at him. Her smile

crinkled her nose, and she grasped one of his hands tightly.

“I thought I’d never hear you call me that again,” she

half-sobbed, choking on the last word. “You shaved a

couple of decades off my life, mate.”

“That close, huh?”

She leaned over and brought his hand to her face,

rubbing it against her cheek. “You weren’t breathing when

they brought you in. We thought you were gone.” She gave

a watery laugh. “Except for Nick, of course. He swore

you’d make it. Guess we should learn to trust him.”

“Guess so.” Jesus, his head was muzzy and he hurt all

over. Ryon attempted a smile, but his face wouldn’t

cooperate. “How long have I been out of it?”

“Four long days. Everyone’s been visiting, and taking

bets on who’d end up in here next. Meanwhile, Nick has

been on the phone nonstop with General Grant.”

“Really?” He tried to sit up, but vertigo and nausea

swamped him. “What did Nick say about all that

government conspiracy shit? Did he know about it?”

Daria eased him back. “Whoa, no sudden moves, big

guy. To answer your questions, Nick didn’t know a thing

about it, and he was furious. He and the general aren’t sure

how much of what my uncle claimed is true, if any of it,

but they’re starting an investigation.”

“A real quiet one, I’ll bet.”

“You bet right. Nick had a meeting and told the team

about it, and they were shocked and upset, as you can

imagine.”

“The day we were turned was one of the worst of my

life,” he murmured. “All of our lives. Even if August was

lying about some of it, a lot of what he said makes sense.”

“Like how it happened that all of you ended up in

Afghanistan, in the same unit?”

“And how those of us who survived each have a Psy

gift. I know we won’t rest until we have the truth of who

was behind it all.” He paused, and asked a question that

was burning in his gut. “Have you seen Ben?”

Giving him a soft smile, she shook her head. “No,

honey. He’s been asking for me, but I wanted to wait until

you woke up.”

That surprised him. “Why?”