Forever's Fight (22 page)

Clarissa shut MaKayla’s door all but a few inches, and walked down the hall with Jade. As they moved out of shifter hearing range, she whispered, “She hasn’t spoken since you retrieved her?”

“We were told that she’s spoken very little since she saw Andrew’s death, and not at all since she found out they were forcing her to leave. She seemed to accept their reasoning, even contacted us, but you can feel the despair pouring off her.”

“I never realized the connection Patrick had to all of you until the mating was complete. Even though she’s not in the pride, I can still feel a connection to her. Why’s that?”

Patrick stepped onto the floor, locking the door behind him, just as she finished her question. “Because she has no sleuth.”

“Sleuth?”

“It’s the bear’s form of a pride, like I mentioned before,” he explained.  “She’s without the sleuths backing, so any Alpha who comes into contact with her would feel some connection to her. That is until she commits to an Alpha. As another shifter, Jade could feel her emotions, especially since MaKayla’s beast is still maturing within her and she can’t shield like she needs to, but she wouldn’t feel everything you’re feeling.”

“Can she commit to a pride even though she’s a bear shifter?”

“She’s free of all her connections, so she can. Once she feels safe here, she might decide she wishes to commit herself to our pride. However, until she makes the decision to commit or to seek out another Alpha, we must protect her. She’s been entrusted to my custody, and I won’t have her pressured to pledge herself to someone else until she’s ready. Some wouldn’t be as willing to allow her to make the decision on her own. They’d pressure her until she felt she had no choice but to agree.
”
He slipped his arm around his mate’s waist. “How is she doing?”

“She’s resting now, curled in a tight ball.” Jade’s lips twitched down in a deep frown. “There’s so much sadness within her.”

“You want to heal her because you cannot heal the hurt within you.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at her brother. “That’s not true. I’m fine.”

“If you can’t be honest with me, at least be honest with yourself.” Patrick waited a heartbeat before he shook his head. “There will come a time when you’re ready to face what happened and the nightmares will cease. Only then will you truly be able to heal. When you’re ready, you know where to find me. We will all have your back, no matter what’s down that road.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned since I’ve joined this family, it’s that the O’Reillys stick together.” Clarissa glanced between the two, a ray of happiness sparking within her because she was a part of their family. “If you ever need to talk to someone besides one of your burly brothers, I’m always here.” She smiled at Jade, who was becoming like a sister to her. They had bonded, and Jade had help Clarissa adjust to shifter life. The least she could do was be there for her when she needed someone to confide in.

“I’m going to bed.” Jade turned and took a step toward her bedroom before glancing hesitantly at Clarissa. “Thanks…I mean it.”

“Actually, Jade,” Patrick began, “I need a minute before you turn in.” His tone held more of a serious note than it had only moments before.

“If it’s about what happened before, or tonight, I’m not up for it right now. Can’t it wait until morning?”

“It’s not about that. Let’s go to my suite, it will only take a few minutes.”

“I can go to the lab, and you can come get me when you’re done,” Clarissa offered.

“No need, we’re just going to discuss the proposal.” He kept his arm around her waist as they made their way down the wide hallway.

She leaned against his chest and tried to quell the rising fear within her. The government could send out a team of elite military to eliminate all of them before things could go any further, and the O’Reillys could start getting the other shifters in an uproar. She knew the government would go to great lengths to keep the shifters in check, and to stop a war that would be on their own soil.

I won’t lose Patrick or this family.
She would fight for them just as they’d fought for her.

Patrick’s eyelids flung open as his lion caught the scent of someone moving outside. He slipped his arm out from under Clarissa, causing her to let out a soft moan, but she didn’t wake. When he was sure she’d stay asleep, he moved quietly to the window. Outside, everything seemed just as it had been hours ago when he had climbed into bed with his mate, but someone was coming. His lion sensed it. Whoever it was, they were at least a ten-minute walk away. It gave him just enough time to get Austin, and prepare before their guest—or their intruder—reached the castle.

He grabbed the jeans he’d discarded at the edge of the bed and slipped them on. He slid the zipper home just as she began to stir. She slid her arm across the bed to where he should have been, but when she didn’t find him she shot upright on the mattress.

“Patrick.” With her voice full of sleep, she fought to open her eyes.

“I’m right here, angel.”

“Come back to bed.”

He tugged a black long-sleeved shirt over his head. “I’ve got to deal with something, but I’ll be back as quick as I can.”

Half-heartedly, she scooted toward the edge of the bed. “I’ll come with you.”

“No, angel, it won’t take long. You stay here and keep the bed warm.” He grabbed hold of her ankles as she lowered them toward the floor and quickly pulled her back into bed. As her head pressed against the pillows, he pulled the covers around her. “I won’t be long. Rest, my beautiful angel.”

“The bed’s so lonely without you.” Her eyelids fluttered shut as she tried to stifle a yawn.

“You won’t be awake long enough to be lonely.” He smirked as she tried to pry her eyes open to look at him, which she barely managed. “You’re exhausted, so stay in bed. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

A soft moan warmed the air. “Now, that might be worth a few lonely hours in bed by myself.”

He shook his head and hoped it wouldn’t take hours, but there was no telling. Instead of denying it, he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before rising off the mattress. He curled his hand around his jacket, but then stopped and stepped toward the closet. From the top shelf he pulled down a locked box and took out his handgun. He kept it in the holster and slipped it into the waistband of his jeans. It wasn’t comfortable, but at least he’d have other means besides hand to hand combat or shifting if things got out of hand with this stranger.

“Patrick,” Austin called softly from outside the door.

“Coming.” He placed the box back on the shelf, closed the closet, and grabbed his jacket. With Austin waiting outside the bedroom for him, having picked up on the approaching intruder as well, at least he didn’t have to waste any time. As he stepped out of his room, he found Austin, already wearing his coat and ready to go outside.

“It couldn’t be Dean, could it?”

He hadn’t considered Dean. One would have thought he’d have more sense than to go stumbling through the woods in the middle of the night, to a castle full of shifters. All of it was a recipe for disaster. If he were smart, he’d wait until first light to make the final journey to the resort. “Could be, but it’s a good way to get himself killed.”

“Maybe whatever he found is worth the risk,” Austin offered as they descended the stairs. “Or, whoever was after him could be hot on his trail.”

“If he brought trouble to our door, he won’t live long enough to regret it.” His growls mixed with his words as he considered whether Dean could be stupid and selfish enough to bring trouble straight to his sister’s doorstep. Would he risk her to save himself? Or did he figure the shifters would protect them? If that was the case, he was about to learn a harsh lesson.

“She wouldn’t like it.”

“He’d have risked our pride, and that’s punishable by death.”

“Shifter logic,” Austin pointed out, and Patrick wanted to deny it, but it was the truth. Humans didn’t go around killing each other for such things.

“That’s true, but she needs to realize she’s not in the human world any longer.” He glanced at Austin as he stepped to the bottom of the stairs. “Even if it is Dean, he might not have trouble hot on his heels, and if he does we’ll deal with that, too.”

“So, are we going out with guns blazing?” Austin nodded to Patrick’s waist.

He smelled the gunpowder. Any shifter would, but they didn’t have much fear when it came to guns. The bullet would have to be well-placed, centered on the heart or the brain for a shifter to die from it.

“Whoever’s out there is human. So, if it’s not Dean, then we have a trespasser.” Each turn of the lock echoed through the quietness as if announcing their departure. “Keep the guns hidden until we know who it is, and then only if needed. If it’s not Dean, maybe it’s a lost hiker.”

“This time of year?” Austin chuckled as the last lock slid away.

Patrick pulled open the door, only to be hit full force by the bitter cold wind. A human had to be crazy to go out in this. Crazy or desperate. Instead of debating it any longer, he stepped outside, Austin right behind him, and headed in the direction the smell was coming from. There was something familiar about the scent, but even now, his beast wasn’t convinced it was Dean.

They trekked through the snow in silence. Neither of them bothered to head downwind to keep their scent away from the intruder. Since he wasn’t a shifter, it didn’t matter. Instead, they just marched straight toward the scent, which was just beyond the trees now. If it were a trap, they’d be open targets, but the only scent of gunpowder was their own. Whoever was out there was unarmed and alone. It had to be Dean.

The figure stepped out of the trees, and the scent of fresh blood invaded Patrick’s nostrils. Even with the smell and the heavy parka, he instantly recognized Dean. His scent was different because not all of the blood on him was his own. “Fuck, what the hell happened to him?”

“I’d say from the blood that’s coating him, whatever happened, he won.”

“At what cost?” He increased his pace because Dean was bleeding heavily. If he died before Clarissa was reunited with him, she would be heartbroken, and Patrick wasn’t sure how he would deal with that.

Dean staggered and started to fall forward into the snow. Austin and Patrick each caught one of his arms just in time to keep him upright. “I thought I’d never make it.” Exhaustion clung to his every word.

“What the hell happened to you?” Patrick questioned as they tried to move him forward, toward the castle.

“Long story…good news is, I won.”

Dean felt heavier the closer to they got to the castle. They had to get him inside so Patrick could look at him. He had lost too much blood and was quickly going into shock. They didn’t have a supply of blood on hand, so hopefully they’d be able to handle this without taking him to a hospital, which was out of the question anyway.

“Dean…” Austin shook him until he looked up. “Did anyone follow you?”

He shook his head. “Dead…all dead.”

By half carrying, half dragging him they were able to get Dean inside. On the sofa, Patrick began to pull off the layers of clothing and ordered Austin to fetch supplies. “Get my kit, some hot water and towels.”

“Drink.” Dean let his head rest against the back of the sofa.

“Get him some water after you bring the other stuff.” He pulled the jacket off and tossed it to the floor. “Where are you injured?”

“Where am I not?” He tugged up his shirt to reveal a rather nasty stab wound. His attacker must have pulled up on the knife, making the wound worse. “Where’s Clarissa?”

“In bed. I’ll get her once I’ve looked at you.” He didn’t want her to see her brother in the condition he was in. She’d have a fit that he’d risked himself and wouldn’t let them send back-up. It was best to get him cleaned and patched up first. He didn’t even question what Dean had found. Not yet at least.

Commotion in the hallway woke Clarissa. She stretched her arm out to touch Patrick, but he still hadn’t returned. As the events of the morning flooded back to her, she slipped off the bed and grabbed a robe. She stepped into the hall just in time to see Austin dashing toward the steps, carrying what appeared to be medical supplies.

She went back into their room and shoved her feet into a pair of slippers before jogging after him. If someone was hurt, she might be able to help them. As she hurried down the steps, she noticed that none of the connections within the pride were disturbed, so none of them were injured. Could someone have shown up while she was asleep? Dean? She sped her pace until she was running down the steps at full speed.

The last staircase opened up to the family area, and she saw her brother on the sofa. His bloody clothes had been stripped from him and tossed aside. His pale, unconscious body was stretched out on the sofa as Patrick attended to his wounds.

“Dean!” She cried out even though she knew he couldn’t hear her, while tears streamed down her cheeks. She felt as though she were on the verge of hysteria. “What…what the hell happened? What did…what did you do to my brother?” Her breaths came faster, her anger spiking.

Patrick didn’t even glance up, which only enraged her further. She came to the bottom of the staircase, but Austin stepped in the way.

“Let me through,” she snapped.

“No.” Austin looped his arm around her waist to stop her as she tried to slip past him. “His injuries are bad. Let Patrick attend to him.”

“What happened to him?”

“I don’t know.” Austin still didn’t let go of her. “It happened before he got here, but he’s been stabbed multiple times. Patrick is stitching him up now, but we had to sedate him, so he’s going to be out a while.”

“You thought we did this.” Patrick’s statement was so soft she wasn’t even sure she’d heard him, but she could feel the sadness tugging along the invisible strings that connected them.

“Oh, Patrick…” She wept, unable to control herself. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t…I know you couldn’t have done it, but that doesn’t explain what happened.” The anger that had coursed through her dissipated, just like that, because she knew in her heart that her mate would do everything he could to save her brother.

“Come sit over here, and let him finish.” Austin let go of her waist and took hold of her hand.

“You don’t have to worry that I’ll go after the good doctor.” There was a tremor in her voice. She was shaking.

“Just come over here.”

She shook her head but followed. “I didn’t mean it like it sounded. To see him so badly beaten…and all the blood.”

“You jumped to the conclusion that I did this to him,” Patrick accused.

“No. Actually, when I said it, I didn’t realize how badly he was injured. I only thought…
”
She let out a deep breath and decided it was better to be honest than for him to think she didn’t believe him. “I thought you heard someone sneaking around the property, and instead of finding out who it was first, you hit him over the head, knocking him unconscious. Precautionary measure, nothing more. Patrick, I know you…I know you both, and neither of you would have hurt him unless he attacked first. If he did, I’m not sure you’d be over there healing him right now.”

Patrick stopped mid-stitch and looked at her. “So, even though, I’m a doctor and your mate, you actually think we’d let him die even if he attacked?”

“Well…” She tried to stand up, but Austin stayed in her way so she couldn’t. “Why would you? If he attacked you, then he betrayed us all. He betrayed not only you, but also me. His own sister, same flesh and blood.” She leaned back against the chair Austin had led her to and realized that was part of the issue. She felt betrayed by her brother because he hadn’t come with her in the first place. He let her go with Patrick and Blake while he went off on his own somewhere.

“Because of you, mate.” He spit it out like it left a bad taste in his mouth. “If I had to knock the senses out of him, I’d still patch him up so I could send him back to town. Killing your brother wouldn’t bring our relationship anything but trouble.”

“You’d leave a standing threat out there, one who knew your location, because of me?”

Patrick didn’t answer her, so Austin finally did. “There’s very little we wouldn’t do for our mates. In time, you’ll find that out, but tonight I’ll tell you he had nothing to do with this. We were checking out what we believed was a trespasser when Dean stepped through the trees. Patrick recognized him immediately, so there was no rough and tumble. The condition you see him in is the way we found him.”