Full Circle (Central Florida Pack Book 1) (9 page)

"Here." Paolo grabbed a stack of towels. "Press this against the wound. Shit, she's going to need stitches."

"Doc's on his way." Drake took the towels he offered and tried to staunch the bleeding.

James stepped in and took charge of the cleanup, a good thing, since all Drake could see was his injured mate bleeding on the floor. "Paolo, I need you to take care of Sheena. She's unconscious, and we don't know what injuries she's sustained. We need her contained. Tim's waiting at the front door for Doc."

Drake gathered Ria up into his arms and took her into the bedroom. Someone had covered the bed in towels. He laid a dazed Ria on the bed just as Tim escorted Doc into the room.

***

They wouldn't allow him into the room. Drake paced the hallway in a pair of sweatpants someone handed him, his feet bare against the cool tile. Ria's blood stained his hands and chest. Both he and his wolf were in agreement once more: their heart was in the next room. They'd let the enemy attack her.

James leaned against the doorjamb, watching him pace. "She'll be fine."

Drake hoped James was right. He could feel her through the mate bond. She was passed out. Weak, tired, and when she woke, she'd be pissed. Pride and rage mixed inside of him. The entire drive to the house, he'd been helpless. The only thing that had kept him sane was the mate bond. Through it, he'd felt her heart beating and known she was alive.

Still, the Pack had been betrayed by one of its own. Drake's skin rippled as he reined in his instinct to change. He focused on something else, something that had been bothering him since he'd broken into the bathroom. Something his nose had told him. "Patrick."

"What about Patrick?" James took a step away from the door jamb.

Drake closed his eyes as he listened to instinct. Sheena smelled like Patrick. "Once Doc is finished here, I need him to check Sheena's blood work. I want to see if the drugs found in Patrick's system match what I think is in Sheena's system." Drake felt his nails elongate into claws. "I want to know what drove Sheena to attack her Alpha's mate."

Drake didn't wait for James to reply. He turned and yanked open the door.

Doc turned toward the door and met Drake's eyes. "I wondered how long James could hold you out there."

Drake didn't bother with a response. Ria's pale form drew him like a lodestone.

"She'll have a few scars, since she's half human," Doc stated, as he tied off the suture he was working on. "But other than that, she'll be fine."

"What about all the blood she lost?"

"Funny thing, her being half werewolf. She heals much more quickly than a regular human. Didn't even require a transfusion." Doc picked up his bag and headed toward the door. "I'll be back to check on her in a while."

Drake sat on the bed, holding Ria's hand. Drake prayed hard while he waited for Ria to open her eyes. There was no one he trusted more than Doc to take care of his mate, but to have finally joined with his mate and then almost lose her in such a short period of time was harder than he could have known. He felt like he needed extra help. Drake rested his head against the mattress and prayed harder.

He dreamt of her running her fingers through his hair. He opened his eyes to find hers locked on him. His heart stuttered.

"Hi." She smiled, and he breathed again.

"How are you feeling?" His voice sounded strained even to his ears. Footsteps sounded in the hall. "Hold that thought. I think Doc's here to see you."

Doc knocked on the door a moment later, entering the room without waiting for permission.

"Awake? Good, good. Drake, get off that bed. It can't be comfortable for her." Doc made quick work of checking her out. Drake felt the pressure in his chest ease as Doc pulled the cover back up over Ria. "You know it would be better if you could change, young lady. Then those..." He gestured to the stiches that held the wounds on her shoulders closed. "…wouldn't be necessary. Ah, well, they're healing well, though."

"So she's fine?"

Doc looked only slightly annoyed at the question. "Yes. But I have something else to talk to you about." Doc moved out into the hallway.

Drake rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. "I'll be back. Need to talk to Doc." At the puzzled look in her brown eyes, he smiled. "I'll tell you later."

Drake followed Doc out into the hallway. "Let's hear it."

"You were right, that mystery chemical was in Sheena's blood as well."

"And none of the other labs had a signature on it?"

"No."

"One or more of them could be lying, especially if another pack wants to take over our territory." Drake leaned against the wall of the hallway and crossed his arms over his chest while he mulled the situation over. "James?"

James rounded the corner immediately.

Knowing his second had heard every word, Drake wasted no time in addressing him. "I haven't heard of any of the other Alphas wanting this territory. Most have a hard enough time with trying to run their own cities. Why tackle Orlando? I want intel. This is just the beginning."

"We have another problem," James reported. "We can't find Trina."

"No one's seen her?"

"That's just it, Drake, the only person she hung around with was Sheena."

Drake pushed off the wall. "We can't contact her Alpha before we know the facts. Has anyone searched Sheena's apartment?"

"Paolo's over there now."

"Good. I don't want to wait too long to send out a search team. Her pack will want to look for her, too. She could be another victim of Sheena's, or Trina could have slipped Sheena the drug. I want to know if she is innocent or working under orders from her Alpha or someone else."

At James questioning look, he grimaced. "I know, James. But I've got to cover every possible angle. Besides, isn't this exactly why you chose not to contest my claim?"

"Damn straight. I don't have your touch for diplomacy."

Doc barked out a laugh. "If you think Drake's diplomatic, my boy, it's a good thing you're his second. I'd hate to see what you'd consider diplomacy." He hitched his satchel over his shoulder and turned to leave. He clapped his hand on Drake's shoulder. "You'll deal with this the way it ought to be. Don't second guess yourself."

Drake nodded, knowing he wasn't fooling Doc. He wanted blood, and Doc knew it.

***

Three days later, Ria emerged from the guest room. Stiff, sore, and thoroughly tired of that bed, she wrapped her robe around her. She'd barely made it two steps out the door when one of the Pack ratted her out.

"Drake! She's up!" Carly, a barely out of her teens she-wolf, stuck her tongue out at one of the younger females, who in turn surprised Ria with a quick brush of cheek against cheek.

Ria stood frozen to the spot with shock. She'd never had another Pack member greet her like that. It implied trust and belonging. Ria touched her cheek. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Did I hurt you?" The affectionate female gave Ria a quick once over. "Did I bump your stiches? I'm so sorry. Here he comes. He's going to kill me for hurting you."

"Did you hurt my mate?" Drake asked the young girl. "I don't smell pain."

The juvenile female beat a hasty retreat, leaving them standing in hall alone. That was, if Ria didn't count the various werewolves with super-sensitive hearing roaming the house and grounds. Ria silently thanked the gods Drake had had the foresight to soundproof the Alpha's suite.

He herded her back to their suite without touching her. Ria's skinned ached to feel his touch. Her heart ached because she knew he was afraid to touch her. She'd needed him to hold her every time she'd woken in the past couple of days.

"When are you going to touch me?" The words spilled from her lips, and it was as if the floodgates had opened. "I need you, Drake. I'm not a delicate piece of glass."

Somewhere deep inside of her, she felt his overwhelming relief that she was okay. For a second, she also knew his panic that she might not be healing as she should be and his fear of hurting her, but then the mate bond closed again. The bond would get stronger the longer they were mated. As new as it was, it fluctuated.

"Ria."

The slide of Drake's palms against her cheeks was enough to make her shut her eyes. She didn't know what he'd felt when the bond had opened up, but if it led to him touching her again, then she was all for it. Drake's lips brushed over her forehead before coming to rest on hers.

"Tell me you felt it, too." His thumbs stroked over her skin. "I was trying not to hurt you, and I ended up causing you pain, anyway."

Ria opened her eyes and lifted her face to his kiss. His lips brushed against hers in the lightest, sweetest caress. Ria sighed into his kiss. She'd missed this, missed him, and when he broke their kiss off, she leaned into him, absorbing his heat and strength. Drake rested his chin on her head and curved his hands around her hips.

"I've always known you were mine." His voice rumbled in her ear. She stayed put as his fingers traced a pattern on her spine. They were still in that position when James found them.

A rueful smile eased the white lines of exhaustion in his face. "Glad to see it's final. Sorry to bother you, but we've found Trina."

Drake's smile vanished.

Ria slipped her hand in Drake's. "Go ahead, James."

"She didn't achieve her objective."

Ria felt the words clear to her soul "What would my death have achieved?"

"You still don't get it, do you?" James looked exasperated. "Besides the fact that you're the Alpha's mate. Hell, Drake, you tell her."

Drake turned her so she could see his eyes. "You're a vital part of this Pack. The only reason they haven't plagued you with their attention this week is because I've forbidden them to disturb you. You keep us together." When she opened her mouth to protest, he put a finger on her lips. "I hold them by strength of leadership and loyalty, but you hold them with heart. Yours."

She looked to James for confirmation. "Yeah, kid. They took advantage of you, but they do love you and appreciate you. Besides, most of us knew who you belonged to, even if you didn't."

"Why would Trina want the Pack to lose me, though?"

"She was supposed to destabilize the Pack, so that her Alpha could move in."

Drake asked the hardest question. "What happened when she failed?"

James was grim. "She was already dying when we found her. They staked her out with silver."

***

The master suite was being remodeled. Drake didn't want Ria reliving Sheena's attack every time she stepped into the bathroom. A giggle caught his attention. The females of the Pack had requested permission to visit Ria. Drake stood in the doorway, watching her playing peekaboo with an inquisitive toddler while talking to the pup's mother. His chest tightened as Ria looked up and met his gaze. He'd wanted his mate for so long, and for so long she had been denied him.

He scented James long before he heard him. "We need to talk."

"You've got info."

"New designer drug, formulated specifically to affect werewolves, causing them to go feral with little or no control except to obey whatever orders they've been given." James held out a sheet of paper. It turned out to be list of random animal attacks. "Doc's been investigating those that bear a passing resemblance to wolf attacks. A quarter of them so far might be wolves on the drug."

Drake's gut rocked. It was confirmation of his worst fear. "We need to track them all down. Some of them could still be in the area. Put the word out in the Pack that all contact with lone wolves needs to be reported."

Ria's scent wafted toward him, and moments later, a small hand slid around his waist. He lifted his arm to allow her to cuddle closer, but his mate was rapidly growing into her role.

"What's going on?" she asked, but her tone was one of command, not request.

"Tell her, James." Drake waited until she'd heard it all, before he told her the rest. "We're calling an emergency circle."

"I thought only the Council could call an emergency."

"The attempted murder of an Alpha's mate is an emergency." Drake's felt the shiver go down her spine. "The death of an Alpha's mate could lead to the destabilization of a territory."

Besides him Ria whispered, "and the Council has worked too hard to keep the werewolves a secret from the human population."

***

Ria watched Drake pack for his trip to Arizona for the sentencing of the Alpha who'd ordered the attacks. Sentencing didn't really explain what being called in front of the Council for sentencing meant. It was a trial, a sentencing and the meting out of punishment all rolled into one. At least that was the way Drake had explained it to her.

Werewolf justice was nothing if not swift. But, it was also just. No punishment was decided without an investigation. The Council was nothing if not thorough.

"Will the investigator from the Council guard be there?" Ria asked, as she settled on the edge of the bed to watch Drake pack.

The Council had wanted to be sure of the Arizona Alpha's guilt and had sent out a team of investigators from what was simply known as the Guard.

The man who'd taken her statement had set the hairs on the back of her neck standing and Drake barging into the room. His partner had been no less intimidating. There was something lethal about them both.

Drake looked up from where he'd dropped his duffel. "More than likely." He strode over to where she sat and knelt between her legs. His hands slid up her jean-clad thighs. "He made you nervous."

"Yes, there is something about him. About both of them, really." She reached out and traced the line of his brow. "I know that we're werewolves and sometimes violence is necessary. I know you'd do everything in your power to protect the Pack…"

He took her hand into his and kissed her palm. "The men you met are loyal to the Council, or perhaps I should say they currently serve the Council in an investigative and peace-keeping capacity. They are highly trained wolves. Lethal. And that's what we need right now."

She stood when Drake stood. "What happens if they insist on the old ways?"