Astrid Cielo (19 page)

A
howl captured Elias's attention and a smug smile graced his face.
 
"She's been found and is alive.
 
Her mates are bringing her to us.
 
Is there anything we need to do to help,
alpha?"

Caleb
hated that he wanted to punch Elias in the face.
 
Instead of violence, he took a deep breath
and smiled.

"Thank
you for your assistance.
 
It would be my
pleasure to invite you and your pack to a wedding."

Elias's
eyebrows rose.
 
"And whose wedding
will it be?"

"Mine and my mates, the day after
Thanksgiving."

Elias
smiled with a little peek of fang showing.
 
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Caleb
extended his hand and they shook.
 
Caleb
whipped out his cell phone and called Teresa, he had a feeling Aspen was going
to need a doctor.
 
Wesley walked up.

"You two done with your pissing
contest?"

Caleb
growled and Wesley laughed.
 
Then Skylar
emerged into the field followed by Xavier carrying a limp Aspen in his
arms.
 
He yelled for his pride to make a
makeshift pallet for Aspen.
 

"We
have an ambulance on the way," Wesley said as he took off his jacket and
placed it in the pile.
 
Caleb nodded.

His
gut clenched with worry over his childhood friend.
 
His cougar paced restlessly within his mind,
wanting retribution for what was done to her.
 
He tamped it down and started directing pride to best help Aspen and her
mates who both looked ready to rip throats out at any moment.

He
placed his hand cautiously on Skylar's shoulder and the male tensed a growl
automatically pouring from his throat.
 

"Calm.
 
The male who did
this?"

"Dead."

It
was all he needed to know.
 
Xavier placed
her gently on the makeshift pallet and covered her with a shirt.
 
She moaned, but otherwise didn't stir.

"Dr.
Weber is here, Alpha."
 

Caleb
nodded to Peter, a young male in his pride and the one who’d delivered news of
finding Aspen’s trail.
 
Then he stepped
back and allowed Paul and his mate, Dr. Weber to do what they did best, though
his cougar wanted him to take over and help Aspen.

***

Soon
they were back with Aspen's pride and Skylar didn't even
[O1]
 
bother to try
and contain his growl when she was taken from Xavier and laid on a pile of
jackets on the ground.
 
Andrew was pushed
to where she lay and he seemed frozen.
 
Caleb clapped him on the shoulder.
 
"Aspen needs you."

Andrew
closed his eyes and nodded before stooping and assessing the damage.

"Most
of the cuts are superficial, though these two stab wounds worry me.
 
I think it best if we get her to the hospital
as soon as possible, especially given her condition."

"The
ambulance is on the way and Dr. Weber should be here any minute.
 
She keeps an emergency kit at home, and I've
had her on standby since Aspen went missing," Caleb told the pale
man.
 

Skylar
sat on the ground and pulled Aspen's head into his lap.
 

"Everyone
needs to get dressed.
 
If Aspen goes to
the hospital then humans are going to be involved.
 
Someone
show
me this
cabin so I can do damage control," Wesley yelled to the crowd.
 

Skylar
watched as he and Daphne left.
 
He and
Xavier even managed to slip on a shirt and sweats.
 
Andrew said it best to leave Aspen naked
since they would just unclothe her in the emergency room.

Dr.
Weber showed up and she and her mate, Paul, took over Aspen's care.
 
Xavier held her hand and Skylar took a
washcloth from the emergency kit and wiped at the blood caked around her mouth.
 
His mate was fierce and had protected herself
and their baby.
 
Grey eyes stared at him
and then looked around.
 
She hunted her
other mate.

"Xavier,
Aspen needs to see you."
 
Xavier
came closer and cupped her cheek.

"I
thought I'd lost you," he whispered.

Aspen
smiled then grimaced as Paul started an IV in her arm.
 
"Sorry, Aspen, but it's all over
now."

Everything
happened in a blur after the ambulance arrived and the paramedics loaded Aspen
onto a stretcher into the back.
 
Aspen
began to cry and struggle when the doors began to close.
 

"Don't
leave me, please!
 
Skylar, Xavier."

Skylar
jumped into the back and cupped her cheek.
 
"It's okay sweetheart.
 
I'll
never leave you."

The
paramedic sighed.
 
"Look, I've got
to get her back and I can't have everyone in my ambulance."
 

"Oh,
come on Tom you know if that was Christy you'd be beside yourself.
 
Let the boys ride.
 
She's stable enough."
 

Tom
frowned at the younger male but nodded.
 
"Climb in, but I'm in charge.
 
Got it."

Xavier
didn't waste time getting in.
 

"Dr.
Weber, I'm sure you and Paul can fit up front with me.
 
It'll be a tight fit."
 

Skylar
didn't hear the rest of the conversation as he bent and kissed Aspen.
 

"I
thought I'd never see you two again." Aspen's eyes filled with tears.

"Honey,
I'm so sorry," Skylar said before moving so Xavier could see her.

"Hey."

Aspen
laughed and Xavier wiped her tears.
 
"You scared the hell out of me."

Aspen's
smile faded.
 
"I was scared
too.
 
He was going to-"

"
Shh
, baby, we'll hear about it soon enough."

Aspen
nodded and closed her eyes.

"She's
going to be just fine.
 
It takes more
than that to take down a cougar," Dr. Weber said from the front seat where
she sat in Paul's lap.
 

"Let's
go,
Branston
," Tom said from beside Xavier.
 
"Alright guys give me room to work."

Soon
Aspen was sleeping and then they were pulling into Pinewood Creek's hospital.

Andrew,
Miranda, and Caleb stood outside the Emergency room door and Skylar could tell
they almost didn't restrain themselves when the door to the ambulance
opened.
 

"Let
me out of here Paul before Caleb makes a scene."

Paul
laughed and helped his mate from the front cab where she made the interception.

"You
know they're only going to let one back and those two are already going
nuts."

Caleb
laughed.
 
"Calm down Teresa, I'll
keep this under control."

Teresa
patted Caleb's shoulder.
 
"She's
gonna be okay."

Skylar
was glad Aspen had so many people who cared for her, especially since he'd done
such a fucked up job from the start.
 

Xavier
grabbed his hand and he followed Aspen's stretcher into the hospital.
 
The brown-haired plump nurse from Aspen's
previous ER visit frowned at both of them but didn't say anything while she
focused on Tom during his report on Aspen.

"This
is Aspen Clarke who has suffered many lacerations and two deep stab wounds to
her thighs.
 
She was conscious on scene
and fell asleep en route.
 
She rouses
easily to verbal stimuli.
 
She is
approximately three and a half months pregnant.
 
BP ninety over fifty-two after a liter bolus of normal
saline.
 
Paul started a sixteen
gauge IV to her right AC.
 
She was pale
and diaphoretic on scene.
 
Bleeding is
controlled and knife was left in her left thigh."

"Did
you give her any medications?"

"
Ondansetron
four milligrams.
 
She vomited once on scene when I got
there.
 
I would have given her pain meds,
Destini
, but she refused."

Destini
frowned but
nodded.
 
"Thanks, Tom."

Tom
stopped and held out his hand.
 
Xavier
took it then Skylar.
 
"Look guys,
she's in good hands and you heard Dr. Weber, she's going to be just fine."

Skylar
stepped closer to the bed.
 

"Did
y'all get this mating thing worked out?"

Skylar
stared at the brunette and Xavier laughed.
 
"You could say that."

Destini
placed monitors
on Aspen and Skylar held her hand.
 
"Baby, why did you refuse the pain medications?"
 

He
thought he'd be speaking to himself, but her eyelashes fluttered and she
grimaced.
 
"I didn't like the way
those tranquilizers made me feel."
 

Skylar
nodded.
 
Xavier stood at the end of the
stretcher.
 
"How come there aren’t
all kinds of people swarming?"

Destini
laughed.
 
"You watch too much TV, besides this is
a small town hospital and there was a pretty gruesome wreck, so everyone's
taking care of less stable patients.
 
Besides, I'm the only one down here with a background in OB.
 
Dr. Weber is calling her doc right now.
 
Don't worry guys, she's stable.
 
Stubborn, but stable,”
Destini
turned her stern gaze to Aspen, “Now, you listen to me sweetheart, it's
perfectly fine to refuse treatment, but don't lie here and hurt when there is
something we can give you."

"But
the baby-"

"Will
be just
fine,
now, would you like me to get you
something for pain?"

Aspen's
face scrunched up and
Destini
sighed.
 
"Now, sweetheart, you're safe now and
with your mates."
 
Destini
turned to
Skylar
who
growled.
 
"None of that, wolf.
 
Now, come up here and console you mate."

Aspen's
fear was like a boulder sitting on her chest.
 
She couldn't even focus on forgetting the pain that wracked her body for
the fear that her baby was harmed.
 
Skylar and Xavier had been oddly quiet, only saying they thought they'd
lost her over and over again.
 
She needed
answers
dammit
.

"None
of that, wolf.
 
Console your mate,"
Destini
said to
Skylar
.

Skylar's
green eyes captured hers and she felt as though she could breathe again, mix
that with Xavier's gentle play with her hair and she could almost relax.
 
Almost.

"I
need to know he's alright."

"Who's
alright?" Xavier asked.

"We're
both fine, baby. Just relax."

Aspen
shook her head.
 
They didn't
understand.
 
She moved her legs, she was
going to get up, but the sharp pain that shot up her leg caused her to cry out.

"Lay
still, Aspen.
 
The knife is still in your
leg," Skylar said while restraining her by pressing down on her shoulders.

"But
the baby-"

"Will
be just fine," Xavier said.
 
He
meant it to be soothing, but from the worried look in his eyes it was anything
but.

"Oh,
for heaven’s sake, Aspen, I'm going to do some fetal heart tones, let you hear
your baby's heartbeat.
 
Will that relax
you?"

Destini
stood hands on
her hips her eyes kind despite her words.
 
Aspen nodded.
 
Destini
smiled and pulled the sheet down to her hips.
 
She frowned at her then left her side only for a moment to hand a gown
to Skylar.
 

"Put
that on her."
 
Skylar nodded and
Aspen wanted to laugh at how he followed directions.
 
Xavier caught her eye and he smiled.

The
cold squirt of jelly made her jump then moan in pain as it wiggled her
leg.
 
"Why can't we just take the
knife out?"
 
The damn thing hurt.

Destini
placed a piece
of small equipment on her abdomen and never lost her concentration.
 
"We don't know what it hit, so I'm sure
they'll do x-rays or something just to be safe."

"It
hit bone.
 
That's what it hit."
 

Xavier's
face paled and Skylar's jaw clenched.
 
But all her worries melted when
Destini
smiled
and turned the volume up.
 
It was so
fast, but she'd heard it before.
 
Beautiful didn't start to cover how she felt as the sound of her baby's
heartbeat filled the room.

"Heartbeat
accounted for.
 
Feel a little
better?"

Aspen
nodded. She didn't trust her voice through the tears.
 
She looked to Skylar then Xavier and
frowned.
 
Neither seemed to react to the
sound of their child's heartbeat-well Skylar's--but she was under the
impression they would raise him together.
 
Destini
removed the device and her son's
heartbeat faded.
 
Destini
cleaned her belly, careful of the marks left behind by that bastard.
 
She swallowed but knew it wouldn't do any
good.

"I'm
going to be sick."

Strong
arms held her in a sitting position while another held her hair back as she
vomited in the blue bag held out by
Destini
.
 
Her mind kept rolling over and over how she'd
ripped his throat out, the coppery taste of his blood coating her tongue and
the sick gurgling sound he made before sliding to the floor lifeless.
 

"I
killed him," she cried.

Xavier
and Skylar both began talking at the same time their words meant to be
reassuring, but it wasn't helping.
 
The
tears flowed harder and each sob sent pain shooting up her leg.
 

"Aspen,
hon
, you need to settle down.
 
We've got to do tests and sew you up."

Dr.
Weber stood at the foot of the stretcher looking over a chart.
 
"
Destini
, did
you give her the pain medication?"

"She
refused."

Dr.
Weber--or Teresa--funny how she turned into Dr. Weber when in her lab jacket,
stared at her with a frown.
 
"Aspen, why don't you want the pain medications?"

Aspen
shook her head.
 
"I can't go to
sleep again."

Understanding
dawned in Dr. Weber's eyes and she nodded.
 
"Well, we've got to do some things that will end up being pretty
painful without the medications.
 
Now,
Skylar and Xavier are ready to gnaw someone's face off because you hurt.
 
Do you want them to suffer?"

Aspen
looked up at Skylar who supported her in her sitting position and noticed for
the first time how his jaw clenched, his eyes glowed and the slight bite of
claw dug into her back.
 
Xavier's
expressions weren't much different.
 
"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Skylar
cupped her cheek and brought her gaze back to his.
 
"Baby, don't suffer."
 
His words were nothing more than a growl, his
fangs showing with each word.
 
Skylar
bent and kissed her on the forehead then kissed her neck his mouth lingering
for mere seconds.

Xavier
tugged her hair gently after Skylar's lips left her neck and she turned to
him.
 
His hand raked through her hair and
he growled low in his throat before bending to nip at the base of her
neck.
 
"Don't hurt, Aspen.
 
It can't be good for our baby."

Aspen
smiled when he called her baby ours.
 
She
cupped her abdomen then nodded.

"I'll
take the pain medication."

Destini
smiled and
left.
 
She came back in a matter of
moments and started to push the drug into her IV.
 
Slowly but surely the feeling of lethargy
took her down.
 
Panic started crowding
in, but Skylar and Xavier were there, and their presence kept her calm enough
to slip peacefully into the arms of unconsciousness.

***

Wesley
stared into the cold blue eyes of the male who'd caused so much pain since
coming to Pinewood Creek.
 
Two human females
dead and instead of being able to give their families closure he was
contemplating ways of covering up the entire fiasco.
 
But, the world wasn't ready to accept
shifters, so that left only a cover up to perform.
 
Still didn't mean he had to like it.
 
The cop in him rebelled at the thought of
placing another unsolved case on the shelf.

Not
to mention his bear was going crazy that they'd left their mate.
 
The strawberry blonde female explained a lot
about those odd feelings he had when he visited the pride.
 
Her scent, although he'd only caught a brief
whiff, assured him that she was all his.
 
His cock hardened and he smiled.
 
He couldn't wait to spread her thighs and...

Daphne's
whistle captured his attention.
 

"Damn,
that feline sure did a number on him."

Wesley
growled.
 
"She was protecting
herself and her unborn child."

Daphne
flashed her teeth the hint of fang a clear warning.
 
Damn wolf was too easy to rile.

"Didn't imply any different.
 
Just commending a job well
done."

"Shit.
 
We can't just call this in, but Aspen's
injuries need a story, because I'll have to file a report since she was
stabbed.
 
How are we going to explain the
absence of a throat?"

"This
used to be my sanctuary."

Wesley
stared at Daphne.
 
Gone was the devil may
care attitude to be replaced with something he'd never thought he'd
see--vulnerability.
 
Daphne gave him a
half smile and he thought that would be the end of their conversation, but she
continued much to his surprise.

"My
Dad used to bring Elias and me up here to hunt, run, and just plain get
away.
 
After Mom and Dad passed and Elias
took over I just used this as an escape.
 
Trying to forget."
 

He
looked around the small cabin.
 
Rustic to
the extreme it boasted one room with a stove and fridge, cot, and fire
place.
 
Utilitarian at
best.

"Forget
what?"

Her
shoulders tensed and she shook her head.
 
"Just stuff."

She
was lying and he knew it, but she was one sly wolf.

"Let's
just burn it down.
 
We'll get Aspen to
corroborate she kicked a lantern over and was able to crawl out after the fire
started but he wasn't.
 
It'll cover up
the ripped out throat."

Actually,
it wasn't a bad idea, but...

"I
thought this was your sanctuary."

"Key
word: was.
 
I can't consider this place
relaxing after seeing this, besides what else are we gonna do?"

Wesley
nodded.

Thirty
minutes later he watched the flames devour the small cabin and Daphne attempt
to wipe the tears away discreetly.
 
He
clapped her on the shoulder and pulled out his ringing phone.

"Wesley
Chambers."

"Hi,
this is
Destini
Shields with the Pinewood Creek ER
and I'm calling to ensure that Aspen Clarke's stabbing had been reported."

"Yes,
Destini
, Dr. Weber was with us on scene."

"I
understand, but Dr. Weber is busy suturing.
 
Thank you."

"You're
welcome...Aspen's...well, you said she was stable."

Wesley
heard only silence.
 
He was sure she'd
hung up on him.

"Look,
I'm not supposed to say, HIPPA and all, but she's doing fine--physically.
 
Mentally and emotionally, well how do you
think anyone would be after what happened to her?
 
I just hope her mates are patient enough to
let her heal."

"Thank
you,
Destini
.
 
And, I've not known them long, but Skylar and Xavier seem strong enough
for the task."

Wesley
pressed the end button and slid the phone back into his pocket.
 

Damn
it was hard to concentrate on the here and now when he knew she existed.
 
How had she eluded his attention especially
since he'd been going to Caleb and Miranda's for supper at least once every
other week since he'd met them.
 
To a
lonely bear like him, they were almost family, but finding Essence--well that
changed things.
 

He'd
really have a family.
 
Soon she'd be
bearing one of his children.
 
And until
she was pregnant, he planned to fuck her every day and night.
 
Who was he kidding?
 
He'd fuck her every chance he got.
 
Just thinking about her strawberry blonde
hair spread out across his pillows as he thrust between her thighs made him so
hard he hurt.

"I've
got to get back to the pack.
 
Elias is
having a coronary because the pride came onto pack lands."

Wesley
looked at Daphne and smiled.

"Tell
him I said to just piss along his border so that mistake never happens
again."

Daphne's
face lit up with her smile and she laughed.
 
It was good to see her smile again.

"I
will, but I'm not responsible for your ass kicking."

"Yeah, yeah."

Daphne's
change was fluid, the mark of an alpha of her kind.
 
One second she stood pulling her shirt off
and the next before anyone could catch a glimpse of any of her flesh she was a
russet colored wolf.
 
The wolf cocked her
head to the side and stared up at Wesley before bounding into the forest.
 
Wesley shook his head.
 
He had a case to wrap up and a woman to
claim.