11. Shay

ELEVEN

Shay

" D irge, no!" I watched in horror as Dirge flew through the air, deadly sharp canines flashing under the fluorescent lights as he arrowed toward Gael's shoulder.

Thank the Goddess, Gael dodged back and raised an arm to block. Not enough for Dirge to miss, but enough for the deadly bite to sink into his biceps instead of his jugular.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Fluffy, down! He's a dick, but you can't kill him!" Leigh ran forward—faster than me, in my wounded state—and, to my utter shock, wrapped her arms around Dirge's neck and pulled.

Dirge released Gael with a throaty snarl, blood and saliva dripping down his chin as he stared up at Gael.

Gael's face was painted with shock as he looked down at the gaping wounds in his arm. His black T-shirt was shredded, not having stood a chance against shifter fangs.

Not knowing what else to do, I pulled the red emergency call rope hanging next to my bed, and alarms sounded as lights flashed in the hallway.

The sound pulled Gael back into the present, because between one moment and the next, he'd shifted, clothes exploding into useless shreds as a massive tan-and-gray wolf appeared where the man had just stood. He snarled and paced toward Dirge, his maw open, saliva dripping from his dagger-sharp canines.

"Stop, please, both of you! Stop!" I swung my legs off the bed, cursing my wobbly knees as I tried to close the distance and put myself between them.

Dirge barked, short and sharp, warning me back as he shook off Leigh's grip. She swung toward me, swearing again as she saw me standing, then dodged the two alpha wolves. As soon as she was at my side, she bear-hugged me so I didn't fall, then proceeded to yell at the two wolves.

"We're both fine! You two are fighting for nothing! Would you knock it off before you both get thrown in a cell?"

Dirge didn't attack again. To my surprise he simply backed up, putting himself between us and Gael. Who was guarding who here?

"What's the meaning of this!" Kane's dominance barreled into the room ahead of him like a freight train, and I winced as it hit me. He usually kept it pulled in, at least around his own pack mates, so we weren't getting slammed with it constantly. But right now, he had it on full display, nearly leveling us all to the linoleum with the force of it.

I couldn't speak, couldn't do anything but cling to Leigh and try to stay on my feet.

Luckily, Leigh was stronger than I was at the moment, because the two wolves weren't going to answer him. "Gael stormed in here and spooked Dirge. It was not Dirge's fault. We were all asleep when Gael slammed the door open, and Dirge didn't attack until Gael lunged for me."

"He lunged for you, or Shay?" Kane asked, pulling back on the power just a little, allowing me to take a deeper breath.

She didn't have a chance to answer before Brielle elbowed her way past Kane into the overcrowded sickroom, her own fury palpable despite the crushing alpha dominance already stuffed into the small room. "Holy hell on a double helix! You boneheads have her out of bed way too early. You should both be ashamed of yourselves," she snapped, and moved to skirt them, but Kane threw up an arm to block her from the shifted males.

"Shift back now ," she ordered from behind his arm. To my utter shock, Gael yelped once, and then he was a naked, angry man again. Dirge howled, the sound pained, but retained his fur even as he sank to the ground on his side, twisting and panting with the effort not to shift.

"Leigh, let me go. I have to help him, please," I said, my hands shaking. I didn't care, though. I couldn't see him in pain. I had to go to him.

"We'll do it together. Come on." She bore most of my weight as we crossed the small space, and she carefully lowered me to the linoleum next to my shaking mate.

I lifted his head into my lap, gingerly stroking his fur as Kane dressed Gael down not two feet from where we sat. Brielle was at my side in a blink, focused not on Dirge but on my bullet wound.

"Gah, the stitches are out again. You're bleeding, and I'm going to have to get you back on the bed and close this back up," she murmured, clearly upset as she pushed back to her feet and rounded on Gael. But Leigh was already there, a furious blonde tornado.

"I don't care what you thought—we spent one night together. One . And whatever your pea-sized caveman brain might think, we are not together. We are not a couple. You're not my mate, and you don't get to say shit about where I am or what I do. Are we clear? I'm not part of your pack. I'm not your girlfriend. Hell, we aren't even friends. Capiche?" She jabbed a finger into his naked, naked chest, and layered one last insult on the pile. "Now get the fuck out of my sight before I shift and finish what he started."

"Fine. You want it that way, princess? You got it." Gael's tone was so cold, it scared me as he turned on his heel and marched out of the room, all military precision and no feeling. Kane exchanged a few whispered words with Brielle before following him and shutting the door behind them.

I sagged against the bed as the alpha dominance left the room, replaced instead by a soothing surge of energy I couldn't place.

"Okay, now. Everyone's okay, and Kane will see to Gael. Dirge, I need you to hop up for me. Can you do that?" Brielle used her doctor voice, no-nonsense but kind. "Shay shouldn't be out of bed yet, and Leigh and I need to get her settled again so I can fix her stitches and put a new bandage on."

He stilled under my touch, then heaved himself upright with effort. Relief washed through me, but it was replaced by wonder when he turned toward me, and I saw his eyes.

His gorgeous, green eyes.

The feral red was gone.