16. Danny

Chapter 16

Danny

" I s that?—"

I didn't hear the rest of Leo's question. I barely had time to throw up a compulsion net before I lost control. My wolf took over, and I was already transforming as I leapt from the moving engine.

My hands were paws by the time they hit the floor, speeding faster than I'd ever moved before. I wove through traffic, trusting the net to keep me hidden. I ignored the massive lorry that Riley must have collided with. There was barely a fucking scratch on it. The driver stood with a police officer, looking dazed but unharmed.

He wouldn't remain that way for long if I got my hands on him. But there was no time for that. Not now.

Riley was my priority.

It took less than five seconds to reach him, but every one of those lasted an eternity.

The horror I'd been feeling crystallised into something darker as I screeched to a halt beside the car. I looked through the broken window to where my best friend was trapped, praying until the last instant that I was mistaken. That it wasn't Riley.

My prayers weren't answered.

I could feel myself starting to fracture. I couldn't though. Not yet. Not while there was still a chance to save him.

I tried to analyse the situation. Tried to logically assess how best to help Riley.

I failed. All I could see was the blood. Where his chest was caved in. The unnatural angle of his legs. The collapsed door frame stopping anyone from reaching him.

His watery gaze landed on me. His dry lips formed a single word.

" Danny. "

It slammed me back into myself, focusing me, grounding me. Shifting back into my human form, I tried to smile reassuringly at Riley. "It's okay, princess. You just hold on, okay? I'm gonna get you out."

Riley's eyelids fluttered before his eyes rolled back in his head. A wave of deadly fear crashed over me. My ears strained to catch his heartbeat, everything held on a knife edge. I gasped when I heard it. It was erratic, but it was there.

The wave retreated a fraction. Enough to let me drag in a breath. Enough for me to think.

I had to get to him. To see if his injuries were better or worse than they appeared. That was my first priority.

It was probably better that Riley was unconscious. The car was such a mangled mess that the paramedics hadn't even been able to offer him gas and air. The opposite side of the car was completely crushed.

I debated whether or not to flip the car but dismissed that idea almost immediately. I couldn't risk jarring Riley until I knew the full scope of his injuries.

A claw appeared easily, my wolf fully cooperative. I made two clean slices in the top metal strut above the door. Behind me, I heard the fire engine screech to a halt. Only Leo emerged, my compulsion net keeping the rest of my crew and all other first responders at a distance. They would only slow me down in my attempts to free him. To save him.

And I was going to save him. I wouldn't consider a different outcome.

"Oh fuck me." Leo's voice trembled behind me. "It is Riley."

I didn't respond, focused on getting to Riley. The metal at the top of the door came apart, freeing the door. Grabbing it in one hand, I yanked it free and threw it behind me.

When I saw Riley's injuries up close, the wave flooded over me once more. It was so much worse than I'd feared.

So much worse.

Leo called out to the paramedics, but I held up a trembling hand to stop them approaching.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to remember how to breathe. I took in the angle of Riley's hips. The bone protruding from just below his knee. The amount of blood he'd lost.

There was nothing the paramedics could do. If they moved Riley, he'd die.

Leo's shaking hand gripped my naked shoulder tight, my uniform ruined when I shifted. "Danny…"

Hot tears streamed down my face. "This isn't happening. It can't. I won't let it."

Wings sounded in the distance, flying fast. Likely Ferry. Whatever Leo was feeling must've summoned him here.

I'd wager it wasn't a shred of the fear and fury that were tearing me in two.

I crowded closer to Riley, searching for any possible signs that he might make it out of this.

There were none. I'd seen this too often. I knew how this ended.

A choked sob came out of me. Riley's beautiful face was lined with pain, even in unconsciousness. His glasses lay shattered, a shard embedded in his cheek. I nudged it free, the fresh blood that chased it making me sob harder.

How was this happening? Why?

"Don't you leave me," I begged him, cupping his face as gently as possible. "Please, princess. Please wake up. Please. I can't lose you. I can't."

A giant pit was yawning inside me, the wave taking me closer to the edge. I'd survived so much already, but I wouldn't survive this.

"Please wake up." His lifeless face didn't rouse. "Princess, you can't leave me. Please don't do this to me."

If Riley died, he'd take me with him. Not in the same way as if we were mated, but I'd be lost, nonetheless.

"Danny." A firm hand tugged on my biceps. "Let me see him."

Toby . Ferry must've bought him along. I scrambled backwards fast, letting him swoop into my place. Maybe he could save him. Toby had been a doctor for centuries. His skills far surpassed those of modern physicians.

But as he turned his grave face back to mine, I knew. I knew before he even spoke.

"I'm sorry, Danny. His back is broken in too many places. He's lost too much blood. It's just a matter of time."

My wolf howled. "No." I wasn't letting him die. There was no fucking way. "I can save him. I'm going to save him."

I took a step forward, but Ferry stepped in front of me, blocking my way. "Are you sure, Danny? You know what this means."

I was more wolf than human when I growled my response. "Move, Ferenc."

He gave me a sad smile. "I'm not going to stop you, Danny. I'm here for you with whatever follows."

Toby nodded. "We all will be."

Did they think I cared about that? That I was worried about anything in my future while the man I loved was dying mere feet away?

Suddenly, everything I'd been afraid of meant nothing. Having to return to my clan. Living with a target on both our backs. Riley's commitment issues. None of it mattered.

Because if I lost him, nothing would ever matter again.

I knew Riley didn't want a mate. But I also knew he'd feel differently if he was choosing between life and death.

And I was selfish enough to not care, not when I knew it was fear driving him above everything else. My wolf wasn't prepared to lose him, and neither was I. If it meant I lived out the rest of eternity with Riley mad at me, then so be it. At least he'd be alive to do so.

My canines elongated, the partial shift happening effortlessly once more.

I chose a spot on Riley's upper arm, the skin peeking out through his ruined shirt. It was one of the only places he was uninjured.

Kissing the spot once, I looked solemnly into the face of my best friend. "I'm sorry, Riley, but I'm not losing you."

Then I opened my mouth and sank my canines into his flesh. My power poured through me and into Riley, mending his broken bones. Patching his torn flesh.

And cleaving him to me for the rest of eternity.