Chapter 16

Walker

It was torture watching her struggle for each breath, but she did it. For the past three days she"d managed to continue breathing. I celebrated each and every inhale and exhale.

The day after she was shot, the Alpha of NOLA Pack arrived. He"d looked at her with disgust, learning that she had been the beast that ran them from this house. He was furious, and even though I was under the impression he"d already banished her, he made sure that everyone knew it was official. And he wanted her moved immediately, no matter how many times Grant tried to tell him it wasn"t safe to do so.

In the end, at the risk of starting an inter-pack shitstorm, Michael and Silas agreed to his terms. Fortunately, the panthers were much more accommodating and allowed us to move her only a short distance away into their territory.

The kids and I rarely left her side. And Delta team had worked it out to stay with me while Bravo returned home to hold down the fort and deal with the Grand Council"s visit. They all felt guilty enough about everything that no one even argued it.

Baine was probably going to need more than a few therapy sessions with Lachlan when we finally returned home. He must have apologized a hundred times, and it was easy to see just how torn up he was. At one point, a couple of the guys took him downtown, where he proceeded to drink himself into oblivion and then crawled into bed with me and passed out while apologizing some more.

I tried to tell him that I wasn"t holding a grudge. I wasn"t happy with him, but I understood the importance of following orders on a mission and ultimately, that"s what he"d done.

I was in a strange place of grief and anger mixed with a willingness to forgive—in time. And if my mate pulled through this.

"How"s she doing?" Kian asked, peeking in to check on us.

"Still breathing."

Colin had taken the kids to entertain them for a bit and give me a break. I was surprised and grateful they"d agreed to go with him.

"You have company. I can send him away if you"d like."

"Who is it?"

"Leo. He"s the Alpha heir for NOLA Pack."

"I know who he is. What does he want?"

"To apologize for my asshole of a father," Leo yelled from the hallway.

"Man, I told you to wait and let me feel him out."

"Whatever," Leo muttered.

I sighed. "Let him in."

He walked in and stared down at Lindsey.

"How is she doing?"

"Still hanging in there. No thanks to your father."

"He"s always been an asshole, but this was too much. Is it true she could have died by moving her like that?"

"Yes," I told him. And I was still pissed off about it. I sighed. "But she made it."

"She was always tough," he surprised me by saying. "Small and quiet, kept to herself a lot, but she could defend herself when needed."

"You knew her . . . before?" I asked.

"Well yeah, she's Pack. Was Pack," he corrected. "It"s so messed up. I saw the beast, and I"ve heard enough tales about the Experiments. I just can"t come to terms with that thing being little Lindsey. I just saw her at the store before all this happened. We spoke, but she seemed a bit spooked by it. I had no idea. She seemed perfectly normal."

"She is normal," I defended.

"You know what I mean. They said the Experiments have no trace of humanity left, yet you can"t tell me that was the case for her."

"We"ve encountered an Experiment before and that's how it appeared to be," I admitted.

"We"ve battled a few of them now," Kian confessed. "And that was definitely the assumption. Now I don"t know what to think. You really bonded to that thing."

I growled.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"She"s been through some shit and they screwed with her DNA. It affected her wolf, but she"s still fully intact. She shifts and reacts just like any other shifter, maybe a little more aggressive at times, but I suspect that"s just the mix of animal DNA."

"Like what?" Leo asked. "Honestly, I'm just genuinely curious."

"I don"t know all the details, but I know that they combined cheetah, eagle, bat, probably another bird, and who knows what else. I like to think her wolf is still dominate, but she"s really fast, flies, and hears and sees better than anything I"ve ever known," I said proudly. "She"s one of a kind."

"So cool. She's like a hybrid or a superhero," Leo said excitedly.

"You"re starting to geek out on this," Kian warned him. "It"s gonna ruin your own asshole reputation if you aren"t careful."

Leo scowled.

I didn"t know much about the guy except that he was the heir to the NOLA Pack and had a reputation for being a playboy. Some say he is no better than his father, but having met them both, I was struggling to believe that.

A commotion outside caught our attention and the door burst open as the Alpha stormed inside.

"This is an outrage Leonard," Phillip bellowed.

"This will only take a moment. I"ve had a change of mind. There would be great benefit in having a member of Westin Force in my Pack. Have the two of you bonded already?"

"Not yet."

"But you will, won"t you? You"ll actually seal a mating bond with the hideous monster?"

I lunged off the bed ready to attack him, not even caring that he was a full-blooded Alpha, but Kian and Leo held me back.

The man laughed. He actually laughed.

"This is rich. Look boy, I don"t really care what your kinks are. Mate her already, and when you do, I have a few much better prospects lined up to battle her in the Challenges for you. I"m a reasonable man, and I do like the idea of a Westin Force boy under my control. This will work perfectly."

"But you already banished her," Leo said.

"Perhaps, but when one of my chosen champions kills her in the Challenges, then he becomes mine."

I laughed in his face. "You have it all wrong. I"ll never be under your control. You ensured all ties were broken with me when you banished my mate. But none of that matters. She is my one true mate and I"m a Westin wolf, not NOLA. I don"t follow your rules, sir. My Alpha preserves true mates. I am not obligated to play your little games at all."

The smirk on the Alpha"s face told me he had me exactly where he wanted me.

"We"ll see about that. Are you aware that the Grand Council is currently making a visit to Westin Pack right now? Things are about to change."

With that said, he turned and left.

Michael ran in to check on me. "What was he doing here?"

"What is the Grand Council's visit about exactly?"

"I don"t know, why?"

I thought I might just throw up.

"Relax, my dad is great at making empty threats and getting under people"s skin. We all know that there"s a strong alliance against the Challenges. But he"s old school and making a petition to bring them back."

"The Mating Challenges were never abolished, just waved for true mates," I explained.

"It would be a death sentence to go up against Lindsey"s beast," Kian said. "You"d have to be suicidal to agree to that."

"My dad doesn"t care about stuff like that. He"ll still make them do it. And he likes to bend the rules. I wouldn"t put it past him to petition for a skin-to-skin fight, claiming her beast has advantages over his wolves."

"That"s ridiculous. It"s like saying an Alpha has to battle in his skin because his wolf is naturally stronger."

Leo shrugged. "I"m just giving you fair warning. When he sets his mind to something, he"ll do absolutely anything to ensure it happens."

"But skin-to-skin to the death? That"s barbaric."

"Welcome to my world."

*****

I stewed over what Leo had said, and the more I thought about it, the more worried I became.

Grant and Taylor had stayed behind when Bravo returned home. He was overseeing Lindsey"s medical care and for that, I would be forever grateful to them both. But Lindsey looked so vulnerable and pale lying in bed hooked up to the IV that was administering fluids and meds to hopefully keep my mate alive.

"How"s our patient?" he asked when he came in that afternoon to check on her.

"Still breathing."

"That"s a good sign, Walker."

"But why hasn"t she woken up?"

"I don"t know."

"What are her odds of survival if we were to move her home now? Alpha Leonard of NOLA Pack stopped by and said some disturbing things. The sooner I can get Lindsey and the kids away from here, the better."

I explained to him the thinly veiled threat of gaining some control of Westin Force.

"I see your concern. Okay. Well, let"s check her vitals and then I"ll see. No promises."

"And don"t growl at him this time," Taylor scolded me.

I gave her a sheepish smile. It wasn"t like I could help it.

"Put those dimples away, lover boy."

"What?" I said innocently. It wasn"t like Grant had never growled at me before.

The truth was, when he checked her vitals, it meant touching her and listening to her heartbeat, which required him to practically touch her breasts.

A growl rumbled through me just thinking about it.

"Am I going to have to restrain you again or can you handle this?"

I sighed. I really wasn"t sure.

I"d lost it a few times on him already, but everyone was being very understanding.

"I"ll warn the team just in case," Taylor said.

"Don"t be ridiculous. I"m fine. Just get it over with."

They shared a look, and then she left to tell Michael anyway. And she didn"t return with just him. My whole unit was there minus Colin, who was still keeping the kids preoccupied.

It was a bit humiliating, and I was more than a little irritated by it.

The guys formed a half circle around me since I refused to leave Lindsey"s side for more than about five seconds to run to the bathroom when I absolutely couldn"t hold it any longer. If they"d just bring me a pot to piss in like I kept asking, I wouldn"t even leave her for that long.

"Ready?" Grant asked.

"Do what you need to do, and we"ll do what we need to do," Michael assured him.

I snarled at him.

"Simmer down," Tucker said.

"I swear, I"ve never encountered someone so easy going lose it the way you do," Linc said.

"It is strange, yeah," Lachlan agreed. "We may need to discuss this deep-rooted hostility in a few therapy sessions when we return home."

The others groaned as I growled at him.

"Better you than me," Grant said.

I"d been too preoccupied with the guys heckling me to realize he had already started the examination and was shoving his hand down her shirt—it was really the stethoscope but try telling that to my wolf.

I started to shake all over.

"Keep him quiet," Grant ordered.

"Sorry man," Linc said before his hand clamped down over my mouth and the four of them pulled me backwards away from my mate.

I growled and tried to snap my teeth, but their grip was strong, and I was pinned.

Grant finally pulled away and Taylor covered her mate as he stepped away from the bed. Only then did they release me.

Fur had already sprouted in patches up my arms, and my teeth had elongated. My wolf was pissed, and I felt half insane with the need to protect Lindsey.

"Jesus, Walker. Calm the hell down," Michael ordered.

"Don"t even think about it," Taylor warned me.

"Just breathe. Long, deep breaths," Lachlan said. "In and out."

Tucker groaned. "Someone smack him. There"s nothing wrong with you, Walker, but you do need to remember we aren"t the bad guys. No one is going to take your mate away from you, and Grant is here to help her."

"I agree. We"ve all been there, well, except Lachlan."

"When you lose your shit while mating, we"re all going to chant in and out, just breathe," Tucker teased. "See how much you like that sort of shit."

Their irritating banter actually started to calm me, but as soon as let my guard down, my wolf surged and I spontaneously shifted the rest of the way.

"Get back," Michael shouted as they all jumped away from the bed.

Ignoring the peanut gallery, my wolf sniffed our mate from head to toe, seeming satisfied that she was okay. Then he proceeded to rub his scent all over her.

"Dude, come on," Grant protested. "At least stay away from where she was shot."

The reminder of what had happened to her didn"t sit well with us. My wolf turned on Grant and growled. Taylor once again protected him, confusing my wolf.

"Come on, Walker. You"re stronger than this. Shift," Michael demanded.

Much to my surprise, it was exactly what I needed to hear to clear my head and regain control.

Back in my skin, I sat there for a moment taking a few deep breaths. I wasn"t ever going to admit to Lachlan that his shit actually worked. We"d never hear the end of it.

"I"m okay. Sorry guys. I didn"t mean to lose control like that."

Colin returned with the kids at that moment.

"Oh no. You lost it again?" Maya said.

"I"m fine," I assured her.

"And good news. Lindsey"s vitals are much stronger today. I think with some precautions we can safely move her," Grant said.

"We"re going home?" I asked.

"We"re going home."

"I"ll make the arrangements," Michael said.