7. Ryan

Istood there, almost bursting out of my skin, wanting to go to her. To hold her, kiss every fucking inch of her. But first, I had to make sure Mai was okay and that she wouldn't bolt again. My heart—and wolf—wouldn't survive it if she did.

When she agreed to see the doctor, my wolf calmed. He knew she would be looked after. It took all my self-control not to pick her up and carry her to the car. Instead, I had to watch her hobble down the stairs and across the yard. My wolf was going crazy, but I had to hold it together. I had to find out who hurt her and tear that fucker apart.

When she stumbled at the curb, I'd had enough. I scooped her up, ignoring her startled yelp, and placed her gently in the passenger seat.

"I can get myself in a car, you know!" she growled at me.

I ignored that, too, and got in the driver's side.

As I pulled out onto the road, I couldn't believe she was actually here. Her scent—of honeysuckle, mint, and aspen leaves—was real, not just the hints I'd dreamed about for years. Her face had refined, grown out of her teenage looks, with features that were sharper, more angled than I remembered. Her beautiful brown eyes somehow seemed bigger in her face now, giving her a more vulnerable look, though that might just be my wolf reacting to her broken arm and bruised body. Ebony hair, always cut short back in the day, now flowed round her face and down to her shoulders. She was pale, her face a mix of pain and anger and something else. It took me a moment to place it. I knew that look; it was the one she always got when she was determined to do something on her own without anyone's help. But this time, she couldn't. She needed me, and I wasn't going to let her down.

I pulled up at Thomas's house. He'd been our Pack doctor for the last eighteen months. Jem had found Thomas and his mate Wally when they were on the run. They'd gone rogue and left a Pack down south without permission. The other Pack hadn't been too happy that Thomas's mate was a man. Jem assured Thomas and Wally that they'd be safe here, safe and accepted, and promised Thomas that he would have full control to treat whomever he wanted. At his last Pack, only those the Alpha pair approved of could get medical attention. I scooped Mai out of the car and carried her to the front door.

"Put me down right now, Ryan Shaw!"

Holding her this close was torture. Her scent was intoxicating, even with the faint aroma of blood and pain mixed in. It was the scent of home, of safety, and of desire.

Thomas swung open the door before I had the chance to knock. He took one look at Mai, and his face twisted in concern. "What happened?" he asked.

"This is Mai, Jem's little sister."

Thomas's eyes flashed to mine. He knew about Mai, had heard the rumors of Jem's lost sister, the one Jem and I were searching for. He knew I was saying he had to take good care of her. Not that he would treat her any differently from anyone else. He took great care of everybody who walked in his door.

"Come in, come in." Thomas ushered us inside his office.

Mai winced in pain as I helped her onto the examination table.

"Out you go, Ryan," Thomas said. "We need privacy."

"I'm not going anywhere." I crossed my arms and glared at him. I'd just found Mai again; no way was I letting her out of my sight.

"Ryan, I can't go anywhere. Please just back off, okay?" Her scent was full of pain now.

"I'll be outside. Thomas, I'm putting her safety in your hands." I knew there was a dangerous edge to my voice, but I couldn't help it.

Thomas nodded, but I saw the flash of anger in his eyes. I'd just insulted him, and normally he would give me a tongue-lashing over it—I might be the Beta outside, but in here, he was the boss and a damn fine doctor—but he knew what Mai meant to me. To all of us.

My wolf growled inside me, restless and angry. I went outside and paced back and forth, my mind racing with thoughts of who could have hurt her and why.

My phone rang.

"Well?" Jem's voice was harsh and impatient.

"She's with Thomas."

"Thomas? What the fuck, Ryan?"

"She's hurt. I'm not sure how bad, but not badly enough to stop her bitching at me."

I heard Jem's sigh of relief. "What happened?"

"I don't know. She's been beaten pretty bad. A broken arm, certainly. Something is wrong with her knee. I'll know more once Thomas has finished."

"Okay. Bring her here as soon as he's done." He hung up. Jem never was one for goodbyes.

It felt like an eternity before Thomas finally emerged from the room and straightened up. Thomas was a big werewolf. At six foot five, he towered over most of the Pack. I often saw him at the gym, and even now, I could see the muscles bulging through his shirt. He'd been trying to bulk up ever since he got here, and at this rate, he was going to need a bigger shirt soon. His size intimidated some of the other wolves, though, especially the more skittish members and especially when they first saw him. We'd had trouble persuading some of them to see Thomas, but I'd heard that after their first appointment, most of the Pack was keen to come back. He had a sharp tongue for us enforcers, but he was gentle and kind to the rest of the Pack, and he took a lot of care during his first meeting with a new patient to be as unthreatening as possible. I'd seen him roll his shoulders and scrunch down to appear smaller and less threatening. As he stretched his back, I knew he had done that with Mai. Thomas walked over to me, a serious expression on his face. Given I was the Pack Beta, Thomas should be averting his eyes. Eye contact was seen as a challenge to those higher up the hierarchy of the Pack than you, but as the Pack doctor, Thomas got a lot of leeway.

"She's going to be okay," he said. "She has a broken arm, two broken ribs, and her knee is sprained. But the rest of her injuries are superficial. I've reset her arm, wrapped her ribs and given her painkillers. She'll need to stay off the knee for a day or so. She's lucky werewolves heal quickly."

I nodded, relieved she was going to be okay, but the anger was still simmering inside me. "Who did this to her?"

Thomas looked down, probably sensing my rage and not wanting to provoke me further. "She didn't say."

I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration.

"You need to go softly with her, Ryan."

I glanced wryly at him. "Is that your professional opinion, Doc?"

Thomas stood up straighter. "Yes, actually, it is. This is typical of domestic abuse victims. You need to tread carefully; don't spook her. We all know how much she means to you and Jem, but if you want her to stay, you need to go slow."

My blood went cold at his words. "You think someone she knew did this to her?"

"From her evasive answers, the fact that she ran here—to the very Pack she fled from four years ago in order to hide from this person—and that she has no offensive wounds, which means she didn't fight back…" Thomas shook his head. "I have no doubt that she knew her attacker and was probably close to them."

I stared at the house, my anger mounting. I heard the echo of my heavy breathing and the growling of my wolf. My hands clenched as I tried to keep him in.

"Keep it under control, Ryan," Thomas said sharply. "You can't help her if you lose it."

Soon, I told my wolf, we'll hunt them soon.

He knew I'd keep that promise.

"I need to take her to the compound. Jem wants to see her."

Thomas nodded. "I'll get some crutches that she can use."