She had on jeans but those strong jaws went right through to the flesh beneath. “Motherfucker!” Miki kicked with her free foot, but the hyena wouldn’t let go. It yanked and dragged her out of the van, flipping her to her back. That’s when she fired. She couldn’t get a clean head shot without shooting herself in the foot, so she shot it in the ass. It yelped and danced away. The second one came for her. She aimed the gun, her finger about to pull the trigger. Then suddenly the female who had been helping her shifted back to wolf in mid-flight and took the hyena down. She twisted its neck and snapped it.
Miki struggled to stand, but strong hands grabbed her from behind and lifted her to her feet. She looked over her shoulder and frowned. She’d assumed it was Conall but it was another Pack member.
“Where’s Conall?” He didn’t answer her, but lifted her and threw her into the van. The rest of the Pack, some human and some still wolf, followed in behind her. He slammed the door and Conridge moved. The woman drove like she taught. Dangerously.
“Wait! We’re not leaving without Conall!” She had the guns and they all knew she’d use them in a heartbeat.
“He’s back here.” One of the females motioned to her.
Miki clamored over the seats and around the Pack members, doing her best to ignore the pain in her calf. She could hear sirens blaring as cops headed their way. They’d probably gotten out just in time.
As she stumbled to the back, she found Conall in the rear boot. He was still wolf. His shoulder torn open. His struggle to breathe obvious.
“It’s poison,” the female next to her explained. “We need to get him someplace safe.”
Conridge spoke from the front, “You’ll come to Van Holtz territory. You’ll be safe there. And our doctor can help him.”
Miki slid into the back with Conall. She petted his head.
“Miki? Is that cool with you?” Miki looked up. The female, Patty was her name maybe, stared at her. Waiting for an answer. It took Miki a second to realize the Pack waited for her decision. When Zach and Sara weren’t around, Conall was in charge. With Conall down that meant the next strongest was in charge. She suddenly realized that was her.
“Yeah. Yeah. That’s cool.”
She focused back on Conall, running her hands over his flanks, avoiding the bloody wound on his shoulder.
“Conall. Can you hear me?”
He rubbed his snout against her arm. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She searched around her for something to wrap his wound. “Baby, can you shift back for me?”
He whined and she took that as a no. At least not yet.
“That’s okay, baby. That’s okay.” She grabbed a kid-sized bottle of water from a box lying next to Conall’s head and a small T-shirt she found. She tore the shirt into strips and drenched the strips in water.
She wiped the wound with the wet cloth, sniffed it, but couldn’t recognize what they’d used on him.
Taking him to a hospital was out. Taking him to the vet equally so. She could only hope the Van Holtz Pack would help.
She leaned in close to him. “Conall, will you be able to hold on for a bit?” He licked her arm. “Okay. Good. We’re going some place safe.”
He licked her face. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ve got ya, okay?” He made a soft sound and she rubbed the fur at the back of his neck. “I’ve got ya.”
Chapter Nineteen
Conall forced his eyes open, wincing at the pain in his head. He glanced around and realized he was in the back seat of some vehicle he didn’t recognize. He looked down. He was human. His shoulder hurt. The poison had taken hold and traveled around his system like a flame on gasoline. But his body fought it. He could feel the fever coming on. This would definitely get worse before it got better.
But he didn’t care. Not really. He needed to know if Miki was safe. Was she alive? He heard doors opening and felt hands on his body. He tried to fight, but he didn’t have strength left. He heard grunts as they hoisted him up and then he was moving.
Miki limped behind the wolves that had Conall. Her leg was killing her, but not from poison. If she’d been poisoned, she’d be dead by now. She wasn’t wolf and she would never be able to fight the effects. Conall was wolf. But whether he would live or not, well, no one could give her an answer on that.
When they arrived at Van Holtz territory, she was surprised at the size of Conridge’s home. It was huge but extremely modest. She liked that it wasn’t fancy. She saw Conridge’s husband at the front door. He was even more gorgeous than his picture. A typical wolf, too. Tall, broad and devastatingly handsome. His relief at seeing his wife was blinding. He swept her into his arms and lifted the woman off her feet, hugging her close against his body.
Miki thought about Conall and she felt that tightness around her heart again. The pain worse than the one in her leg. What if he dies? She stopped the thought. Of all the things she tortured herself with on a daily basis, this couldn’t be one of them. She’d never survive it.
They carried Conall into the house and Conridge motioned for them to go up to the next floor. Miki went to follow, but Conridge grabbed her arm.
“No, you don’t. I want to take a look at that leg.”
“I’m not leaving him.”
Conridge pulled her toward the back of the house. “Of course not. But the wolves have him now. Niles called in one of their own. He’s a physician. Give him some time with Conall. And while they do that, we’ll deal with you.”
Miki allowed Conridge to drag her to their spotless kitchen. Funny, Sara’s kitchen was spotless because apparently none of them used it. Conridge’s kitchen was spotless because someone in her family was obsessive compulsive.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but drop your pants.” Miki would have laughed if she had it in her. But she didn’t. She dropped her pants and Conridge gently forced her into a chair.
Conridge was on her knees, pulling Miki’s leg up to examine her wound when Niles Van Holtz walked into the kitchen. He took one look at his wife and raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t go there,” Conridge warned without even looking at the man.
“I didn’t say a word.” His gaze shifted to Miki. “Have you eaten?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“So no it is.” He went to a row of cabinets and pulled out a pot, a sauté pan, and fresh pasta from the stainless-steel refrigerator.
“He’s ignoring me.” Miki didn’t even recognize her own voice. There was no life in it. And until Conall recovered, if he recovered, she’d be dead inside.
“Of course he’s ignoring you. He’s wolf. That’s what they do when they don’t like what they hear.” Conridge cleaned off the wound, wiped it down with mercurochrome, and wrapped it in a clean white bandage. “It’s going to hurt like hell, but it will heal.”
“Thank you.”
Conridge looked up into Miki’s face. She wasn’t sure what the woman saw but her face softened to the point were Miki barely recognized her. She actually looked kind of pretty. “I know you’re scared, Miki. But they’re doing all they can for Conall. He’s wolf, he’ll fight.”
Miki nodded as Conridge got to her feet. “Let me get you some clothes.” She spoke to her husband. “And I’m stealing a few things from you for the rest of her Pack.” Miki didn’t bother telling them they weren’t her Pack. She was too emotionally drained.
“I’ll be right back.” Conridge squeezed Miki’s shoulder and walked out.
Miki watched Van Holtz at the stove. She was impressed. The man seemed to know what he was doing. And whatever he was creating did smell good.