“EMMA!”
“Okay, Jeez. No need to yell. And don’t growl at me, either.”
Rick sucked in a deep breath and tried desperately to calm his Wolf down.
“Oh wait, gotta run. Jamie’s coming for us. Bye!”
It took every ounce of Rick’s willpower not to throw the phone across the room. “She’s seeing her doctor.”
“Call him. As her mate, you have every right to know what’s going on with Belle.” Ben took the phone from Rick’s hand and dialed Jamie’s number.
“Give me that.” Rick took the phone back and listened to the options. When the receptionist came on line, he was practically frothing at the mouth. “Where is Dr. Howard?”
“I’m sorry, sir, Dr. Howard is preparing for an emergency surgery right now. Can I have him call you back?”
Rick hung up the phone without answering. “Emergency surgery?” Rick had a sinking feeling he knew what the “emergency” was. He pocketed the phone. “Get the car ready. We’re going to Halle.”
“You can’t, Rick. Gina will—”
Ben never finished the sentence. Rick’s hand shot out, wrapped around Ben’s throat, and pulled the smaller man closer. He bared his fangs as, out of the corner of his eye, his comforter turned from blue and red to blue and gold. “Get. The. Car. Now .”
“Yes, Alpha.” Chela patted his arm. He released Ben, who backed away, wide-eyed. “We’ll get right on that.”
Rick watched his Marshall and Omega run out of the room. He dialed Dave. “I need you to take over for a little bit. It seems something unexpected has come up in Halle, and I need to take care of it.”
“Yes, Alpha. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing happens until your return.”
“Thank you, Dave.”
He quickly gathered some things up and headed down to the lobby. He stepped into the car, ready to fetch his female and drag her back home by the top of her head if he needed to.
Chapter Five
Belle opened her eyes to the sound of a mountain lion’s scream. She sighed and closed her eyes again, hoping no one would notice.
“Guys, stop fighting! Belle is awake!”
Belle winced. Dear God, who let Emma into the room?
She opened her eyes again to see the petite, dark-haired Curana leaning over her. The smile she wore was strained. “Can I let the big bad Wolf in now, before he eats Max?”
Belle groaned. “Sure.” She shifted slightly and immediately wished she hadn’t. The throbbing agony rushing up her leg was all too familiar.
There was the sound of a gasp, quickly followed by a thud. It sounded like someone had fallen to the floor.
“Hey, Belle.” She tried to smile as Adrian’s face swam into view, but just couldn’t manage it. “Looks like you’re definitely one of the Pack.”
She frowned.
“I’m still standing. Ben isn’t. Last I saw Rick was helping him to a seat. What did you do, anyway? Try to move?”
She nodded feebly. She’d forgotten the Marshall would feel her pain. Poor Ben. She wouldn’t wish this on anyone, not even Gina.
Okay. Maybe Gina.
“Don’t. Rick is already fighting his Wolf tooth and nail. As soon as Ben hit the ground he nearly lost.
Can you imagine a red Wolf running through Halle General?”
“Which one of you screamed at him?”
Adrian made a face. “Max. He’s feeling a little protective right now, and Emma decided to get in Rick’s face over the second mate thing.”
Belle winced. When Emma decided to let go, most people knew to duck. Rick, however, wouldn’t.
He’d go toe-to-toe with the Little General, which would only succeed in pissing Max off. “Send him in.”
Adrian left. Belle closed her eyes and concentrated on not passing out. Nausea rose up in a wave as her hip throbbed in time to her heartbeat.
“Just answer one question. Why?”
Belle looked up into Rick’s furious face. His voice was quietly lethal, and his eyes were brown. “Why what?”
His expression tightened, his fangs dropping as he growled. “Why didn’t you talk to me first?”
She licked her lips. Her mouth was dry as cotton, and tasted horrible. “Why didn’t you ?”
He took a deep breath, throwing his head back. She knew he was struggling to keep his Wolf contained. “Belle.”
“I am your Luna , Rick.” She was losing her battle with the pain. Soon she’d have no choice but to summon a nurse. “You can’t keep things from me that affect the Pack, not if you want me to actually be the Luna.”
He studied her, his expression closed off, and her heart sank. He didn’t understand what she was trying to do, and she was in too much pain to make him see it. “Do you want me to stay?”
His cold, formal wording hurt. “You have to do what your duty compels you to do.”
Anger flashed across his face before he visibly forced it back. “I’ll return for you tomorrow, after I get over the urge to strangle you.”
She opened her mouth to respond, only to have her words cut off by his mouth descending on hers in a desperate kiss that told her exactly how scared he’d been. She reached up, careful not to jar her hip, and threaded her fingers through his hair. Whisper soft, it fell around her, cocooning her in his scent until she felt safer than she’d ever been.
His mouth lifted abruptly from hers and he strode from the room, tension thickening the set of his shoulders.
No! She resisted the urge to cry out to him, knowing he needed a little time to sort things out in his own mind. But, damn it, she needed him!
He paused in the doorway, his shoulders slumping as he turned back to her. The agony on his face reflected the agony in her body. He walked slowly towards her bed, his gaze never leaving her face, and pulled up a chair next to the bed, as close as he could get and still sit in it. Once in the chair, he picked up her hand and held it until the painkiller the nurse injected into her IV tipped her over into sleep. His gentle kiss on her palm was the last thing she knew.
“I still say you’ve pulled some stupid stunts, but this one takes the fucking cake.”
“Look, we both know why I did this. Do you want Gina’s socks sharing space with ours? And didn’t we already have this argument?”
Rick set her down on the huge sofa, carefully unwinding the blanket from around her shoulders. No matter how careful he was, she still hissed in pain. He was afraid if he heard that sound one more time he would break.
The drive from Halle had been painful for all of them. Ben had ridden shotgun, Chela taking the seat furthest in the back. Belle had had the entire middle seat to herself.
By the time they got back, Ben and Chela were both pale and sweating. Belle never spoke, only whimpering occasionally when Rick was forced to go over a rough patch in the long drive up the mountain.
Chela had immediately gone up to her cabin, claiming a splitting headache. Ben had headed straight for the bathroom in the lobby. Rick had the sick feeling Ben had gone there to throw up. He’d felt relieved when he saw Dave following Ben, a concerned look on his Beta’s face.
Belle smiled at him, a pale imitation of the expression he’d grown to love. “Can I have something to drink, please?”
Rick examined her face. Lines of strain were visible around her mouth and eyes, dark circles standing in stark contrast to the paleness of her skin. “Do you need a painkiller, my Luna?”
When she bit her lip and nodded he headed straight for the kitchen. He poured her a glass of water and grabbed the prescription he’d had filled against her protests.