Page 42 of In The Shadow of The Wolf

“What happened!?” He roared into Terry’s face.

“I don’t know if he’s breathing. I can’t feel a pulse.” Ronan was shouting.

Terry tried to pull away, he needed to see Henry, and he needed to go to him. His wolf was taking over, as his canines dropped, and his claws grew. “Let me go!” He shouted at his Alpha.

“Not before you explain.” Lance held him fast, well able to handle Terry even if he shifted.

“Explain what? Henry left the restaurant an hour ago. I stayed behind with some friends. He shouldn’t be lying in this alley! Let me go to him, please!” Lance relented and dropped his grip. Terry immediately dove to his knees beside his mate.

“Henry, Henry, please wake up.” He took his hand and touched his face. He was so injured and so bloody. Someone had beaten him and left him lying in this alley. Terry was falling apart, unable to come to terms with the fact that he’d abandoned his mate in the restaurant and left him unprotected. “Who would do this?”

Ronan stared at him without mercy. “A week ago, you would have been my first suspect.” It was harsh, and Terry felt the blow. The truth was always hard to handle.

“An ambulance is on its way,” Lance announced as he walked back over to his mate and stood behind him. Ronan never let go of Henry’s hand and never stopped glaring at Terry. “Why didn’t you answer your phone when I called?”

“My phone was off. I noticed it when I was leaving the restaurant. Then I saw you and Lance drive up, so I came to see what you wanted.” He talked and explained, but his eyes never left Henry’s battered face, and his words were whispers.

“Henry called me. He could barely speak; all he said was hurt, alley, and restaurant before the line went dead. Why did he call me someone who was twenty minutes away instead of his mate who was less than fifty feet away? But then your phone was off, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t know. He never called me. There were no missed calls from Henry. He never called me.” Terry was shattered. His life was unraveling before his eyes. All his insecurities and his inability to admit that Henry was his mate seemed ridiculous to him now. In the face of possibly losing his mate, Terry finally realized what was really important. His mate was everything, his life, love, and happiness. He would gladly go with him if Henry died because he would never abandon him again. That was how clearly, he now saw the situation.

The ambulance arrived, and they were all forced to step back. Terry stood there stunned and disbelieving, wishing that this was all just a bad dream. They worked on Henry for quite a while, stabilizing him before lifting him onto a gurney for transport.

Terry listened as the Alpha questioned the EMTs. All he heard was he’s bad, very bad. Terry wanted to die right there because he was responsible. If he’d stayed with his mate, Henry wouldn’t have been in the alley alone. If he’d acted like a mate should, Henry would have been with him and not alone getting beaten in an alley.

As next of kin, Ronan was allowed to ride with Henry in the ambulance. Ronan was holding his hand and comforting him. Henry trusted Ronan, and when he was in trouble, it was Ronan that he reached out to. That made Terry hate himself even more. His mate hadn’t called him; he called Ronan when he needed help.

“Terry.” He turned to see Jamie coming down the alley towards him. “I got a call that said that someone was assaulted in this alley.”

“Henry.” Terry could barely talk, could barely breathe, as he watched the ambulance pull away with his mate inside. Jamie grabbed him roughly by the jacket and turned him around.

“Henry?” Jamie looked pissed and pushed Terry away. “You took him to dinner tonight. How is it that Henry is assaulted to the point of needing an ambulance, and you don’t have a mark on you?” He grabbed Terry again and started shaking him. “Talk to me.” He shouted.

“We split up inside. I went to sit with some friends that came in, and Henry finished his dinner and then left.” Jamie's shocked look of disappointment went straight to Terry's heart and tore it open.

“His car is parked over there, so he was probably jumped on his way to his car.” Terry bent down and picked up the mangled takeout container that Henry had been carrying and held it in his hand like something precious. “He didn’t finish his steak and fries. He said it was good.” Terry suddenly crumpled the container in his hands and started to weep.

Jamie instantly was beside him and pulled him towards the wall hiding him from the other officers. Terry was losing it. He was losing control of his wolf. His grief and guilt were coming together in such force that his wolf would not be denied. His wolf would hunt down the person responsible and kill them. Someone tried to kill his mate, and that person had to die.

“Calm down and get hold of yourself. You can’t shift here in front of all these people. Terry listen to me; you have to stay calm; you have to help your mate.” Jamie held him and talked to him, until Terry felt his wolf pull back and give the human half of him control once again.

“Okay, I’m okay.” Terry couldn’t look his friend in the eyes; he was too embarrassed by his behavior and his failure. “I need to go to the hospital.” He started walking back toward his car, but Jamie stopped him.

“You’re in no shape to drive. I’ll take you.”

The hospital was bright and active, everyone going somewhere and doing something. Terry felt like he was moving in slow motion as he walked to the front desk and inquired about his mate, his Henry. People knew him here, they knew him as Officer Moore, so they gave him the information he asked for.

“He’s in the exam room right now. They’re doing a brain scan and taking x-rays. He has regained consciousness, but he is still fading in and out. We will know more when the doctor finishes his examination. The next of kin, Ronan James, is in the room with him.” The nurse rattled off the facts with little emotion; not knowing every word was like a sharp knife being plunged into his heart.

Terry moved to the waiting room and took a seat. He dropped his head into his hands and waited. After about two hours, Alpha Lance found him there and took a seat next to him. He sat there in silence with his arms crossed over his chest. Terry kept his eyes on the floor.

“He’s going to be okay.” Lance finally spoke. Terry sighed with relief and ran his hands roughly through his hair.

“Did he tell you who did this to him?”

“Yeah.”

Terry turned and glared at his Alpha, before getting a hold of himself and dropping his eyes to the floor. “Who was it? Please tell me.” Terry gritted out between teeth that were suddenly too large.

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