Page 49 of The Alpha's Surrogate

He heard a loud shout from somewhere far away. Was that Josie? His mind was shutting down quickly and he struggled for lucidity. Blackness encroached his vision and the last thing he saw was Fannar’s wolf surge forward and rip the bear’s throat out with one strike. Blood splashed on the wall, and Klaus crumpled to the ground as blood pooled out of him.

Callahan rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He could hear someone shouting his name, frantic movement in his vision, and then the blackness swallowed him whole.

Chapter 21 - Josie

The poison was working faster than anything Josie had ever seen before. Callahan lay sprawled on the stone floor, and the only sign that he was alive was the faint pulse she felt when she gripped his wrist tight.

Tears filled her eyes as she watched his unconscious body. This was all her fault. She had put herself in danger by doing something poorly thought-out, and Callahan was the one who ended up fighting for his life.

She still struggled to accept the fact that he had come for her at all. There was nothing more impossible, and yet here he was. How had he found her? How had he found her so quickly?

None of that mattered. He’d come. She cried then, hot tears splashing down on his face as she imagined life without him. It was a reality she hadn’t been confronted with before, and now that it was staring her in the face, all she wanted to do was die.

She turned to glance at Klaus’ lifeless body. His blood ran in rivulets down the cracks on the uneven floor, pooling near the wall. His eyes were open, and there was something in them…was he laughing?

She looked at the red hole in his neck and felt satisfaction from seeing him dead. Whatever joy she had from seeing him and Garry dead was dampened by Callahan’s situation. She knew what was running through his veins. He was at death’s door unless she could do something.

Fannar returned carrying mismatching clothes, and was wearing a pair himself. “Help him put these on,” he said, tossing a pair of jeans at Josie. He tugged a wool shirt down over Callahan, and looked away as Josie helped him into the pants.

Fannar was stuffing his feet into a dead man’s boots when Callahan’s eyes flew open. Josie yelped and jumped back in confusion and surprise. She crawled forward slowly, her heart beating fast.

Callahan’s eyes were open, but he didn’t look like he was seeing anything. Slowly, he blinked and turned to the side. When his eyes settled on Josie, he smiled. “Hey, you. I’ve been looking for you all morning.”

She covered her mouth, laughing as fat drops of tears pooled in her eyes. He had fought the poison. She still needed to run some tests, but—

Her joy was short-lived. Callahan’s eyelids drooped again, and his head fell.

Josie caught his head before it hit the ground, her breathing rough and hard. Callahan should be dead by now, but he was fighting the poison with everything he had. She needed to give him a fighting chance.

“We need to get him back to Whispering Oaks,” she said to Fannar, who still groaned in pain, a result of the gut wound he had suffered in the fight. “I may be able to help him, but we need to get him back to my lab there.”

Fannar frowned. “Too far. We could take him to our lab in Silver Peaks. It’s closer, and there are mana crystal flowers there to revive him. Why risk going all the way to Whispering Oaks?”

Josie shook her head. “You don’t understand. We don’t have the ability to help him.” She looked around and shuddered. “They were creating something…scary here. Just mana crystal won’t be enough to save him, but I think I may have figured out a way to do so.”

Callahan’s eyes fluttered open again. He looked at Fannar and Josie, saw the expressions on their faces, and frowned. “Why are you just staring at me? We need to leave before we’re discovered. Josie, come on.”

Fannar and Josie exchanged a glance even as her heart beat violently in her chest. She had no idea how he was holding on, but she knew he couldn’t fight the poison for much longer. She had no idea how much time he had, and that terrified her.

“Come on, brother, on your feet,” Fannar said, pulling Callahan to his feet. “Hold him,” he said to Josie and dashed to pick up one of the crossbows. He fitted a quarrel into it and handed it to Josie. “It’s heavy, and it’s difficult to manage. I have no idea how many people are in this facility, but anything that moves, you put a bolt in them, understood?”

She nodded, her eyes wide with fear. Fannar picked up and loaded the second crossbow, then headed out of the room. “Stay behind me,” he whispered to Josie. “Move fast.”

Callahan looked from one to the other and frowned. “Is there a reason you’re both speaking like I’m not here? Josie, hand me the cross—”

“Listen to me, Callahan,” Josie said in a hard voice. “You’ve been hurt really bad. We have no idea how much time you have, and we need to get you some help. Think you can stay on your feet long enough for us to get out of here?”

He frowned, and she wondered what was going through his mind. Fannar was watching the hallway and he glanced back into the room impatiently. Callahan kept a steady gaze on Josie, and finally he sighed and nodded. “I think I can manage that.”

“Good.” Josie turned to Fannar and nodded, and he slipped out into the hallway. She followed close behind, with Callahan bringing up the rear.

The scary thing was that he looked well. He didn’t look sick or hurt, which meant she had no way of knowing when his legs would give way. She kept her mind away from such thoughts and trailed behind Fannar, rushing up the staircase as fast as she could manage while keeping a critical eye on Callahan.

Fortunately, the facility was empty. As they ran out into the open, she noticed the bodies slumped in the corner, the snow around them dark. She wondered how many people the two men had killed during their rescue mission, and reassured herself that she didn’t need to know.

Fannar ran straight for the tree line, and Josie followed him. She could hear Callahan breathing hard behind her, and something that sounded like the chattering of teeth.

Her fear boiled to the surface. He was working hard to stay alive, and he did so without complaining, despite not understanding what was happening to him. Fannar stopped suddenly and diverted to the left. Josie was about to protest the break when she saw him hop into a massive truck.

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