Page 19 of Bear the Burden

Quinton’s powerful arms tightened. “The medics refuse to step inside the house while you’re coming unglued. Wesley needs help, Hyett. What he doesn’t need is his mate suffering a mental breakdown.”

Breathing heavily, Hyett closed his eyes and blocked everything out then concentrated on slowing his heart rate.

On pushing back his bear.

On the almost imperceptible whimpers Wesley panted out.

His mate needed to get to the hospital. Hyett’s descension into madness could wait.

“I want to know who did this to him.” That person was the one who deserved his wrath.

“We’re going to find out, but right now, Wesley is our priority,” his dad replied.

Ryker yanked himself from the deep indentation before dusting off flecks of drywall.

“I’m sorry, Ryker. You were only trying to help.” Hyett cursed himself for attacking his brother. They had gotten into plenty of fights in the past, but Hyett had never outright assaulted him.

This was why he had to be the coolheaded one. Because his unleashed fury burned too brightly when set free.

“There’s no need to apologize.” Ryker pulled Hyett from their dad’s tight hold and hugged him. “You needed a target, and I was the closest one.”

“You’re not a target.”

“At a time like this, I’ll be whatever you need, little brother.” Ryker gripped his shoulder.

Pulling away, Hyett crossed the room, his chest hurting like hell. Wesley was out of the closet and was wearing a C-collar on his neck. His right cheek, along with the skin right below his eye, held a nasty purple bruise. There was dried blood under his nose, and he was still wheezing.

The other paramedic was working on Wesley’s dad. Aside from a bleeding nose, there were no visible injuries on the human.

“Do you know what’s wrong with him?” Hyett was curious to know what was causing the sickly smell in Jackson’s sweat.

“Are you family?” The paramedic smelled like a cheetah shifter. Good. That would make it easier to talk to him without worrying about tiptoeing around any potential questions.

“He’s my mate’s dad,” Hyett admitted. Now that he had a chance to take a closer look, Jackson and Wesley didn’t really look alike. The only trait they shared was brown hair so dark it bordered on black.

Maybe they had the same silver-gray eyes, but since Jackson’s were squished closed, it was anybody’s guess.

Whereas Jackson appeared rugged and ridden hard, his son’s features were soft and radiant.

The cheetah glanced over his shoulder. “Is the guy my partner’s working on your mate?” he asked with a hint of suspicion. Did he think Hyett and his family had anything to do with this?

“We arrived after the fact.” Hyett fought to keep the growl out of his tone. “I have no idea what happened here.”

Now the son of a bitch held a disapproving look in his eyes. Weren’t emergency service workers supposed to be impartial?

Breathe. Do not slug the guy helping your father-in-law.

The cheetah turned his attention back to Wesley’s dad. “Visually, it looks like he has suffered trauma to his nose. Most likely a well-placed punch. He’s also experiencing withdrawal symptoms. The odor mingling with his sweat is heroine. Sadly, my partner and I have gone on too many of these calls over the past six months. It’s to the point I can call myself an expert with naming the drug a human has taken.”

Wesley’s dad was a junkie?

Now Hyett wondered if the extra pill his mate had taken had really been an accident.

He wanted to believe the best of Wesley, really, but with his mate’s mood swings and the fact the guy suffered with pain, he couldn’t honestly say.

Killian’s statement surfaced in his mind. Fate paired two people who needed each other. Wesley was definitely mixed up with something. For sure, the guy had secrets.

But just how broken was his mate? Would Hyett survive the battle wounds that were about to be carved in his heart?

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