Page 61 of The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride

In the distance, I hear the sound of heavy steps crushing the Autumn grass in haste. Growing closer, louder, the unmistakable patter of werewolf paws shudders the ground as if sending an electric current through the earth. It ripples beneath my feet, ruffling the branches and swaying the fern bushes nearme, drawing the attention of the most sharpened eyes toward the depth of the forest.

“Cyrus…” my inner wolf voice screams inside my head while all I can do is breathe his name through my human lips. That’s when it hits me—something horrible has happened to the Alpha. As that realization dawns, it springs my wolf to the fore, my limbs distending in the height of panic, throwing me into an urgent sprint forward.

Racing into the clutches of the night, I see a group of wolves speeding toward the south border, where some border patrol wolves rush forward to meet them. My breath comes in hot pants, mouth hanging open to lug in deep breaths as I see a human figure being carried atop the Beta’s wolf form.

“Cyrus!”my inner wolf cries, recognizing its Alpha’s limp body draped over Jarrod as he bounds toward Mysthaven, breaking from the group in haste.

“The Alpha is hurt!”the Beta cries out through the mind link, a painful howl slicing through the air and echoing all across the woods. He doesn’t slow down, racing to the pack’s hospital as he calls for the doctor to meet him there.

I kick my hind legs and spin my wolf around, following Jarrod into town. When he nears the hospital building, he shifts and swiftly swoops Cyrus into his arms.

“What happened?!” I cry out behind him, hysteria caught in my throat as I rush forward. With his limp arm dangling from the side, blood trickles and slips between his fingers.

I rush forward and throw open the doors, and Jarrod carries Cyrus into the building. He says nothing as a flurry of hospital staff bursts through the entrance behind us, Doctor Stevens following close behind.

Everything that happens next is a blur. My heart threatens to beat out of my chest as Cyrus is tended to, strapped to a rolling bed, and taken into the closest ward.

***

“... The rogues were rabid as if they’d been enhanced somehow,” Jarrod explains. He’d been recounting the events of their mission, keeled over on the waiting bench while we were waiting for the doctor to come out.

The clinking of metal and beeping of the heart rate monitor from inside the room is the only indication of what’s going on in there. Numb, I can hardly move or offer the beta any sympathy. I’m too stunned to speak, too horrified by what I just witnessed.

The nightmare I had earlier tonight pales in comparison to what the werewolves experienced out there in Wichita Falls. Though they’d successfully extracted Alpha Dorian, the fight wasn’t an easy one.

“It was a tough fight, and Cyrus fought hard. He didn’t see it coming,” Jarrod winces. “The leader got away. But not before tackling our Alpha.”

“The leader of the rogues did this…?”

Jarrod confirms this with a nod. “He’s no ordinary wolf, Cassie. He’s a hybrid of some kind, a vile creature that stands on two legs and fights with blackened claws.”

A shiver of fear trickles down my spine, sending a shudder through me. I can’t even imagine what they’d been through tonight, the product of the tragedies of the war, lying on a hospital bed right now.

“He’s stable,” Doctor Stevens informs us as he leaves the room. “But the Alpha remains unconscious.”

Jarrod and I exchange worried glances before turning back to the doctor.

“What about his Alpha blood?” Jarrod frowns at the doctor. “Shouldn’t he be healing already? Awake by now?”

The doctor shakes his head grimly. “Unfortunately, he was hit in a main artery. His lung was punctured, too. We’ve been able to stitch him up as best as we can. We’ll just have to wait for his healing abilities to do the rest.”

“Fuck!” Jarrod slams a fist into the wall behind us, his rage too imminent to be contained. While his chest heaves with uncontrollable breaths, his ears turn fiery, and I can sense his wolf straining to get out.

“Go, Jarrod,” I suggest, getting to my feet and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. I didn’t think that I was of much help until now when the Beta’s anger pulses in the air around us.

Somehow, I’ve managed to find compassion for the Moon Shine wolf despite my own need for comfort. He nods appreciatively, his eyes glimmering with steam that needs to be burned off.

“I’ll check on Cyrus,” I assure him. “You need to refuel.”

The Beta clenches his fists as he storms out of the hospital. I sent Dakota a mind link message to inform her that the Beta needs her now more than ever.

I’ll leave the explanation for some other time. She’ll probably wonder what I’m doing back here when I abruptly left two weeks ago.

It doesn’t matter. I switch my mind off, disconnecting from the mind link the way I trained myself to do so when I left the pack nine years ago. It was a trick I learned from the pages of the bound books in the pack library. It came in handy when I needed to sever ties with the pack I was leading.

Right now, the only reason I need to disconnect from the telepathic pathways of communication is to give all my attention to the Alpha. Taking a deep breath, I steel my resolve as I enter the ward, where he lies on a bed.

I gulp when I enter. The image of a powerful man weakened by such heinous crimes against our kind becomes a tough pill to swallow. Seeing him in this position, my heart softens and my eyes well with tears.

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