Page 86 of Spark
Chris gently reached for her arm and examined it. He pointed to the red welt rising just above her wrist, and shook his head. “Not a sprain. It’s broken. We need to get you to the clinic.”
“The black wolf hit me with her head. She was trying to keep me from using my phone to call for help,” she said, still looking white as a sheet. She took a shaky breath and Matt instinctively tightened his arms around her. “Sv-Sven told them not to use their teeth. He w-wanted them to kill me and m-make it look like a c-car accident!”
“You bastard,” Chris snarled, glaring at the white-bearded wolf shifter.
Chris’s skin prickled as his cat rose to the surface once more, ready to continue the fight to protect his intended mate. He knew that his eyes had gone gold.
Sven was now lying across the back seat of the SUV. Kenny shook his head and stepped between Sven and Chris.
“We’ll handle him and the others,” he said calmly. “After we take your statements, I want all three of you to go to the medical center and have your injuries looked at.”
“What’s going to happen tothem?” Sophie asked, indicating the three cuffed wolf shifters. Annika was now reading Molly and Astrid their rights.
She looked nervous, and Chris instinctively stepped closer to her.
Kenny replied. “We’re going to book these guys for assault, battery, abduction, and attempted murder—and that’s just for starters. I’m sure that theLemhi County Prosecuting Attorney will have a few more charges to add before we go to court.”
Sven’s face went red and his eyes bulged with rage. “You’re turning me over to theauthorities?How dare you!” He turned his head and spat. “I never thought I’d live to see the day whentwoof my pack’s wolves turned traitor and favored an Ordinary over our own kind!” His expression twisted into a sneer. “But really, Annika, I shouldn’t have expected anything else from a wolf who turned her back on her own kind and mated an eagle shifter!”
Annika’s shoulders tensed, and Chris scented the sudden tang of anger coming from her, but like Kenny, her outward demeanor remained calm as she turned to look at the old man.
“Well, it’s a good thing that times have changed, Uncle Sven, and that old wolves like yourselves can’t pretend anymore that you’re above the law.” She turned her head and gave him a sharp-edged smile. “And speaking of loyalty to the pack, I hope this means that poor Laura will finally get the justice she deserves, after being betrayed by her own kin and packmates.”
* * *
Bearpaw Ridge Medical Center
Two hours later
Matt’s right calf was numb from the injection he’d been given before Dr. Nika stitched him up. Still shaken by the close call they’d just had, he sat next to Chris in the clinic’s patient waiting room, waiting for Sophie to join them.
He counted himself lucky to have gotten away with ten stitches and some deep bruising around his neck. Only his bear-shape’s tough hide and incredibly thick fur had saved him from suffering worse damage in the wolf’s jaws. If he’d been in human shape, her powerful bite would have easily crushed bones, savaged muscle, and torn tendons.
When they arrived at the clinic, Matt had been whisked away to get his wounds cleaned and stitched up, and had been given a tetanus shot. Sophie was sent to the imaging lab for radiographs, which had revealed a clean fracture in her right forearm. One of the clinic’s orthopedic technologists was currently putting a cast on her arm.
Despite that, they’d been very lucky that none of them had been injured more badly. His leg and bruised throat would be healed up in a day or two, although Sophie’s arm would take weeks to heal.
Chris had not only managed to escape without a scratch, he’d taken down a powerful and experienced wolf with a single, savage bite. Over the years, Matt had spent a lot of time hanging out with his friend while they were in their beast forms, but he’d never seen Chris’s cat demonstrate the precise, lethal ferocity that their kind was notorious for.
He had to admit that it had been fucking impressive.
They made a great team. Together, they’d managed to save Sophie, when either of them working alone against three experienced, ruthless wolves would have failed.
“You know, we never did have a chance to ask her to give us another chance,” he said quietly.
They were currently the only two people seated in the waiting room. Lunchtime on Monday was apparently a slow time for emergencies in Bearpaw Ridge.
Chris gave him a crooked smile. “You think that maybe saving her life is gonna count in our favor?”
“Possibly,” Matt replied, dryly.
After nearly losing her twice in the past twenty-four hours, he was determined to do more than just ask her to date them.
But what he wanted was such a huge, important decision that he needed to talk to Chris about it first, to ensure that they were on the same page.
Because if they were going to have any kind of future with Sophie, they would have to be in sync from now on.
“Chris, I think we should ask her to become our mate as soon as possible.”
