Page 9 of Hayden's Haven
Kate looked over her shoulder at him. “You okay?”
Hayden didn’t deserve her concern. Kate should be resting, but now she was up, tending to Mila’s injuries while he guarded. Hell, Mila shouldn’thaveany injuries.
“Just help her,” Hayden ground out the words. He couldn’t handle talking right now, not given the shape Mila was in. He and his wolf needed to guard, scent the air, listen for any other intruders, beusefulfor once in his fucked-up life.
Damien had been wrong all those years ago when he had made Hayden his second. Hayden failed to instill any sense of confidence in the pack, and now he had failed as a protector. His uncle Logan had seen his weaknesses early in life; that’s why Logan had groomed Drake to be the pack’s alpha one day. Logan had seen no qualities of an alpha in Hayden. Who was Hayden when he couldn’t even protect the two women who were counting on him?
“I cleaned her cuts. Not much else I can do,” Kate replied, her sweet voice sounding rather despondent as she adjusted the mylar blanket over Mila. The sound of the foil crinkling made Hayden’s wolf howl in protest. That sound carried through the woods. The others would hear it. They’d come. Try to steal Mila and Kate.
Hayden stared at Mila lying prone on the ground. The bruises on her cheek and neck, the split lip, her bruised ribs, and the cuts around her wrist. . . No, he wasn’t going to move her or deny her the chance to get warm and rest so her wolf could heal her.
Let the bastards come. He would not fail her again.
“Her wolf will heal her, right?” Kate asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll keep her warm.”
“Do that.” Hell, now he was being short with Kate who didn’t deserve it. Mila didn’t deserve what had happened to her either.
“You like her, don’t you?” Kate asked.
“Hell of a question to ask when she’s lying there unconscious after what that asshole did to her.”
“Just wondering.” Kate fell silent.
Where was Kate’s usual resilience? The Kate he had come to know was headstrong and didn’t give up.
“You’re worried about Callen and you’re trying to take your mind off of him by engaging me in idle chit chat when I have a job to do,” Hayden added as he moved away from the women.
Kate didn’t reply. Hell, hell, hell! He really was fucking up everything lately. “Sorry, Kate. Talk about whatever you want to.”
“No, you’re right. Focus on your job.”
He shifted to his wolf and circled the women in ever-increasing circles. The silence in the woods, and especially from Mila, was chilling. He took in her scent, resisting the urge to howl at the other male’s scent mixed with her blood. She was still unconscious, and her wolf was slow to heal her. More damage had been done than he had realized.
Hayden shifted and pulled his shirt and jeans on. “Any medicine in that bag of hers?”
Kate was stroking Mila’s hair. He found himself jealous of Kate, wanting to touch Mila, to soothe her, even as she lay there unconscious. Hayden kept his hands to himself. He didn’t have the right to touch her, especially not after he had failed her.
“Lots, but they all have long medical names. Nothing I recognize. Can’t chance giving her something without knowing what it is.” Kate stopped stroking Mila’s hair for a minute. “She’ll be all right, Hayden.”
“I know.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“Never said it was.”
With a sigh, Kate slipped her hand in Mila’s, careful to avoid the bandage Kate had wrapped around Mila’s injured wrists. The bastard had tied the zip tie so tight the plastic had ripped into her flesh when Hayden had cut it off.
“Callen’s fine,” Hayden said, trying to ease Kate’s worry.
“You’re not worried about him?”
“Of course not,” he lied. It was the least he could do at this point, give Kate a sense of security. They were worse off than they were earlier. They needed to move, away from the scent of the dead shifter, but no matter where they’d go, it wouldn’t be fast enough, not with Mila out cold and Kate barely able to walk on her own. Mila had been right. Kate wasn’t strong enough for this journey. Hayden had made them leave the safety of the bakery, safety being a relative term. With the glass front, nothing would have kept the enemy from pouring in and overwhelming them. The only smart thing he had done since they’d left is return the gun to Kate. She was a crack shot and at this point, he didn’t care if she shot him again. He deserved it.
“You didn’t answer my question earlier,” Kate said, a smile tugging at her lips. “Do you like Mila?”
