Page 9 of Austin's Answer
Havoc suddenly threw his weight to the side, sending Austin stumbling and crashing into the ground. Then the bull pawed the dirt and charged straight at me. Panic clawed at my insides, but I took a quick breath as I loaded a dart into the gun. I needed steady hands for this.
I raised the gun, finding the charging bull in the sights. Austin’s tiger roared, and from the corner of my eye I watched him run at Havoc. But he wouldn’t reach us in time. I held the gun steady, breathing out, and in the space between breaths, I pulled the trigger.
FOUR
Austin
My blood pounded, my heart on the verge of bursting. I pushed my tiger to run faster, ignoring the sharp pain in my side as I cursed myself for not noticing Havoc’s attention had shifted. The bull was charging straight at Emily, who was calmly holding up a gun. But I wasn’t sure even a bullet would stop him.
I squeezed as much speed out as possible, but it wouldn’t be enough. I was going to lose Emily before telling her what she was to me. My tiger roared, his pain and anguish coating every sound wave.
I watched as her finger squeezed the trigger. Havoc didn’t even wince at the impact.
But then his steps faltered.
Emily smoothly reloaded the gun and fired again.
He stumbled, knees hitting the ground. He struggled back to his feet, but his movements were sluggish. A few more steps and he was on the ground again.
My tiger wanted to tear him apart for the threat to our mate. I held my animal half in check, slowing as we approached, circling the downed bull, who was fighting whatever Emily had hit himwith. But his attempts were useless. His eyes fluttered closed, and his breathing evened out.
“That should knock him out long enough to get him back in the pen.” Emily moved closer, and my tiger immediately put himself between her and the bull, not taking any chances. His tail whipped around, and he rolled his head from side to side.
“Now, let me look at you. Where are you bleeding?” She stepped to our side, her trained eyes surveying the damage done by Havoc’s horns. “Can I touch you?”
My tiger chuffed and gently bumped her with his head. With his mate safe, he was good. I was less so. She’d put herself at risk, and I wanted to tell her never to take chances with her life again. But until I shifted, I couldn’t tell her anything, so I let my tiger have his moment with her.
She ran her hands over my fur, her voice calm as she narrated what she was doing. The soothing tone worked on my tiger, while her words gave me the opportunity to prepare for the flash of pain as she checked the wound. My tiger would never knowingly lash out at her, but I didn’t want to take the chance of it happening accidentally.
At the sound of thundering hoofbeats, I turned my head to watch my brothers’ approach. They reined in their horses a short distance from us and dismounted. Declan and Gabriel checked on Havoc, while Ethan and Luke headed for Havoc’s pen. Mason came straight for me, first-aid kit in hand. We avoided the local hospitals as much as possible, as they weren’t equipped to deal with shifter healing.
“He needs stitches.” Emily threw the words over her shoulder as Mason approached. “Do you have anything I can use to put pressure on the wound?”
Mason whipped off his shirt and handed it to her. “Don’t stitch him up until he shifts back. If you do, he’ll need to stay in tiger form while it heals. Shifting will just rip the stitches out.”
Emily folded the shirt into a square. “Then he should shift now before I slow the bleeding, or he’ll just tear the wound open again.”
I grimaced internally. It wouldn’t be fun shifting with the gash on my side, but she was right.
I rolled my head and let my tiger brush up against Emily one last time before walking a few feet away. My shift was slower this time, as the edges of my wound stretched and tore. Pain radiated through my changing body, and my tiger fought me, wanting to get away from it. But I pushed through and ended up kneeling on the ground, panting as sweat dripped down my forehead.
Emily was by my side in an instant, pressing the shirt against the gash. Mason came to my other side and helped hold me upright as I hissed from the pressure, my words coming out sharp with pain,“We need to reinforce the gate to Havoc’s pen.”
Declan strode over. “Speaking of Havoc, how long will he be out?”
“About an hour, maybe two.” Emily peeked under the T-shirt against my side. “I had to guess his weight, though, so I’d move him soon, just in case.”
“I’ll get the tractor.” Gabriel walked back to the horses. “Do you need your kit or anything?”
“Yes, please. I should monitor him while you move him.” Emily tossed her keys at him. “Back of my SUV. The blue bag.”
“How about this guy?” Mason nodded his head toward me. “Do you want to stitch him up or should I?”
“No hospitals, right?” Her head swiveled between Declan and Mason, who nodded. “I’ll do it. Let me see your first-aid kit.”
I caught her hand. “Em. You don’t need to do this. Mason can stitch me up.”
Her fingers trembled beneath mine, and she drew in a deep breath before looking at me. Our eyes met, hers a mix of jumbled emotions. But I saw the worry in them. She squeezed my hand.“I’ve got this.” Her hands steadied as she cleaned my wound. “Do you have anything to numb the area?”
