Can’t lose them both.
FOUR
ROGUE
It took me a long moment to realise what Thistle meant.
Readyfor me?
And Knox…?
She didn’t know… Of course…
I had to fix that.
I honed in on the other Alpha in the bond properly for the first time. I shifted forward, reaching out to the two of them. Ace caught my wrist, but I ignored him, shoving past his grip, hand clamping over his neck.
I felt his rumble of a growl, and it set the hairs on my neck on end.
Fuck.
This piece of shit was pack lead, and I had no idea how that worked since he was feral. Still, I held my hand to his neck, feeling a skittish pulse that was out of control.
Again, I honed in on him.
He was a ball of dark energy, sparking and shivering, but the more I prodded, the more I realised how hollow he was. His ice-blue eyes were strange and dazed, pupils pin-pricked.
Even in the warm water, he was shaking, but not enough to be noticeable at first glance.
How long since he’d slept or eaten?
“Is he okay?” Thistle asked, her voice rough, a frown on her face. “Did I miss something?”
“He could use a rest.”
Didn’t look like he would get that himself, not with how switched on he was. Too many Alphas to babysit.
“I’ll be back in a moment, Kitten.”
She stared at me, dazed, then nodded.
I got to my feet and made my way through my bedroom to the side table where I’d left the tranq box.
I loaded up another dart and returned to find that Thistle had helped him from the bathtub. She was shivering, towel in hand. She’d dried him off and tugged on the pair of boxers and sweats I’d left for them, though she’d had to tie it tight to keep them on. He was tall, but didn’t have nearly the frame I did.
I watched as she finished towelling off his hair.
I took her wrist and pressed both it and the towel to her chest, adjusting her back a pace. Next, I took Ace’s arm, and, before he could do anything, jammed the gun into his shoulder and pulled the trigger.
He snarled, but I was ready for the way he lunged at me. I dropped the gun and caught him, hauling him a step toward the door. The second I pulled him from her, he lost it.
A snarl ripped from his chest, and I was thrown back a pace by his hostility. Vicious he might be, but I was a lot larger, and it was easy to haul him from the bathroom. By the time we got to the bed, I could already see the drug’s effects taking hold. It wasn’t hard to lay him down on the far edge.
Finally, in the bond, the dark shadow of flickering energy died.
I examined him for a long moment.
He’d wake.