Page 2 of The Alpha: Part Three
“Did it go through?” Seth asks through gritted teeth.
“Hang on,” I order and wipe away the blood one more time and press around the site, frowning when it becomes obvious that I'm going to have to pull out the bullet. “No, it didn’t pass through. It's not deep, but I have to take it out. This is going to hurt. A lot. I'm sorry.”
To his credit, Seth doesn't move or pass out and I get the bullet out without causing any more damage to his body. He's lost a lot of blood though, and the wound is in a really inconvenient place. It tore into the muscles in the side of his torso, just under his rib cage. We're lucky it wasn't even half an inch higher.
“I should have been more helpful,” Nathan says, turning away from the window. “I'm a trained medic. I've got plenty of experience with bullets. I'm sorry.”
I shake my head, collecting my instruments for cleaning. “Don't worry about it, Nathan. I wouldn't have let you touch him right now anyway. You don't need to worry about anything but Iris right now. They'll bring her back. Ben and Michael will find her. It's going to be okay.”
He nods, but doesn't say anything and turns back to the window.
I return my attention to Seth. He needs to be in bed. I know that alphas heal faster than omegas or betas, but sitting at this table isn't going to do his body any favors. He's already in a lot of pain, our bond is tight with it. I'm just glad I'm able to help him carry it as well as I am, otherwise removing the bullet and stitching him up could have been a disaster.
He's so pale, almost gray in color, and his hands are starting to tremble. “Are you cold, Seth?”
He shakes his head, then nods.
“Okay. I'm going to go get a blanket and put it around you. Unless there's a chance you'll go lay down?”
“Not until they bring her back,” he says, clenching his jaw when his teeth start to chatter.
Nathan turns back around and assesses Seth as much as he can. “You need to be in bed. It's going to get worse if you don't lay down.”
“I'm not getting up from this chair until they bring Iris back. I'll be fine.” He starts to roll his shoulders but winces and stops the motion. “Will you get the quilt, Desir'ee? From the couch, please?”
I sigh and go to the living room for the quilt Michael and Ben's mom made. It's the one Seth always goes for so I'm not surprised he wants it now. He sags when I wrap it around him and I tuck it more securely into place. Hopefully Ben and Michael will find her and get her back here before he passes out into the floor.
Chapter three
Michael
Cody is leaning against a wall launching anything he can reach at Trent's face, while Brandon waits beside the window with a baseball bat poised by his ear. “I'll break every finger you've got,” he grits. “You're not getting in here.”
I can see her foot. It’s barely visible in the space between Cody’s body and Joseph’s. She might be scared but she’s not otherwise hurt. And she’s not missing. That’s the important part.
The boys are so worried about keeping Trent out that they haven't noticed me crawling through the window on the back wall. I’d laugh if the situation was different. As fun as it is to watch Trent dodge the rocks being shot at his head, laughter wouldn’t go over very well right now. Especially with those three terrified boys. They’re doing their best to protect Iris and they don’t deserve laughter. The whole scene reminds me so much of when me and Ben were kids. And Rafe. We used to try to protect Desie from all kinds of things, including Mateo when she was in trouble.
Oh my god. It’sexactlylike when we were kids. I’ll bet just about anything that Iris ends up being an omega.Theiromega. Every one of her dads are going to lose their shit here in about twelve minutes, or however long it takes to get these kids out of this tree.
“Hey,” I say softly, keeping low to the ground and closer to eye-level with the boys huddled around Iris. Both boys snap their attention to me, their violent startle turning into stark relief. “It’s okay,” I tell them. “That’s Trent. He’s one of her dads. It’s alright. Is she hurt?”
Cody shakes his head. “We ran with her as soon as Brandon saw the cars come around the corner. One of them chased us but me and Brandon knocked him down.” His voice trembles with each word.
“We saw him,” I smile. “You did good. So good. We’re going to have to get you guys out of this tree though. Her mom is really worried about her. Can you let me carry her down?” I don’t really want to think about how they got her up here. Joseph is barely big enough to climb up himself.
“I can’t,” Joseph says.
“You’re her dad?” Brandon asks Trent, lowering his bat.
Trent nods at him as he takes in the scene from outside the other window.
“I’m coming up,” Jasper calls from the ground. There’s a current of relief in his tone, but that bizarre clicking is still coming from his throat. I don’t think Jasper would ever intentionally hurt a kid out of fear or anger, but his current state might scare the hell out of these already terrified boys.
“No, don't. I've got it. It's just a few kids. She's okay,” Trent calls down. “Give us a minute to get them down.”
I crawl over to where Cody, Joseph, and Iris are sitting against the wall. “You have to let me have her so I can take her down to her family, okay?”
Joseph shakes his head, screwing his eyes shut. “I can’t.”
