Page 102 of A Female Alpha for the Lycan Prince
The nurse pushes past her. She puts the first aid kit down and kneels next to us, her hands instantly roaming Marius’ upper body. “Alpha,” she looks at me nervously. “Please, allow me.”
It’s only then that I realized I growled at her. “I apologize,” I say firmly, willing my instincts down. “Please, do what you need to do.”
I watch her skilled hands remove the shirt wrapped around Marius’ wound and inspect it. She works fast and efficiently, cleaning and disinfecting it to remove any remaining silver. Aurelia and I assist her as much as we can, though I doubt either of us is of great help.
To my utmost relief, I hear heavy footsteps behind us. I toss a quick glance at the door, noticing that Elden and Liam brought their betas and some of their warriors; their eyes widening at the sight of Marius in my arms.
Aurelia moves to the side slightly so that Elden can see what’s happening.
“Marius!” Elden yells in horror as he runs toward us. He kneels down, instinctively grabbing Marius’ arm. “How could this happen?” he breathes out.
“Fuck,” Liam curses when he looks at his brother.
The nurse has managed to slow down the bleeding and is now trying to stabilize his body for transport. “We need to get him to a pack hospital fast,” she mutters. “I can only do the very basics here, and a human hospital is of no use.”
Liam nods. “I’ll get transport here within the next couple minutes.” He turns to his beta. “Dante!”
Dante doesn’t wait for instructions, he just nods his understanding and grabs his phone, scurrying to the side to talk without disrupting us.
Elden carefully looks Marius over, noting the gravity of his wounds. His face is riddled with worry. He touches his forehead gingerly while helping the nurse, trying to stop his wound from bleeding out.
“Wolfsbane,” I mutter. “He’s not healing fast enough.”
“We have to get him to Red Claw’s pack hospital as soon as possible,” Liam urges, looking scared and worried. “I…” he shakes his head. “I should have tried harder to get through to him.”
Elden takes a deep breath. “You did all you could,” he says. “If anything, I’m the one to blame. But there is no time for regrets,” he says. “We have other priorities at the moment.”
Right on cue, Dante approaches. “The infirmary is expecting us, the pack doctor has been informed of his injuries and what to expect on arrival. Medics are preparing your car so that we can transport Marius back safely, Alpha Liam. Fifteen minutes maximum.”
“They have five,” Liam orders. “No more.”
Dante nods before hurrying away again, probably to check on his warriors and have the medics work faster.
Elden lets out a deep breath. “Tell us what else you need, Celine,” he says to my surprise. “Valerie is still missing and in danger too. My warriors can help.”
I nod, realizing I’ve been focused solely on Marius, and turn to Aryanna. “Ari, would you please talk to Jazz? She was a witness and has already told me some of what happened. But it might help to get her to repeat it, maybe she’s remembered more now.”
“Aurelia and I will join you. Maybe we can help.” Liam says and turns towards his sister, Aurelia nods in agreement. I know Liam probably just wants to distract her from the scene, but he’s right, with his and Aurelia’s skills, they might be able to extract more out of Jazz than the others. And the nurse would probably feel better if she isn’t surrounded by four very stressed Alphas.
Aryanna looks horrified. “Jazz was on the scene? Did she get hurt?”
Aurelia looks at her and shrugs helplessly. “A little,” she admits.
“Goddess,” Aryanna breathes out. “I thought I felt something off! I need to mark her ASAP; our bond is not strong enough otherwise.”
“Dante, stay with my father and Celine,” Liam tells his beta, who has just returned again, before hurrying towards Jazz. She is currently sitting on a bench further away from the scene, pressing some ice against her forehead. She looks a bit shocked and worried. Aryanna pulls her into a hug immediately.
The place is buzzing now, everyone is taking care of something. Someone is guarding the school door to make sure no prying students or teachers try to join us outside. I shift my attention back to Marius, gently brushing my hand across his forehead. Elden’s staring at me like he’s trying to solve a strange puzzle.
“He is your mate, isn’t he?” he asks evenly.
I nod quietly.
“What an idiot,” Elden groans, rolling his eyes. “His wolf is weakened because he fought the mate bond. I knew it! Cyrus isn’t hiding, he literally can’t come forward, he is almost dead. That’s why Liam and Annie have been so upset recently.”
I stare at him in surprise. “Just because of the mate bond?”
“The mate bond means even more to us than to werewolves,” Elden explains. “It’s sacred. Rejection is a way out, but if we just ignore it, we suppress our beasts to a point they might never recover.”
