Pretty Baby [Wolf Creek Pack 7] (14 page)

“Wait, I thought you said there were only two guys.”

“Carl got away.”

“Shit!”

“I’m telling you, Joe, he was waiting for me.”

“Yeah, I suspect as much. He’s positive you’ve done something to Elliot.”

Tommy looked down at the wolf lying on the ground in front of him. “Well…”

“Yeah, yeah, so, tell me what else happened. How did Elliot get hurt?”

“Carl and these two guys were beating the crap out of me, and Eliot came out of nowhere.” Tommy chuckled nervously. “You should have seen him, Joe. I’ve never seen a wolf move as fast as he did. He just tore right into these guys, no hesitation.”

“He was protecting his mate.”

Tommy found himself grinning as he rubbed his free hand over Elliot’s fur. “Yeah, I guess he was.”

“Okay, I’m right around the corner. I’ve already put in a call to Doc Jones. He’s going to meet us at the house. I called Ben to take these two guys up to the hospital. He can keep an eye on them until we can question them.”

Tommy glanced at the two injured men. He didn’t care that much about their injuries. They did attack him after all. But he did care about what this attack would mean to the pack. “Can you call Dad, too? I think some heavy shit is about to come down on us.”

Tommy cringed when he heard Joe sigh. His father and brother had been trying to tell him since he met Elliot that the man was a danger to the pack. Tommy still didn’t believe that. If everyone would just leave them alone, things would be fine. It was the people meddling in their lives that were a danger.

“Yeah, I’ll give Dad a call.”

“Elliot didn’t do this, Joe.”

“I know, Tommy, but you have to admit things are going to get dicey.”

“Yeah, and I’m sorry for that, but I refuse to give Elliot up.” Tommy looked back down at the wolf and swallowed hard when he felt overcome by the emotions swamping him. “He’s my mate, Joe.”

“I hear you, Tommy.”

“Do you?” Tommy wanted to scream, but he knew that wouldn’t help the situation at all. He just couldn’t understand why everyone was putting up so many road blocks to him being with Elliot. The coming together of mates was supposed to be a sacred thing, not so fucked up. “Do you really?”

“I do, Tommy,” Joe replied, his voice much quieter. “And I’ll do whatever I can to help you, but I need you to understand how much danger we’re in. I know Elliot is your mate, and I hope you have many happy years together. But you need to help me keep the pack safe.”

“I won’t give Elliot up, and if we have to, we’ll go somewhere else.”

“You’re safer here.”

“Are we? You and Dad have both already tried to make me give Elliot up. How is that safe?”

“We were wrong, Tommy, okay?” Joe shouted. “We fucked up and didn’t respect the bond that you have with Elliot. I fully admit that. But you have a part in this too, Tommy. You refuse to see how dangerous this situation is.”

Tommy glanced at the two bloody men lying on the ground several feet from him then back to his own mate. “No, I know how dangerous this is, Joe. My mate is lying here, bleeding all over the place, possibly dying. I don’t think it gets more dangerous than that.”

Joe didn’t answer, but Tommy heard a car screech to a stop. He looked to the entrance of the alleyway and saw Joe climb out of his SUV. Before he had even closed the door and walked around to the front of his vehicle, Daniel and Ben walked around the corner. All three men hurried down the alley.

Tommy watched his father squat down next to Elliot and run his hands over the wolf’s bloody fur. His face was morose, the corner of his lips pulled down in a deep frown. Tommy could feel the vibes of anger coming off his father and swallowed.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” he said quietly, his fingers clenching in Elliot’s fur.

Daniel looked up, surprise making his eyebrows shoot up. “I know, son, but let’s not worry about that right now. Our first priority needs to be Elliot. We’ll deal with this other stuff after we know he’s safe.”

Tommy nodded. That pretty much summed up where his thoughts were. “If you can get the back hatch, I’m going to put him in Joe’s SUV. That way I can climb in with him.”

“Can you lift him on your own or do you need help?”

“I can get him.” He didn’t want anyone else touching his mate.

Tommy carefully slid his hands under Elliot and lifted the wolf into his arms. He grunted a little at his mate’s weight when he stood to his feet, then carried Elliot toward the truck.

“Let me get a blanket spread out for him.”

Tommy waited for his father to open the back hatch then spread out a blanket before gently lying Elliot down inside the vehicle. He quickly climbed in beside Elliot and lifted the wolf’s head onto his lap.

Elliot still hadn’t woken up and Tommy was beginning to become very concerned. He didn’t know what he would do if Elliot was seriously injured. He’d be lost without Elliot now that he had found him and they hadn’t even completed the mating yet.

“Dad, I—” Tommy pressed his lips together and shook his head. He just couldn’t imagine life without Elliot, even if they had only known each other for a couple of days. He’d never have another connection with someone like he did Elliot.

“We’ll figure this out, Thomas.”

Tommy nodded, but he wasn’t sure he believed the man. Everything in the world seemed to be conspiring to keep him and Elliot apart, and he just didn’t understand that. Mates were supposed be destined by fate. So, why was fate fucking with them?

Tommy leaned back against the side of the SUV and cradled Elliot’s muzzle in his lap. He gently stroked the side of his face as he waited for them to arrive at Joe’s house and the doctor. It couldn’t happen fast enough for him. He heaved a sigh of relief when he spotted the doc’s car sitting in the driveway as they drove up.

“Doc’s here, Elliot. He’ll make you all better.” Tommy knew Elliot couldn’t understand him, maybe didn’t even hear him, but he had to try. There had to be some way to reach Elliot. Tommy refused to give up. Elliot was just too important.

The moment the hatch opened up, Tommy scooted to the edge and climbed out. He reached back inside and carefully lifted Elliot into his arms. Elliot’s chest was still moving so Tommy knew he was alive, but he was worried that the man hadn’t opened his eyes, well, the wolf anyway. He would deal with the whole man versus wolf thing after he knew Elliot would live.

The trip inside of the house was quick. Doc Jones was waiting in the kitchen with Nate and Maryann. The small kitchen table had been covered with a blanket and Tommy quickly laid Elliot down on that. He stepped to the side but refused to move away from Elliot even when the doctor arched an eyebrow at him.

“He’s my mate. I’m not leaving.”

“Just stand out of my way then.”

Tommy nodded and stepped to the end of the table near Elliot’s back paws. He gently stroked his hand over Elliot’s hindquarter as he watched Doc Jones work on his mate. It seemed to take forever. There was so much blood.

By the time the doc had cleaned off the blood, Elliot’s injuries became more visible. He had several long scratches down his torso and one deep stab wound between his shoulder blades. It was the injuries Tommy couldn’t see that concerned him. He distinctly remembered one of the men attacking them kicking Elliot in the side.

“Doc, one of the guys that attacked us kicked Elliot in the side several times.”

Doc nodded as he felt along Elliot’s side. “Yes, I believe he might have a few broken or fractured ribs, nothing that won’t heal over time. It’s this stab wound between his shoulders that concerns me the most. It’s pretty deep.”

Tommy winced when the doc probed at the wound with his fingers and a bunch of blood welled up from the injury and dripped down through Elliot’s white fur. There was a part of him that was grateful that Elliot was unaware of what was happening right now. The thought of his little mate in pain was unacceptable to Tommy.

“Will he be okay, doc?”

“Well, that’s hard to say, Tommy. It would be better if he just shifted. He would heal much faster that way.”

“I don’t know if he can shift back, doc.” Tommy waved one hand at Nate, who stood near the sink. “Nate says Elliot’s human side is gone.”

Doc Jones frowned and paused to look over at Tommy. “Is that even possible?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I know anything anymore. Nate says Elliot’s human side is gone. If that’s true, I…” Tommy shook his head. “I just don’t think that’s possible. You’ve never met Elliot, so you wouldn’t be able to understand how special he is, how much life is in him. I just don’t see him going away and leaving me like that.”

“I’ve never heard of something like this happening, so I couldn’t say one way or another.” Doc Jones pointed to the gaping wound in Elliot’s back. “I do know that if he doesn’t shift, he might bleed to death. His wolf form is not strong enough to heal this injury. He needs to shift.”

Tommy began to shake as fearful images of life without Elliot began to form in his mind. It just didn’t seem possible to just find his mate and then lose him, all in a matter of hours. He hadn’t even been able to complete the mating. Between Joe trying to arrest him, his father interrupting them, and the trip to Joe's house to discuss Elliot's father, there had been too many interruptions and not enough time to complete the mating.

“No,” Tommy said as he shook his head, “I refuse to give up on Elliot. I know he’s in here somewhere.” Tommy suddenly remembered Roane and the dream walking. He snapped his fingers. “And I think I know how to do it.”

Tommy pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the bar where he worked. He tapped his fingers anxiously against the table as he waited for his boss to pick up the phone. “Bishop?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s Tommy, is Levi still there?”

“Yeah, sure, he’s right here.”

“I need to talk to him.”

Tommy heard a small rustling sound then Levi’s slow easy drawl. “Yo.”

“Levi, I need your help. Elliot’s been hurt and I need to reach him really fast. Doc says if he doesn’t shift, he could die. Can you talk to your friend for me? I think I need to do that dream walking thing you told me about.”

“Roane? Yes, I suppose I can do that.”

“Thanks, that would be great. You can reach me at this number or at Nate’s house.” Tommy let out a sigh of relief. “And Levi, time is of the essence. Elliot is fading with every passing minute.”

“Yeah, I hear you, man. I’ll get in touch with Roane and get back to you as soon as I can.”

“Thanks, Levi.”

Tommy snapped his phone closed and shoved it back in his pocket. He leaned on the counter and tried to calm his racing heart. He hoped that this dream walking thing would help him reach his mate because Tommy was out of ideas.

He finally looked up at the faces watching him. “Levi and Nate have this friend, Roane, who knows how to dream walk. He thinks he might be able to lead me to Elliot’s human side.”

Nate smacked himself in the forehead. “Damn! I should have thought of Roane. That makes perfect sense. Does Levi know where Roane is hiding these days?”

“He says he has a few ideas, but his main concern is getting Roane to help us.”

Nate grimaced. “Yeah, that part might not be so easy.”

“How bad were things for Roane?”

“Worse than mine.”

Tommy’s mouth dropped open. He hadn’t thought it was possible for someone’s experience at the hands of the Teacher to be worse than Nate’s. The man had suffered unimaginable pain and mental torment. Only with Joe’s help, and an abundance of love, had Nate become the joyful man he was today.

“Roane was one of the Teacher’s special projects. He wasn’t even allowed to associate with the rest of us. The Teacher kept him locked up in solitary confinement for—” Nate made a quotation gesture in the air with his fingers— “his own protection.”

Tommy wasn’t surprised in the least when Joe walked up behind Nate and wrapped his arms around the smaller man. Joe was Nate’s rock, everyone knew that. He was also fiercely protective of his mate.

“I doubt I would have even known about him if he hadn’t started visiting me in my dreams.” Nate suddenly chuckled as he kind of looked off into empty space. “In dreamspace, as he calls it, Roane is actually quite the character. He has a wicked sense of humor.”

“Nate, if this is going to be too hard on Roane, we need to find another way. I want Elliot back but not at the expense of another person.” Tommy reached down to grip a small handful of Elliot’s soft fur. “Elliot would never forgive me.”

“I will help.”

Tommy glanced up at the softly spoken words to see a small, thin, brown-haired man standing in the kitchen doorway. Levi stood protectively behind the man, Tommy’s mother just beyond Levi.

“Roane?” Tommy asked.

The young man nodded and stepped farther into the room. Nate let out a glad cry and raced over to hug Roane. Joe growled and hurried right after Nate. Tommy chuckled when Nate rolled his eyes and stepped back into Joe’s embrace.

“Neanderthal,” Nate said.

“And?” Joe chuckled.

“It’s good to see you happy, Nate,” Roane said.