Page 45 of Elias

Elias stepped around Damon and came to Leah. She whimpered, afraid. She backed up into the living room.Please don’t let that blood be his.

He squatted in front of her. “I’m fine, Little one. Not a scratch on me. Shift for me, Baby girl.”

She whimpered again, shaking. It was hard to concentrate and force her shift, but she finally managed to do so and fell on her bottom, disoriented.

Daddy scooped her up and cradled her in his arms. He kissed all over her face. “It’s over.”

Over? It didn’t seem over. It seemed like they were only on a short break.

“Olivia…”

Leah turned in her Daddy’s arms to find that everyone had shifted except Olivia. She stood in the same spot, ears high, body rigid, nose to the air.

“Shift for me, Little one,” Damon encouraged again.

Until she shifted no one would know what had happened. She was the only one of them who knew.

Finally, she lowered her head, softened her stance, and shifted. Less than a second later, Damon had her in his arms, hugging her against his chest, rocking her back and forth. “Such a brave Little girl. I’m so proud of you.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Elias ushered everyone inside. There were a lot of people, though, and it was very crowded. It was also eerily silent except for the sniffles coming mostly from Suzette and Leah. It broke Elias’s heart that his mate had gone through such a fright one week into their union.

Olivia cleared her throat. “I could sense them from over a mile away. It took a while for them to arrive. When they grew close, I finally scented the other four. I knew two of them were Surge and Thorn. I knew they were hunting their rogue brothers and would not let them harm us.”

Damon held her close, still rocking her back and forth while he rubbed her back. “What did Surge communicate after the others left?”

“He said he was so very sorry. He was confident the rogue bears were injured enough that they would not get away this time. They would be captured. He will return as soon as he can to reassure us.”

Damon kissed her forehead. “Good girl.”

Elias knew he was holding his mate too tight. It was a habit with him. He needed to know she was living and breathing. He couldn’t release his grip as he glanced around the room at theother Alphas, stopping when he noticed Felix had a hand on his side and was wheezing.

Leah must have noticed, too. “He’s hurt, Daddy. I saw the bear take a swipe with his claws.”

Elias reluctantly set his mate down and rushed over with the others to check on Felix.

Gavin grabbed Felix’s shoulder and guided him to the kitchen. “First aid kit?”

“I’ll get it,” Leah said as she ran from the room toward the bathroom.

Elias helped Gavin pull Felix’s shirt over his head. The two men were brothers. Felix was older by twelve years, but they were still close.

Felix winced as he looked down. “It’s superficial,” he said. “Nobody freak out. It’s not deep. I can tell.”

A long claw mark stretched from the side of his chest down to his abdomen. Elias held Felix’s arm out of the way so Gavin could get a better look. Gavin was a healer. He would know what to do better than anyone else in the room. The rest of the Alphas backed up to give them space.

Leah rushed back in with a first aid kit in her arms. It was almost too large and bulky for her, but she set it on the table and opened it up. “Anticeptic? Gauze?”

Elias stared at her for a moment. She was all business and not squeamish at all. He was impressed.

Felix’s face was tight, but he didn’t make a sound while Gavin pulled up a chair and began cleaning and then stitching the long wound. “How the fuck are you going to explain this to your mate?” Gavin joked.

Elias chuckled. “That’s right. How much longer do you have before your ceremony?”

Felix rolled his eyes. “A year. It will be healed by then.”

Gavin lifted his gaze as he finished stitching. “It will be a long ugly scar. Hopefully she’s not the overly sensitive type,” he teased.