Page 20 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Bryce

My breath seizes in my lungs when my mate touches my back. The agonizing pain I was experiencing takes a backseat at the touch of my gentle mate. Her touch is so good, it takes me a little too long to realize what she’s doing. I realize the pain wasn’t just fading away because I was lost in her touch; no, the pain is actually fading. I jerk away from her hand because she doesn’t have anything extra to give. Her eyes meet mine for just a moment before she drops like a rock. I catch her before she hits ground, and my wolf nearly bursts from my skin. “Cody!” I roar.

“Let me,” a gentle voice says. I look up and see Ava’s friend Rose. Her mate, Maverick, is right behind her.

I’m too worried about Ava to even think about how they got here so fast. “She’s losing blood somewhere.” My hands rove over her body, trying to find the source of her injury. When I run my hands along her left thigh, they come away red. I swear and rip her pantleg open. I stare in horror at the blood spurting from the wound.

“It hit an artery,” Rose says, dropping next to me. I fight the urge to push the healer away, even knowing Ava needs her. But my urge to protect her is fierce and seeing her like this is sending me over the edge.

“Bryce!” Maverick snaps at me, his own wolf present at the very real threat I am right now to his mate. He shoves between me and his mate, pushing me further away from Ava. I growl low in my chest.

“Bryce, let her do her work.”

My head snaps around at the sound of another male voice, not from my pack. I’m surprised to see Garrett and Max. Cade, the alpha of the Orlando Pack stands next to them as well. Cody, Alicia, and Leo close in around me, a wall of support at my back.

They all showed up two hours ago, but we didn’t want to bother you, Cody sends me.

Next time, give me a warning , I send back tersely.

Garrett nods at Rose. “She’s good at what she does; let her heal your mate.”

I turn back in time to see the wound on Ava’s thigh begin to close. I expect the healer to pull back, but she keeps her hands on Ava and her eyes closed. “Let me take over,” a new voice says.

Samantha, Wyatt’s mate, drops to the ground next to Rose. I turn to see Wyatt striding toward us. He eyes me warily as he hunkers down next to his mate. “We just got here,” he says by way of greeting to me before turning back to his mate. “Okay, My Sam. Let’s do your thing.”

Rose pulls back and Samantha takes over, sending healing energy into Ava’s body. I study my mate. Her face is so pale, and her frame is so small now. I worry even this won’t be enough. Nobody says anything while the healers work on my mate. Or maybe they do, and I just don’t realize. After a few minutes, Rose and Samantha meet eyes. “What?” The question comes out harsher than I meant it to, and that earns me two murderous looks from their mates. “What is it?” I take care to keep my voice calm this time.

It’s Samantha that answers. “She’s severely malnourished and weak. Her hemoglobin is way too low. I can tell that for sure. We can only heal injuries, so there’s nothing we can do about those things.”

I pledge to end the life of every vampire in that facility. They did this to my mate, and they won’t survive what’s coming to them. “She’ll be okay, though, right?” My voice is unsteady. They exchange glances, and I fear the worst. “She needs calories right now and rest, at least to start with.” She glances around. “And she’s really weak. I don’t know that she’s going to even be able to walk.”

“I’ll carry her.” My words are low and harsh. “I’ll get her to my pack and see to her care.”

Rose shakes her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

A fierce growl rumbles through my chest. Samantha meets my eyes. “I don’t think she’ll even make it that far.” Her words are soft and full of so much empathy, my skin begins to tingle.

I look down at my fragile mate. “What do I do?”

“She needs a blood transfusion. She’s lost too much blood, and that’s something we can’t heal or give back.” Samantha’s words settle heavy on me.

Garrett joins the conversation. “We’ll fly you both to our pack. Paul can see to it that she gets the transfusion, and Sage can be right there if she needs healing.”

Samantha turns to me. “She has to go now, Bryce. Like...right now.”

I get what she’s saying, and my heart twists. “I promised her I’d get her brother out.”

There’s a heavy silence, and then a new voice sounds. “I’ll go back for him,” Sherese calls out.

There’s an explosion of movement. Hunter’s suddenly in front of Sherese, snarling. “Back off.”

I’m on my feet as well. “She’s with us.” Authority leaks from my voice.

“She’s a vampire,” Wyatt growls.

“Yes, and she saved Ava. She’s Ava’s friend, and now she’s with us.” My words are backed with the full force of my alpha power, so that they’ll know I’m serious.

“Well, now that we got that settled,” Sherese says, taking a step around Hunter. She meets my eyes. “I’ll go back for him. You get her the help she needs.”

“No,” Hunter growls.

I ignore him. At some point, we’ll have to deal with his odd behavior over the vampire. Right now, is not that time. “I’m not letting you go back by yourself. They’ll kill you.”

She shrugs. “Not if they don’t catch me.”

“No. It’s too dangerous,” I tell her.

She shrugs. “I’m doing it either way, Alpha. So, either help me figure it out or stay out of my way.”

Quiet settles around us at the showdown, and I’m conflicted. I want to go with my mate, but also know I gave her my word that I would get her brother out. Garrett walks over to me. “What are we dealing with?” Max and Cade close in as well, and I can see that Wyatt and Maverick are both listening, even though they’re with their mates.

I fill them in with everything I know as fast as possible. “It’s a vampire site. They’ve got...” I meet Sherese’s eyes.

“At least fifty,” she supplies.

I pause for a moment as I process this. I hadn’t realized there were so many. I face the guys. “At least fifty vampires; maybe more.” I register the shock on their faces. None of us thought there were that many of them left after the war, let alone all in one spot.

“And some of them are supercharged,” Sherese adds, walking over to our group.

There’s a stillness that settles over our group. It's the stillness that comes over a predator before it attacks its prey. I shift so that I’m standing closer to the vampire, should she need protecting. “What’s she talking about?” Garrett asks in a low voice.

“It’s the wolves they’ve taken.” We were aware they were taking rogue wolves. All our information has come from Jackson. I curl my fists at the thought of the rogue’s name. “They’ve injected those wolves with vampire serum. So now they’re shifters with vampire speed and strength.”

“Is her brother a vampire too?” Garrett asks.

“No, he’s human.” I look at Sherese again. “Apparently, they’ve done the same to humans as well. But he’s not a vampire, so that makes him slightly less of a threat.”

“Not really,” Sherese adds. I give her a look. She's not really helping at this point. I don’t miss the way Hunter shifts his body a little closer to hers. She doesn’t miss it either and shoots a glare in his direction. “I’m just saying—whether human or shifter, these guys are all juiced up. They’re creating an army of them in there.”

“So, fifty vampires plus some of these supercharged shifters?” Wyatt asks.

Sherese nods. “Yes. Oh, and as soon as they get the results they want, they’re planning on going all in and creating lots of them.”

There’s a rumble of growls, and I echo the sentiment. “Okay. But right now, we just have to get her brother out.”

“Alpha Bryce, she needs to go. Her heart is racing now, and I’m worried it won’t hold on,” Rose says from her spot next to Ava.

“Okay.” I make the call. I turn to Garrett. “Can I send her with my pack members to your pack?”

“Of course.” His answer is instant.

“I’ll get in and get the brother and get out,” I tell them. “Cody, you have the ride?”

“Yeah but—”

I cut off his words and look at him and Alicia. “Get her to the Northwoods Pack and get her right to...” I pause a moment, faltering on the names.

“Paul and Sage,” Garrett supplies. “They can take your ride, and then the rest of us can take our plane.”

Cody gives me a look. I open the link, so that all my team can hear me. Alicia and Cody, I need you both to get Ava there safely. Leo, I need you to stay on here to run interference for us when we go back in.

I’ll go with Bryce, Hunter adds.

Alicia looks at me and then at Leo. Then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll guard her with our lives, Bryce.

Cody gives me one last hard look, and I hope I won’t have to give him an alpha command. Thankfully, he nods. Thank you, I tell him.

I’m back at my mate’s side a moment later. “I’m going to move her now,” I tell the two healers.

“I’m going with,” Rose says, standing to her feet.

“Me too,” Samantha says as well. “We’ll make sure she’s okay during the flight.”

I hesitate a moment but know what I have to ask. “Actually, we may need one of you here.” Maverick and Wyatt both turn to me, expressions hard. “It’s the barrier. It packs a powerful punch. It’s enough that we won’t be strong enough to do what we need to do fast enough. It’s the equivalent of being hit with...a lot of electricity. I’ll warn you; it’s not pleasant.”

“I’ll stay,” Rose says. “They’ve got a baby at home,” she says, nodding at Wyatt and Samantha. “Send them with Ava; I’ll stay here.”

“Are you sure?” Samantha asks.

Rose nods. I look at her mate. Maverick’s expression is hard, but he meets my eyes and answers the unspoken question with a short nod.

“Thank you,” I tell them both.

I turn to Wyatt. “I’ll keep them safe,” he says before I can say anything. I know he’s referring to both my mate and his, and I’m grateful. I look down at my mate and run my eyes over her face, committing absolutely every detail to memory. Then I bend and pick her up and hold her against my chest as gently as I can. I curse the vampires again at the light weight of her. The helicopter isn’t far. As soon as we start loading, the copter starts up. Thankfully, it’s a guy we know. We’ve used him before; that’s one less stress on my mind.

Cody and Alicia are already on board, and Cody’s helping run safety checks. Samantha climbs in ahead of me and makes an area for Ava. I lay her down on the blanket, and she settles on the floor next to her and picks up her hand. “Thank you,” I tell her. “I owe you.”

“No,” Samantha says, meeting my eyes. “She’s my friend. I’ll keep her stable.”

“Thank you.” I bend to the floor and lean over my mate and kiss her on the forehead. It’s all I can do right now, and it’s not nearly enough. “I’m going to get your brother, Ava,” I tell her, knowing full well she can’t hear me. “And then I’ll be back at your side.” I stand up and walk away without looking back. I can’t, or I may not leave. Cody and Alicia both nod at me as I pass. “Thank you.” I tell them.

Wyatt stands at the door, a grim expression on his face. “She’ll be safe. I give you my word.”

I nod. “Thank you.” My wolf slams against my chest as we step out of the helicopter, but I keep him locked down. Our mate is so very fragile right now, and it’s killing both of us to walk away, leaving her in this vulnerable state. But there’s no other option. I promised her we’d get her brother. Now, I have to follow through.