Page 123 of Pack Me Up

Fox wipes a last smear of blood from my arm. “Don’t leave us, okay?”

Cody lifts his head, blood in his teeth, and just says my name.

The world contracts to a pinprick of light, then nothing.

Hunter

PHOENIX PACK SECURITY BRIEF #142

HOSPITAL STAFF BACKGROUND CHECKS

May 26th

Getting from the scene of the crash to the hospital is chaos.

We are five injured, feral mates surrounding our omega.

I’m not sure if I’m walking or being walked. Saint has my elbow in a vice, but he’s bleeding so hard the guy’s barely upright. Colton and Cody flank us, shirts ripped to shreds, dirt and old blood caked up both arms, every knuckle raw. I’m pretty sure Cody shouldn’t be walking, but alpha rage defies physics.

The ambulance doors slam behind us, and the moment the hospital’s cold white light hits, all four of us go hot and feral. The scent that hits us is worse than blood: it’s Brittney, already in the hospital, without me, her omega scent cutting through our senses.

A nurse tries to touch Colton’s shoulder, just a polite hand on the tricep, and he whips around with a snarl so loud the room freezes. The nurse goes paper-white, steps back, and the other staff look at us like we’re a live grenade tossed in the emergency room. Saint grins, a streak of blood down his jaw making the smile even more unhinged.

“Don’t touch us,” he says, and nobody does.

Fox is with Brittney. As the only beta in the pack, he was the only one allowed to ride in the back of the ambulance. He’s holding her hand, whispering things I can’t make out. All we want to do is run, howl, rip something open, and climb inside for safety.

She looks smaller on the gurney, and I want to say she’s just sleeping, that any second now she’ll sit up and call us idiots for getting so worked up, but her face is slack and her lips are blue at the edges. Her chest rises, but it’s shallow, like she’s not convinced she wants to keep breathing.

Fox is beside her, one hand on her wrist, the other holding onto the rail so hard his fingers are white. His shirt is soaked through with her blood, his hair hanging in his face, and when he sees us, something in his shoulders drops, relief and fear in equal measure.

“She’s still alive,” he says, voice raw.

But the doctors want to move her, cut her open, jam needles and tubes into every vein, and they don’t know the rules. They don’t understand that this isn’t just a body on a table. She’s the only thing keeping four alphas from razing the hospital to the foundation.

Saint moves first. He’s across the room before anyone can blink, hand on the gurney, planting himself between Brittney and the doctors. Colton and Cody pile in right behind, and suddenly it’s a wall of muscle and threat, snarling at the ER staff, daring anyone to get close.

“Back off,” Colton growls.

“We’re not leaving her,” Cody says, and the way he bares his teeth is pure animal.

The doctors try to reason, try to speak soothingly, but it just pisses us off. One tries to wheel Brittney away, and Saint shoves the guy so hard he nearly takes out the crash cart.

“Fuck off!” I shout, voice gone ragged. “She’s ours.”

Chaos. Shouts, alarms, and the slamming of doors as the staff realize what’s happening. Security appears, takes one look at us, and wisely decides to hang back and hope we wear ourselves out.

Fox’s voice cuts through, brittle as ice. “Let them work,” he says. “She needs it.”

The command is enough to make us pause. Fox, our beta, has never barked an order in his life, but there’s a force in his voice that even Saint respects. We freeze, collective instinct pulling us up short.

“They’ll let you be with her,” Fox says, eyes wide and wet, “but you have to let them do their jobs. If she doesn’t get help, she’s dead.”

I feel the words inside my ribcage, each one a little blade. The urge to throw the nearest doctor through a wall is only matched by the terror of losing her. I want to fight, but I want Brittney to live more.

Colton backs off first, hands up, palms bleeding. Cody steps away, jaw trembling. Saint doesn’t move, but his eyes are on Fox, waiting.

“Please,” Fox says, voice breaking. “She needs you here. But if you get in the way, they’ll throw you out. Let me handle it.”