Page 81 of Shrouded in the Dark

“Seth, I know. But what do we have to lose? I would rather have my daughter angry at me for the rest of her life than have her dead.”

“No.” My voice was firm.

I could feel the eyes of my pack on me. I knew they didn’t agree. I couldn’t bring myself to do that to Becca.

“Fuck you, Seth.” Cody’s strangled voice was soft. “Stop being a fucking martyr. I’m doing it.”

My eyes widened in shock. Cody had never spoken to me that way. My tiger growled softly, taking his words as a challenge for Alpha.

“Cody, don’t you dare.”

His defiant expression was filled with desperation. What happened next shocked me into silence.

Jasper shifted and had his teeth sinking into Becca’s right shoulder, hard. He shifted back, climbing into the tub, taking her from Cody. He nodded at him.

“Jasper!” my voice whipped out.

“Stop, Seth. She’s our mate. The only one we’ll ever have. I’m not letting a chance go to have her with us.” He met my eyes calmly. “She would want us to do whatever we could to save her.”

My tiger settled. He agreed even as he raged over his mate being dead.

“Fine.” My throat was dry.

Cody didn’t waste time. He transformed there in the tub. If the situation wasn’t so grim, it would be hilarious since he basically was bent in half in the tub as he bit into Becca’s other shoulder. His shift was just as quick as Jasper's.

Axel knelt at the base of the tub. I rose to my feet. I backed out of the room to give him room to shift. His bear bit into Becca’s left thigh after Jasper pulled her pants off with some struggle. His hands were shaking. Both he and Cody were covered in blood. My chest felt hollow. I had no idea how any of us were going to survive this.

Then it was my turn. Shifting, I stood next to the tub again. It took all of my self control to make myself bite her right thigh. I made sure not to hit her bone. When I shifted back, I wiped my face.

“Is it done?” Gary whispered.

“Yes.” Axel picked up the phone.

“Now, we wait. Can you keep me on the line?”

Axel looked to me for permission and I nodded. He was her family too.

None of us left the room while time seemed to stretch on. The only one who did, briefly, was Axel when I asked him to put the front door up, so that anyone driving by wouldn’t report it. Thirty minutes finally ticked by.

“We should move her to a bed,” Cody whispered. “She’s covered in her own blood. We need to clean her.”

“Everything is destroyed. The beds in the house are torn to shreds.” Axel ran a hand down his face.

“There should be a blow up mattress under the bathroom sink with some sheets.” Gary had been silent since we began this torturous wait.

I had something to keep my pack busy. “Cody and Jasper, go clear out the debris from her room. Axel, get it set up after they’ve cleared it.” My hands were as gentle as possible as I took her from Jasper's arms.

Looking down at her heart shaped face, tears filled my eyes finally. I couldn’t hold them back any longer as they slipped down my cheeks. I ran my thumb along her cheek. She was so pale. Her lips were so pale, she had no color in her face at all any more.

Pressing my forehead to hers, my tears continued to fall. I started to pray to God, to the Moon Goddess, to anyone who would listen. Just bring her back. Please, just let this work. The sounds of the others moving around in her bedroom slowly faded. The sound of the air mattress being inflated by the air pump filled the room and bathroom.

“Come on, cub.” Holding her in my arms, I climbed out of the tub. I took her to the shower, stepping into the water, not waiting for it to warm up.

The water ran red for a long time. Supporting her with one arm, I worked to clean her hair gently. It took about ten minutes for the water to finally run clear.

Axel was there with a towel for both of us. He’d pulled on a pair of sweats. I handed him our mate’s body as I took the towels.

“I’ll wrap the towel around her and hold her up. Can you remove her wet underwear?” Axel’s face turned red briefly.