Page 50

Chapter fifty

Sofia

I had to hand it to Harris’s soldiers; they knew how to stock a medical bay. As soon as Derek passed out, I started screaming for a phone to call Thomas. He took one look at Derek through the video camera and ordered us to search for any medical supplies that might be on site.

Evelyn and Jase raced off, taking some of the other enforcers with them. The others guarded us as I cradled Derek’s unconscious body. Sam sat next to us, unable to take his eyes off his brother, not saying a word.

By the time Jase returned with news that he’d found a fully stocked medical room, Derek had Shifted back into his human form. An unconscious Shift like this sometimes happens when we’re badly injured. A Shift will heal a lot of injuries, but this one barely made a dent in his wounds. Blood gushed from at least six bullet holes that I could see.

Sam moved, lifting his brother into his arms and running after Jase. I followed, and by the time I made it to the medical room in one of the side hangars, Derek was already hooked up to an IV. Sam had a scalpel in one hand, slicing into him as Thomas talked him through removing bullets.

I paused at the entrance, too shocked at the sight of all of Derek’s injuries to move. Jase appeared at my side, his face pale as he surveyed Derek's wounds. Then his eyes shifted to me.

“Sofia,” he said quietly, a new note in his voice I'd never heard before. “What happened out there...”

I glanced up. My little brother was looking at me differently—not with his usual protective concern, but with something like awe, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“All those soldiers,” he continued, shaking his head. ”You and Derek did that?”

I nodded once, not having words to explain what had happened, then stumbled to the head of the bed, stroked Derek’s hair, and told him he was never leaving me. Finally, after what felt like hours, Thomas declared we’d done all we could with his major injuries and to get Derek back to Three Rivers so he could treat the rest.

We bundled Derek into one of the cars, Sam catching my arm as I went to follow him.

“Call me with any news. He’s not out of the woods yet.”

“You’re not coming with us?”

Sam shook his head. “I need to be here. Sort out the dead. Deal with the others.”

It took me a moment to realize he meant not just the tranquilized soldiers, but the ripple-infected werewolves.

“What will happen to them?”

Sam snaked one hand behind his neck. “Mason’s on his way. They’ve been doing some research into those affected by ripple at Bridgetown. Depends on what he says; we might be able to take some back to Bridgetown, see what we can do. If not, though…”

He left it unsaid, but I knew he meant they might have to kill them. It was a horrifying thought and I got the feeling that this wouldn’t be the first time Sam had had to do something like this.

“Oh, Sam.” I hugged him, wanting to take this from him, wanting the world to be different, for ripple to never have been created.

“Be careful with Derek. I’ve never heard of anyone coming back from bloodlust. We don’t know how it might change him.”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s alive. Anything else we’ll deal with together.”

Sam kissed my forehead. “I know you will. Sofia Miller is one bad-ass motherfucker. I have no doubt that you can handle anything.”

Tears welled as I got in the truck beside Derek. Then Sam closed the door behind me, rapping on the roof twice to tell Jase to go.

When we reached Thomas’s house, Jase carried Derek inside to a waiting Thomas. I tried to follow, but Wally stood in my way.

“Nuh-uh, darling. You’re half-naked and covered in blood. We need to get you cleaned up and have a good look at your injuries.”

“After. I need to be with Derek.”

He crossed his arms. “You need to make sure you’re okay. Sam called. We have no idea who or what is going to wake up in there. You’re no good to Derek if you collapse from blood loss. So you, girlie, are going to let me sort you out. Then you can go to him. You know he’s in good hands. The best. Thomas and Jase will look after him. Let me take care of you.”

I opened my mouth to refuse, but Wally pulled out his phone and held it up to me.

“You leave me no choice. So if the next words uttered out of your mouth are not ‘Yes, Wally,’ I’m going to call Mai and tell her everything. It will probably put her into labor. Do you want to be the person who has to explain to Ryan why his pups are arriving before they’re ready and his mate is screaming at her best friend for being an idiot?”

I clicked my mouth shut.

“Smart choice.”

I fell asleep while Wally was patching me up, listening to the sporadic pulses throbbing along my mate bond. Derek was alive. He was there, just next door. Derek. Not a bloodlust werewolf. Derek.

I woke briefly when Wally lay me down next to Derek. He was still out, bandages over… well, most of his body. I put my arm around him, snuggling in as close as I could without touching any of them, and went back to sleep.

The next time I woke, it was slowly, drifting through layers of sleep, aware first of warmth, then pain, then the gentle rhythm of fingers combing through my hair. For a moment, I kept my eyes closed, savoring the sensation, afraid that if I opened them, it might disappear, that it might be a dream.

“You’re awake.” Derek’s voice was little more than a whisper.

“Am I? Or is this just the best dream?” I felt a tear leak out of my eye and run down my cheek.

Warm lips kissed the tear away.

“You can open your eyes, gorgeous. I’m here. I’m really here.”

My eyes flew open. Moonlight spilled through the window, casting the room in silver shadows. Derek lay beside me, his eyes—clear and focused—fixed on my face.

“Derek.” His name came out as a half-sob, half-whisper. I reached up, catching his hand and pressing it against my cheek. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck. Then backed over. Then hit again.” He winced as he shifted slightly. “Thomas says I’ll live. Apparently, I’m not allowed to die because that would mean leaving you.”

I smiled. “Damn right.”

His thumb traced the curve of my cheekbone, so gently I might have imagined it. “Sofia… I remember everything.”

My heart clenched. Of course he did.

“It wasn’t you,” I said fiercely. “It was the bloodlust.”

“But it was me. I felt it, Sofia. The rage, the hunger—it didn’t come from nowhere. It came from inside me.” His voice caught. “I wanted to kill. And I did. I enjoyed it.”

I pushed myself up onto my elbow, ignoring the stab of pain from my shoulder. “Listen to me. You fought it. You came back to us. No one has ever done that before, but you did.”

“Because of you.” His fingers trailed down to my throat, resting against my pulse. “I was gone, completely gone. And then I heard you. Felt you. It was like… like drowning in darkness and then seeing a single light.” His voice broke. “You called me back.”

He shook his head, his expression so vulnerable it made my chest ache. “I almost killed Sam. My own brother. And you—” His hand began to tremble against my skin. “You put yourself between us. Do you have any idea what would have happened if I’d—”

“But you didn’t.”

“I could have.”

“No.” I took his face between my hands, careful of the cut along his jaw. “You wouldn’t. Not ever.”

“How can you be so sure? How can you trust me after what I did?”

I leaned forward until our foreheads touched.

“Because I know you, Derek Shaw. Better than anyone. Better than you know yourself.” I brushed my lips against his, feather-light. “You will always protect me, no matter what.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“Too bad. You’re stuck with me. Now and forever, remember?”

He made a sound that was half laugh, half something else. “I remember.”