Page 7 of Wanted by the Wolves (The Last Shifters #2)

Chapter 6

Gage

“ N o. Absolutely not,” I mumble.

The battered, half-dead wolf in my arms doesn’t respond.

The fucker brings this shit to my door and thinks he’s going to die a martyr on the lawn?

Not today, Briggs. Not today.

I’m patching his ass up, then he and his brother can find somewhere else to ride out their tragic love story with the sweet-smelling omega. I refuse to watch this play out.

Skirting around Dex’s mammoth size, I lead him into the kitchen. The omega is damn near in heat, billowing perfume so thick it makes my eyes water. I hate that she smells so warm and inviting. The homey scent sinks in like barbed hooks.

“Set her down over there.” I lift my chin toward the butcher block table. “He’s out, so you better start talking.”

Dex shakes his head, looking down at the omega. A low warning sound pulses from his throat.

Fucking great. The alpha fog has already set in. There will be no reasoning with Dex. “Fine. Don’t put her down.”

I place Briggs on the table. If he wasn’t in such bad shape, I’d consider kicking his ass. As it is, the self-sacrificing hero is covered in feral bites, and his left hind leg is broken in two places.

Dex growls again when I stand before him. “Easy, killer. Let me take a look so I know what I’m working with.”

He sits at one of the small kitchen chairs, the omega in his lap. I move slowly, telegraphing that I’m going to look her over. If this beast bites me, I’m not above zapping his ass.

The blanket hides a tiny blond-haired omega. She’s gotta be at least twenty-five, though she looks malnourished. Despite her sweet and inviting scent, she’s covered in filth. Purple and yellow bruises line her body, but it’s her neck that draws my eye. It’s scabbed and swollen, and the skin is so badly marred that it will probably scar.

“What the fuck happened to her?” I growl, eyes darting to Dex. My wolf pushes to the surface, ready to defend the small bundle.

That’s the problem with omegas—their biology is hardwired to make alphas want to protect them. Only in this fucked up world, that’s not possible. It’s a lose-lose.

“Captive. New king. He wanted her for breeding,” Dex grits out the words, his voice raspy. The guy hardly speaks, so that’s probably as much as I’m going to get.

No matter. It’s enough. It sounds as though this king is as bad as the last. Besides, doesn’t the king know that won’t work? Breeding is the surest way to kill an omega.

I move my open palm closer, letting my magic assess her for internal damage. At least she’s not pregnant yet if she’s so close to heat. Her ribs are bruised, not broken, but her blood has traces of wolfsbane, and her erratic heartbeat tells me it’s almost too late. If I don’t act fast, the poison will kill her.

Opening the door of the old clinic brings back a rush of shit I’d like to forget. Without really seeing anything, I grab what I need.

The wide protection circle is first. I whisper the old words as I set each crystal. Focusing more of my energy on the moss agate, I call on our connection with nature’s magic to stabilize my work and bring balance to the room. The magic vibrates in the air when the clear quartz completes the circle. It will boost the healing spells and help to sustain my energy.

Next, I focus on making a charcoal-based salve infused with herbs and laced with a spell. It should help draw out the wolfsbane.

I return to the kitchen with my supplies and get to work. Blocking the omega’s scent is near impossible, and each huff of her sweetness agitates my wolf. Dex is no better. He growls with each soaked bandage I place on her neck. I ignore his bullshit until I’ve covered the whole area with the thick black tar.

“I need to stabilize her heart. Don’t kill me,” I warn.

The alpha nods. “Help?”

“Just don’t hit me when my magic touches her,” I grouse. “Because it’s gonna hurt before it gets better.”

I don’t wait for him to respond, clutching her neck and letting my magic expand. It sends a zapping bolt of power straight to her heart, and the omega’s chest rises unnaturally, muscles spasming, before she falls limp in Dex’s arms.

Her heartbeat races, then stops on a hiccup.

Fuck.

I try again.

No heartbeat.

I don’t have enough power. Not for this. She’s a mess, and I’m out of practice.

It didn’t even take these assholes twenty minutes in my house before their tragedy struck.

The knowledge that I can’t save the omega guts me. Less than an hour in her presence, and I’m already wrecked by my need to protect her. I thought I’d already learned this lesson, but hope is a nasty weed that juts through the cracks and refuses to be stamped out.

Dex grabs hold of my shoulder, his voice dark as he barks, “You’re not giving up.”

I glare at him.

The asshole purrs, and that burst of power shoots into the space between us.With a resigned sort of desperation, I soak in his magic and funnel it into her. The jolt causes her small body to lift and fall flat.

A tiny murmured thump sounds from her chest. Then another.

I keep my hand in place, allowing Dex’s energy to merge with mine and flow through me. The silence and tension bite at my frayed nerves while we wait. Eventually, the little thump of a heartbeat steadies and becomes stronger. I can feel how our combined energy soaks up the poison and draws it from her blood.

My body takes it on. The dark black lines crawling up my skin prove that my magic is filtering it out. It hurts like a motherfucker, making my insides rock with nausea and my heart pound erratically.

The two of us hold her until I’m almost drained. On unsteady legs, I pull away from the omega and brace myself against the kitchen table. “Get her cleaned up and take her to one of the bedrooms. She needs to rest, and I need to save your littermate.”

The stoic wolf is shaking as he carries her down the hall. No doubt he’s drained too. Her scent wafts behind the pair, teasing the air with her coming heat. It drives my wolf wild and makes him stupid with the idea of mating.

The full moon tonight will make it worse, but that crisis will have to take a number. I sigh, pushing it from my mind and focusing on Briggs. Wolfsbane is nasty, lethal stuff, but feral bites can be just as bad. Briggs is covered in them, his fur matted with blood.

The energy I need to do this was sapped drawing the poison from the omega. It takes me longer than it should to mix the salve, dress his wounds, and mend the breaks in his leg. By the time I’m finished, I’m sweating, and my magic is totally drained.

With a grunt, I pick up the heavy-ass shifter. I half stumble, using the wall for support as I cart him down the hall. The first few rooms are empty, and I get pissed.

Where the fuck did Dex take her?

My wolf howls in my mind as I realize what he’s done. Dex took her to the birthing nest. Lilliana wasn’t even mine, but the thought of someone else in her space after what happened makes my wolf see red.

I grit my teeth and force myself to take the stairs at the back of the hall. When I spill into the nest, the sight confuses me.

It’s empty.

With a surge of power fueled by rage, I stumble back down the stairs and through the house to my room.

There, in my bed, are the culprits.

And the worst part? My wolf rejoices at seeing them there. He chants on repeat in my mind. Mates. Protect. Home.

No matter what my wolf thinks, that isn’t happening. With less care than I should, I settle Briggs on a rug near the foot of the bed.

No. Not the bed. My fucking bed.

“I owe you a life debt,” Dex says, his words choked by the emotion in his voice. He grabs hold of my shoulder, drawing my eyes to his. They are full of hope and sincerity. “Thank you?—”

“Thank me by leaving,” I snap.

I want no part of this. They came without asking, thrust her here for me to watch them all die. Without another look at the dangerous omega, I flee the cabin.