Pivoting on his heel, Bryce walked back into the kitchen, curling his hands into fists. He was even disrespecting his pa. That was something Bryce had never done before. What really angered him was the fact that Bryce wanted to go to Ahm and check his injuries. His bear was pissed Bryce had walked away.
“You look like an angry bear,” Sterling said as he entered the kitchen, his pet pig trailing close behind him. “You should go talk to the cows. It always helps me.”
Bryce just stared at Sterling. His brother-in-law was a bit on the strange side, but Bryce cared for the man—although sometimes he wondered if the guy had all his marbles.
Bryce opened his mouth to reply when he heard a shout coming from the living room. It was Ahm. Running toward the commotion, Sterling hot on his heels, Bryce saw two Shadow elves attacking Ahm.
“No the fuck you don’t!” Bryce shouted as he shifted into his bear form, charging after the intruders. They spun around, glaring at Bryce, and reached for Ahm. He knew that if he didn’t stop them, they would shimmer out with his mate.
His bear took over, fighting to keep them from taking what was his. He swatted one large paw at one of the Shadow elves faces, leaving four long gashes behind. That elf disappeared.
“You are a traitor and you will die,” the second spat.
Bryce opened his mouth and roared at the man, charging straight for him. The man didn’t seem afraid. Bryce had no choice but to attack. The man fought back, but he was no match for a five-hundred-pound bear. He relented, disappearing.
Shifting back to his human form, Bryce took in the blood that was all over Ahm’s stomach and arms. What in the hell had those elves tried to do to him? “Go get me a wet rag,” he ordered at Sterling, who immediately took off.
“Just lie still,” he said to Ahm. “I need to see how serious this is.”
Ahm didn’t argue. He looked extremely pale. The man had already lost a lot of blood before he even got here. Too much more and the fey would die. “Pa!”
He could see the wounds in Ahm’s shoulder and inner thigh. It was the inner thigh that worried him. Whoever those men were, they went right for his femoral artery. They had meant to kill Ahm.
When Sterling brought him the wet towel, Bryce applied pressure on the inner thigh. There was so much damn blood. Maybe Ahm had been telling the truth. It was obvious his tribe wanted him dead. Bryce knew the fey ostracized any one of their clan members who mated outside their race.
But with Ahm being their leader, it seemed they wanted to do more than just turn their backs on him. “Stay with me, Ahm.” Bryce used his free hand to brush back the long white hair from Ahm’s handsome face. He traced the man’s high cheekbones, traced his strong, aquiline nose, and then his full, kissable lips.
Bryce was extremely confused. For years Ahm had hidden who they were to each other. Now the man was risking his life to be with Bryce. He couldn’t understand the sudden change of heart. He didn’t trust it either. Since finding out that Ahm was his mate, Bryce had gone through an emotional hell.
He wasn’t ready to let his guard down and give his heart to this man. But he wasn’t ready to let Ahm die either. He wasn’t going to be cheated the opportunity to make Ahm suffer for what he had done. The next one hundred years of groveling just might convince Bryce to forgive the man.
“What happened?” Pa asked when he entered the living room. “Please don’t tell me you tried to kill the guy.”
“Not today,” Bryce answered. “Two fey snuck in here and tried to take him out. His femoral artery was hit. It’s bleeding like crazy.”
Pa snapped his head up. “Then it seems Dr. Sheehan got here on time.” A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Pa let the doctor in and showed him Ahm.
“Please don’t tell me you tried to kill him,” Dr. Sheehan said. “I would hate to patch him up for you to undo all my work.”
Had Bryce made a big enough stink about Ahm? Apparently so if everyone thought he wanted to off his mate. “Some people from his tribe did this.”
“Let me have a look.”
Bryce didn’t want to leave Ahm’s side, but knew he had to. Ahm wasn’t going to get any better by merely holding Bryce’s hand. He needed medical attention, and fast.
“Damn, that looks pretty nasty. If I had to guess, I would say that whoever did this twisted the knife to keep the wound open.”
Bryce was ready to hunt down the two fey and kill them. It was an odd reaction considering he hadn’t lifted a finger to go help Ahm when he was stuck in the marshland.
“Sterling, go get my bag from the truck. It’s a black Nike bag and it’s tucked under the front seat.”