Bryce could feel the tension in the room. The doctor wasn’t sure if he could help Ahm. He could scent the doubt. He was not going to accept failure. Ahm was going to live if Bryce had to reach into the man’s leg and hold the damn artery together himself.
As he stood there watching Dr. Sheehan work, his mate slowly opened his eyes. The intensity in Ahm’s eyes almost frightened Bryce. A dark, sickening feeling sliced through him as the man’s eyes began to close.
“How we doing down there, Doc?” Bryce asked, watching the slow pulse in Ahm’s neck.
“I’m working on it, Bryce. They did a nasty little number on Ahm. The artery is not just sliced open, which would have been easier to repair. Instead, it’s almost chewed up.” Dr. Sheehan wiped at his brow. “This is going to take time.”
That was something Bryce feared Ahm didn’t have. The longer his mate lay there, the paler he became. How could anyone lose that much blood and still be alive? The couch beneath Ahm was saturated.
Moving to the head of the couch, Bryce placed a hand on each side of Ahm’s face. “Fight for me, Ahm.” He swallowed hard, pushing his words past the strain in his throat. “Fight for us.” Tracing his thumbs over his mate’s high cheekbones, Bryce promised whoever was listening that he would give Ahm another chance just as long as his mate didn’t die.
Shit was looking dicey, and Bryce refused to entertain the concept that the Shadow elf wouldn’t pull through.
As time ticked by, his brothers started gathering in the living room, all wearing somber faces.
They knew what Bryce refused to think.
Ahm was walking an invisible line between life and death.
Chapter Seven
Malcolm was resting against the porch banister, worried that Bryce was about to lose his mate when he caught movement from the corner of his eye. He spun in time to see something blue shimmering in next to him.
“Oh, no you don’t.” He lifted his left arm, swinging a powerful fist with the other. He knocked the attacking man off his feet, only to have another one appear behind him. The second elf jumped on his back, sinking a knife deep into Malcolm’s shoulder. Grunting in pain, Malcolm slammed his large and hulking body into the side of the house, back first, successfully stunning the elf on his back.
Dr. Sheehan’s mate was leaning against the SUV, waiting on his mate when he saw what was going on and rushed to the porch. He began fighting the two elves who had appeared. Malcolm shook his head, regretting the movement when he felt the sharp pain from the knife still embedded in his shoulder.
Another elf appeared.
Malcolm swung his arm out, connecting his arm with the man’s jaw. They were under attack and he wasn’t sure how many of Ahm’s people would show up for the fight. “You are not about to take down my family,” Malcolm said with a feral grunt as he grabbed the fallen man and wrapped a muscled arm around the man’s throat. “I’ll see you dead before I allow you to hurt one of mine.”
“He’s a traitor,” the man said as Malcolm began to slowly crush the blue bastard’s windpipe.
“He’s a Lakeland now. Come near him again and you’ll have some very pissed-off bears coming after your own damn family.” All of a sudden Malcolm was hugging thin air. The elf had shimmered away, along with the other two invading elves.
“You’re wounded,” Jason said as he rushed over to Malcolm.
“I’m fine.” Malcolm waved the grey wolf away.
“I’ll get my mate to help you.” Jason raced inside where the doctor was still working on Ahm. Malcolm walked into the house behind the guy.
Malcolm grabbed Jason’s arm. “Don’t bother him. Ahm needs him more than I do right now. I can survive a knife in my shoulder. Ahm’s wounds are more life threatening.”
“I swear,” Dr. Sheehan said from the living room, “you bears are out to test my skills today. If a line starts forming, I’m going to be very pissed at you men.”
“What the fuck?” Olsen said as he shot up from the chair he had been sitting in. “How the hell did you get a knife in your shoulder?”
“Go check upstairs and make sure there aren’t any more blue elves shimmering in,” Malcolm said as he dropped down onto the other chair.
With a dark expression, Olsen took off up the steps. He could hear Olsen shouting for his brothers and then the upstairs sounded like a stampede of elephants were up there as the rooms were checked.
The pain intensified, but Malcolm ground his teeth, refusing to take the doctor away from his critical patient.
Luke shimmered in, his eyes growing wide. “You have a knife sticking out of your shoulder.”