Something close to elation flowed over the wolf at the man's pain. The man attacked that which was most important in the world to the wolf, his mate. The man deserved to die as far as he was concerned.
The wolf wanted to keep on tearing at the man until he stopped breathing. Only by the thinnest of threads did he stop before the man died. Still, he bared his teeth until the man scooted back to lean against the brick wall, his injured arm held limply against his stomach. He didn't look like he would be going anywhere.
Knowing that one threat had been eliminated, the wolf turned to face the others. He spotted a familiar smelling man slinking off down the alley and thought about going after him for about two seconds. The sight of the other man slamming a fist into his mate's face seemed more important. He could get nasty smelling man later.
The wolf raced over to where his mate was fighting with the unknown man and sank his teeth into the man's leg. The man jerked his leg, trying to dislodge the wolf, but he refused to let go, just sinking his teeth in further.
He winced when he felt a blinding pain between his shoulder blades. The grip he had on the man's leg loosened just enough for the man to shake his teeth free. The wolf whimpered when another blinding flash of pain rocked through his side as the man kicked him in the ribs. He felt something snap as he fell to the ground.
He tried to raise his head to see where his mate was, the man's safety more important than the agony filling every nerve in his body. His mate was still fighting for everything he was worth. The wolf tried to regain his feet to help his mate, but the moment he did, his head began to swim and his vision went blurry.
The wolf snarled, not liking the feeling of being out of control. Rage still burned through him, but it was quickly being overcome by the pain racking his body. He could feel a cold, wet substance trickling down his sides from the aching pain between his shoulders and breathing took effort. Each breath was unbearable.
The wolf tried to push the pain to the back of his mind. He had more important things to worry about, like protecting his mate. He shook his head to get rid of the blurred vision then lunged and charged at the guy going after his mate. He wanted blood.
"Elliot! Stop, that's enough!" He heard the words, but they sounded far away, almost like someone shouted at him through water. The wolf sent his mate a hostile glare when the man pulled at his fur. He didn't understand why his mate was trying to pull him away from the one bent on harming them.
"Elliot, stop, he's done. He's not going to hurt us anymore." The wolf stopped and stared down at the man on the ground. Blood covered most of his features. Deep gashes marred his arms and chest where he had been bitten. He wasn't moving. He dropped the arm in his mouth and backed away, hunching down to see if the man was going to move again.
"Damn, Elliot, you're bleeding all over the place." Despite the pain that was rocking back into his body, the wolf felt an overwhelming joy when his mate's hands brushed over his fur. He rolled onto his side and started panting when simple breathing became too much. He wanted to feel more of his mate's touch.
"Elliot? Baby?" He could hear the current of panic creeping into his mate's voice, but the pain in his body was starting to override even his need to protect his mate. It was starting to make his vision blur again and his stomach roll.
He whimpered and licked at the hand that moved along his muzzle, pushing into the gentle touch. He needed to tell his mate that he was okay, that he just needed to rest for awhile and then he'd be back on his feet again. He just needed to close his eyes for a few minutes … that was all … just a few …
* * * * Tommy swallowed past the lump of fear that lodged in his throat when Elliot's dark blue eyes slowly fell closed. He rubbed his hand over Elliot's muzzle again. "Elliot? Come on, pretty baby, open your eyes. Come on, look at me, please, Elliot."
He could feel tears gathering in the corner of his eyes when Elliot didn't respond to his words. The wolf's chest rose and fell, so Tommy knew he was still alive, but his breathing seemed labored. Tommy remembered one of their attackers kicking Elliot in the side. Maybe more damage had been done than Tommy thought.
Tommy's heart sank when he spotted the knife sticking out from between Elliot's shoulder blades. His hand trembled as he reached over and pulled the knife out. Tommy dropped it on the ground then quickly pulled his shirt over his head and pressed against the bleeding wound, trying to stop the flow of blood.
With one hand holding his shirt on the wound, Tommy pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Joe. He needed help, and in a big way. Not only did he need to get Elliot somewhere safe where he could receive medical attention, there were two very injured men in the alley with them.
"Joe?" Tommy said the moment his brother answered the phone. "I'm in the alley two blocks from the bar, the one between Coffee Time Café and the bookstore. I need help. I was attacked and Elliot came and saved me, but now he's injured and there are two guys here that are also injured and-"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down, brother, and take a deep breath. I'm on my way."
Tommy's grip on the cell phone tightened as he drew in a large breath of air. His nose wrinkled when all he could smell was the coppery scent of blood. Still, it did make him feel better, calmer.
"Okay, I saw Carl and two guys hanging around in the alley. I went to talk to them and they attacked me."
"Wait, I thought you said there were only two guys."
"Carl got away."
"Shit!"
"I'm telling you, Joe, he was waiting for me."
"Yeah, I suspect as much. He's positive you've done something to Elliot."
Tommy looked down at the wolf lying on the ground in front of him. "Well … "
"Yeah, yeah, so, tell me what else happened. How did Elliot get hurt?"
"Carl and these two guys were beating the crap out of me, and Eliot came out of nowhere." Tommy chuckled nervously. "You should have seen him, Joe. I've never seen a wolf move as fast as he did. He just tore right into these guys, no hesitation."
"He was protecting his mate."
Tommy found himself grinning as he rubbed his free hand over Elliot's fur. "Yeah, I guess he was."
"Okay, I'm right around the corner. I've already put in a call to Doc Jones. He's going to meet us at the house. I called Ben to take these two guys up to the hospital. He can keep an eye on them until we can question them."
Tommy glanced at the two injured men. He didn't care that much about their injuries. They did attack him after all. But he did care about what this attack would mean to the pack. "Can you call Dad, too? I think some heavy shit is about to come down on us."
Tommy cringed when he heard Joe sigh. His father and brother had been trying to tell him since he met Elliot that the man was a danger to the pack. Tommy still didn't believe that. If everyone would just leave them alone, things would be fine. It was the people meddling in their lives that were a danger.
"Yeah, I'll give Dad a call."
"Elliot didn't do this, Joe."
"I know, Tommy, but you have to admit things are going to get dicey."
"Yeah, and I'm sorry for that, but I refuse to give Elliot up." Tommy looked back down at the wolf and swallowed hard when he felt overcome by the emotions swamping him. "He's my mate, Joe."
"I hear you, Tommy."
"Do you?" Tommy wanted to scream, but he knew that wouldn't help the situation at all. He just couldn't understand why everyone was putting up so many road blocks to him being with Elliot. The coming together of mates was supposed to be a sacred thing, not so fucked up. "Do you really?"
"I do, Tommy," Joe replied, his voice much quieter. "And I'll do whatever I can to help you, but I need you to understand how much danger we're in. I know Elliot is your mate, and I hope you have many happy years together. But you need to help me keep the pack safe."
"I won't give Elliot up, and if we have to, we'll go somewhere else."
"You're safer here."
"Are we? You and Dad have both already tried to make me give Elliot up. How is that safe?"
"We were wrong, Tommy, okay?" Joe shouted. "We fucked up and didn't respect the bond that you have with Elliot. I fully admit that. But you have a part in this too, Tommy. You refuse to see how dangerous this situation is."