In the Company of Wolves(86)

“Oh God, you’re hurt!” she cried, wanting to pull him into her arms but terrified of leaving Megan’s side.

“I’m fine,” he assured her as he tossed the blood-covered blade on the ground, then put the phone to his ear. “Keep talking to her. Help will be here any second. She needs to know you’re here.”

Jayna leaned over and grabbed Megan’s hand, whispering in her friend’s ear that help was on the way while keeping one eye on Eric. How the hell could he be okay after getting shot up like that and stabbed almost all the way through his chest?

She blinked back tears. She couldn’t lose Eric. Or Megan.

Not now. Not ever.

* * *

Jayna was kneeling beside Megan, holding her hand, Eric by her side, when Trey and Alex slid to the ground beside them. Jayna wasn’t sure how long it had been since she’d killed Liam—maybe a minute or two—but it felt like a lifetime. Since then, she’d sat there holding her friend’s hand and counting every beat of Megan’s heart.

Eric took Jayna’s free hand and held it tightly. “She’ll be okay.”

Jayna wasn’t quite as sure, but she nodded anyway.

Trey immediately got an oxygen mask on Megan, while Alex ripped open her shirt and injected her with some kind of shot that made her heart beat stronger.

Alex carefully rolled her over to check her back, then gave Trey a pointed look. “No exit wound.”

Panic gripped Jayna. “Is that bad? Is she going to die?”

Alex’s face was glum. “I don’t know. An alpha’s body won’t start the healing process while there’s foreign material in the wound. If she were an alpha, we’d be going in for the bullet fragments, but with a beta, I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure what would be harder on her—leaving the bullet in or the shock of taking it out.”

“Take it out,” a calm, commanding voice ordered from behind them.

Jayna looked over her shoulder to see Sergeant Dixon standing there, concern on his face. The rest of Eric’s pack was gathered around too, but kept their distance. They looked just as worried as their commander.

Moe and Chris ran up then. Ethan and Kathryn followed behind, helping support Joseph. Blood ran freely down one leg of his jeans.

Could this get any worse?

“Take out the bullet,” Dixon repeated. “She’s a beta, but the same rule applies. The bleeding won’t stop until you get it out.”

The SWAT medics exchanged looks, like they really weren’t sure about this, but after a moment, Alex reached into his bag for a pair of long forceps and gently eased it into the wound above Megan’s bra. Jayna didn’t want to watch, but she couldn’t look away. She knew Alex was being extra careful because he didn’t want to cause additional damage, but it was all she could do not to shout at him to hurry up.

“Heart rate is dropping,” Trey announced urgently. “Get the bullet and get out of there before she goes into cardiac arrest.”

Jayna squeezed Megan’s hand. “Hang on, Megan.”

Suddenly, Dixon was down on one knee on Jayna’s other side. “Keep talking to her. You’re her alpha. If you tell her to fight, she’ll fight. But you have to be calm and you have to project confidence. She needs to feel your strength. Be the alpha she needs you to be.”

Jayna wasn’t sure she could do that. She looked at Dixon. Up close, he didn’t seem as scary as before. “You’re an alpha. Can’t you do it?”

Dixon shook his head. “I’m an alpha but not her alpha. It has to be you.”

Jayna looked down at Megan again. The bullet wound was bleeding even more now, and her face was pale and pinched.

“We’re losing her,” Trey said sharply.

The tears Jayna had been holding back ran down her cheeks.

Eric squeezed Jayna’s hand, placing his other one on her back and making gentle circular motions. “You can do this, Jayna. You’re stronger than you think.”

Jayna looked into his eyes, amazed at the confidence she saw there. She swallowed hard. If Eric believed in her, she would believe in herself. He hadn’t been wrong about her yet.

She glanced at Moe, Chris, and Joseph to see them regarding her with that same confidence.

She took a deep breath and turned back to Megan. “Hold on, Megan. Just a little longer, okay? Alex is almost done taking out the bullet. And when it’s out, the pain will be gone and everything will be all better.”

She waited for Megan to squeeze her hand, to give her some indication that she was listening, but her hand lay limply in Jayna’s.

“We’ll stay together and be a pack, Megan—you, Moe, Chris, Joseph, and me,” Jayna promised, fighting back another rush of tears. “We’re going to stay here in Dallas, and we’re going to find an amazing place to live. Big enough for all of us—Eric too if he wants. You’re going to have a room all to yourself, and my room will be right beside yours. We’ll put Joseph in the room farthest away. I know his snoring keeps you awake at night.”