Spiral of Need

“Yes, but you’re not.” Dread filled the pit of Ally’s stomach as a red stain began to bloom over the shoulder of his shirt.

“We need to get in the SUV now.” He pulled her to her feet as he looked at Nick and a hobbling Roni. Yes, Derren’s first concern should have been for his Alpha. But when he’d caught a glint of silver hanging out of the passenger window of a black van, his primal instincts had urged him to protect Ally.

Nick carefully placed a cursing Roni into the rear of the SUV. “She took a bullet to the thigh.”

“It went straight through, I’ll be fine.” But there was pain in Roni’s voice.

Derren held the rear door open for Ally. “Get in, baby.”

She didn’t; her eyes were on the red stain that had spread way too far for her peace of mind. “Derren, let me see.”

“Help Roni first.” Derren practically shoved her inside before hopping into the passenger seat. Immediately, Nick sped off.

Roni jerked in her seat and then cradled her leg. “Motherfucker! Jaime’s right. Getting shot isn’t fun.”

That did sound like something Jaime would say. Ally laid her hands near the wound. “It’s okay. Just be still.”

“You didn’t foresee this?” Nick’s voice was like a whip.

Without moving her gaze from Roni’s injury, Ally told him, “Seers don’t see everything. That’s not how it works.”

“Nick, lay off,” Derren ground out before swerving to face her. “Baby, it’s not your fault.” He knew she’d feel guilty.

“We’ve grown complacent because of Ally’s visions,” said Roni as the wound finally closed over. She gave Ally a nod of thanks. “You’re handy to have around.” At that moment, Roni’s cell phone rang. Marcus’s frantic voice made her wince. “I’m fine. Really. Ally healed me, I’m fine. Just get the fuckers for me.” With that, she hung up.

“Are Bracken and Marcus following the van?” Ally asked.

“Yes.” Roni returned her cell to her pocket. “They’d better catch the bastards.”

Derren snorted. “Marcus is driving. He just watched his mate get shot, so, yeah, he’ll catch them.”

Ally leaned forward in her seat. Derren caught her hand before she could touch him.

“No, baby, you can’t heal me yet.”

Her wolf growled. “Why?”

“The bullet isn’t out.”

“Fuck,” Ally snapped. The skin was probably already beginning to heal over it.

“I’ll dig it out when we get back,” growled Nick, enraged.

When they got back to the main lodge, Nick did exactly that using a sterilized pair of tweezers, and, although Derren hadn’t made a single sound, Ally knew he was in agony. After healing him, she cleaned him up, and he put on one of Nick’s shirts—refusing point-blank to have a shower until he’d seen the trigger-happy bastards that Marcus and Bracken did in fact capture.

“I’ll be back soon.” Derren gave a pale Ally, who was nibbling on a sandwich that Kathy had made her, a quick kiss. “Eat all of it.” She’d used up more energy than he was comfortable with. He turned to Shaya, who apparently read his mind.

“I’ll take care of her,” vowed his Alpha female.

Satisfied, Derren accompanied Nick and Eli to the toolshed where their captives were being held. The small building wasn’t far from the main lodge.

Bracken and Marcus met them outside. Marcus, his eyes repeatedly flashing wolf, looked ready to explode with rage. It was understandable.

“We have a problem.” Bracken’s scowl was dark with anger. “They’re speaking in Russian.”

Nick frowned. “Russian?”

“At first I thought they were American but communicating in a different language to throw us off. But we checked their IDs. They’re polar bear shifters from Moscow.”

“They have to speak at least a little English,” said Eli.

“I would think so,” agreed Bracken. “They’re acting like they don’t understand us, but my guess is they’re playing dumb.”

“They’re chatting plenty in Russian to each other,” interjected Marcus, his voice barely human, “but I don’t know what the fuck they’re saying.”

“That’s all right.” Nick straightened his shoulders. “Once we’ve had a little quality time with them, they’ll speak plenty of English.”

“These guys don’t look like the type to easily give up information,” said Bracken. “Both of them are covered in enough scars to suggest they’ve been captives before. And polar bears are tough, tenacious fuckers.” Which meant that Bracken was right: they did indeed have a problem.

As something suddenly occurred to Derren, he said, “Hang on a second.” He returned to the main lodge, finding Ally still picking at her sandwich like a bird. “Baby, you speak Russian, right?” He recalled her telling him how her foster uncles had taught her several languages.

Her brows drew together. “Yeah.”

“Come with me.” Keeping her hand in his and ignoring her questions, Derren guided her to the toolshed.

Roni had joined the others outside the small building, trying desperately to calm her pacing mate.

When Marcus’s manic gaze locked on Ally, he nodded at her. “Thank you for healing Roni. Again.”