The drive to Phoenix territory felt like the longest journey of his life. Dread. Rage. Anxiety. All of it clawed at him. The smell of Riley’s blood kept his wolf pacing and snarling, but the raven refused to shift back for him.
After whipping the car into a free space in the concealed lot, Trey opened the side door. “Let me take Dexter,” he said to Tao. “You try and get the raven inside—” The Alpha jumped back as the raven snapped her beak at him.
Unsurprised, Tao explained. “She’s too on edge because she doesn’t understand what’s wrong with Dexter. I’ll keep hold of him; she obviously trusts me with him.”
The moment Trey stepped aside, the raven soared out of the SUV. Blood had soaked the headrest, making Tao grind his teeth. If that fucking bird didn’t shift back soon so that Taryn could heal her, he’d go nuclear.
Once inside the mountain, they made a mad dash for the living area. Dante jumped to his feet, almost sending his mate crashing from his lap to the floor. “What. The. Fuck?”
“Ramón,” Tao bit out.
“Long story short,” began Trey, “one of his minions tried to take Dexter—it seems that they sedated him first to get him out of the park without him making a fuss. Riley stopped the human in her raven form, but the bastard pulled out a knife and slashed her leg and maybe even her belly. The wounds don’t seem to be bad, but we can’t get close enough to tell.”
“Take them both to the infirmary,” said Grace, all business.
Tao tightened his hold on Dexter. “No need. He’s just unconscious, that’s all.” And, truth be told, he didn’t want to release the cub. He was just so small and still . . .
Grace lifted her chin. “I’ll be the judge of that, Tao Lukas.”
Trey shook his head and gestured at the raven, who was perched on the arm of the sofa. “You’re not going to be able to take him until the raven shifts back, Grace. She only trusts Tao with him right now.”
Makenna approached the raven cautiously. “Riley, you need to pull her back. I know it must be hard, sweetie. She’s no doubt an absolute wreck. But make her understand that Dexter needs to be checked out. That means Tao needs to be able to release him.”
The raven puffed up her feathers, not looking pleased with Makenna.
At that moment Trick and Dominic entered the room and came to a stunned halt.
“Well, fuck,” said Dominic. “What happened?”
While Trey relayed the story, Tao squatted near the sofa and whispered to the raven, “Come on, shift for me. You’re bleeding all over the place, you need help.” The avian just blinked at him. “Riley, fight her if you have to, but shift. If you’re not healed soon, I’m going to lose my mind. Have pity on me.”
The raven released a toc-toc that sounded like a harsh reprimand, but then feathers shrank and bones popped. He handed Dexter to Grace, distantly noting that the other kids followed her out of the room. Tao grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around a shivering Riley. “That’s my girl.”
“I really fucking hate knives,” she ground out.
“So do fucking I,” Tao growled. “You’re shivering.” Shock, he thought. “Don’t fall into a healing sleep.”
“Not going to, the wounds aren’t that bad. The knife sliced my leg and nicked my stomach, but that’s all. I was moving around too much for the bastard to do any damage. Where’s Dexter?”
“Grace took him to the infirmary. It’s the best place for him to rest.”
Riley stood, meaning to follow him, but Tao caught her around the waist.
“Oh no,” said Taryn, “you need healing first.” The Alpha tugged Riley behind the sofa and made her lie on the floor.
Tao, knowing the drill, opened the window and then watched as Taryn laid her palm over Riley’s forehead. Luminous patches of light glimmered through Riley’s skin, showing where the damage had been done. Not that Tao needed to see the lights. “The wounds aren’t that bad,” she’d said. There was a deep slice on her leg and a puncture wound on her stomach.
Taryn bent over, put her mouth to Riley’s, and inhaled deeply. Then she lifted her head, turned it toward the window, and exhaled heavily. Black particles whooshed out of her mouth and flew out the window.
While the Alpha female repeated the process, her mate sidled up to Tao and patted him on the back. “You okay?”
“No, I’m not fucking okay,” clipped Tao. “If that knife had hit an artery or stabbed—”
“It didn’t.”
“Nothing can happen to her, Trey.”
“Nothing did. Look, she’s fine now.”
A little shaky on her legs, Taryn got to her feet. “I need water and chocolate.”
“Any excuse for chocolate,” teased Trey, supporting her weight.
“I’ll get it!” Lydia volunteered before disappearing out of the room.
Tao pulled Riley to her feet and held her close. She was still trembling, but it was no longer from shock. It was from rage. He tightened his hold on her, rocking her from side to side.
Dominic folded his arms. “So, wait, someone tried to kidnap Dexter?”
“One minute he was clinging to Trey, the next he was gone,” said Tao.
“Clinging to Trey?” Dominic rubbed his jaw. “Do you think that maybe they thought he was Kye? I mean, they could have been thinking Taryn would be more likely to cooperate if they had her pup.”
Taryn shook her head. “Everyone knows shifters are protective of all members in their pack. Ramón will have known that I wouldn’t let any kid die for me.”
“What I don’t understand is why he won’t just approach another healer,” said Trick.
Trey narrowed his eyes. “Maybe he did. Rhett, check to see if any well-known, powerful healers have died recently.”
Their resident hacker got out his iPhone, presumably to search recent news articles.
Tao gratefully took one of the bottles of water that Lydia brought in from the kitchen and unscrewed the lid. “Here, drink this.”
Riley took a sip, still silently seething, so he gently rubbed her back.
“I’ll kill him,” Tao rumbled.
“Don’t go hunting Ramón,” Trey ordered. “I mean it, Tao. While we’re here, he can’t get to us. As much as I hate not being proactive, I refuse to put Taryn in a situation where she has to choose between her own life and that of someone from our pack.”