Howl My Name (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Grayslake Book 5) (9 page)

Sam threatened to put Reid over his knee. Reid threatened to rip out his heart…

Good times.

They walked up Main Street, popping into the salon and antique store, pausing at the grocers and then at the pharmacy next door followed by… the family doctor’s office. Oh, they had other physicians around their small town. Even a handful of specialists (no pregnant woman wanted to drive to the next town to have her vagina checked). But when locals said, “I’m going to the doctor,” that doctor was Doc Hill. Old, decrepit, and wily.

And also the only one who agreed to consider helping her with her residency. She’d graduated medical school, but was sent to Brookfield before all was said and done.

Evelyn put her hand on the door, swinging it wide before Reid had a chance to tug it open for her. She knew frustration was slowly becoming his middle name and she wanted in and out before he squished the elderly human.

She strode in, Reid on her heels. “Are you sick?”

“No.” She gave him a small smile over her shoulder. “You know I’m fine. Just sore.”

He grunted. She’d slowly come to learn those sounds. That one was
fuck, yeah, I know.
Yes, he always cursed in her interpretations. They had to be true to him, after all.

“Then why are we here?”

“I just need a sec.” Hopefully alone because if Doc Hill denied her request…

She padded to the receptionist desk to speak with Trisha, ignoring Reid’s grumbles. What she couldn’t ignore was his heat and the way his scent wrapped around her when he stepped close. “Is Dr. Hill available? I’d like to speak to him about—”

“You,” the doctor barked. “I told you no.”

Trisha sighed. “No, Dr. Hill. You told her to come back another time because Timmy Mitchum was screaming his head off and—”

The doctor grunted. “That was three weeks ago.” He narrowed his eyes and lifted his glasses, staring at her through the thick lenses. “Seems the weeks haven’t been good to ya.”

Anytime anyone mentioned her injuries, Reid growled and bared his teeth, which made Evelyn sigh. “I—”

“You do that to her?” Doc Hill waved his finger at her but stared at her mate.

“You dare—” Reid stepped forward and she bolted around him and planted her feet, doing her best to keep the two men separated.

“No, he didn’t and the guys who did left town.”

Left town.
Right.

A grunt from the doc. “He take care of them, then? Heard your daddy and uncles ran off. Them the ones who did that?”

“Yes, Reid ran Dad, Daniel, and Sean off.”
Or into the ground. Whatever.

“That’s what they’re calling it these days then.” He shrugged. “In my day, your granddaddy would get the town together for the bonfire. He only took out the mean pieces of work, so we were pretty damned happy about it and then there was the barbeque after. Not the men. They brought in a pig for that, but—”

“You knew my grandfather? He wasn’t…
An evil piece of shit?

“Course. I’m old. Don’t mean I want you reminding me, but I am. He’d like you a little bit. Wouldn’t like that you haven’t finished your learning, but I’ll take care of it.” The doc dropped his glasses back to his nose. “Owed him fifty when he died. I’ll repay him this way.”

“Seriously?” Evelyn raised her eyebrows.

The doc put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Yup, gonna call it even.”

“Because you owe her dead grandfather fifty bucks, you’re gonna let Evelyn work here?” Reid sounded as confused as she was, but Evelyn didn’t want to get into it with the old man. He might just change his mind.

“Yup, may even pay her for it.”

The pop and tinkle of shattering glass reached her before she realized what happened. Then another, and another. Somewhere amidst those sounds came a heavy weight slamming into her, sending her crashing to the ground with a low grunt. Pain shot through her, the body atop hers digging into some of her lingering wounds that still ached.

Those pops were now accompanied by thumps and a rain of plaster and drywall. She lifted her head and stared at the new holes in the wall, the circles scattered across the surface and her mind slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Someone was shooting at them. With guns.

Someone was shooting at them with guns
.

A deep, masculine groan came from above her and another from across the room followed by a whimper from behind the desk.

Then the scent of blood teased her nose, the aroma coppery yet tinged with a sting she couldn’t identify. It pestered her mind, dancing in and out of her thoughts, taunting her with the knowledge she needed. The smell was foreign, not related to oil or gunpowder.

Her bear roared with its presence, shouting and snarling that it was
wrong
, it was
bad,
and the source of that sting needed to get
out
of him.

But she couldn’t find the knowledge in her brain. God. It was shifter-related. She knew that. While she’d learned human biology, she was also mentored by her local clan Healer.

What did he say? What did he say?

More groaning, another whimper.

It didn’t matter. She had patients and no one else was going to help her.

Evelyn carefully eased from beneath Reid’s bulk, careful to jar him as little as possible. He’d protected her and if he was injured, it was most likely on his back. Just as she slipped free, the rapid pounding of booted feet announced a newcomer.

She swung her attention to the front door as Carter burst into the office. She spied another few males behind the bear, a couple she recognized as part of the Brookfield clan but the others were new and thankfully the Grayslake bears outnumbered the local clan. She wasn’t sure about the Brookfield bears, but she felt like she could trust those sent by the Southeast Itan.

“Carter, go to the back, find whatever medical supplies you can. I need gauze, forceps, and scissors. He’s probably got his morphine and other drugs locked up.” She looked to the male at his left. A familiar face. “Asher, find the cabinet and tear it open. Bring syringes and whatever you find. Don’t check labels just grab it all. I’ll look through ’em when you get back.” The two males continued to stare at her with wide eyes. “Go!” she roared and they bolted into action.

Evelyn focused on Reid and then Doc Hill before rising and heading around the desk to check on Trisha. She was crying, whimpering as she leaned against the wall. She had her hand pressed tightly to a shoulder wound. Painful, not deadly.

Evelyn stood and snapped her fingers at yet another bear, this one from Brookfield. Damn, they had more tailing them than she realized. “You, put pressure on her wound.”

This one didn’t hesitate to rush forward and do as she demanded. At least they were learning.

She moved on to Reid and Doc Hill, quickly doing a physical sweep of the men, determining who needed her more at a glance.

Only Doc Hill gave her directions. “Only got a flesh wound. Burns like hell, though. Feels like they dipped those bullets in hellfire.”

The shatter of glass and slam of cabinets preceded Carter and Asher’s appearance.

Then she really used her training. She’d never worked in an emergency setting, but when push came to shove, her body and mind gave her the answers she needed. She cut away fabric or ordered it done. Used gauze to clean areas, dug out bullets, and fought to ignore the sounds of her patients. She managed to unearth local anesthetic and needles, so eventually the receptionist was numbed, which left her with the doc and Reid.

Doc was a bad patient, but Reid was worse.

The male wouldn’t stay still, grumbling and growling with each prod. Blood flowed freely from the wounds, continuing to coat her fingers and… the next time he glanced over his shoulder at her, snarl on his lips, she realized his eyes were glassy.

Pupils wide.

Slow to respond.

Sluggish speech.

Fear and panic warred within her, pumping into her veins and increasing her adrenaline levels until her body knew what she needed before her mind processed the necessity.

Help. Knowledge.

Doc Hill shouted about burning.

Reid’s eyes turned glassy and unfocused.

Trisha’s wounds still bled—sluggishly but continuously.

“Dr. Hill?”

“What?” He wheezed and a quick glance revealed his wound was in roughly the same shape, blood now soaking his white lab coat and flowing from the gash in his arm.

Without a beat, she rattled off her question, outlining the consistent facts between the three of them.

“Told you it’s hellfire, girl.”

“Oh, shit,” Asher whispered. “Oh, shit. I know what this is.” The stench of his panic overrode all other scents. Then he was yelling, demanding, sending men racing to the grocers for baking soda and…

“Asher?”

Wide eyes met her gaze, his face pale and he wiped off his hand before lifting it. She transferred her attention to his fingers and palm, noting the raw skin and blistering that slowly became visible. “Carvrix. It’s… I remember it from Grayslake. The hyenas and the Healer’s mate and they nearly died and—”

The door banged open and in raced two bears, both clutching boxes and boxes of baking soda.

“Pour a box on Reid, the doc, and the receptionist. Then dilute a box in water. Bring the pitcher back. Don’t stop until we say. Keep ’em coming.”

“Asher?” Her heart froze. Nearly died? She stared at the man beside her. His breathing came in soft, shallow breaths and his skin was coated in more and more blood. And the wounds seemed to grow in size, spreading and deepening as time passed and—

Rough hands shoved an opened box at her. “Do it or he’ll die. The poison won’t stop. It’ll keep eating until it’s neutralized.”

His tone was harsh and similar to what she’d heard from more than one emergency room doctor as he barked orders and demanded obedience as if it was his due. She didn’t miss the conviction in his words and she took a chance, leapt and prayed that Asher was right, that she could trust him to save… her mate.

She found him—he’d found her—and she couldn’t lose him now.

So she tipped the box over his back, sprinkling it into the six bullet holes marring his flesh. The white powder quickly turned red as it soaked up the fluid. She wiped away the excess, wanting a clear view of the deep gashes.

Then the bears were back, sloshing pitchers of cloudy water. Carter held two, quickly passing one to her while handing off the second to Asher. The third male disappeared behind the desk with a soft murmur, almost a comforting coo followed by a softly whispered
I’m sorry. No one else was supposed to get hurt.

Evelyn shook her head. She didn’t have time to delve into the bear’s behavior or continue listening to his words. Right then, she had a mate to worry about. Because as she waited for the baking soda to go to work and stop the spreading damage, his breaths became softer, hardly a rise and fall of his chest as time ticked past. She poured the liquid over his back, washing away the sticky evidence of her first attempt to heal him. Now it was pitcher after pitcher, soaking the carpet with bloodstained water.

And still she worked, watching the damage spread in a never-ending buffet of skin and flesh. Every so often she checked Reid, placed her fingers against his neck and sought his pulse. It was weak, weakening by the second, but there wasn’t much she could do.

The bullets were out.

The treatment applied.

Still the drug fought her, taunting her with what could have been. It made her realize the future was gone. Every dream she whispered to herself, the idea of mating Reid and having his cubs… Hell, she’d call them pups if it meant she got to have them.

But those fantasies were crumbling and melting into oblivion.

Evelyn poured on another pitcher, wiping away the new flow of blood that came in its wake.

No. No. No.

It wasn’t lessening, it wasn’t stopping, it wasn’t…

She couldn’t see anymore. Why couldn’t she see? Did she get some of it in her eyes? Everything was blurry and he was disappearing and…

She blinked, clearing her vision.

Tears. Tears. She was crying because her future was slowly being absorbed by the floor. A sob strangled her, the pain of loss overwhelming her in a rippling wave of emotional pain and devastation. Her bear roared its objection, denying the truth that lay spread before her.

The skin on her arms rippled, the bear aching to be released so it could hunt and kill whomever injured their mate. Destroy their lives the way they’d destroyed hers. They needed to be shredded, ripped apart, and scattered across the ground.

Evelyn pressed two fingers to his neck, searching for his pulse, counting the beats and then…

One.

The seconds ticked past.

Two.

Time went on.

Three.

She willed her heart to beat for him.

“Blood.” Doc Hill rasped and she spared him a glance before focusing on her mate. “They must have changed the hellfire. Made it worse for shifters.”

Because she could see that the old man’s injury had stopped bleeding and no longer spread. That could be the only explanation.

“Give him your blood.” The doctor grunted and shifted against the wall.

“He’s a wolf.” Would bear blood hurt him?

“Heard he’s your mate. You’re built to be compatible. Species don’t matter.” Pain-filled eyes met hers. “What could it hurt?”

Nothing because he was dying anyway. She could see bone now, his ribs coming into view as the Carvrix delved deeper. So she let the bear come forward, let it transform her human nails to claws, and dragged one down the length of her arm. The wound sent a bolt of pain along her nerves, but she ignored it. She had a task, a purpose, and she would see it through.

Evelyn held her arm above Reid, squeezing her hand, curling and uncurling her fist to encourage blood flow. She let it rain down on his skin, and she ensured her blood fell into his wounds. It was her last chance, her last ditch effort to keep him breathing and the poison from winning.

When the cut sealed itself, she simply did it again. Over and over. The bear wanted Reid to live as much as she did, but there was no way to stop a basic biological imperative. Her body was programmed to heal.