Wolf's Fall (Alpha Pack #6)(14)
She recognized the doctor from the party. Mackenzie Grant was mated to the Sorcerer/panther shifter Kalen Black. They had a cute new baby boy named Kai. Those facts rushed through her head, and she thought of how she’d been smiling and socializing with these people merely days ago. To be in the middle of a serious personal crisis of this sort with them now, especially involving Nick, was strange and disorienting.
But there was nowhere else on earth she’d rather be when he required her help.
The OR was ready when the trauma team filed in, every surface shiny and each instrument gleaming. They wouldn’t stay that way for long, though. Calla clasped her hands to stop their shaking while they waited. Soon, heavy footsteps came down the hallway, moving fast. She heard a gurney being pushed along, orders barked.
And then several men from Nick’s team burst through the OR’s doors with their commander. She gasped at the horrible sight of his shirt and body armor soaked in blood, a gaping hole almost exactly centered in his chest. How could anyone survive a wound like that one? If he was human, he would’ve been dead already.
Dr. Grant moved aside for another female doctor, who immediately took charge. This one had shorter, straighter hair than Mackenzie, but it still brushed her collar. DR. MELINA MALLORY, her tag read. Calla recalled meeting the prickly woman before also.
Noah swiftly ran a tube down Nick’s throat so the respirator could breathe for him. Then he removed the commander’s vest and used a pair of scissors to cut his T-shirt up the middle. The ruined material was discarded and the nurse began to wipe the area. Dr. Mallory quickly assessed the damage.
Wearing latex gloves and grabbing some sort of probe, she began to dig inside the wound, which made Calla’s stomach lurch dangerously.
“Single gunshot wound, one punctured lung. The bullet is still lodged in there, close to his heart, so I’ll get that out before we attempt any healing.”
Dr. Mallory’s voice was so cold and clinical, it made Calla shiver. But the woman seemed good at her job, and she took a small amount of comfort from that. She watched, barely breathing, as Nick fought for his life. And he was fighting, hard. She sensed that even though they weren’t Bonded, and it made her proud of him.
After what seemed an eternity, yet was probably only a couple of minutes, the doctor fished out a large bloody bullet. “Silver,” she announced. “Those rotten bastards.”
Calla couldn’t agree more. Noah held out a container and the doctor placed the bullet in it.
Noah sealed the container and held it up. “Rush it to the lab for tests?”
“Absolutely. I don’t like the looks of this tissue around where the bullet was sitting. It’s dying too quickly.”
Calla’s hand went over her mouth. Only her desire to see Nick get well prevented her from running from the room. “My blood can’t heal flesh that’s already dead.”
The doctor gave her a sharp look. “Of course not. I’m going to clean away the necrotized tissue first.” Dr. Mallory continued her work, completely focused. Once she was done, she stepped back and nodded to Calla. “All right. Let’s get some of your blood into him and speed along his recovery.”
On shaking legs, she stepped up to the gurney and peered down at Nick’s chest. Cleaned up, the wound didn’t gape quite as much as she’d first believed, but then again, perhaps it had started healing now that the silver had been removed. In any case, he needed help. He was pale from blood loss.
Noah offered to make the cut on her wrist with a scalpel. “It’ll hurt less than using your fangs or something.”
She nodded and allowed him to execute the cut, then quickly held her wrist over the commander’s chest and let the life-giving fluid flow into the wound. The effects were immediate. The ragged flesh began to return to a healthy pink, and slowly knitted together from the inside out. Nick’s face was still pale, his body still, but the worry that he’d die gradually drained away.
“Thank you,” she said to whatever power had kept him alive until he got here.
Noah laid a hand on her arm, and gave her an understanding smile. “Why don’t you wait down the hall with your brother while we finish up and get him situated in a room? I promise someone will come and get you as soon as possible.”
It really wasn’t a request. Now that the danger was past, they needed her out of the way. Reluctantly she agreed and, after taking one last look at Nick to reassure herself he was breathing, walked to the waiting room.
Tarron stood the instant she went inside. “How is he?”
Her voice trembled as the adrenaline left in a rush and reality set in. “He’ll be okay. We almost lost him.”
“‘We’?” Never one to miss a thing, her brother arched a brow. “He’s a friend, but he’s not part of our coven, Calla. Why ‘we’? Who is Nick to you?”
She looked around the waiting area. “Where’s Nick’s daughter?”
“Her mate came for her and he insisted on taking her for a walk to calm her nerves. Now, tell me what’s going on.”
“Selene and Zan won’t have gone far. This isn’t really the time or place to—”
“Sit down. We’re going to finish that discussion we didn’t have time for earlier, and you’re going to tell me what the hell is going on.”
She knew that he loved her, and that he meant well. But right now he was taking the high-handed attitude of a ruler instead of the gentle caring of her brother. It seriously pissed her off.