Wolf's Fall (Alpha Pack #6)(69)

That was a horrible and sobering thought. Some of the guys exchanged looks and then Nick shouted, “Follow the trail to the bottom. Leave no stone unturned!”

Next to him, Calla searched. Nick couldn’t understand why if the trail was clear, the sun was out and birds were singing, they couldn’t find Kalen. He refused to consider that Jinn had taken him hostage. That would be more than anyone could take right now.

Especially Mackenzie, home with their baby son.

The black path stopped at the bottom, right at the waterfall Nick thought of as his and Calla’s. The pool glistened as usual, not a thing out of place.

Except for the Sorcerer’s staff rising majestically from the water, embedded in the sand below. Oddly, the staff was still glowing with power. Nick called out and moved forward as others joined him. He was aware of Aric jogging past, and the redhead stopped and stared at the staff in bewilderment.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Has that * kidnapped Kalen?” He started forward.

“Aric, don’t touch it,” Nick ordered.

He moved to the edge of the pool. “I’m not. I’m just going to see—”

The red wolf broke off as something under the water caught his attention. His eyes widened. And then he shouted, long and loud, the sound filled with anger and pain. He vaulted over the rocks and into the water, yanking furiously at the staff.

“What the hell?” Nick and a couple of the others followed Aric, and when Nick saw what had happened, he struggled not to be sick.

Kalen was there. Under the water, impaled through the chest by his own staff, pinned to the bottom of the pool. His eyes were half-open, small bubbles clinging to his mouth.

“Mother of God.”

“Shit! Kalen!”

Working together, they loosened the end of the staff from the bottom of the pool and lifted Kalen out, staff and all. They didn’t dare remove it yet. Carefully, they placed him on his back in the grass and Nick knelt, checking his breathing.

“Need to get some air into him.” Tilting Kalen’s head into the right position, Nick started rescue breathing. It seemed to take forever, but was probably less than a minute before Kalen coughed, water spewing from between his lips.

That the staff hadn’t impaled the Sorcerer’s heart was a miracle. Or perhaps that was due to the magical staff protecting its master. Nick snapped his gaze to Ryon. “Get Zander down here, fast.”

“Boss, he’s not supposed to heal—”

“Do it!”

“Yes, sir.”

While Ryon concentrated on contacting Zan, Nick did his best to keep his team calm. Especially Aric, who was losing his f*cking mind.

“Get that thing out of him! How’s he supposed to heal with that in his chest?”

“Aric, look at me,” Nick said calmly. “Probably the only thing that has kept him alive is this staff. And until Zan gets here to tell us what to do, it stays or we could hurt him worse. I know he’s your best friend, but you’re not helping him if you can’t keep it together.”

Aric swallowed hard. “Yeah. Okay.”

After that, Zan appeared and fell to his knees at Kalen’s side with a curse. He took a few moments to examine the wound, then appeared to come to a decision. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Remove the staff, slowly. As you do, I’m going to heal the wound from the inside out.”

“Can you withstand a healing of this type now?” Nick asked. “I won’t endanger two of my team.”

“I can. I’m much better and I’m immortal now, remember?”

He was. Mating with Selene, a born wolf like Nick, had seen to that.

“You can still die,” he said. “Be certain.”

“I am. Let’s start. He doesn’t have much time.”

They got to work, carefully inching out the staff as Zan worked his healing talent. The squelching sounds the rod made as it was withdrawn were horrible, making him ill. It was necessary, however, and they kept to the grisly task until at last it was done.

The hole in Kalen’s chest was gone, but the danger to him wasn’t over.

“I need a couple of vampires to teleport him home, to the compound.”

Immediately two volunteers ran forward, and Aric informed him they’d need three. He wasn’t leaving his bud until he had to. Another vampire escorted Aric, and the whole group vanished.

“Zan, are you all right?” Nick asked.

“Yes, I’m fine.” The Healer stood; he was a bit pale, but otherwise he seemed to be telling the truth.

Selene was still going to chew his ass out. He wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation. Nick wiped the blood from his hands on the grass and stood with a tired sigh. Calla wrapped her arms around him and held on, her love the only thing that made sense in this moment.

“Kalen was the last one,” Calla said. “He’ll be fine and everyone’s okay now.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am.”

Over Calla’s shoulder, Nick saw Tarron making his way down the slope. When the prince reached them, he gave them both a collective hug and stepped back.

“Will your Sorcerer recover?”

“We think so, but we’ll know more soon. It seems as though Jinn pinned him to the bottom of the pool, thinking he’d drown. But the staff must have saved his life somehow.”