Barely Winging It Read online

  Worry filled his entire body as he looked up at the others. Henry looked up, and their eyes locked. “Enzo says Alphy’s in bad shape, and the doc is working on him. Take her back, but they don’t know when the doc can look at her.”

  Dultyn nodded, and once again spreading his wings, he leaped into the air. Pumping his powerful wings, he was in the air and flying back towards the pack house.

  Dultyn started losing strength as the burning in his chest became more prominent. He doubled his focus on his destination as he made his way through the unfriendly weather. Once the pack house was within sight, he was silently relieved Seamus was on the porch waiting. He landed heavily on the ground and sank to his knees, but didn’t release his mate until he knew for sure that Seamus had a secure hold on her. As Seamus was pulling her away, that was when he noticed blood covering the blanket.

  Dultyn barely heard Seamus shouting for help. “Dultyn, you’re shot. You’ve lost a lot of blood. Don’t move.”

  He staggered to his feet as a few others hurried out to help. Dultyn brushed them off and insisted on following the doctor.

  “I’m not leaving my mate.” His low, gruff voice brooked no argument.

  Dultyn could see the doctor war with his frustration but instead of arguing, conceded and motioned for him to follow. Her anxious and worried brother, Reese, was waiting for them just inside the door. Seamus rattled off a list of what he needed as he started up the stairs.

  “Bring them to Havana’s room.”

  Reese scurried away to do as he asked as Dultyn struggled to follow Seamus up the stairs to Havana’s room.

  Inside her room, Dultyn watched protectively from the foot of the bed as the doctor placed Havana on her bed and removed the blanket surrounding her. He growled at the sight of her skin so pale and of the IV port taped to her arm.

  He watched Seamus do a quick check over her before Katie and Reese hurried into the room. Katie placed many things on a nearby dresser. Dultyn heard her instruct Reese what to do, but his mind was fuzzy and couldn’t follow along.

  “Katie, come here and take samples of what is in this IV port. I want to know what it is. They gave her something that her metabolism isn’t burning off like it normally would. Reese, you’re going to help me check out Dultyn.”

  Dultyn glanced down at his chest. His skin was tougher and thicker than a human’s and even most other paranormals’, so he wasn’t concerned when he saw a small hole and a light amount of fresh blood adding to the already crusting drying blood around the area of his left pec.

  He kept his eyes on Havana while the doctor inspected his wound. “You’re lucky you have such thick skin, and the guy shot you with such a small caliber. It’s just barely below the skin, but I will need to dig it out before you roost.”

  Reese, who was standing close, watching and assisting, asked, “Why before he roosts?”

  Seamus didn’t take his eyes off his task as he started to use his tools to dig the small slug out. “Because like shifters who heal faster when they shift, gargoyles’ wounds heal when they roost. If I can’t get it out before he turns to stone, then I’ll have to reopen the wound when he wakes.”

  Dultyn kept his eyes on his mate and clenched his teeth and fists while the doctor removed the bullet. He felt weaker after the doctor was done.

  Connie knocked lightly on the door and entered. “Seamus, Bronya just arrived, and she needs your help.”

  With a curse from the good doctor, he sprinted out of the room with Katie and Reese following. Connie silently followed but not at the same speed, leaving Dultyn alone in the now silent room with his unconscious mate.

  Dultyn took slow steps to stand beside the bed where his mate lay. He didn’t know what to do. Another knock on the door had him looking up to see Connie entering with a glass of orange juice.

  “Here, you need to keep your strength up.” Her voice sounded tired and strained with worry. It wasn’t until that moment Dultyn remembered that Connie’s daughter, Gale, was in the plane. She must be so worried, he thought.

  “Thank you.” Taking the glass, he downed it all and handed the empty container back to her. She took it and quietly exited the room.

  Throughout the night, Katie and the doctor came to check on Havana. They would take a look at his bullet wound as well, but they were more concerned with what was put in Havana’s system that kept her out for so long. Her heart rate was low, and even though they did hook up an IV, all they could do was monitor her.

  He didn’t know how long he stood there. He only moved to the foot of the bed when Seamus and Katie would come to check on Havana without working around him as much. Finally, he felt the pull of the dawn approaching. Refusing to leave, he had no choice but to let his roost take place. He moved, once again, to the food of her bed and with dawn cresting the horizon, surrendered to it, petrifying him into a stone guardian at the foot of her bed.

  ****

  Sunday

  Havana’s ears rang as she started to wake. Her thoughts were fuzzy, but her bladder hurt. She needed to get up and use the bathroom. A hand curled around hers. She recognized her brother’s voice. “Hey, sis, can you wake up?”

  Can I wake up? Pff, of course I can. What kind of question is that? But as she tried to say anything out loud, her body felt too heavy and she started drifted back to sleep. Hands grabbed her shoulders and lightly shook her. “Come on, sis, wake up.”

  Havana tried to open her eyes and blinked blearily around. “What happened?” Her words sounded rough and slightly slurred to her.

  “You got kidnapped,” he simply said as he helped her to her feet.

  Havana’s head was bent and her eyes were nearly shut as her brother helped her into the hallway to the bathroom. She scuffed her feet on the floor on her way. After standing her in front of the toilet, Reese quickly exited the bathroom, closing the door as he went. She could hear his voice through the door. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna go get Seamus. He told me to get him when you woke.”

  Havana was washing her hands when she heard her brother return. Opening the door, she saw Seamus waiting with Reese in the hallway. He looked at her and smiled. “I’m relieved to see you up. How are you feeling?”

  Each got on one side of her as she made her way back to her room. “Groggy. I’m really, really groggy. What happened?” Entering her room, she froze as she saw her mate in stone form standing at the end of her bed. As she made her way around, she saw worry etched on his face. Havana reached out and ran a hand down the smooth and warm stone. She had to have been out for a long time if Dultyn had already come out of his roost and back again. Then the memory hit her. It wasn’t much of a memory, but she remembered the prick of a dart. A chill ran down her spine, and goosebumps prickled her skin. “What happened?” she whispered.

  “You were abducted. It is quite a story actually. Why don’t you lie down and let me examine you while your brother fetches you something to eat. I’d like to take more blood samples, if that’s all right with you.”

  Havana turned to the doctor in surprise. “More? Ok, doc, spill it. What’s going on?”

  While ushering her to her bed and taking the blood samples, Seamus told her everything he knew about the previous day’s events. “Bronya forced their plane down but crashed herself. Nix flew out but stayed with the plane when it crashed, until help arrived. Don’t worry. Your brother will make a full recovery, and Gale and Bronya suffered only slight concussions, bumps, scrapes, and bruises.”

  “Alphy got hurt? How bad?” Havana felt shaky. She leaned back and tried to relax while she drank down the water her brother had brought up.

  “It wasn’t too terrible. He is a tough bear. He protected both girls during the crash. From the sounds of it, if Nix hadn’t have flown out right before the crash, he could have been killed. There was a nasty branch that skewered his seat. Your brother wasn’t wearing his seatbelt and was able to shield the girls from another branch. He deflected it.” Seamus paused.

  “An
d?”

  Seamus looked reluctant to tell her. “And the branch went through his side.” He hurried on. “It missed all his major organs. So as I said, he’ll make a full recovery.”

  Havana sat back and breathed out. Her brother had been through worse, but that didn’t mean it was any easier to hear. Looking up at her mate, she relaxed a bit. At least I’m not alone anymore.

  Seamus cleaned up his mess of needles and plastic wrappers. “They shot you up with some kind of sedative that actually works on paranormals, so I would like for you to rest today until I know it’s completely out of your system. If you need anything, ask for Reese, but if you want me, I won’t be too far. I will be back, at least for when Dultyn comes out of roost.”

  “Why would you want to be here for that?”

  Seamus paused as if he just got caught saying something he shouldn’t have. Havana raised a brow at him and narrowed her eyes. Seamus stood up and coolly looked back at her. “He was injured retrieving you. However there shouldn’t even be a scar by the time he wakes, but I just want to make certain.”

  “Injured? How? Where?”

  Seamus rolled his eyes. “His skin is far tougher than any of ours, so don’t freak out.”

  “You can’t tell me not to freak out and expect me not to freak out. What the hell happened to my mate?”

  “He was shot.”

  Alarm pinged off the lining of her stomach, and her breath left her in a whoosh. My mate was shot? “Where?”

  Pointing to Dultyn’s smooth chest, Seamus said, “Upper left pec. As you can see, there aren’t any marks, which should indicate that when he comes out of roost, that he should be completely healed. Their bodies are quite remarkable.”

  Havana’s eyes roved over the smooth chest of her mate and every place else, making sure she didn’t find any marks on him. “Are you sure he’ll be all right?”

  “He should be fine. It hardly penetrated his skin. It’s when they are damaged while they are roosting that is something to worry about. That is when they are most vulnerable. Now rest.”

  Seamus left, leaving her in a quiet room with a giant gargoyle standing guard at the foot of her bed. She mused to herself at that thought as she began to eat the breakfast her brother had brought her right before the doctor left. She had her very own giant stone guardian.

  As she ate, she began to worry about her brother. His room was right next door. What the doctor won’t know … right?

  Havana was a bit dizzy as she stood, so she moved slowly, placing a kiss on her mate as she passed. Arriving at her brother’s door, she didn’t hear anything, so she knocked lightly.

  “You should be in bed.”

  Havana jerked around at the sound of Reese’s voice. The movement put her head in too much of a spin, and she lost her balance, falling hard on her butt on the floor. Reese’s scent surrounded her as his hands carefully grabbed her arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. He placed his other hand around her back and grabbed her hip and helped her up. “I know Seamus told you to stay in bed. You should have listened.”

  Havana kept her eyes closed trying to slow the spinning in her head. She opened them as she was set down on the bed, and looked up at her younger brother. “Where’s Alphy? Seamus said he would be all right, but he’s not in his room.”

  She saw his lips thin as he frowned. He spoke as he helped situate her back in bed. “Seamus has him in the medical room above the garage. Gale is with him. Good thing those beds are extra-large.”

  “But Seamus said he would be all right. Why is he there if he is all right? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “He will be, but he was speared by a branch. Doc wants to keep an eye on him, and Gale isn’t leaving his side, which is a good thing ‘cause Doc wants to keep an eye on her, too. Both girls actually need to take it easy for the next few days. They were really lucky. Alphy should be able to be let back into his own bed by tomorrow night possibly. Just relax, sis. How ‘bout I bring you your laptop? It was left out in the barn, but I can run and get it.”

  “Fine.” Havana felt grumpy. She was swamped with raw, uncomfortable weepy emotions and nothing to get her mind off of it. She leaned back against the headboard and looked at her petrified mate after her brother left the room. A smile played over her lips as a plan formed in her mind. I can work on my apology.

  Chapter Eleven

  Sunday

  Bronya’s hazy mind slowly started to wake at the sound of someone knocking on their door. Nix’s muffled voice tickled her neck, and his strong arms tightened around her. “Go away!”

  “It’s Seamus. I wanted to check on Bronya.” The doctor’s voice sounded through the door, bringing her memory back. The plane crash. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to move, but a few muscles reaffirmed her memory of the event. Oh, that hurts.

  As if reading her mind, Nix poked his head up over her shoulder. “You all right?” Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the door and called for Seamus. “Come in, doc.”

  Bronya felt cold air cool her back as Nix moved away from where he had molded himself since they returned. A shiver morphed goosebumps over her skin, and she tried to pull the blankets closer to her body.

  “I was just checking on Havana and thought it would be a good time to check in on you.” The doctor’s face, complete with a full fanged smile, came into view. She squinted against the light that permeated the room through a nearby window.

  “What time is it?” She nearly slurred her words. She felt so sore and groggy, and her throat was slightly dry.

  “It’s late morning, almost eleven. How do you feel?”

  A cool hand rested on her forehead, and she saw Seamus looking into her eyes. “I’m fine, just really sore.”

  “You do have a slight temp. Why don’t you roll over onto your back and let me feel around your stomach?”

  As she did as he asked, she saw Nix’s eyes go wider in quiet panic. “You sense something? Is she all right? What’s wrong with her? What can I do to help?”

  Ok, not so much quiet panic, she thought.

  “Calm down, Nix. You can fetch her breakfast and make sure she gets plenty of orange juice and an extra glass of water.”

  Nix hurried out of the room, and Bronya gave Seamus a pointed look as he started to press in places on her stomach. Seamus returned her look with a smile. “Mates tend to overreact and become irrational when it comes to their mates. I would like to ask you a personal question. Do you plan on letting Nix claim you?”

  Bronya thought the question was a bit odd, or the timing at least. “Um, yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

  “Plenty, actually. You did sustain a mild injury that I was hoping your body would heal on its own, but if I push right about here…”

  Bronya let out a pained hissing noise and stiffened.

  “Ah, see. I’m not entirely happy with how slowly it’s healing. The best option, if you are willing, is to let Nix claim you. Your bond will change your system, and one of the benefits is faster healing. It is one of the biggest reasons why Gale is doing so much better than you, as you had noticed last night. However, if you aren’t comfortable yet with the idea of claiming, we can discuss other options.”

  “Yeah, I remember them saying that now. My aging will slow, too.”

  “That’s correct.”

  A light knock had them turning to look at the closed door. “Bronya?” She recognized Ryker’s voice. Seamus pulled the sheet up to her neck and called for him to enter. Ryker’s bright red haired head poked through the door. “Your parents are on their way up. They wanted to see you, and I couldn’t stop them. They’ll be here in about three hours. And before you ask, Sea-Salts, yes, I told Alphy and Enzo. They’re preparing everyone so there won’t be any more ‘surprises’, while they’re here.”

  Seamus looked back at Bronya, and she shrugged. “Thank you,” she said.

  The bright red hair disappeared, and she heard the door lightly click shut. Seamus stood up. “So
what do you want to do?” he asked.

  The door opened, and Nix walked into the room carrying a tray near overflowing with dishes piled with food and glasses of juice and water nearly slopping as he tried to keep the tray steady. She held in her snicker but couldn’t stop the smirk on her face. The man before her really was a catch. “I’m going to let my mate claim me.”

  Seamus had gone over to inspect the food when she made her claim, which put him in just the right place at that time to catch the tray from falling as Nix’s arms dropped along with his jaw. His face showed shock, but then it morphed into heat, and he didn’t even seem to notice that Seamus had taken the tray completely away to place it on a dresser.

  “With that said, I’ll give you two privacy. However, Nix, nothing hard and fast. You have to be gentle and slow. Do you hear me?”

  Panic started to creep into his eyes. “Wait, slow? Is it safe for me to even claim her?”

  “It will be fine so long as you go slowly. She’s running a slight temp, so having her claimed will do her good. Just be sure to give her something to drink first.” Seamus didn’t wait for any more questions. He simply walked out the door and closed it behind him.

  Bronya liked the bulge tenting the sweats Nix wore. She was able to see the lining of his cockhead and as she was staring at it, she noticed it jerk. Looking up into Nix’s face, her own core thrummed with heat at the look of need on his face. With everything she had learned, she could clearly see the want in his eyes for her. It was extreme, a genuine devotion and care, and she couldn’t think of anything that had ever looked sexier in her entire life.

  “Nix, I want you to know that I truly want you to claim me.”

  He stopped, obviously pondering what she said, and she could see him putting the pieces together what she meant. Nix walked over to her side and knelt down. He reached for her hand and looked her in the eyes.

  “What did he tell you?” She knew he was referring to the doctor.

  “Nothing much. He said I had other options to getting better, but I really wanted you to claim me. He said that would do it.” She didn’t want him to think she wanted to be mated so she could get healed, but she didn’t want him to find out later either and then doubt her intentions. He did say it was permanent. No one wanted a relationship to start off like that.