Thane
I stare out at the warriors blocking our path, and I immediately recognize the one that hasn't shifted into his bear form.
Clint Eastman, my old friend and future Lieutenant of the Unit, he'll take over as Second in Command once my brother becomes Chief.
"Roll down the window, I'll talk to him. We go way back."
Nesryn does as I ask, and Clint walks towards me as he sees the window roll down. Once he reaches the window he stops, and stares at me in shock as he recognizes me.
"Thane? Dude is that you?" He says, and I crack a smile.
"Yeah, it's me man."
"It's been a long time."
"It has...but can we catch up later? I need some help." I say, gesturing to Astrea. "My mates been badly injured, she needs medical attention...could you let us in?"
He looks at Astrea in surprise, his eyes going wide when I pull down the blanket to show him the bandages that are wrapped around her, the blood starting to leak through. His eyes glaze over as he no doubt contacts my father via mind link, and within a few seconds he nods.
"Go on to the infirmary, you're parents will meet you there." He says, and the others move out of our way.
"Thank you." I murmur before Nes starts driving off, and I give her instructions to the infirmary. Once we reach it I quickly unbuckle and get out, running inside with Astrea cradled in my arms, and Nesryn hot on my heels with Ivory perched on her shoulder. I'm immediately met by a female doctor, and I recognize her as the one who used to patch me up after I got into fights. Dr. Lilah, a human mate to one of the warriors here.
"What do we have?" She asks.
"Vampire, gunshot wound near the heart. I think a piece of the silver bullet broke off, because she's developing symptoms of silver poisoning." I explain, and it takes me a moment to let Astrea go as a male assistant takes her from me and rushes her to the back of the infirmary for surgery.
"She's in good hands kiddo, I promise we'll take care of your mate." Lilah assures as she follows, and I stand there in silence as they disappear from my sight, my arms feeling empty without my mate.
I don't know what to do now, when I was tending to her wounds and comforting her, I was doing something, I felt like I was helping. But now that she's out of my hands I feel helpless, the anxiety creeping back up on me now that her condition is uncertain, now that I'm not in control...
"It's going to be alright Thane, this isn't the first time she's been through this. She's a badass, she always pulls through." Nesryn assures, and I turn to face her as something she says catches my attention.
"What do you mean by 'not the first time'?"
"She's an Enforcer, tasked with taking down the most dangerous of supernatural criminals, she has gotten badly injured before. Shot, stabbed, bitten...there was even a time we nearly got blown up and got a little singed." She explains, and I can almost feel my blood pressure rising.
"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have brought up all that." She says sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.
"It's-it's fine...I just never thought about all of that before..." I sigh, "I've never seen her so-so..." I struggle for words, and her hand rests on my shoulder.
"I understand, seeing a mate like this can impact anyone."
I nod, and she drops her hand from my shoulder. As she does, she flinches, and I notice the rip in her jacket...and the smell of her blood leaking there.
"You were shot?!" I exclaim, and she covers the injury with her other hand.
"It's fine, it's just a graze..." She argues, looking tense as our conversation attracts the attention of another nurse passing by us.
"It was a silver bullet Nes, it's not fine! Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because Star was worse! She was is in far more danger than me! She could've died, the worst case for me is a nasty scar." She continues, and the nurse comes closer to us.
"He's right, that needs to be checked and tended to. Could you please sit down here so I can do that?" The nurse asks, and Nesryn sighs before she sits down in one of the waiting room chairs so she can be treated, Ivory hopping off her shoulder to sit in front of the door to the back of the infirmary, waiting to be with Astrea again.
"This really isn't necessary, it's already healing on its own." She huffs as she peels off her jacket, flinching as the fabric pull against the injury.
"Yes it is honey, if this gets infected it'll take much longer to heal, even for a werewolf." The nurse argues, and Nes sighs.
"Thane?"
My eyes widen at the sound of a woman's voice calling out to me, and I instinctively turn to face the direction the familiar sound is coming from. I stare in shock at the woman standing behind me, her dark brown hair is much shorter now, but her eyes are the same color hazel as mine...and watering with tears.
"Mom, I-" I start, only to be cut off by her squeezing me into a tight hug after she almost tackled me.
"Thane! Oh my sweet baby! I'm so glad you finally came home!" She sniffles loudly into my chest, and I relax as I curl my arms around her.
"I missed you too Mama, I'm so sorry I left like that...I was just so angry. But I'm not anymore, I promise..." I murmur as I rub her back, and she looks up at me before cupping my face in her hands.
"It's alright baby, just don't ever scare me like that again, we were afraid that something bad had happened to you..." She says in a shaky voice, and her face pales a bit as she sees all the blood staining my shirt and hands. "What happened to you?! Are you hurt?!"
"I'm fine Mama...but my mate isn't, the blood is hers..."
She sniffs me to make sure I'm not bleeding, and her face becomes surprised as she takes in my mate's scent.
"She's a vampire?"
"Yeah, a vampire-mage hybrid." I reply, and she seems a bit shocked by it. After watching my face for a few minutes she smiles.
"I'm just so glad you're home, though I wish it wasn't under these awful circumstances." She says as she hugs me again, and I sigh.
"You and me both Mama..."
"I agree with your mother, kiddo."
I look up in shock at the sound of another familiar voice, and I tense up at the sight of my father. His hair and beard were both jet black when I last saw him, but now they are both filled with areas of gray. One thing that hasn't changed is his piercing blue eyes, the color of stormy seas, they still leave me straightening up and feeling like I need to stand my ground at all costs...probably one of the reasons why I fought with him so much during my rebellious phase.
"Dad." I say as I pull out of Mom's embrace, and he and I lock eyes for what feels like an eternity before he catches me off guard by pulling me into a fierce hug...which isn't like him.
"I'm glad you're home, son." He says in a rough voice, and after a moment of hesitation I return it.
"Me too, Dad."
After a few seconds he lets me go, and as I pull away I hear Nesryn chuckle, which brings everyone's attention to her.
"I told you they would be happy to see you, didn't I?" She says, and I roll my eyes.
"Yeah, yeah Red. You were right."
"Of course I was Smokey." She says smugly, only to flinch as the nurse tightens the bandage on her arm a bit tighter than necessary.
"Easy with the merchandise!" She grumbles, and the nurse smiles sheepishly.
"My apologies miss, just making sure it stays secure."
I chuckle at Nesryn's irritated expression, and she flashes me a sour look and a growl.
"Thane, who exactly is she?" Mama asks, and I grin.
"That Nesryn, my mates sister."
"Well, she's the closest thing I ever had to one. She's my sister in every way except blood." She explains as she notices my parents confusion, especially considering Nes and Astrea are completely different species.
"Well, it's nice to meet you dear. Thank you for looking out for our son."
"Actually...that credit goes to Astrea more than me, considering she's the one who took a bullet for him." Nes murmurs, and my eyes turn back to the door my mate disappeared behind, the fear of the unknown flaring my anxiety once more.
"What do you mean?"
"The person shooting was aiming for me...Astrea jumped in front of me at the last second." I explain, Kion whimpering in my head as the memory of her being shot replays over and over like a bad movie.
"It will be alright baby, your mate is in very good hands, we have the best doctors taking care of her right now." Mom reassures, squeezing my shoulders.
"Not to mention that Astrea is a total badass, she's been through worse...so she'll be up and busting my chops before you know it." Nes chuckles, and I flash her a tiny smile before turning my attention back to the door again.
~~~~
It feels like I've been waiting out here for an eternity, and with each minute that passes I get even more and more anxious. I've resorted to pacing to pass the time, my mother trying to convince me to sit down with them instead...but I can't, I can't sit down and relax until I know Astrea is okay...
She has to be okay...I can't loose her, I just found her, there is still so much I don't know about her.
After a grueling three hours of waiting, the doors finally open, and I look up to see Dr. Lilah...a tired but relieved expression on her face.
"Your mate pulled through surgery well, but she's lost a lot of blood. Another fraction of an inch and the bullet would've gone through her heart. It's left serious damage to her left shoulder blade and broke a couple of her ribs, but she'll recover in time." She explains, and a wave of relief washes through me.
"Can I see her?" I ask.
"Of course, just keep in mind that she's under heavy sedation right now. She needs to rest."
"Thank you." I murmur before going back to find her, following her scent towards a quiet room. I pause as I open the door, caught off guard by the sight of her lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to beeping machines. Her left arm is up in a sling, and I can see the bandages wrapped around her chest underneath the hospital gown.
She looks so fragile...
I walk over to her side, hesitantly brushing a hand over her cheek. Her skin is still a bit sweaty, but her temperature has thankfully gone down closer to her normal level. I pull up a chair beside her bed, setting down in it heavily. Picking up her right hand, I press my lips to it and deeply inhale her scent...the sound of her beating heart a steady reminder that she's still alive.
"Oh Goddess Snowdrop, you really scared me..." I murmur, not really sure if she can hear me or not.
"The doc said you'll be fine, you just need to rest...so you do exactly that for as long as you need too. Because I promise I'll be by your side once you wake up...and I'm never gonna leave, no matter how much you try to push me away."