Chapter 71

(**Rayne’s POV**)

The shrill sound of a phone ringing somewhere in the house makes her groan. Rayne rolls over to ask Parker to find her phone, only to find out that he isn’t in bed with her. His spot is cold, which means he has been gone for a long time. Curiosity makes her look at his pillow to see if he left a note for her. Parker is fond of leaving her little love notes.

There is no note on his pillow.

She frowns then gets up out of bed to find her phone. Halfway to the bedroom door, she realizes she is still naked and grabs a robe off the back of the door. Will she have to sleep with clothes on once their baby is born? Wouldn’t want to flash the poor child. Sleeping with clothes on will frustrate Parker, but she knows he will think of it too.

She rubs her back as she walks. There is a twinge of pain on her left side. It burns but subsides a bit as she rubs it. Must be pregnancy pains or how she was sleeping at a weird angle last night. Once she reaches the kitchen counter where her phone is, a shock goes through her. There are twelve text messages, twenty missed calls, and a voicemail message. Looking at the call log, she sees that all the missed calls were from Parker. Eleven out of the twelve text messages are also from him. The last one being from her father.

As she reads through the messages, she learns why Parker left the house. Nyla went into labor. He rushed out to be with his brother but wanted to let her sleep more. All the other messages were updates on Nyla’s labor status throughout the day. The last message from him said that he was on his way home.

That message was sent two hours ago.

She reads her father’s message. The Werewolf Council is meeting tomorrow to discuss Ryan’s case. Shocked, she sits at the table. That is amazingly fast for the council. Normally it takes weeks or months to be seen by them. Guess death has a way of pushing through everything.

With nothing left to do, she grabs her phone and goes back into the bedroom. A shower sounds like a fantastic idea. However, showering alone makes her frown. Where the hell is Parker? His last message was two hours ago. He should be home by now.

*Parker, where are you?*

No answer.

*Parks?*

No answer.

*Parker, please answer me.*

For the third time in a row, there is no answer from his end of their link.

If he is out on his motorcycle, he would answer her. If he flew home from the hospital, he would answer her. Why is he not responding? Deciding to give it more time and to not worry about it, she goes to take her shower.

An hour later she is dressed, sitting out on the deck with a cup of tea, and waiting for her mate. Maybe her father has heard from him. Why would Parker talk to her father without responding to her? They are close friends, but Parker would contact her first if there was a problem.

When she looked out back before her shower, she noticed that all their vehicles are in their spots. He either flew to the hospital, which is a supernatural friendly one, or he made it home then left again. Where would he have gone? When the thought of him cheating on her pops in her head, Rayne growls in frustration.

She has never been the type of woman who was paranoid that her partner was cheating on her. There is no way she is going to start now. Besides, Parker has never given her any cause to doubt him. Maybe he just needed some alone time? They have been attached at the hip for months now.

When the sun sets and there is still no sign of her mate, fear takes over. He hasn’t responded to her through the link. His phone goes straight to voicemail. When she called her father at the bar, he told her that Parker hasn’t been in yet.

Fear turns into anger, then back to fear as the night wears on. This behavior is out of character for Parker. Something bad must have happened to him or he would have called or something. What the hell is going on?

“Rayne?” The sound of her father’s voice makes her turn to look at the sliding glass door. “Have you heard from him yet?”

She shakes her head then goes back to staring out at the water. “I called Owen. He told me that when Parker left the hospital, he was coming home to wake me. I called everyone in town that I could think of, but no one has seen or heard from him. I am getting nothing from him through the mate bond. If he is hurt, I would feel it. If he were in trouble, I would feel it. Papa, where the heck is he?”

As she recalls the twinge of pain in her back when she woke up, Rayne sends a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess. Please let it only be what she originally thought it was. Please let him be alright. Don’t take him from us like this.

Edmund sits down on the other lounger, grabs her hand, then prepares to wait with her. After a good twenty minutes of waiting, he stands back up. “I am going out to look. You stay here in case he comes here first.”

“No. I am done sitting here like the worried little woman. I am going with you to look for him.” She walks into the house to find a piece of paper to leave Parker a note.

*Hey, we are out looking for you. Stay the fuck put if you are reading this and let me know you are safe.* She scrawls hastily on a napkin, then rushes out the door with Edmund trailing behind her.

“Where do you think he would go if he were hurt or in trouble?” Her father asks.

“Somewhere he would feel safe if he couldn't get home?”

“Yeah.”

Rayne thought for a moment before she hopped in the jeep. There is only one place in Bodega Bay that she thinks of, Lynn’s Diner. It was the first place they found peace. The first chance they both had to start their new lives. Parker goes there to think about stuff, or to relax by making a few pies.

He would go there if he were injured or trying to escape something. There is a safe room in the basement behind the storage room. Lynn insisted they put it in there once she knew what they were doing for the supernatural world.

If he went there, why was he not responding to her calls. Unless he is injured and unable to. That thought makes her press the gas pedal harder to speed up. The need to get to her mate fast makes her throw caution to the wind. This late at night there isn’t much traffic, so the drive is smooth. There are no cops out there that she can see.

Fear grips her heart as she speeds closer to the diner. The twinge of pain she felt earlier must have come from Parker. Guilt swamps her as she recalled how fast she dismissed that pain. How gravely injured is he? Tears roll down her cheeks before she can stop them.

*Hold on, Parker, we are on the way. Please hold on a bit longer for me.* She calls out to him through their link. *I am almost there.*

“Slow down, Rayne. There is a wreck up ahead.”

She slows down to make a turn that will take them away from the wreck. It will also add more time to their drive. So, to make up for that she increases their speed once again. Nothing will prevent her from reaching her mate tonight.

(**Parker’s POV**)

Parker lay on his side on the cold linoleum tile in the kitchen of Lynn’s Diner. He has been going in and out of consciousness since he arrived. The coppery smell of his own blood is thick in the air. The only thing keeping him from giving into the darkness is Rayne’s face.

He can see her like she is right here with him. Her calls to him through their link sounded worried, but he lacks the strength to respond to her. The wound in his lower back is still bleeding. The floor around him is littered with bloody dish towels.

The door to the basement is only a few feet away. All he needs to do is crawl down the stairs, then get to the safe room. There are medical supplies in there that will help stop the bleeding.

If only he can get there.

Dragging himself across the floor is pure torture. Pain lances through his body with every move he makes. Once he gets the door open, going down the stairs feels like he is being poked in the back with a red- hot fireplace poker.

He knows the situation will only get worse if he can’t make it downstairs. Thinking of his mate and their unborn baby makes him force himself down the stairs. By the time he reaches the bottom, he is sweating profusely. Blood is still flowing freely down his back.

There are two bullet wounds in his back, and he is positive that there is internal damage done. Granger, the man that shot him, came out of nowhere. Before he could ask Granger what he was doing at the hospital a gun was revealed in his hand. Granger only said one thing before he pointed the gun at him.

“Tell your brother that his old boss says hello.”

The lighting in the garage barely showed Granger's face but what Parker saw there confused him. This man is his friend. Why would his friend come to give him this message for Owen? Realization dawned on him later than it should have. Parker turned to shift, but it was too late. The sound of gunshots echoed in the concrete structure moments before he felt the pain. The shooter left him for dead, which was a mistake. All he could think about was getting somewhere safe after he was left alone to die.

There was no way he was going to fly home to Rayne in the state he was in. The plan was to get to the diner, get bandaged up, then call her. That plan changed when whatever was on those bullets took effect. It was a miracle he survived the flight from the hospital to the diner.

Darkness threatened to overtake him when he reached the storage room. Sliding to the floor was all he could do. As much as he tried to fight it, he couldn’t stop the black dots dancing in his vision. He knew his time was up.

A hard slap to his face makes him blink his eyes open. Rayne’s face swims into his vision. She found him. Her eyes are full of tears and her cheeks are wet. He can hear voices in the room with him, but all he can focus on is her face. When he tries to speak, she holds her finger to his lips.

“Just hold on longer for me. We are patching you up, then taking you to the hospital. I got you.”

He listens to her and closes his eyes. Her hand running through his hair calms his mind. Maybe today is not his day to die after all.

His eyes flutter open at the sound of Rayne’s voice. Harsh fluorescent lights shine above him. A rhythmic beeping sounds from somewhere to his right. The overwhelming smell of antiseptic clings to the room he is in.

When he tries to move, a searing pain in his back makes him stop. A sound must have escaped his lips, causing Rayne to turn from the doorway to look at him. She was talking to a doctor but rushes to his side the moment she sees he is awake.

“Don’t move, Parks. You have stitches on your back and more on your stomach. You were shot twice. They had to remove the bullets to help you heal.”

“How did you know where to find me?” His throat feels dry, like a desert. Rayne must have sensed it since she grabbed a glass of ice chips to feed him one.

“I thought of the once place I knew you would feel safe. A place that not everyone knows about. The safe house in the basement at Lynn’s Diner. I am so sorry I didn’t come sooner. I thought you were just out for some alone time.”

“You came just in time to save me.”

“No, Parker, I didn’t. Your heart stopped when I got to you. My father got you back, but for a minute there you were dead.”

The sparks on his skin where she touched his arm let him know he wasn’t dead for long. Their bond is still alive. “You saved me, Rayne.”

He can tell by the look on her face that she wants to ask him what happened. However, before he can answer her unasked questions, there is a knock on the doorframe. He looks over to see the doctor standing in the doorway. Her name tag read Doctor Melinda Alvarado.

“I see you are awake. How are you feeling?” The young doctor walks into the room to stand next to the bed. She takes his hand in hers to check his heart rate, then she takes a step back to check the monitor beside the bed.

“What was on those bullets that he shot me with?”

“We sent them off to the lab to be tested, along with a blood sample from you. With luck, we will have the results back in a few days. Now that we flushed it out of your system, you seem to be healing normally.”

“How long do you want to keep him here?” Rayne asks.

“I would like to keep him until we get the results back. Knowing shifters though, I will let him go if he is healed enough by morning to walk out of here on his own.”

Looking to Rayne, he nods his head at the doctor’s words. “I will stay until you get the results in. However, she must be allowed to stay here with me. That is not up for debate.”

“I will have another hospital bed rolled in here.” With that said, Dr. Alvarado left them alone.

Rayne leaves her seat to close the door. When she turns to face him, her face is pale, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Holding his arms out for her, she joins him on the bed. When he winces as she gets comfortable, she jerks back, but he pulls her down to his chest.

“Let me hold you. The pain is minimal. I can handle it if you are with me.”

“Who shot you, Parker?” She asks. Her hands are rubbing his arms as she listens to the sound of his heartbeat.

“It was someone we know, not well, but we know him. He is a regular at the bar, a werebear named Granger. That was why he was able to shoot me I think. I didn't feel threatened until he gave me the message he was sent to deliver.” He squeezes her tight, then takes a deep breath. “I need you to call Owen. He needs to hear this message. It is for him.”

Rayne jerks up and looks down at him. “He shot you to send a message to your brother?”

“Killian,” Owen says. His voice is raw as he stands in the now open doorway. "He paid someone do do this so I would go home."