Chapter Forty-Nine – The shifter and the Alpha

The short drive back to the house was quiet. Xavier kept glancing back at the two women in the backseat. Ariel had a blank expression on her face, her eyes staring forward, but it didn’t look like she registered anything that was happening around her. Katlyn sat with her arm wrapper around her, swapping between looking at her and at Xavier.

“Just to be clear, they will not like this” Xavier repeated once they were outside the gates.

He parked the car where he’d found it, to the side of the gates. He’s borrowed Adam’s car without asking, the keys had been laying on a bench in the hallway, and he couldn’t leave Katlyn hanging. Also, it didn’t feel like a good idea to ask Adam if he could borrow his car to go pick up the woman who had tried to murder him the night before. The answer would have been no.

“I’ll deal with that later. Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission” Katlyn answered him before getting out of the car. Getting Ariel out, that was an entierly different task. The redhead didn’t move, just kept staring straight ahead. Katlyn had to climb back into the car and push Ariel to the edge, where Xavier stood ready to pick her up.He lifted her gently up in his arms, carrying her bridal style as Katlyn opened the gate. The sight that met her was not what she had expected.

Adam stood on the other side of the gates, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrow. There was a large furrow between his brows, and right behind him a fire was sparkling to life. The ground was still covered with sleeping wolves, and Nadine walked around to check how they were all doing. Talia was nowhere to be seen.

“She can’t stay here” Adam said with a low growl, eyes focused on Ariel.

“So, he called you” Katlyn sighed. Jasper. Of course, he had called his Alpha the moment they left the place. She should have thought about that.

“Whatever it is you’re thinking, stop and turn back. She’ll better of someplace else” Adam’s eyes narrowed, turning them into nothing more than thin lines of yellow.

“She just witnessed her boyfriend get murdered. And if I hadn’t showed up, she would have been lying on the floor next to him. Someone attacked them, and they very well may try again” Katlyn argued, her arms crossing over her chest. “She’s my friend, and I’m not leaving her alone”

“Then by all means, bring her home to your place and watch over her yourself. You can ward off anything they throw at her”

“She’s much safer here, and you know it. She needs medical care; care I don’t know shit about. And you said it yourself, this is a place for people to be safe. For people who have nowhere else. You protect those who can’t protect themselves and help those in need. She needs this”

“She’s more than capable of taking care of herself, she was happily tryling to kill me even when I didn’t do anything to her” Adam wasn’t backing down. Anger rising in him as he fought to remain in control. Fought Damir to stay put. It was no easy task.

“Look at her!” Katlyn screamed, pointing to Ariel in Xavier’s arms. Her eyes were still focusing on something far away, completely lost to the world.

“She’s something I don’t know the word of. You can’t ask me not to help her. Not when the best medical care she can get right now is on the opposite side of this property”

“She’s catatonic” Xavier mumbled.

“You think this is a good idea?” Adam turned to Xavier.

“I think she needs more than just a stay at the hospital. She needs medication, possibly something to make her sleep, preferably also something to make her not have dreams. Most hospitals don’t have half of the things we can provide here, between me and Nadine alone. She needs help – and you are kind of the go to person for help” Xavier answered as he started walking towards the clinic, not asking for anyone’s permission to put her in a bed and give her some sedatives so she could sleep.

“You don’t turn away people in need. That’s not the Adam I know. That’s not the Alpha your pack admires. Look around, you took in complete strangers because you trusted Nadine’s judgement. You told me you trusted me earlier today, prove it”

Katlyn and Adam kept staring at one another for a little while longer. Neither of them willing to back down.

In the meantime, Xavier carried Ariel to the clinic, and with the help of Nadine got her settled in a bed. A nurse came not long after to hook her up to some IV’s and other monitors, and Nadine disappeared to find some potions that would give her a dreamless and restful sleep, for now at least.

“You’re doing the right thing” Nadine said. She returned just as the nurse left the room, holding a small vial in her hand.

“You don’t leave anyone hanging, you help them in the best way you can. I know how much it hurts to watch someone you love die right in front of you, unable to help. The pain – indescribable. She won’t ever recover from this, not fully” Xavier sighed as he took a seat in the chair next to the bed, watching as Ariel slowly drifted off to sleep as Nadine injected the content of the vial in the IV bag.

“Do you think you’ll ever recover?”

The question took him by surprise. They never spoke about how he felt, how the past decade had been for him. They were close, in a physical way, but had never crossed the emotional bridge until today.

“Finding someone you care about mutilated on the floor in their childhood home, a place that’s been part of your childhood, it’s not something that’s easy to deal with. But she survived. I was able to bring her back because Adam had been at the right place at the right time. Most people would have taken one look at her and said ‘she’s dead – call the morgue’. But he didn’t. And I’ll always be grateful for that. But the memories of what met me, the sight in that living room. That’ll I’ll never recover from”

Nadine went over to him and settled on his lap, wrapping her arms around him to give him a hug. He hugged her back.

“I’m sorry for not understanding” She whispered against his neck, her breath warm and ticklish.

“I’m sorry to” Xavier mumbled into her hair, pressing a soft kiss on her template.

“Don’t be” Nadine answered him, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw.

The door to the hospital room opened, and Katlyn walked in, closely followed by Adam. Adam looked less than pleased, while Katlyn had a small smile on her face.

“See, she’s no threat to anyone” Katlyn exclaimed. Ariel was sound asleep on the hospital bed, her chest rising and falling at a steady pace.

“We gave her sedatives mixed with something to ward of nightmares” Nadine explained as she untangled herself from Xavier, rising from the chair.

“She should be out for hours” Xavier got up after her.

“Good” Adam turned back around and marched out of the room, undoubtably to check on the sleeping wolves. And make sure none of the little ones had started to wander about.

“How did you change his mind?” Nadine asked impressed.

“I didn’t” Katlyn answered with a shrug before settling in the chair Xavier and Nadine had been sitting in just moments before.

“I did” Talia walked into the room, holding a rather sleepy looking six-year-old in her arms. Alehtta had woken not long ago, and Talia didn’t want to leave her alone in the house. She’d used her own hand as cover as they walked across the ground, shielding her from the sigh of sleeping wolves, not wanting to make her worried.

“Thank you” Katlyn thanked her, like she hadn’t said thank you two dozen times already.

“But she’s your responsibility. If she injures anyone it’s on you” Talia’s voice was gentle, with an undertone of warning.

“I know” Katlyn said.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, we’re going to go sleep. I suggest you do the same, tomorrow will be one hell of a day” Talia turned around, and Alehtta gave them all a small wave before they disappeared out of the clinic. Xavier kept his eyes on them through the window, not looking away until they were out of sight.

“You’re staying here tonight?” Nadine asked Katlyn, who nodded and made herself comfortable in the chair.

“I’ll come back to check on her later. Call me if anything happens”

Katlyn nodded again and waved the other two away. Now that it was only her and Ariel left in the room, she moved the chair a little closer, so she could take the other woman’s pale hand into her own.

“I’m so sorry” She said. “I should have jumped in sooner”