Chapter 77

[ 862 words ]

You’re next

77: 77.

You’re next Barric

I can smell her before I see her—blood, rain, and fury.

Aria doesn’t walk into the medical room.

She storms in.

“Where is he?”

Her voice cracks like a whip, sharp enough to make my wolf stand up and be distressed about his mate.

She is filthy and bruised.

Cuts are all over the exposed parts of her arms, and there is a scrape on her face.

Then my eyes were taken in by the bandage wrapped around my shoulder.

I have her in my arms, guiding her to one of the patient beds.

I look over at the enforcers of group one.

They are all supporting various states of nasty wounds.

Bret is limping.

Ronan’s shirt is shredded in what I’m sure is a nasty group of claw marks.

Kade is banged up, bruises already blooming, and bite marks along his arms.

And by the time my eyes land on Quinnie and the makeshift bloody wrap around her head, I’m pissed.

“We got hit,” Ronan says before I can ask.

“They sent a massive force after us and separated the girls, but we managed to make it to the meeting point.”

“Shit. Well, I have more bad news for you.” I feel Aria stiffen in my arms, and a wave of concern and foreboding comes through the bond.

“Liam has been poisoned.”

Aria looks around and sees a curtain towards the back rightly guessing where he is and tries to head over to him.

I step in front of her before she can push deeper into the room, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

She’s shaking, not from weakness, but from barely-contained panic.

“He’s here,” I tell her, not wanting to lie to her.

Keeping my voice level, I continue.

“You’re going to see him.

But not like this.

You’re bleeding, Aria.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do.”

Her lips part, ready to snap back, but I lean in slightly, lowering my voice.

“And he will too. You think Theo’s going to be okay with you standing over him looking like you’ve been dragged around and beaten?”

That lands.

I see it in the way her jaw tightens, the way her wolf retreats just a fraction.

Ronan nods at me, grateful I could talk her down.

“Two minutes,” I add.

“Let Kiara fix you up. Then I’ll take you to him myself.”

Her gaze searches mine, like she’s trying to find a lie buried somewhere beneath the surface.

There isn’t one.

Finally, she exhales sharply.

“Fine. But I’m not waiting longer than that.”

Kiara and Thomas walk in along with a few of their assistent.

“I hope you know the same goes for you, Alpha,” she says with that healer tone on.

“All of you,” Thomas adds.

“Every hurt person take a seat.”

The enforcers follow the orders of the healers.

“Take care of them first. I’ll survive until then,” Ronan says gruffly.

My wolf eases as Kiara settles Aria into a patient’s bed and starts to work on her.

“What are you telling us about the poison?” Kade says softly as he and Ronan surround me.

I glance at Aira before focusing on them.

“The healers don’t know what kind of poison it is, but it’s bad.”

“How bad?” Ronan says.

“If they can’t find something, it doesn’t look good for him,” I admit shakily.

“Liam left to see if Felix can find something about it.”

Kade curses softly so as not to alarm Aria.

Kiara is just finishing wrapping a bandage around a young wolf’s arm.

Across the room, Thomas is working on Quin, his hands glowing faintly as he seals a deep gash along her ribs.

The entire place smells like antiseptic herbs, blood, and magic.

Ronan walks through the center checking on each person as they are patched up and sent on their way.

“You’re next,” Kiara tells him, already moving toward Aria.

“I think I’m fine now.”

Kiara stops mid-step, eyes narrowing.

“Ronan—”

“Really, I’ve already started to heal. There is no need to exhaust yourself,” he says.

He’s trying to sound reassuring but we all know his Alpha instincts are making him balk at being healed.

And we know that Kiara will force him to eventually.

Stubborn idiot.

Kiara sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose before looking at him with a gaze that dares him to challenge her.

“Sit. Down. Now.”

They stare at each other for a tense moment before Ronan blows out a breath and listens.

Despite everything, a faint smirk tugs at my lips.

Across the room, Sebastian bursts through the door like a storm of his own.

“What the hell happened—”

His voice cuts off the second he sees Quin.

In two strides, he’s at her side, eyes scanning every inch of her like he’s desperate to know she’s okay.

“You shouldn’t have switched groups,” he said through clenched teeth.

“I’m fine,” Quin says, waving him off even as Thomas presses glowing hands against her side.

“It looks worse than it is.”

“You’re a fucking mess,” Sebastian snaps.

All the males in the room collectively wince.

Bash wasn’t the best at words but shit, telling a female she looks a mess is asking to get your face clawed.

Quin narrows her eyes.

“So don’t look.”

“Excuse me?” the words come out tersely, like she offended him.

“I didn’t stutter. If I’m so hard to look at, don’t. Last time I checked I’m not your child or your problem so why the hell are you here?”

Thomas finishes with Quin and clears his throat softly.

“If you two are done arguing, my patient—”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Sebastian interrupts.

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