Free Black Velvet by Elianne Adams Page B

she could find cover.
    “I hit it, I know I did,” a male voice sounded close by a short while later.
    Joy didn’t move a muscle. She did what she could to control her breathing, and made herself as small as she could, but there was no real place to hide. Once they breached the knoll, they would find her, but at least the pack was safe. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
    “What the hell was that?” the man’s voice rose a little.
    It took a second, but then Joy heard it. The fury behind the low growl was palpable. Warren had come for her. Her heart pounded. She wanted to shift and tell him to go back, but he’d never leave her there, just as she’d never abandon him, or Jamie, or any other pack mate behind either.
    She tried to lift her head, but it was so damned heavy. The pain in her leg went blissfully numb. Growls and human screams registered in her mind from a faraway place. Another loud bang sounded, and then all disappeared as the darkness overtook her.

FOURTEEN
     
    Warren paced from one end of the den to the other. It had never had more wolves crammed inside. Only Jamie’s soft sobs broke the heavy silence. It was as though everyone was afraid to speak, or even breathe. He’d tried to reassure the omega that Joy would be okay, but he’d seen the amount of blood she’d lost, and he hadn’t sounded convincing, even to himself. Unable to contain the anguish and fury, he slammed his fist into the wall, making the omegas cower in their corner. She had to make it. He had to see her. He was her Alpha, and he’d command she be okay. She’d have to listen. He wouldn’t give her the option.
    He stormed through the room, intent on going in there and doing just that when Jake stepped in front of him. “Let Doc do his job, boss.”
    “Get out of my way, Jake,” he snarled at his friend.
    “You can hate me for it now, but you’ll thank me for it later,” Jake said before he sucker-punched Warren in the gut.
    Warren doubled over, the pain making him suck air in through lungs that didn’t want to work. When he finally could breathe again, he lunged, his fist connecting with Jake’s face. The man went crashing to the floor, and Warren was ready to pounce again, his fury roiling tighter and tighter until he could only see red. But before he could get there, two more men were holding him back. “Let me go,” he demanded.
    He took a deep breath, needing to find her scent, but all he could smell was blood. Her blood. It had been seared into his nose from the moment he’d picked her up off the ground and carried her back to the truck. Jake had driven like a mad man, getting them to the den as quickly as they could. With each mile they crossed, her breathing had become shallower and shallower until he wasn’t sure she was breathing at all by the time he’d carried her in and set her on the cot in the infirmary.
    All the breath he’d fought so hard to take a moment before left his lungs as pain crushed his chest. He fell to his knees, burying his face in his hands as he fought to keep control, but all he could hear was the pounding of his own heart. She couldn’t die.
    Soft little hands, trembling so hard they barely made contact with him, touched both of his shoulders. “She’s going to be okay,” Jamie whispered before she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. After that, he couldn’t tell what more she said. He heard her voice, but the words didn’t register. She kept whispering into his ear, soothing him as she held him. He didn’t know how long they stayed there, with the rest of the pack hovering around them, but by the time Doc opened the door, he was able to stand, if on shaky legs.
    “The wound itself wasn’t bad, but the bullet nicked an artery. Had it gone straight through, she would have bled to death before she got here. She’s asking to see you,” the man said before he stepped to the side and breathed a heavy sigh.
    Nothing could have prepared him for the sight