Chapter 81

Claire POV

We followed the route Catherine told us Dad had taken, out of Royal pack and into Silverfang territory.

I’ve never experienced a more tense car ride in my entire life.

And in the past few weeks, as I traveled from one mobile clinic to another, I’d seen my fair share of stressful rides.

I was now used to almost daily run-ins with packs of rogue wolves, each trying to derail the aid our convoys provided, or to steal our supplies.

More than once I’d found myself caught up in an actual battle, trying to move our supply trucks through a fight, while rogues hopped onto the trucks and tried to get inside.

I’d thought, in those moments, that it was the scariest thing I’d ever experienced.

But it was nothing to the fear I felt as we traveled through the darkening evening, down narrow and rarely-used country roads. Worry for my father was like a fist in my chest, and I couldn’t breathe around it.

I looked over at Nathan in the gathering dusk, his expression so determined.

If there was anyone I’d want by my side during this mad dash to save my father, it was him.

My mate.

Despite everything, I’d known the moment I looked up back at the mobile clinic and seen him running toward me, that the connection between us was still there.

And it was still as strong as ever.

And though our relationship remained incredibly complicated, and my poor heart was bruised and battered where he was concerned, I knew I could count on him now to help me when I needed it most.

I could only hope we found my father in time, and stop whatever awful plan Sabrina and her allies had in store for him.

As the hours wore on my nerves began to fray in the grim silence of the vehicle.

None of us spoke.

There was nothing to say.

All we could do was wait. And hope.

And then - up ahead through the trees - we saw:

Headlights shone at odd angles, shining every which way through the trees of the surrounding forest.

Firelight flickered as well, clouds of black smoke billowing toward us through the trees as well.

And my heart broke.

Because I knew.

We were too late.

Nathan covered the distance at top speed, and I jumped out even as he was slamming on the brakes. He yelled for me to wait - but I couldn’t.

Not now that I’d seen the wreckage that surrounded us.

My father’s entire transport convoy was a wreck of crashed and burning cars, the stink of hot metal and burning rubber filling the air with that choking black smoke. It made my eyes burn, and I covered my mouth with my shirt as best I could.

I ran through the wreckage, searching even as I coughed and gagged on the smoke. Soon tears were streaming from my stinging eyes.

From the smoke. And from grief.

Dad’s security detail lay dead and dying all around us, their moans and cries piercing the air. Everything in me cried out as well, to stop, to help them.

But I had to keep looking.

I had to find my father.

“Over here!” shouted one of Nathan’s security guard, drawing us to the center of the convoy, where a vehicle had crashed so hard it rolled over onto its roof.

Not just any vehicle.

Dad’s.

I sprinted to the car, working with the security guard to pull the door open and pull my father’s limp, bloody body out of the car.

Then I dropped to my knees, scanning his unconscious form with my hands, sending my abilities deep into his body.

So much damage. So much pain.

“Claire!” Nathan yelled, finding me through the smoke and ruin. He fell to his knees beside me, his expression shocked. “The Royal Alpha, is he - ??”

I shook my head, to say no, and to deny any possibility that he might not make it.

“He’s in a coma,” I said. “I need to stop the bleeding first, then I can begin to heal his deeper injuries.”

I hoped.

So I closed my eyes and focused my vision inward, delving into my father’s body, his injuries.

He had a lot of small cuts from broken glass, and one large one across his stomach that I tended to first.

Then there were the bruised ribs, the dislocated shoulder. The broken arm and wrist.

My heart grieved, and I wanted to howl with rage as I shared his pain. Shared it, took it away, slowly began to heal it.

The grief threatened to overwhelm me, so I brutally, ruthlessly locked it away inside myself.

Not now. No time for the weeping or the shaking.

As the lights of a medical transport arriving joined the wash of headlights on this dark stretch of backroad I slowly but surely stabilized my father.

And began to focus on his mind.

He was in fact in a coma. On the surface, a concussion explained the condition, but when I looked deeper…

I realized what I was seeing in my father’s mind was unlike anything I’d ever encountered before.

And I didn’t know if I could heal it.

Nathan POV

I could see the pain and concentration on Claire’s face, and felt helpless.

She was the healer here. There was nothing I could do but watch as she first took her father’s pain into herself and then began to heal him.

I felt helpless, and also in awe.

Slowly a golden light began to surround her, growing brighter and stronger with every passing minute.

I had no idea she had such power inside her.

When the medical transport arrived I took charge of the situation, directing my security detail to search for survivors and get them the help they needed. I left them orders to rejoin Beta Evan in the field once they finished here.

Claire was going with her father - and I was going with Claire.

The medics carefully transferred the Royal Alpha onto a gurney, strapping him down for the trip. They had to work around Claire, who refused to stop healing him for a moment.

Then we loaded up into the back of the transport, heading for the Royal clinic. Even though we were in Silverfang territory, we were still closer to the Royal clinic than the one in my pack’s territory.

As we drove away I thought grimly of what was going on back in my pack, with Sabrina preparing to hold a cooperation ceremony without me.

So she could take over my pack, and lead them…where?

What was she planning??

Because if I knew anything, I knew Sabrina never had just one goal in mind. Her mind worked brilliantly in that way, always planning three steps ahead of her next goal.

I was going to make sure she didn’t get whatever it was she was planning.

Sabrina and I were going to finish the business between us.

But first, I needed to take care of Claire, make sure she was safe.

I watched as she healed her father, the tears streaming down her face cutting me deeply.

And all I could do was sit there and watch, the Royal Alpha’s coat clutched uselessly in my hands.

And then I heard something crinkle in the coat pocket.

I pulled out a balled up piece of paper, flattening it against my leg.

In the dim interior light of the transport, I tilted the paper this way and that to see what it said.

And what I read shocked me to the core.