Chapter 45

Harper’s POV

Help me.

I send the thought out again, hoping someone in the pack will hear it.

No one has responded yet, which isn’t a good sign. I’m not sure how long I’ve been laying here on the floor or how long it’s been since Sierra left me here.

The darkness is trying to pull me back under, but I pull myself forward. I can’t go back under. I may not be able to resurface again.

A sense of cold set in my body a little while ago, but I can’t tell if that’s good or bad as I stare at the door. If I can get to it, I might be able to find help. I blink against the darkness in the room and dig my fingernails into the floor.

Once I get a good grip, I drag myself across the floor, groaning as my destroyed back screams in agony. The pain seeps into my chest, flooding me with dizziness and nausea.

“Someone,” I call out, my voice cracking as my arms give out. I crumple to the floor, unable to do anything except stare at the door as my vision flickers and my breath falters.

The room grows smaller, closing in on me, and all I can do is lie here and wait for no one to find me.

A thud sounds outside the room, making me jump and cry out from the pain.

“Harper!”

The door shakes loudly as someone—no, as Lucas pounds on the door. He came for me. He’s here.

I reach for the door, the only sound that leaves me too soft for anyone to hear.

Lucas’s POV

I press my ear to the door at a soft sound from within. I try to calm my racing heart and the rushing of my blood through my ears as I focus my hearing.

“Harper? Can you hear me?”

Another soft, scraping sound reaches my ears.

“I’m coming in! If you’re by the door, take cover!”

Waiting a moment to give her a chance to move, I count to thirty before lifting my leg and kicking with all my strength. The door shatters, pieces flying in and giving me a view that will be seared into my mind for the rest of my life.

“Harper!”

Rushing forward, I sink to my knees at her side, taking in her shredded back. Four claw marks slash from her shoulders to her hip and blood seeps through the tatters of her shirt onto the floor.

Her skin is pale and clammy, and her eyes are closed. My heart stops as I look down at Harper.

Pieces of the door are littered all around her and on her, and I curse. She wouldn’t have been able to move with these injuries.

“Harper, can you hear me?” I’m almost scared to touch her as I lean down. Her eyes flicker beneath her eyelids, letting me know she isn’t completely gone. Carefully, brush her blood matted hair away from her neck and press two fingers to her pulse.

It thumps softly against my fingers, but it’s too slow.

“Jenna, get a room ready for me now,” I demand down our pack link. “I’m bringing Harper to you.”

“Is she alright?”

I don’t bother answering as I look for a way to pick Harper up without hurting her, but that seems impossible. The more I look at her, the more injuries I find. One of her arms lays limply at her side. Bruises mottle her pale skin up to her elbow, and the further up I go, the more I want to throw up. Her shoulder is poking too far out to be normal.

Her other arm is stretched out in front of her, her fingernails broken and bleeding as they dig into the wood floors.

The scratching I heard from outside the door…

“She was trying to get to the door,” my wolf says softly, taking in the battered woman in front of us.

“She was trying to get out.”

Clenching my jaw, I steady my shaking body and carefully slide my arms underneath Harper’s chest and pelvis. She moans in pain as I lift her, and I have to bite down on my tongue to keep from snarling out loud. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth, but I don’t care.

If she’s even a little bit awake, she doesn’t need to be frightened anymore.

As gently as I can, I bring her to my chest and slide an arm under her ass while securing her legs around my waist before wrapping her arms around my neck. Her dead weight slumps against my chest enough that I don’t have to worry about her falling.

Before I leave the room, I scan it for any sign of the intruder. However, all I can see or smell is Harper’s blood and wood chips.

“Mason, I need you to go to Harper’s room and search it.”

“Search it?” He asks groggily. “For what?”

“She was attacked,” I growl, exiting the room. “I want to know who hurt her, when it happened, and why they locked her in so she couldn’t get help.”

A jolt of worry runs down our bond before he asks, “Is my sister alright?”

“Just do as I say and then come to the medical wing. She’s…” I look down at Harper, and I realize I can’t feel her presence through any bond. I realize I never completed the pack bond, but I can usually feel her anyways. “It doesn’t look good.”

“Fuck. Okay, I’ll contact Logan and—”

“NO. She doesn’t need that asshole.” The words come before I can stop them.

“But they’re mates,” Mason says. “Maybe he could help her heal.”

I tighten my hold on Harper, only to loosen it when she lets out a pained whimper.

“Just check her room and then come find me. No one else is to know what happened in case the assailant tries again,” I tell him, biting back the possessiveness that’s flooding my body right now.

I don’t know what the hell is going on, but as soon as I find out who did this to her and why, I’ll make sure they know that hurting someone close to me is a fatal mistake.

As I rush down the hall, I can’t help but wonder if this is partially my fault. I knew she was weaker than everyone else here, yet I still pushed her to fight. If I hadn’t, she might’ve had the energy to get away or to fight back against whoever did this.

But she didn’t.

She couldn’t.

And that sends a wave of debilitating guilt through me. It doesn’t matter that she wanted to fight. I should have known she wasn’t ready.

I should have checked on her after dropping her off in her room last night. I thought she would be fine and heal herself, but Logan was here and…

Something wet seeps through my shirt, and when I look down, I find tears rolling down Harper’s cheeks as her eyes flutter open.

“Harper, can you hear me?”

She whimpers and shifts her head to the side, looking up at me through her lashes.

“H-Hurts.”

“I know, baby. I’ll take care of it. Just hold on. We’re almost there,” I tell her, pressing my chin to her head and holding her closer as I run for the medical wing.