Chapter 18

Kara's POV

I couldn’t believe Hunter would bring that up.

It was such a low blow.

It was years ago, long before I had the experience I do now.

I remembered telling Hunter at the time. His reply had been thin lipped and terse, but focused on fixing things, not berating me.

He’d sat up with me part of that night as I worked to rectify the situation. It was in the early days of our marriage. I’d been so grateful that he’d helped me and not punished me.

I took it as a sign that we were right to get married. That things would work well between us.

I hadn’t slept for days, but I’d finally fixed everything. There was no permanent harm done.

And of course the big difference between that situation and this was that I had taken it upon myself to make sure my mistake didn’t cause any lasting effects.

Maya had cowered behind Daphne and waited for me to fix things for her: for someone else to clean up her mess.

Hunter was looking at Maya with concern, seemingly oblivious to the effect his words had on me.

I looked at his face. I could still see the shadow of the husband I’d known for years before Maya arrived. But it was becoming more hidden, covered over by what he’d been like since finding his fated mate.

Since casting me aside.

For the first time, I thought I hated him almost enough to wish him ill. I loved him, but I also felt a deep, ugly hatred.

I didn’t speak, but Maya finally chimed in.

“I’ll come along on the school site visit and help,” she said. She was holding her chin high, looking like she thought she was doing me a favor. “As a thank you to Kara for her help.”

Hunter smiled at her indulgently.

I bit my tongue and took a deep breath.

“Sure,” I said, struggling to keep my voice calm. “Sounds good. But I’ll meet you there in a bit. I have some more work to do first.”

It seemed Hunter had already agreed to the plan so there would be no point arguing. But I couldn’t stomach the thought of spending the car ride with them.

I was at my desk only about 20 minutes later, pretending to work, when I heard it.

I jumped, startled, as Hunter’s panicked voice entered my mind.

Another rogue attack! Alert the Gamma troop and come, please.

His mindlink was frantic and panicked. But even more than his tone, the fact that he said “please” made my blood freeze.

I ran to the door, mindlinking the Gamma Captain as I started my car and sped onto the road. I said a silent “thank you” that my wolf’s mindlink powers weren’t limited to the usual range.

At least help was on the way to Hunter and Maya.

I urged the car forward, almost hyperventilating.

Guilt crept in alongside my panic.

I’d been so angry at him.

What if he was now seriously injured? I knew it wasn’t, but it felt like my fault.

The drive seemed to take much longer than it should have, but I arrived before Gamma team.

I slammed the car into park and wrenched the door open.

There was no sign of the rogues, but I saw blood. A lot of blood.

I ran to him.

He was huddled on the ground, arms still wrapped around a trembling Maya.

Like last time, it seemed he had protected her instead of giving himself a chance in the fight.

I knelt beside them and immediately started feeling along his injured body for the source of the bleeding.

He had deep lashes all over his back and legs, the fabric of his clothing deeply torn.

“Where is it, Hunter? Where are you hurt worst?” I said breathlessly.

He didn’t answer.

“Maya,” I yelled, “are you badly hurt? Where did they get him? Come out and help me!”

She crawled out from his arms, trembling all over, and knelt beside me.

“I don’t know,” she sobbed. “It happened so fast, just like last time. They were just on us, and then he picked me up to protect me, and—”

I gritted my teeth and told my hands to stop shaking. I had to find the source of the bleeding.

But there was so much blood it was hard to see. It surged over my hands, warm and thick.

“It’s all my fault,” Maya gasped through her tears. “We wouldn’t have been separated and vulnerable if I hadn’t suggested tagging along, and now he’s—”

“Ah ha!” I yelled as I finally found the injury near the top of his thigh. It must be the femoral.

I didn’t have much time.

I pressed my hand down, hard, applying pressure.

The bleeding slowed.

“Maya,” I yelled, “pull yourself together and get the tourniquet out of my first aid kid!”

She fumbled for it. I was desperate to look myself, but knew I couldn’t risk moving my hand.

She finally found it and I applied it deftly.

The bleeding slowed to a stop.

I breathed for what felt like the first time in minutes as the Gamma team arrived.

Part of the unit took off into the woods to look for any remaining rogues.

The Captain and several others came straight to us. They helped me prepare Hunter for transport, producing a backboard and loading him quickly into the back of their vehicle.

Maya and I both rode in the back of the makeshift ambulance alongside him. She was shivering uncontrollably.

We both stared at his pale face and counted his shallow breaths all the way to the hospital.

They whisked Maya away to be examined when we arrived, and I followed Hunter into the trauma unit.

His palm was face up on the gurney beside him. Without thinking, I grabbed it.

He squeezed, and I was shocked to notice his eyes were open. The doctors and nurses flurried around me, staring to work on him .

“Kara,” he said weakly. He lost consciousness again, but didn’t let go of my hand.

I held his tightly. He woke again a few moments later.

“The rogues had a distinct tattoo on their wrists. I think it was something triangular—”

He drifted off again.

The medical team let me stay, tightly gripping Hunter’s hand, as they finished their triage.

One of the doctors finally stepped toward me, looking into my eyes with concern in his.

Hunter was unconscious again, with his leg bandaged.

Maya appeared at the doorway wearing a hospital gown, followed closely by a nurse.

“I have to see him,” she said in response to the nurse’s request that she get back into bed.

“He needs emergency surgery,” the doctor said to me, holding out a clipboard. I need a signature from his next-of-kin since he’s unconscious.”

Maya’s face blanched.

I grabbed the pen decisively from the doctor and put it to the paper, scrawled my name quickly.

In the spouse section.