Austin couldn’t look anymore. He couldn’t withstand living in this moment, or it might rip his soul apart. He got up and walked toward the window, folding his arms and staring at his reflection in the glass. He could see Lynn draping herself over Lexi, singing her a song and preparing to endure the worst kind of pain imaginable for a mother.
Austin would never mend from this. He was caught in a maelstrom of emotions, and the rage spinning at the core threatened to strip away every thread of goodness he had left in him.
The baby’s cries intensified, and Lynn tried to soothe him. “Oh, Lexi, he’s so beautiful. Shhh, little one. Everything’s going to be okay.”
But it wasn’t. And the idea of Judas living and breathing insulted him more now than ever. Heat licked off him, and a thin film of condensation appeared on the window.
A gentle howl filled the room, and it was coming from Lexi. Austin spun around so fast that he almost lost his footing.
He rushed to the bed and reached across it. “Let me have him.”
Lynn curved her body away.
“Her wolf is calling for her baby.”
Austin moved to the center of the bed and placed the wailing baby next to Lexi’s wolf—close enough that she could pick up his scent.
“He’s here, Lexi. He’s right here.”
The baby cried, shaking and turning an ugly shade of purple.
Lexi’s wolf broke her howl and sniffed the baby’s head, her eyes still closed. Her pink tongue appeared as she lazily licked his ear, a low sound in the back of her throat—the one a mother wolf makes to comfort her young.
His cries waned, and after a few deep gasps, he calmed. In a moment that can only be explained as magic, Lexi shifted to human form.
“Relic!” Austin roared. “Relic!”
Lynn scooped up the baby to make room.
Edward rushed in so abruptly that he almost bumped into Lynn. He quickly moved around her on the other side of the bed. “Hurry. Turn her over.”
Lexi was curled in a fetal position, so Austin gently hooked his arm around her legs and moved her until she was on her back, knees bent, toes touching the headboard.
Edward listened to her heartbeat with the stethoscope before pulling out a blood pressure cuff. After a few moments, he released it. “Her vitals are improving. I need to remove the bullet. We don’t have any time. Can you help me?”
Lynn nervously rocked the baby while Austin and Edward rolled Lexi onto her stomach. Austin pulled her hair away from her face.
“Make sure her airway isn’t obstructed,” Edward said. “It was too risky to remove the bullet from her wolf, but the longer it stays in there, the more damage it’ll do each time she shifts.”
Austin sprang into action and stripped away a blanket. He tossed every last pillow off the bed and lay down facing her, stroking her right cheek with his thumb, listening to her breathing and watching her eyelids flutter.
“Just a little something to numb the area,” Edward murmured.
“That’s my girl,” Austin said, his voice tender and filled with a renewed sense of hope. “Just hang in there, and we’ll have you patched up in no time.”
***
Three hours later, Lexi was resting comfortably. The Relic had removed the bullet. He skipped the stitches, concerned that she might involuntarily shift and further injure herself. Austin coaxed her awake long enough to force her to shift to wolf form. Lorenzo asked permission to give her some healing medicine, but since her wolf wasn’t awake to drink, Edward had to run a tube down her throat so they could funnel the liquid into her stomach.
Within minutes, she was breathing more easily, and her wolf’s gums went from a shade of blue to a healthy pink.
But she still hadn’t woken up.
Austin received confirmation that the war was officially over. Those who weren’t killed in battle had either escaped or surrendered, throwing themselves on the mercy of the local Packmasters. Lorenzo volunteered to watch the children for the night. Izzy and Jericho agreed, deciding it was best, with everything going on. Lennon eagerly went home with Lorenzo, eager to reunite with his brother.
The pack took turns visiting with Lexi and giving her words of encouragement. Lynn agreed to leave Lexi’s side when the Relic reminded her that if they didn’t get a good rest, none of them would be in any condition to care for Lexi in the morning.
Austin shifted once to heal up the injuries he received from Judas. Most had been reduced to tolerable abrasions, but the bullet wound required more attention. It had reopened twice in the back and bled, and while the shifting sealed it up, Austin decided he wanted to carry the scar. Edward applied a small dab of liquid fire that burned like hell and imprinted the scar on him to wear as a reminder of what he’d almost lost.
Everyone had showered and added pillows to the blankets in the hallway so they could be together and support Austin.
“How’s he taking to the bottle?” Izzy asked, concern brimming in her eyes. She knelt next to Austin and brushed her finger over the soft hair on the little guy’s head.
Austin smirked and pulled the bottle out of the baby’s mouth. He scowled and shook with anger, his hands balling into little fists.