With a nod at Aric, Nix dropped his cargo shorts right there in the middle of the hallway and crouched on all fours, shifting quickly into his wolf form. His friend did the same, and they waited for Melina to open the door a crack.
When she did, Nix and Aric wasted no time rushing the tiger waiting on the other side. Nix was hardly aware of the door slamming shut after them as they tackled the shifter, rolling with the snapping creature and crashing into a chair. Jesus, the fucker was huge! They were going to need backup, fast.
They kept the tiger occupied, saving themselves from serious injury by double-teaming him. Aric nipped at his flank, and when the beast turned to roar and swipe at Aric with deadly claws, Nix moved in to snap at the tiger’s face and neck. The tiger was cornered, but by no means was it safe for Melina to enter the room and take a shot with the tranq gun.
The tiger charged Nix and he dodged just in time to avoid his jugular being torn out. They crashed into the rolling tray, sending it skittering into a wall, and Nix prayed his teammates would arrive soon.
Finally, the door burst open and several more wolves raced inside. Thank fuck!
One on one, a wolf shifter couldn’t hope to match a tiger’s strength. Their goal was to subdue him, not kill him. However, with several wolves, they were able to bury him underneath an old-fashioned dog-pile, so to speak. The tiger went down under their combined weight, and though he struggled, was finally pinned.
On top of the pile, Nix shifted and called out, “Melina! Get in here!”
The door opened, the doc hurrying inside. Assessing the situation, she tucked the tranq gun into her coat and removed a huge hypodermic needle from an inside pocket.
“Since you’ve got him held steady, this drug will work much faster.” Uncapping the needle, she crouched next to the tiger’s head. “Sorry about this, Leo.”
The tiger’s eyes rolled in what Nix recognized as true fear. It was apparent the shifter had awakened in the hospital, confused and frightened, and so he’d gone on the attack. From what Nix knew of the man and his family, he wouldn’t have normally done such a thing if he were in his right mind.
When the tiger finally began to relax, Nix looked around the room. And spotted the streaks of crimson blood that left a stark trail across the tiled floor until it disappeared under the bed, which was shoved against the far wall.
“Here, put these back on.” Glancing up, Nix saw Aric standing there holding out his cargo shorts. He quickly pulled them on and returned his attention to the blood trail.
Heart pounding, Nix crawled over to the bed, telling himself that it couldn’t be Noah under there. The man was probably off somewhere else, attending to other duties. Steeling himself, he peered underneath and his world fell out from under him.
A familiar slim figure wearing scrubs was curled on his side facing Nix, blond hair falling into eyes that were closed. His arms were wrapped around himself protectively, though it was clearly too late for that. Noah’s left shoulder, arm, and what Nix could see of his side all the way to his hip was flayed open, and his mate was literally soaked in blood.
“Noah,” he gasped. “Oh, God.”
Scrambling up, Nix shoved the bed out of the way. His only thought was to get to Noah, and he dropped to the floor, taking the smaller man in his arms. Noah’s head lolled back and Nix tucked him against his chest, panic nearly choking him.
“We need help over here!” he yelled. Hands shaking, he smoothed a few wayward strands of hair from Noah’s sweet face. Then his mate blinked slowly and gazed up at him with dazed blue eyes.
“Nix?”
Clutching his mate tighter, he pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Hang on, baby. Help is coming.”
Another blink. “Did you just call me baby?”
Crap. “I didn’t mean—”
“You did. Can’t take it back.” Noah smiled up at him, which caused funny things to happen inside Nix’s chest. Then Noah’s pain-filled eyes slowly closed.
Nix shook him gently. “Noah? Come on, stay awake! Noah!”
“Here, let’s get him onto the gurney,” Melina said from beside him.
Nix hadn’t heard her approach, and he glanced at her, noting the worry etched on her face. Apparently the shifter had been dealt with and moved, because he was no longer in the room.
Good thing, because Nix would be tempted to rip the bastard apart for hurting Noah. He still might, if they didn’t keep the fucking tiger out of his path.
A pair of hands reached down, intending to take Noah from him. In an instant, Nix’s fangs dropped and he snarled, nearly taking a hunk of skin out of the offender.
“Whoa!” Aric exclaimed, backing up. “I’m just trying to help, man. They need to get him into surgery.”
Melina fixed him with a hard stare. “Now. He’s losing too much blood.”