Cupcakes Ch. 07

Rig was at her side, his mom and sisters following quickly behind him.

"Call the clinic, let them know I'm bringing her in!" He directed over his shoulder as he knelt beside her. His hands hovered uncertainly, wanting to gather her up but afraid to do any more damage.

He heard his mom on the phone, explaining that Georgia had fallen and was unconscious and they were bringing her in for treatment. She was having trouble getting them to accept that she was human and it was ok for her to be here, finally directing them to the Alpha for any further explanation.

He knew her tailbone was broken, he'd clearly heard it when she hit the pavement, but he wasn't sure what else might be injured. Gently he put an arm under her knees, then under her shoulders. Helen reached to support her head, crying out and pulling her hand back covered in blood. Her eyes met her brother's, both scared and unsure.

"Rig I'm not sure we should mover her, what if we make it worse?"

"I don't see how it can be much worse. Can you drive while I hold her?"

"Yes, yes of course." She helped rest Georgia's head against his shoulder as he scooped her up. Maria hurried to open the passenger door, shutting it gently behind him once he was settled.

"We'll follow in my car Rig, she's going to be fine." His mom called after them as they pulled out. She hugged Maria against her. They all knew humans were fragile in comparison to themselves, but how fragile? Claudia and Maria stood watching the truck for a moment, before gingerly stepping around the pool of blood that smelled so strongly of Georgia and pulling Helen's car out of the garage.

Rig felt like he was coming apart. Georgia was limp in his arms, her pulse weak and thready, The smell of her blood was terrifying as it soaked into his shirt. She was so soft, so. . . breakable. What the hell had happened?

"I wasn't imagining it, Jason fucking Miller shifted in front of my mate?" Rig growled from between tightly clenched teeth.

"Uh, yeah, he was already running by the time I got out the door. What the hell was he up to?" Helen darted a look at him.

"I hope he's somewhere praying Georgia is ok, because I already want to tear his head off. If she's not ok. . ." Rig choked, holding Georgia more tightly against him and kissing her forehead.

Helen had never seen her brother so affected. Anxiety, fear, was rolling off him in waves and his eyes were bright with tears. She thought about her mate, Chris, their wedding just a week away. What if he were hurt, unconscious, bleeding? Her foot pushed down on the gas, speeding them more swiftly toward the community clinic.

Will walked swiftly into their office, responding to the distress he sensed from his mate. Karen was on the phone, pacing, she looked up, her brows drawn together and gestured him over.

"No, no, I assure you we know and we've given our blessing." She put her hand over the mouthpiece and explained, "Georgia's been injured, she's unconscious, Rig is taking her to the clinic."

"Yes, I'm well aware it's an unusual situation." She answered the tinny objections from the other end of the line, "We are headed over now, just treat her as best you can." She hung up decisively and shook her head.

Will gave her a quick hug, "I haven't even met this girl but she's sure making things exciting around here."

Karen snorted, "We'd better hurry to the clinic to smooth things over, the doctor was having a conniption."

Helen pulled into the clinic parking lot, trying not to bounce Georgia any more than she had to. She put the truck in park and jumped out, running around to open the door for RIg. As she helped him step down the doctor and a couple nurses came rushing out with a gurney.

Rig reluctantly lay Georgia on the gurney at the doctor's insistence. He hated to let her go, but he knew she needed help he couldn't give right now.

Helen took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly as they rushed after the medical staff. One nurse hung back as the gurney pushed through a set of swinging doors.

"I"m sorry but you can't go back right now, you'll have to wait while they evaluate her." She was gentle but firm, directing Rig and Helen to the nearby waiting room.

She disappeared for a moment, returning with a clean scrub top. "Why don't you change into this while you wait, I think you'll be more comfortable." She held the shirt out with a sympathetic look.

Rig looked at the scrub top, then his own blood covered shirt. The color drained from his face and he sat down heavily. Helen rushed to his side, taking the scrubs and helping him change shirts.

"Will you be able to answer some questions for me?" The nurse asked kindly.

"Yes, what do you need to know?" He rubbed his face then raked his fingers over his scalp.

She picked up a clipboard and asked a series of questions, most of which Rig didn't have the answers for.

"We just met really, we barely know each other." As he said it he sent a silent prayer that they'd still have the chance to change that. He rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head.

While she was getting as much information from him as she could his mom and sister came in, followed by Will and Karen. The nurse bowed her head respectfully to the Alpha's and slipped through the double doors to join the team working on Georgia.

"Rig," Will clasped his shoulder, "Do you feel up for telling me what happened?"

"Yeah," Rig took a deep breath and straightened up, "I'll tell you as much as I know."

Karen chatted with Claudia and her daughters, they were giving her what information they had. Maria bounced on the balls of her feet, full of anxious energy.

"We spent the day out at the lake. We got back to the house and were going inside but she got a phone call from her job. She said she'd just be a minute to go ahead and go in. So I went inside and she was standing in the driveway." Rig scrubbed at his face, "I was talking to my mom when all of a sudden I felt this panic hit me and I knew I needed to get to Georgia."

Will and Karen exchanged a glance, Karen cocking her eyebrow.

"You were sensing her panic?" Will prompted.

"Yeah, I guess so, it wasn't clear what was going on just that she was terrified. I ran down the stairs and out the front door." He clenched his fists and his face went red as he remembered coming around the corner of the garage. "Jason Miller." His voice was deadly.

"Jason Miller?"Will sounded surprised, "What did he do?"

"He shifted in front of her! She panicked of course and tried to run. She ran into the mirror on the side of the truck and went down hard." The anger drained out of him as he remembered Helen pulling back a blood covered hand from under Georgia's head. "I know something's broken, her tailbone I think, and there was so much blood." He shook his head. Claudia sat in the chair beside him and took his hand, holding it between hers.

"She's a strong girl Rig, she's going to be fine."

"I'm going to go check on things." Karen moved towards the double doors with a nod to her husband.

"Where is Jason now?" Will asked, irritation clear in his voice.

"He ran off before I got out the door," Helen offered, "I'm sure he must realize he screwed up big time."

"What was he thinking?!" Claudia asked, "What could have possessed him to shift in front of a human?"

"He knew she was Rig's mate, he'd called me this morning concerned that Rig had brought a human on pack land, Not that that explains it, if anything it makes less sense because he should have known to stay clear of someone else's newly found mate."

Karen came back through the doors, trailed by the strong scent of Georgia's blood. Rig tensed as she joined them.

"No real news yet but the doctor said none of her injuries are life threatening. She's likely got a concussion and a broken bone or two, but she should be just fine." Rig let out the breath he'd been holding and sat back in his chair. "They are doing xrays and a CT scan now to get a better idea of where the damage is and how extensive. He should have something in an hour or so. As soon as they have her stabilized and in a bed you can go back and sit with her." She hesitated, glancing at Will, "She started to regain consciousness so they sedated her. They were concerned what her state of mind will be when she wakes up and want to keep her calm."

Helen recruited Maria to help her get coffee and food, Will and Karen moved away to the other side of the room to discuss what to do about Jason. Claudia sat comforting her son, like she had countless times for problems big and small.

"I told you she'd be ok." She teased him gently.

"Yeah mom," He pulled her against him and kissed the top of her head, "You are always right. Is that what you want to hear?"

"That is exactly what I want to hear. Make sure and say it again when your father gets here."

*************************************************************************************************************

Jason had run until he was exhausted, finally slowing and stopping in a part of the forest he didn't recognize. He was far out of pack land at this point, driven by panic and fear he'd just wanted to get as far away as possible.

He shifted and sat against a tree, trying to breath deeply and organize his scattered thoughts. He couldn't get the look on Rig's face out of his mind. Jason knew without a doubt Rig would kill him if he saw him again.

Rig,already living a charmed life in his opinion, had somehow lucked upon a human mate. The Alpha's probably wouldn't even listen to his side of the story, they'd give Rig approval to kill him in retribution for killing his mate.

She was dead, probably. Humans weren't that hard to kill and he'd smelled the blood as he ran away. She was dead and Rig would be hunting him down. What were his options?

He could go rogue. The idea held no appeal, he liked the structure of a pack and still had aspirations to climb the ladder and gain authority. Which meant he needed to join a neighboring pack.

Breaking the bond with one pack and joining another wasn't something done lightly, but it wasn't unheard of. He shifted back to wolf form and started trotting west. Somewhere out here he'd pass into the territory of a large pack run by Alpha Beckett, a big bear of a man he'd met once briefly. Surely they'd welcome someone with his skills.

*************************************************************************************************************

Rig sat staring at a sandwhich his mom had handed him, food didn't hold any interest but he toyed with it to make her happy. He scanned his surroundings mentally, trying to grasp that connection he'd felt with Georgia when she'd been so frightened. He couldn't feel anything from her, but he did get the feeling she was nearby. Of course, he knew she was nearby, but it was almost like he could bump against her with his mind and get a sonar like ping back that she wasn't far away.

Was that normal? He didn't remember his parents ever mentioning that. He knew they sensed strong emotion from one another, had a deep connection that was almost as if they could read eachothers minds. That he knew was part of bonding with your mate. He had always understood that the ability to feel one another in that way happened after the bonding ceremony though. He sighed and glanced toward his mom, stealthily slipping his food back on the stack of similar sandwiches while she was engaged in conversation.

Everything with Georgia was different and unfamiliar. Not only was he in new territory having finally found his mate, he had the added complication of a human mate and all the weirdness that brought with it.

He got up and wandered toward the front of the clinic, standing in front of the glass entrance and staring out into the dark. Helen's reflection appeared beside him in the glass.

"You ok big brother?" She slipped her arm through his and leaned against him.

"Yeah. I'll be better when I get to see her, but I'm more worried about her mental state than her physical one now."

"This wasn't a good way for the big reveal to happen."

Rig snorted, "That's an understatement." They stood together quietly for a few minutes.

"Still. . . " He paused, trying to find the right was to say what was on his mind,"As bad as this is I have to admit I'm sort of relieved. I didn't have to be the bad guy and scare her. It's kind of like we just ripped off the bandaid and now we just have to deal with soothing the sting."

"I get that," Helen nodded, "But that's a hell of a sting."

"Yeah." What else was there to say?

They turned as the doctor pushed through the double doors, quickly scanning the waiting area. He nodded respectfully toward the Alpha's before heading toward RIg. Everyone followed behind, forming a loose semi circle around them as the doctor finally gave them a full report.

"Rig, good to see you." He held out his hand and gave a firm handshake, "I want to start by saying she's going to be just fine."

Rig let out the breath he was holding, his shoulders slumping. "When can I see her?"

"As soon as we are done here I'll take you back. Sound good?"

"Yes, thank you go ahead."

"Alright, as you know she took a nasty spill, her tailbone cracked when she hit the pavement. Additionally she has a nasty concussion. I know the bleeding from her head looked scary but that was a fairly minor cut, she's got about 6 stitches in her scalp and will heal up without any problem. Other than that she has a few scrapes and bruises but nothing that requires more than rest and time to heal."

The group visibly relaxed as the doctor delivered positive news. Marian hugged her mom, her eyes bright with tears.

"Now that's another matter altogether, time. If you were in here with a broken tailbone and a concussion I'd be sending you home already. Georgia being human means it's going to take considerable longer. We'd like to keep her overnight for observation, to make sure the swelling in her head goes down and there's not any further complication. It will take about a week before her head is really feeling better. I'll send her home with something for the pain."

Rig nodded, trying to retain the important points but impatient for the doctor to finish.

"The fracture to her tailbone will take 2 or 3 months to fully heal. She will need to take things very easy for several weeks"

"2 or 3 months?!" It was difficult to imagine anything taking that long to heal.

"Humans heal dramatically slower than we do. You will need to be very patient, she's going to be in a lot of pain and have trouble getting around initially."

Rig nodded, glancing over the doctor's shoulder toward the doors George lay behind.

"Rig I know you are eager to see your mate but we need to discuss a couple more things before you go back."

He focused on the doctor, "Yes, sorry, I'm listening."

"From what I understand she didn't know, until the incident that resulted in her injuries, that werewolves existed."

"Yes, we'd just met, I hadn't had an opportunity to talk to her about anything yet." He felt a pang of guilt remembering the terror on her face as Jason shifted in front of her.

"We've kept her asleep but are weaning her onto a lighter sedative now. I think it's wise to keep her as calm as possible to prevent her hurting herself. I'd like you to be there when she wakes up, not that I think you need any convincing." A light chuckle from the crowd gathered around them.

"You need to be prepared to answer a lot of questions and try to keep her from getting too worked up. That is going to be difficult but let's do what we can. Now, I've got one more thing to discuss that we should have a little privacy for. Why don't you follow me and I'll take you to see Georgia." The doctor gestured toward the double doors Rig had been watching for the past couple of hours.

"Doctor," Will spoke up, "After you get Rig settled will come back and speak with us please? We have a few additional questions."

"Of course Alpha Smith." He bowed his head towards Will and Karen before ushering Rig towards the back of the clinic.

On the other side of the doors the doctor pulled Rig into an office and shut the heavy door behind them.

"Rig I know the instinct to claim your mate is strong, but you need to understand that Georgia will be in no shape for any kind of mating for at least a month, maybe two. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Rig nodded, "I was prepared to take things slowly anyway, Will and Karen have been helping me navigate the minefield of claiming a human mate."

"I can imagine it's much more complicated than if she were one of us." The doctor nodded sympathetically. "By the way, she had about a dozen wood splinters in her back and shoulders. Would you have any insight as to how that happened?"

Rig had a vivid mental image of dragging Georgia toward him across the picnic table. "She was, uh, laying on the picnic table out by the lake."

The doctor cocked his eyebrow and grinned. "I see. Well we got her all cleaned up while we were stitching up her head. Maybe put down a blanket next time."

Rig grinned back, the doctors easy manner and knowing he was about to see his mate putting him in positive frame of mind. "Thanks doc, for everything."

"It's my job, well, a bit different than my usual job but still my job. Now let's take you to your girl."

She was sleeping, her chocolate hair matted and tangled under the gauze wrapping her head. She had an IV in one arm, a blood pressure cuff on the other. Monitors glowed silently around her. Her mouth turned down slightly, frowning, her brows were drawn together. She looked tense and unhappy.Rig hesitated, desperately wanting to touch her but afraid to hurt her.

"You won't hurt her Rig," The doctor assured him, correctly reading his hesitation,"It will help her feel more comfortable to be in contact with you."

Rig pulled a chair up beside the bed and took her hand, careful not to dislodge the oximeter on her finger. Her brow smoothed and her mouth relaxed as he took her hand in his.

The doctor watched the monitor, noting her pulse had slowed and evened out. "Interesting." he murmured.

Rig glanced up at the doctor. "Everything all right?"

"Yes, yes, everything is just fine. I will admit I know very little about human mates, it's not a common occurrence as you know and I haven't ever encountered a newly found pair." The doctor stood watching them for a moment as Rig kissed her hand and the tension left his body.

"How long until she wakes up?"

"Probably within the hour, she will be very groggy, be gentle with her."

"Of course." Rig brushed a few strands of hair from her face.

"Very good. Let us know if you need anything." He moved toward the door, stopping just before leaving to watch them for another moment. The similarities and differences between this mating and what he usually encountered had him intrigued.

Rig pulled out his phone and texted his mom, "She's asleep and all bandaged up but looks pretty good considering, doc says she is doing good."

"Thanks for the update son. Dad's here, we love you."

He smiled, he could always count on his family for support.

Out in the waiting room Will's phone rang. He frowned looking at the caller ID, holding it up to show Karen the Police Chief from the nearby city was calling.

"This is WIll, how can I help you?" He answered, walking outside.

"Hey WIll, this is Frank Hannigan, how you doing tonight?" The familiar voice greeted him.

"Doing ok Frank, what's got you calling me this evening?"

"Well WIll," Frank sounded tense, "We have a bit of a situation. We've got a girl in here worried about her sister. She hasn't been able to get ahold of her all day, and when we ran a trace on her phone it's showing up smack dab in the middle of your territory."