The Last Shewolf Ch. 24-28

A minute later, a scream startled the driver so much he almost went into the ditch. Robert was scratching at his mating mark while yelling for her at the top of his lungs. "Shit, something happened to Christine," I said.

Two more howls of agony came through the bond. "Boss, we need to go back," I said.

He nodded. "Turn us around and get home!" The caravan turned, but I knew it was too late.

Kelly's POV

The morning was going well, her vitals were stable, and she napped well. I could see her eyes following me, her little arms moving towards me as I smiled. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK," Doc yelled at me as he ran out of the break room, rifle in hand. "CALL THE CLUB!"

I ran over to the phone on the wall, quickly dialing the number. It rang twice before it picked up. "Northwoods Riders, Scrape here."

"Scrape it's Kelly, we're under att..." and then the phone went dead. I hung it up, trying again, but no dial tone. "PHONE IS CUT," I yelled towards the door. My husband poked his head in. "Did you tell the club?"

"I don't know if I got enough out," I said.

Vivian came running into the room just as the power went out. "Vivian, we've got people surrounding the building, I counted four before I left the room," he told her.

"Cover the hallway," she said. "Kelly, without power the CPAP machine won't work. You need to monitor her breathing carefully, it should be thirty to forty per minute. If she is struggling, you'll have to manually ventilate." She handed me the mask and bag, we had practiced earlier how to do it. "Whatever happens, don't stop. She's too fragile to make it on her own."

"I understand, Doctor. What are you doing?"

"I'm protecting her," she said. She poked her head out into the hallway. "Doc, what's happening?"

"I think they are at the back door," he said.

"I'm going wolf then."

"NO!" I saw him pulling her back into the room. "I know you want to protect her, but this isn't the way. Stay in here." He handed me his .45 Colt pistol. "This room is concrete walls, steel door. Lock it, barricade it and don't come out until the club is here."

"What about you?" I looked over at my husband, panic in my eyes.

"I'll keep them back," he said. "You stay alive, baby. I love you."

"I love you too." I heard the door close and lock as I focused on the baby. Counting her breaths, making sure the oxygen regulator was good, and trying to monitor her color. Vivian handed me a headlamp out of the drawer, it made things much easier. She pushed a cabinet in front of the door, then set to work piling other material against the wall. "What are you doing?"

"Just in case they try to shoot through the door," I said. She was moving another cabinet, lifting it on top of the first one. "Who did you talk to at the club?"

"Scrape, but all I got out was 'we're under' before the line was cut."

She kept piling stuff against the door, just as we heard a loud crash. Doc was opening up with his rifle, growls echoed through the hallway and something big hit the door. They were inside.

Viper's POV

I was going through some of the bills in my office when Scrape started screaming. I was up on my feet instantly, running downstairs to the clubhouse area. "What the fuck is going on?"

"That was Kelly, she and Doc are with Vivian at the clinic. She called, I think she was going to say they were under attack when the phone call dropped."

"Did you call back?"

"No answer." Fuck. "ALL RIGHT BOYS, GRAB YOUR GUNS AND LET'S GO." Crash and Dagger were in the clubhouse, and I knew Trigger was in the garage. I went back to my office, grabbing my pump shotgun and a bandoleer of buckshot, along with my Glock .45 and extra magazines. I ran out the front, opening the doors to one of the panel vans. The boys were right behind me, jumping into the back.

Teri came out just as I was starting up. "Teri, call every member you can get ahold of, get them to the clinic and tell them to come strapped. Vivian's in trouble."

I pulled out of the parking lot, heading for the road. It would take twenty minutes to get there.

Twenty minutes she might not have.

Kelly's POV

I heard Doc screaming, and the sound of him being dragged. There was a thud in the hallway. "Doctor DelMara, this man is seriously injured and is bleeding all over the floor. He's going to die if you don't give yourself up."

My jaw dropped, I started to cry. He screamed, they must have done something to him. She looked at me, then looked at the door.

"Listen, Doc, we want you alive. Come quietly and we'll let the others live. Refuse, and he dies. He only has a few minutes left, I'd say, if he doesn't get help."

"NO DON'T DO IT AAAAAAAHHH!" There was a thud and he went quiet.

"ANDREW!" I started to move towards the door.

"Don't," Vivian said. "Go back to Jennifer." She pulled some combat dressings out of the drawer. "When I'm gone, use these, apply pressure to stop the bleeding and wait for help."

"You can't give yourself to them, Vivian!"

"I can't let you die, Kelly. They'll still take me." She pulled me into a hug, then walked to the door. "I'm coming out, I have to move stuff away from the door."

"Don't waste our time, Doctor, he doesn't have much."

She pushed the cabinets back from the door, creating just enough room to open it and get out. She unlocked it, and the door was immediately pushed open. A man reached in, pulling her out, and I heard the ratchet sound of handcuffs going on. "Ahh, the smell of unmated women," the leader said. "Come on." I could hear her walking down the hall.

"What about the woman, boss?"

"Shoot her."

I looked around in panic, there was nowhere to hide. A man leaned in, firing two shots, and I felt my chest explode in pain before I fell to the ground.

Ch. 26

Vivian's POV

"NO!" I struggled against the big guy in vain as he dragged me through the hallway. My ears were ringing from the gunshots, and my heart was crushed by what just happened. Two friends, hell they were FAMILY through the club, had just been killed while trying to protect me. My decision to give myself up hadn't accomplished anything but getting me captured quickly, before help could arrive. "The baby! She's going to DIE, she's an Alpha's daughter!"

He just opened the door and pulled me out, I was unable to resist with my wrists cuffed behind my back. The silver sapped the abilities of my wolf, I couldn't tap the strength of her with them on. "I wasn't sent to get a baby, I was sent for you," he said. He shoved me up against my truck, pushing me down to sit next to the rear wheels. I saw another man come out, he was supporting a third man who was bleeding from the left shoulder and right hip. "Bruce, put him down, then get Frank out of there," he said. "I'm going to get the car."

"What about her?" The injured man was set by the front wheel as the other man asked.

He tossed the injured guy his pistol. "Travis, if she moves, shoot her in the legs." He turned and walked away as I tried to figure out what to do. A big, dark green Expedition pulled into the lot just as Bruce came out with the dead wolf over his shoulder. "The humans dead?"

"Didn't check," he said, "but there's a hell of a lot of blood in the hall."

"Toss Frank's body in the back and cover him up." He opened the back window for him.

"Todd, what do we do about Travis?"

He looked at the injured man on the ground. "She's the fucking doc, Bruce. She can save him." He came over and pulled me to my feet. "You're going to fix him up on the drive back, or you're going to be in a world of pain. Alpha Hans gave me wide latitude in how to bring you back, and there's a lot I can do to you before I maim or kill you."

"I need my kit out of this truck," I said. "And he's going to have to be laid down. I need the seats down, and blankets if you have them." He nodded and went back to the truck, opening the back doors and laying the seats down. I watched as he went to my truck, pulling my emergency kit out of the area behind the driver's seat, and put it in the truck as well. By the time he came for me, they had Larry laid out in the back. It had been at least ten minutes since they attacked, not near enough time for the guys at the Club to make it here. They shoved me in and closed the door, and they pulled out of the lot before I was sitting comfortably.

I took one last look at my clinic, thanking Luna that Jessica wasn't here when they attacked. She deserved the happiness I was going to lose.

Viper's POV

"Can't this piece of shit go any faster?" I ignored Snake. I was bouncing in my seat, adrenaline fueled my veins and I wanted to kill. The idea of someone harming my Club members was enough to set off the demons I knew were inside me, demons I had a hard time pushing back. I knew Snake was the same way, we both had seen combat, we knew what could happen. I looked out at the traffic, the lights, the delays. I wanted to get out and just RUN there, but with a shotgun and midday traffic that wouldn't end well.

"No, and we have to stick together, guys. We don't know what is going on, we go blazing in there alone and you'll get killed. Now sit the FUCK down and let's think of how we are going to do this." The order settled over them, they knew I was right. We all had to get our shit together if we were going to save them.

Scrape turned around from the passenger seat. "We can't go blasting in there, we don't know how many they have or whether they are humans or werewolves. We need to stop a block away or so."

I nodded. "Good idea, I'll drop half of you off before getting there, then drive by the front and park on the other side. I'll cover the front with the truck. Snake, Scrape and Dagger work your way to the back. Crash, Trigger, you guys take the emergency exit, here's the key." I tossed him my master for the building. Keep the gunplay down outside, and no cuts," I said. "Yell 'DOG' when you're going in. Anyone who isn't club, you take them down."

We worked out a few more details, but the plan was sound. Five minutes later I pulled to the curb and Scrape, Snake and Dagger jumped out, holding their pistols low and against their bodies. I drove past, noting the back gate to the driveway was open. "Fuck, they got in back," I said. I dropped Crash and Trigger off, then turned around and parked across the street. I could see the two at the side door; I got out, my shotgun against my leg as I crossed the quiet street. I made it almost to the front doors, still closed and chained, when I heard "DOG."

I ran around the side through the gate to the back when I didn't hear any gunfire. Scrape was kneeling by Doc, who was laying in a pool of blood in the hallway. He checked his neck for a pulse, and shook his head. "SHE'S STILL ALIVE," shouted Crash from inside the surgery room. I went through the door, squeezing through the opening, and my heart sank as Trigger shook his head no.

Vivian's POV

"I can't help him with handcuffs on," I said to Bruce as we were pulling on to the freeway. "His lungs are filling with blood. The bullets had silver in them, he won't heal if I don't get them out. He's already having trouble breathing."

The leader, this Todd guy, was busy driving and didn't even look back. "Bruce, move her cuffs to her ankles. If she tries anything, shoot out her kneecaps. Don't fucking test me, Doc."

"I'm a doctor, asshole. This is what I'm meant to do, even if it means saving the life of someone I should want dead." He uncuffed me, then put them around my ankles. I was still able to move around, and I opened my kit. "Cut his shirt off, pants too. Roll up the shirt and use it to apply pressure to his hip wound while I work on his chest." He immediately complied; one thing about wolves, they followed the directions of someone in authority, and in medical cases, I was the authority.

Travis started to scream as he pressed down on the wound. "Take the pain, man. We'll get you fixed up."

I drew a sedative, making sure it was enough to knock him out. One at a time, I thought. I injected it into Travis's neck, and he was out in moments. "I don't need him moving around while I'm inside him," I explained calmly. I put a headlamp on and gloves, then laid out a scalpel, clamp and retractor on a sterile towel I put next to him. Quickly making my incision, I started working my way down the channel created by the bullet. It had penetrated a rib, shattered his scapula, then fragments had punctured his lungs.

"I'm gonna be sick," Bruce said.

"Turn around then, but keep the pressure on that wound," I told him. He did, which made my job even easier. I continued to work, keeping up a running narrative of what I was doing. When they stopped paying attention to me, I noticed we were in bumper to bumper traffic. Perfect.

I reached in and removed the emergency sedative autoinjectors. They were werewolf strength, designed to knock out a feral wolf in seconds. I waited until Todd was moving again, then I turned and grabbed Bruce from behind. My right hand clasped over his mouth as my left hand injected the dose into his carotid artery. He went limp almost immediately, and I laid him down quietly, his body over Travis's legs.

I couldn't risk taking the handcuffs off, so this would be fun. Taking the second autoinjector, I pretended to work on Travis again, keeping up the narrative, until he had stopped in the traffic. I lept forward, plunging the needle into his neck.

He tried to shove me off, but the passenger seat didn't let him. I put the vehicle in park, then popped his seatbelt. He was starting to slump down. I grabbed him under the shoulder, pulling him backwards between the seats until he was laying next to Travis. I moved over to Bruce, finding the key and unlocking my cuffs.

I was in the seat and buckled up again before the traffic started moving.

Viper's POV

Vivian was gone. Snake ran up, panicked, confirming my fears.

I walked back into the hallway, looking down at Doc's body in the hallway. His shoulder had been torn up, he had bite marks and chunks out of his arms. His rifle was by his broken right arm. "What do we do? We can't explain this kind of death."

"Snake, go get the truck and pull it in back." I tossed him the keys and he ran out. "Crash, Trigger, carry Kelly out back, set her on the grass by the dumpster. Leave Doc where he is, try not to step in the blood." They carried her out, she looked bad.

I went back in to the surgery room, taking the hose off the oxygen regulator and opening the valve fully. As the big bottle depressurized, I lifted the cover of the incubator and wrapped baby Jennifer in a blanket. She wasn't breathing, she was blue, and I was crying as I wrapped her so her body couldn't be seen.

I walked out with her as Snake pulled in. I handed him the baby, then opened the back and pulled out the fuel can from the back. I ran back inside, spreading the fuel over the couches in front, trailing it back over Doc before tossing it into the surgery room. I got to just outside the back door and took a matchbook out of my pocket. Striking a match then setting the whole book ablaze, I tossed it into the gasoline trail.

The oxygen-rich air caused the flames to burn much hotter than normal. "Crash, you were out getting lunch when you saw the back door open, Kelly was in the hallway, you pulled her out just before the flames came. Trigger, go somewhere and dial 911. Scrape, with me, let's get the fuck out of here."

We pulled out, I could see the flames starting to push through the windows in front. We drove back to the clubhouse, knowing Crash would stay with Kelly, and Trigger would be stuck talking to the cops.

Snake wasn't talking, he was just holding the bundle to his chest, rocking back and forth as his sobs racked his body.

We all felt like shit. A brother didn't deserve to get burned like that, it wasn't right, but it had to be done. It was the only way to protect DeWalt's secret.

A secret that placed our whole club at risk, and a secret that had gotten her wolfnapped.

Ch. 27

Crash's POV

I was holding Kelly in my lap as we sat on the grass by the dumpster behind the old animal hospital. I had my shirt over the hole in her upper right chest, and a towel over the hole in her right shoulder. Viper and the others had taken off, and Trigger was out calling for an ambulance. "Hang on, Kelly, help is coming," I said as I rocked her gently.

She was pale and coughing blood. Her breathing was strained, so I put her down on her good side, still holding the pressure on her wounds. She coughed hard, blood spraying the grass. "Come on, Kelly, keep fighting," I said. "The kids need you. The Club needs you." I prayed for the first time in years that she would be all right, that the help would get here in time.

I could feel the heat from the building now, flames were starting to burn through the boarded-up windows and smoke was pouring out. I looked at the building, then where I was; if I waited much longer, the ambulance may not be able to get back to me. "Shit," I said to myself. "Wrong place to wait for the bus!"

I shifted, picking her up so I could make the run for it. I could hear sirens in the distance, but I couldn't wait. I kept close to the fence, ignoring the heat as I ran through the open gate and along the driveway that went along the side of the building. I could hear and feel the fire building, it was roaring now, consuming everything. I had just made it to the road when I heard an explosion; dropping to my knees, I used my body to protect her as the heat wave rolled over us.

Trigger ran up just in time. "Take her," I said. He picked her up and I ran alongside, holding pressure on her wounds again. We got about a block away and set her on the grass between the sidewalk and the curb, making sure no cars blocked us from view. He set her down, me directing her to her side again, and Trigger ran into the road to flag down the help.

The first to arrive was a police officer; he parked to block incoming traffic, then grabbed his first aid kit. "What happened," he said as he ran up.

"Shot twice," I said. "We pulled her out of the building before it went up."

He tore open some bandages and placed them over the cloths we were using, then used a roll bandage to hold them in place. "Don't you take off the shirt first?"

"Nope, leave it on or you break up any clotting and the bleeding restarts," he said. He called in the situation on his radio. More police were arriving, then an ambulance parked by us and the paramedics took over. "Who is she?"

"Our buddy's wife. He's still in there." He went to call that in, I stopped him. "He's dead. The bastards killed him."

"Who?"

Trigger stepped in front of me. "Don't know, I saw them running out the back as we were walking back from the minimart. They had pillowcases filled with stuff in their hands. Probably hit the drug cabinet."

"We went in the back," I said, "but the flames were already hot. I checked Doc, he was dead, he found Kelly in the surgery room. We barely got her out before the flames made it to the hallway. We couldn't go back in to get him." The EMT's had just finished loading Kelly up. "I have to go with her," I said.

"Go," Trigger said, "I'll stay with them." I followed them to the ambulance, they loaded her in and I jumped in after him. I watched and listened during the ten-minute drive to the hospital emergency room; I didn't understand much, but I could tell they were worried. She had an oxygen mask on, an IV, and the monitor with her blood pressure was alarming every minute or so.

When we pulled up, they had me wait until they were out. The nurses wheeled her in, and I was left in the waiting room. I got shunted to admissions, I couldn't help much there. The only person she wanted was burned in the fire.