CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Kyle
It still didn't feel real. I drove back to the pack as fast as I could, with Crystal's hand in mine. I couldn't afford to go above the speed limit in case it attracted attention.
James was in pain and Bay was still unconscious. Every now and then she would moan. It was a reminder that she was alive. Against all the odds, we were all alive.
Crystal bit her nail as she stared out the window. She was probably thinking the same thing I was. What the hell had just happened?
Flynn had gone from executioner to savior. I still didn't like him or trust him, though.
How're you doing? I asked James through the mind-link.
I feel like I got hit by a bus, he shot back, his breathing labored.
Bay's groaning increased.
How far out are we? James asked.
I gave him an estimate.
Crystal looked into the back seat.
I think she might be waking up, Crystal told me. I wanted to look back but I didn't want to risk taking my eyes off the road and getting us into an accident on top of everything we had already been through.
Bay groaned again.
The sound from the hit she'd taken from Travis echoed in my memory. He had hit her hard. If she'd been human she would have died on the spot.
Hang in there, I told Bay through the mind-link, not even sure if she could hear me.
The rest of the ride was tense and anxious. Ten minutes away from the pack, I notified them we would need medical assistance when we arrived at the house.
What happened? Uncle Nate asked.
James and Bay are injured.
And Crystal? he asked.
I gave her a sideways glance. There was a slight bruise on the side of her face. She's fine.
At the sight of my home, I felt some relief. When I had left, I never imagined I would return. The gates opened and I flew up the short driveway.
Curtis stood waiting with a couple of the medical staff. I stopped the car and turned it off. Curtis opened the door and helped James out before he turned his attention back to Bay.
"We need to move them to medical," Curtis told me as he moved Bay onto a gurney.
Through all of the chaos, it was only when Curtis and the medical staff left that I saw Keri. Crystal looked between us before she said something about checking on our injured friends and then left.
"You left without any backup," Keri said angrily. Her presence was unexpected.
"I didn't need it," I replied with a shrug.
"Why would you do that?" she snapped. "We're your friends and we have your back."
I smiled. It was so like her to be angry with me.
"The same reason why you faced a beta on your own and nearly died. I did it because I had to."
She continued to glare at me for a few more seconds before her glare wavered and I saw her concern.
"You were worried," I said. She nodded. "Of course I was. You're my friend."
After everything we had been through, the ups and downs, we were still friends.
"Yes, I am."
I walked to her and hugged her.
"I'm sorry," she said, and I hugged her harder.
"Let's leave it in the past, Princess," I told her. I didn't want to waste any more energy on the past.
"How did you guys get out?" she asked as we started to walk to the medical center.
"It's a long story." I wasn't ready to go into all the details just yet.
First I needed an update on my friends. And then I needed a moment alone with Crystal. I rubbed my forehead, feeling the adrenaline that had carried me through the trauma of our incident with the Keepers starting to wear off and I felt tired. My jaw still ached.
Cade walked to me and the sight of my sister beside him made me feel more emotional than I could deal with.
"Kyle," Scarlett said, throwing herself at me. I caught her and gave her a big bear hug. "You're okay."
"I'm fine," I assured her, pulling away slightly to look down at her.
"You're not fine," she insisted, taking in the bruise and slightly swollen side of my face.
"It's nothing," I assured her. James and Bay were in worse shape.
"We're going to have a word about this," she warned with a flare of anger in her eyes.
"It's good to see you," Cade said, slapping me on the shoulder.
"It's good to be back."
Inside the medical center, Curtis was still checking Bay. Crystal stood outside, waiting for the verdict. I wanted to go to her but I needed to see James first and find out about his injuries. I spoke to the nurse and she informed me he had a broken rib they were bandaging to keep in place.
James winced as the nurse tightened the bandage.
"You okay?" I asked.
I'm fine, he answered through our mind-link. How's Bay?
Curtis is still busy with her.
I want you with Bay, he instructed me, just like a protective brother.
"James," I heard someone cry out, and I turned to see Lillian, his mate. She rushed past me to him.
"Lily," James breathed as she hugged him like she was never going to let him go. A groan from him made her ease her arms from around him.
"I was so worried," she whispered, and I felt like I was an intruder in their close moment so I left to check on his sister.
Curtis was just finishing up with her when I walked up to the room. Crystal approached Curtis at the same time I did.
"How's she?" Crystal asked him first.
"It's difficult to give an exact diagnosis. It could just be a mean concussion or it could be worse."
"How will we know?" I asked, not liking the odds.
"We wait for her to wake up," he answered, his expression unreadable.
"Thank you," I said. He gave a slight nod before he left.
"What if she isn't okay?" Crystal asked. Her eyes were wide.
"Bay is strong. She will pull through." After everything we had survived, she had to be okay.
"What's happening with the Keepers?" Cade asked when Crystal and I walked out of the medical center.
"There is no immediate threat but I would increase the fighters and trackers." It was just a precaution.
"Okay," Cade said.
The sight of my uncle striding toward us made me stop.
"You shouldn't have gone on your own," he said, his expression disapproving.
"I had to." My aunt had died at a young age and my uncle had always lived with the fact that he hadn't been able to save her. He understood my actions better than anyone.
I glanced at my mate as she shifted nervously beside me. "Can we get everyone together in about thirty minutes so we can figure out our next step?"
"I'll get everyone in the study and you join us when you're ready," Cade said.
I nodded. I reached for Crystal's hand and clasped my fingers around hers. Together we walked back to the main house and then upstairs to our room. Once inside the quiet of our room, I closed the door and turned to face her.
She tucked her hair behind her ear. She looked like she was preparing for a lecture. Her big green eyes met mine.
"I want to be angry and yell at you," I said as I leaned against the door. "I want to tell you how I feel betrayed by your actions and that this time I truly believed we were goners."
She bit her lip and I straightened up. The bruising on her cheek made me angry that someone had hurt her.
"But honestly the only emotion I'm feeling at the moment is relief," I said as I walked to her, her eyes lifting to hold mine. "This day could have turned out so much worse."
"Bay's not out of danger yet," she reminded me.
"I know. But if she hadn't arrived when she had, all of us would be dead by now. We all owe her our lives."
It was still unreal that we were alive.
"I shouldn't have involved her," Crystal said quietly. I shrugged. Bay wasn't someone who followed orders. She had a mind of her own and she wouldn't have gone along with anything unless she wanted to.
"It wasn't you who involved her in this."
I didn't want to think about Flynn but an image of him appeared in my mind. The moment he changed his course of action. It was unbelievable to actually read what his actions shouted.
For some reason he cared for Bay in some warped type of Keeper way. But something niggled at me. There was something, but I didn't want to think about it now. I cradled Crystal's face.
"You can't keep going off to save everyone," I told her.
Her hands lifted to cover mine.
"I couldn't let innocent people die to save me."
The easy part was understanding the reasoning behind her actions but the difficult part was for the people who loved her that she would leave behind.
I touched my lips to hers and savored our intense connection that flowed through us.
Crystal
Even though we were alive and out of immediate danger, it did nothing to ease the worry I still carried. We still hadn't heard from the Keepers and Bay still hadn't woken up.
Granted it had only been a couple of hours. Kyle was busy updating everyone on what had transpired at the Keepers'.
I was still worried about Bay. James and her parents were in her room with her. It surprised me when thirty minutes later her parents left. I knocked on the door and James told me to come in.
"Can I keep you company?" I asked, taking in her injuries that marred her face.
"Sure," he said. He still looked like he was in pain but our quick self-healing would ensure he wouldn't for too much longer.
The deep purple bruise on the side of her face reminded me of why she was here in the medical center. She had saved us.
We had all seen it happen but I don't think any of us understood why. Flynn had been ready to go along with Travis' plans, he had even been prepared to be the one to kill us one by one. The moment things had changed was when Travis had struck Bay.
To think that Flynn had done what he had to save Bay was imagining the devil with wings singing hymns. I had seen it with my own eyes but I still struggled to believe it. Granted I had harbored hope that Flynn would help us but he had given us over to Travis without a second thought.
Bay stirred slightly and I leaned closer and so did James, his hand supporting his bandaged rib. Her eyes flickered open and she groaned slightly, putting her hand to her bruised face.
"You're okay," James murmured as she began to wake up. He touched her arm as she began to move.
She winced, her face contorted with pain. Her eyes flew open suddenly and she woke up with a start.
"Everything is fine, Bay," I soothed, making her lie back down.
"But…" she began to say as her eyes darted around the room. Her mind was still back at the incident with the Keepers.
"Where am I?" she asked groggily.
"We're home," James told her.
"What happened?" she asked, frowning as she touched her cheek again.
"What do you remember?" I asked, needing to know how much she could recall.
She closed her eyes before opening them again.
"I followed you to the Keepers," she said. I saw the emotions replay in her eyes: fear, and then panic. And then there was a sadness. She swallowed. "That Keeper guy hit me. I can't remember anything after that."
I wasn't a doctor but I would say she seemed to be okay.
"Thank you," I said.
"For what?" she asked, looking puzzled as her eyes went to her brother.
"You saved us," I explained. "If you hadn't arrived and things hadn't played out the way that they did, none of us would be here."
"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head before she groaned and held the side of her face.
"After Travis struck you, Flynn attacked him."
She was quiet, dropping her gaze to her hands. She looked so vulnerable I had the urge to lean closer and give her a hug.
"That swung the fight in our favor."
She swallowed and looked at me. There was a shimmer in her eyes, like unshed tears.
"I'm glad it all worked out," she said, but there was a detachment in her voice.
"For what it's worth, I think he was really worried about you," I said, feeling the need to tell her.
She pressed her lips together. "It means nothing."
I didn't stay much longer after that and I left her with James to go in search of Kyle. He was still in the study, looking out the window, when I entered.
"How did it go?" I asked.
He turned to face me. "Everyone is still skeptical. They want to be able to trust them but until we find out how they are going to handle what happened, we can't."
"He'll come through for us," I said, believing that Harrison knew a way to keep this from blowing into a full-scale war between the Keepers and werewolves. I had no idea how, but I knew he would come up with a plan.
"There's no point in trying to figure out what he's going to do. I'm sure we'll find out soon. In the meantime we're going to keep everyone on alert."
I nodded. It was a precaution that we had to take. He looked tired.
"Bay's awake," I told him. He looked relieved.
"And?" he asked.
"Curtis still has to check her over but she seems to be okay," I said. "She remembers what happened."
"How's she coping?" he asked. I shrugged.
"Physically a little battered but she seems a little sad."
"That's what I was scared of," he admitted. "I tried to tell her what he really was but she didn't want to see it."
Now she had and it had hurt her. Only time would heal her emotional wounds.
"Come here," he commanded, and I obeyed. My feet shuffled over to him and he opened his arms. I leaned against his chest and breathed him in. He closed his arms around me.
"I don't want to let you go," he whispered.
"I don't want you to," I replied, returning his embrace with my arms around his waist. "I want to stay right here with you."
We needed time, just the two of us, without the stress of the current situation with the Keepers.
An image of Travis' lifeless body appeared in my mind. Thank goodness he was dead. Out of all the Keepers, I truly believed his hatred for our kind went deeper than what he had been taught as just a Keeper.
Kyle held me for a little while longer before he pulled away and motioned for me to sit down before he took a seat across from me.
"So how did you find out Harrison was your father?" he asked.
"When I arrived, Flynn took me to see Harrison. When I revealed to Harrison what I was, he didn't seem to be surprised."
"Was he the Keeper who helped you escape with Dean?" he asked, and I nodded.
"Harrison then admitted I was his daughter." I was still finding it difficult to think of him as my father.
I had told my adoptive parents about him. I think they were looking forward to meeting him even though I wasn't sure if that would happen. I relayed the story that my father told me about how he had met my mother.
"They were mates," I told him.
"When I saw Flynn's birthmark, I thought there could be a possibility they had mates like we did. But it is surprising that they can mate with werewolves."
My kind would be the result of those unions. More like me, more powerful than werewolves and Keepers.
"What happened to your mom?" he asked.
Even though I didn't know her at all, I felt a heaviness in my heart when I thought about her and a touch of sadness that I never would.
"She was killed just after I was born," I answered.
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
Few people understood what it was like to grow up without both of your parents but Kyle knew. His parents had gone on the run to escape a madman, Victor Keri's father, and they were murdered. His uncle had raised him.
I swallowed the emotion in my throat as I began to tear up.
"At least I have Harrison," I said. "It's more than I had before."