Cyndi sat in the corner of Silvers, watching everyone having a good time and sipping her Bud slowly while Connie played pool with some of the guys. Her friend was in her element, laughing and joking while she sank ball after ball and the guys shook their heads and called her a shark.
So far they hadn’t paid for a drink, although Cyndi was taking things slow as usual and Connie was doing the opposite . . . as usual. It wasn’t that she got drunk, being Shifters meant they could drink a fair amount before that happened, but Cyndi liked to keep her wits about her at all times. Or, as Connie put it . . . she just didn’t let loose. Whatever. Cyndi was too well aware of what happened when too much booze and drugs were in the mix. She’d grown up in a house where that was the norm and it wasn’t a happy home so what if she liked to keep a tight rein on her drinking? It was her decision and nobody else’s.
Connie potted the winning ball, again, giggling and holding her hand out for the losers to hand over her winnings. One of the guys grumbling as his friend slapped his back. “Hey, she beat us fair and square, buddy.”
“She always beats us,” his friend moaned before slapping some notes into Connie’s palm.
“If you can’t afford to lose then don’t play,” Connie quipped back, grinning before skipping back to their table, waving her winnings above her head. “Another round, Cyn?”
“I’m good.” Cyndi held up her glass. “But grab me some chips.”
“Okay.” Connie weaved her way through the throng of bodies toward the bar.
The place was packed, as usual for a Friday night, with everyone having a good time, the noise level high, too high for Cyndi, but she put up with it for Connie. She watched as her friend flirted outrageously with Cody at the bar and then with several more guys on her way back before giggling as she sat down and throwing Cyndi’s bag of chips over. “Here you go. Are you sure you don’t want another drink?”
“Nah, I’m sure.”
“Party pooper.” Connie took a long draw from a multi-colored concoction.
“What the heck is that?” Cyndi shook her head, eyes wide as she tried to figure out what her friend had ordered.
“No idea. Cody made it up for me, said it was special just for me.” Connie grinned, her hand rising to her brow as she pretended to swoon. “I wish he was my mate. Boy do I wish he was. Could you imagine having him in your bed every night? Damn! I’d never want to leave the bedroom, that’s for sure.”
“Connie!” Cyndi couldn’t help but laugh at Connie’s antics. “You’re nuts, you know that?”
“Yeah, I know, but he’s so dang hot and I’ve not even had a kiss for months. I’m a hot blooded girl and I’m not meant for a nun’s life, Cyn.”
“You definitely don’t live a nun’s life!” Cyndi snorted.
“Well, I feel like I do, especially lately.” Connie groaned. “I—”
And that’s when all hell broke loose . . . the door to the bar swinging open and a couple stumbling in, blood streaming from wounds on both of them. But it was the guy who was the worst, his clothes shredded to pieces, claw marks all over his body and the young woman he was with barely managing to hold him up. Her screams silencing everyone in the bar as all eyes focused on them. Cyndi stared for several seconds before her Healer training kicked in and she jumped up, racing forward, jumping clean over a table as Cody leaped across the bar as shouts and roars erupted all around them.
“What the fuck happened?” Cody shouted as the girl sobbed when Cody gently took the weight of the guy from her. “Hey, I’ve got him, it’s okay, I’ve got him.”
Cyndi did a quick check of the girl, not recognizing her and knowing she wasn’t from her own Pack. “You’re going to be all right. Your wounds are superficial and will heal quickly, but we need to know what happened. Can you tell us?”
Her eyes stayed locked on the man in Cody’s arms, but she nodded. “Rogues. Rogues attacked us outside. The parking lot is full so we had to leave the Jeep on the road and when we were walking back, they just appeared out of nowhere! They attacked for no reason . . . we didn’t do anything. I promise! We didn’t do anything!”
Cody started to bark out orders as he hefted the injured man up easily. “Ricky, get out there with some men and see if you can find those fuckers. If not, see what way they went and let me know, but I need to know the area is safe. Jonesy, call every Pack Alpha and alert them to what’s happened and tell them I’m shutting down the bar and sending everyone home. Anyone that’s not got a ride will be escorted home by Ricky or Spencer, so it may take some time for everyone to make it back. Tell them not to worry, I’ll guarantee every single person here will get a ride home. I’ll inform this guy’s Pack as soon as I find out who he is. For now, everyone stays inside until my men make sure the area is safe.”
Cyndi watched as Cody’s men rushed to do his bidding, but by now the Shifters in the bar were growing restless. Some were growling, snarling and ready to rush out to hunt down the rogues who’d attacked the young couple. Cody was having none of it though. His voice low but firm as he addressed everyone. “Nobody leaves. You hear me? I said nobody leaves this fucking bar. You stay here until we know it’s safe. I will not have any more blood spilled tonight and if anyone has a problem with that, then you’ll have to go through me. If any of you think you’ve got it in you, then step on up. If not then grab a drink, on the house, sit your asses down and let me, and Cyndi here, help this guy.”
Cyndi wrapped her arm around the girl’s shoulder, ushering her after Cody as he strode toward the hallway at the side of the bar. “My office, Cyndi, I’ve got some first aid supplies there. You can have a look at him there and we can get some details from . . . sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t get your name?”
“I’m Mercy, we’re from the Blue River Pack. It’s the first time we’ve come here, but we’ve heard ‘bout it so often, and Jerry kept promising to bring me, and I was moaning ‘cause he hadn’t and it’s my birthday tomorrow and . . .”
Mercy started to sob, tears streaming down her face and her words becoming unintelligible but both Cyndi and Cody got the message. Mercy was babbling and Cyndi could tell she was going into shock. No wonder, it must’ve been terrifying to be cornered by rogues when all the couple had wanted was a night out.
“I’ll contact your Alpha,” Cody said but then Mercy almost collapsed in Cyndi’s arms as she wailed louder.
“You need to save him! I only found out today . . . I’m pregnant! We mated last month and . . . I’m pregnant. I can’t lose him, please, please . . .”
“Fuck!” Cody cursed as he kicked open his office door, rushing in and gently placing Jerry on the old sofa before retrieving his first aid box. “Cyndi, here.”
Cyndi led Mercy to the armchair next to the sofa, forcing her to sit down. “Mercy, you need to breathe, and try and relax. It’s not good for the baby, honey. I’m going to work on Jerry now and Cody will get in touch with your Alpha.”
Mercy’s hand shot out, grabbing Cyndi’s arm with a vice-like grip. “You’re a Healer?”
“Not quite. I’m training to be a Healer, but I’m all that we’ve got at the moment, honey, and I’ll do my best.” She turned to Cody. “Can you get her some brandy? I think she needs it.”
“What about, you know . . . the baby?” Cody whispered.
Cyndi motioned with her head, leading Cody over to his desk. “She’s going into shock, she needs a damn brandy and one isn’t going to hurt.”
“Okay,” he answered. “I’ll be right back.”
Cyndi returned to Jerry, noticing that Mercy had drawn her knees up, her color even paler than before as she stared wide-eyed at her mate. “I’m just going to check Jerry over and see what’s going on. Then I’ll see what I can do to help.”
She went to work, looking at his most serious injuries first and using the supplies at hand to stem the worst of the bleeding. He had deep gashes almost everywhere, some were gaping and deep, ripping through tendon and muscle to give her glimpses of bone. Her stomach clenched and for a brief moment she thought she’d throw up, but then she heard Caitrìona’s voice in her head coaching her on how to deal with severe wounds. Her hands and mind seemed to go into auto-pilot as she worked quickly, and as soon as Cody returned she started to order him around. “I need some more supplies. I have to stop this bleeding so he has time to start healing by himself. Do you have anything I can use? Towels that you can cut up into strips will do, clean obviously.”
Cody gave Mercy the large brandy, urging her to drink it down before answering. “Sure, there’s plenty in the supply room. Give me a minute and I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry up, he’s losing a lot of blood here,” Cyndi snapped as she pressed hard on a particularly severe wound.
Cody rushed away, using his enhanced speed so that he was barely a blur and was back in seconds, already tearing the towels into long strips and handing them to her. “Thanks. Can you remove these tattered jeans so I can get these on him, and see the rest of him more clearly, please?”
Cody did as she asked, and as soon as he did he cursed again. “Fucking hell. They really worked him over. What the hell was the point of this?”
Cyndi uttered the word that was rolling around in her head. “Fear. They wanted to instil fear in us and I’d say they did the damn job pretty well, Cody, ‘cause I’m scared witless.”
“Really? Because you’re doing a good job of hiding it and if I didn’t know better I’d say you were a fully trained Healer too.”
She shook her head as she continued to work on Jerry. “Smoke and mirrors, Cody, smoke and mirrors. I suggest you get in touch with their Pack and get a proper Healer here as fast as you can.”
“On it and I’ll be calling every Alpha in the area. The shit is gonna hit the fan after tonight, that’s for damn sure.” Cody strode to his desk and picked up his phone and started to place calls as Cyndi continued to do her best for her first real patient.