Chapter Twelve
Jackal
When I'd pulled the Harley into the sleepy little town, searching for a charming bed and breakfast like the one my new mate had dreamt of spending our wedding night in, nowhere in my wildest dreams had I expected to find one of the rescue Omegas – forget for the moment that he was with a friggin' Alpha werewolf I'd never met – in need of another rescue. Shit.
Vlad was, as always, sweet and supportive; absolutely perfect as he helped me draw them out into the forest and then stood silently, listening as I explained how we would spend the night tracking down help instead of, ahem, celebrating our nuptials. He agreed immediately with no suggestion of temper. Instead of a harsh word or a spiteful look, his sincere concern for those that needed our help was heartwarming, and I immediately fell that much further in love with the amazing being.
As planned, Sebastian and I left Vlad to watch over the oddly incapacitated Alpha as we checked into the only motel in town. I returned to the woods a short time later, leaving Sebastian in the room to dissuade any suspicion, and was only mildly surprised to find Vlad relaxing in front of a roaring fire; the Alpha lashed to a sturdy tree, the ropes well above his claws.
"So..," I greeted my mate quietly as he rose to kiss my lips. "Is everything okay?"
"I don't think so," Vlad answered softly, casting a side glance toward Alrick. "As soon as Sebastian was out of sight, he started to lose it."
I studied the bound Alpha curiously.
"Cupcake, I think I know what's wrong with him," Vlad offered. "If I'm right, it's…not good."
Well, fuck. Of course not. I sighed and pulled my cell out of my pocket for the hundredth time to confirm that I had no service. Shit. I stuffed it back into my jeans.
"Lay it on me, pumpkin."
In all the years that I'd been a full member of the Blood Valley pack – a pack that was known for being able to shave through the hairiest of situations – I'd never once heard the words that my mate was about to utter.
"You think what?"
"I think he's in rut," Vlad repeated patiently for the third time.
"Wolves don't rut," I argued.
"Werewolves do," he shot back. "And this one is exhibiting all of the classic symptoms!" He clucked at me under his breath, something he only did when he was frustrated. "Difficulty concentrating, increasing bouts of aggression, his body temperature is fluctuating wildly," Vlad raised an eyebrow, "and he lost his mind when you left with his Omega."
"His Omega?" I repeated, shaking my head. "They aren't mated."
"Yeah, well," Vlad said with a shrug, "I'm not entirely sure that his inner beast knows that."
"Mmm-kay," I said slowly, still studying the tightly wound -and- bound Alpha. "So what the hell do we do about it?"
"That's the problem," Vlad sighed. "Normally any willing partner would be able to help, but since he's fixated on Sebastian, I'm not sure its safe to try to introduce him to a replacement, even if we could find one."
Vlad pretended not to hear as I unleashed a string of curses under my breath and began to sift through my saddle bags.
"What are you looking for?" His hands settled on my hips as he peered over my shoulder.
"Nozinan," I muttered. "It'll knock him out for a few hours. We can't very well leave the Alpha tied to a tree and, if you're right about this, he could start losing control over his shifts; we need to get him out of sight as fast as possible." Finding the plastic case of pre-filled hypodermics, I chose two and approached Alrick from the side.
"Sorry about this, man," I murmured, plunging both needles into his muscular bicep and depressing the plunger.
Alrick snarled at me, his lips drawing back to expose his fangs, but otherwise didn't react.
"What now?" Vlad asked, his concern evident in the way he was chewing his bottom lip.
"Now, we wait," I sighed, pulling him into my arms. "That's all we can do."
In less than an hour, Vlad and I had the unconscious Alpha propped up between us as we half carried, half dragged him through the dark town to the motel. We were nearly there – it was in my line of vision – when a police officer stepped in front of us, forcing us to stop.
"What's wrong with him?" He asked sourly, jabbing Alrick in the stomach with his baton.
"Too much whiskey," Vlad said with a chuckle. "Taking him to sleep it off."
The officer stepped aside, grumbling under his breath, and let us continue on. I opened the door to the motel room with the second key card – Sebastian, of course, had the first one – and we dropped Alrick into the chair next to the window.
"Jackal? Vlad?" Sebastian's voice came from the bathroom. "Is that you?"
"It's us," Vlad called back, wincing as he watched me pull the ropes from my pocket and retie the Alpha, this time to the frame of the chair.
"Great, I was thinking.." Sebastian answered as he walked into the room, trailing off at the sight in front of him. "Umm, what's going on?"
I caught Vlad's eye and he sighed but nodded.
"Vlad will fill you in," I said. "I'm going to go get the bike."
I pulled the door closed behind me as Vlad spoke up. "Sweetie, you might want to sit down."