Chapter Twenty-Two

Sam instinctively stepped in front of Glenna, blocking her from entering the kitchen. The atmosphere was almost sparking from Lana’s anger, and his wolf rose, ready to defend.

“You!” Lana came towards him, shaking her finger like it was a weapon. “I leave you with one job. Take care of a woman who almost died. An invalid. Feed her, talk to her. Let her sleep. That’s all you had to do. And what do I come home to find?”

This was doing nothing to calm his wolf, but Lana was the leader here. She was small, and not a shifter, but she was in charge. He had to maintain his cool. “Lana, I—”

“I come home from staying up practically two days with no sleep to find my patient gone. No note. No idea where she went, or if she was okay.”

“She’s fine.”

“And how would you know? Are you a doctor?” Lana had reached him. He pressed back against the door, away from the threatening finger just below his nose.

A growl rose in the back of his throat and he choked it down. “No, I—”

“No, you’re not.”

Glenna poked her head around his shoulder. “I’m fine, Lana, just tired.”

“There’s my patient. Finally.” She glared at Sam, and then switched her focus to Glenna. Her frown grew fiercer as she fussed at Glenna. “You need rest, not to be out all night.” She turned back to Sam. “You know better. I get home after spending all night delivering babies...baby.” She stopped. Tension suddenly drained from her body and she wavered on her feet.

“Lana, you’re shaking.” He stretched out his hand, but Glenna had already pulled the petite doctor into a chair.

“Was it bad?” she asked.

“Yes.” Lana’s skin seemed stretched over her face. “It was twins, and one didn’t live long. I’m not a pediatrician, I’m a GP. There’s a lot I can do, but someone else should have been there.” Slow tears began to slide down her cheek and she sank her face into her hands. Her next words were muffled. “She should have been in a hospital.”

“Where was her doctor? Why did they call you in the first place?” He took off his jacket and hung it up on a hook.

“They’re at Windy Gap.” Ian came into the kitchen from the back hall. He lifted his face, sniffing at the air and swiveling his head around to stare at Glenna. Sam’s wolf rose. His first instinct was to get between Glenna and his partner and drive the other man away. Then Ian seemed to shake himself off. He spoke, his face grim. “Sam, there’s a fire.”

Fire.

The acid taste of bile rose into his throat, followed fast by panic. Gabe, Serena, his folks, everyone he loved was at Windy Gap.

“How bad is it? Are they—” He couldn’t finish.

“They’ve evacuated the ranch, but the fire’s still moving in their direction.”

He went for his jacket. “Why, the fuck did no one call?”

“It happened fast, and we’re on quiet mode with her here.” Ian gestured to Glenna, hovering next to Lana’s chair. “I guess they thought we knew.”

“Damn it! We were at Ridge School tonight and no one said a fucking word. They must have known.”

“They knew.” Ian gave him a sympathetic look. “Alastair should have told you.”

“He would have told me if I hadn’t....”

If he hadn’t been growling at the spelltalker from the moment he’d stepped into the school. If he hadn’t been so riled up by Glenna. If he’d had his head in the game, Alastair would have had no choice but to fill him in. Instead he’d kept it all to himself, making sure Sam would stay on task. The manipulative son of a bitch.

And why had Alastair set him off so completely anyway? He wasn’t a shifter. He couldn’t have smelled Glenna’s sexy change scent. He shook his head. None of this mattered now—he had to get to his pack.

“Hadn’t what, Sam?” Lana frowned. She was too sensitive by far for someone who was a dormant. If he wasn’t careful she’d pick up on how thin his control actually was.

He pulled his coat on. “I didn’t hang around for small talk after we found the kid.” He’d wanted to get back to Glenna and it had blinded him to everything else. She was screwing up his life, screwing up his head. But now he had a job to do. “Ian, you’re on point.” He headed for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Lana’s sharp question stopped him before he’d taken more than a step.

“Windy Gap will need every hand they can get. You’ve got Ian.” He gestured at his partner.

“They’ve got every doctor and medic from Ram’s Haven, and damn near every enforcer in the state. You’re staying here.”

The raw tension singing in his veins throbbed. “I’m needed there.” It came out as a guttural growl and he moved fast across the kitchen, using his bulk and muscle to loom over Lana. Ian moved towards him, almost but not quite challenging him, but Sam didn’t budge.

“You’re needed here. It’s not your decision.” Lana stayed in her chair, her eyes flashing authority.

“It’s my home.”

“Not any longer.”

The hairs on Sam’s skin lifted. He ruthlessly pushed the shift down deep. He was not going to lose control in front of Lana or Ian. They’d have him locked up in a second if they thought he was a threat.

“Sam, they don’t want you there. You’re a loose cannon.” He could hear the stress in the beta’s voice, the underlying entreaty not to do something stupid.

The only sound in the quiet room became his harsh, panting breaths and the tick of the clock as he struggled to for control. “But they’re my pack.” His pack, his family, his twin.

“No. They’re not. Not anymore.” Lana stood up, easing around to get out from under his still aggressive stance next to her chair. “We are. And we need you here.”

His aggression died so suddenly his knees went weak.

His pack didn’t want him. Of course they didn’t. He’d nearly killed Gabe, forced a mating bond, and gone crazy with the grief. Who would want him? He stumbled into the chair Lana had vacated.

He’d stay here. He’d stay with his new pack. Even though his wolf’s heart was still with the old one, he had nowhere else to go.

“You’re right.”

There was an almost palpable rush of relief in the kitchen.

“Why did you take her with you?” Lana’s voice was soft now, as if she didn’t want to wake his slumbering wolf. “What went down at Ridge School?”

He swallowed hard. “I took her because you said not to leave her alone and I had to go. School was in an uproar and Alastair called here for help. Said no one else was available but he didn’t explain why. Shit!” He slammed his hands on the table, not even feeling the sting. This time the anger shot through him fast and hard. His wolf responded, pushing to get out and take out the enemy. “Alastair had to have known Windy Gap was on fire when he called and he didn’t even tell me then. Fucker is smooth.”

Lana flinched. Damn, he’d forgotten Alastair was her cousin, but right now, he didn’t care. “He lied to me, Lana, told me he didn’t know what was up. I should have smelled the lie on him.”

If Alastair hadn’t honed in on Glenna like she was a bottle of fine scotch and he was thirsty, he wouldn’t have noticed. His wolf had wanted to take Alastair on. Over a too-skinny woman he’d just met, who hadn’t even gone through her first change and wasn’t committed to the pack. Christ. His wolf sure could pick ‘em. Thank God he wasn’t too far gone and this time he could see the danger.

He growled.

“Work it off, Sam.” Lana stared him down. “You do a quick patrol of the perimeter. I’m headed to bed. Anything strange, wake me up.”

Sam smothered his rage. He had to. This was his last shot at a pack. Without Ram’s Haven taking him in and giving him a chance, he’d be running wild, lost.

“Yes, ma’am.” He walked past Glenna without looking at her, and went out on to the porch. He had to keep his cool before he did anything reckless.