West POV.
West did not like hearing Jo-anne talk about sex like that and a draw full of toys? Made him wonder if she actually had one? Most she-wolves did, he knew that, they were all sexual creatures, their sex drives high. It was entirely possible, or was it a dig at him and his draw in his plane.
Volt was up and listening, seemed quite interested in her comments about soaking her own sheets, at all times of the day. Not offended, seemed to make his wolf want to Mate her and prove he could do a better job, than she could. The stupid wolf was turned on, it appeared. West, though it had shot an image into his brain, had pushed it aside and was more annoyed than anything.
They both knew what it was like to have her in bed, and fully turned on and wanting him. The pleasure they’d been able to give her. West shook his head to clear it, nope don’t go there. He told himself ‘yes go there.’ Volt snorted amused at him.
West had been doing his best to stay away from her over the past couple of days, he had buried himself in paper work and phone calls. He even actually left the packs territory to officially open his new airline and have a press conference. Inspected all his planes and check that it was actually ready, he knew it was, but a good long walk around the aircraft hanger had been a good distraction from her.
T.J. showed him where the art studio was to go and it surprised him more than a little. The man had picked out a spot that West would actually walk past on a regular basis, to just sit and be alone. No-one bothered him when he was out here. His Alpha suite would have a full view of it as well.
Though T.J. could also see it from his corner suite. T.J.’s Beta Suite was on the front corner of the eastern end of the pack-house and West’s Alpha suite was on the back corner of the eastern end of the pack-house. Their two suites took up the entire eastern corner of the building.
Not that West had ever used it. He had strolled in and looked at it, it was nice but there was way too much space for him. A 5 bedroom apartment and it was ready to go. He’d, at his mother's instance, picked furniture for it and a colour scheme, had just kept it pretty basic, black and white. Had no actual intention of using it, unless he found his Goddess-Gifted Mate and then and only then would he move into it. Not even Miranda had been inside it. He’d vetoed that pretty darn fast. She was not his Mate, so she was not allowed.
When he got his Mate, she could decorate it at will. He was not fussed either way. As long as it had a large bed for the two of them to roll around in, he did not care about the rest of it.
He did like that he would be able to see the art studio from his office. That was nice, would be able to keep an eye on her, night and day it seemed. He would be able to keep her safe, if he could see her. Volt also liked that idea, knowing where Clova was all the time, settled his beast.
West returned to his office to sign off on the paperwork, mind-linked the contractors within his pack, to let them know and could start clearing the land as early as tomorrow if they had the time. His father had already produced blue prints for the art studio. In his nature to want to design, he had an architecture degree. Designed nearly every building in this pack since he was like 30.
What he’d designed was a single building, all glass down the front side for natural light, it had a full set of 4 folding glass doors that could open up and let the whole place feel the breeze. Though it might be a bit cold in the winter snow. West already knew that would be the side he’d have facing his office. All the glass he’d be easily able to watch her.
The building had a nice sized bathroom, even a bath, a little odd. But it was what it was. There was inbuilt shelving all down one side of the building. And a sunken area, where his father had put a couch, table and chairs for visitors, he guessed. There was a small servery area with a sink and fridge and a few cupboards and had even put in the plans, a coffee machine. He did not know Jo-anne well. The woman did not drink coffee. Tea, hot chocolate and cold beverages were all. And then there was a deck all along the front 2 meters wide and he’d even put in some patio furniture. His father, in full architecture mode, it seemed.
West was going to have to make sure the thing was properly insulated. Likely his father had thought of that and it did seem to have air conditioning was likely reverse cycle. But West would double check any way. Next time he saw his father, he would ask the question.
T.J.’s sudden bolt from his office, knocking over his chair, startled him completely and the pen in his hand had slashed across the page of the contract he was reading through, and would have to get another once printed out. He yelled after his Beta as he’d fled the office and leaned out from his desk to track the man's movements. Got nothing back from him as he’d bolted away from the office.
Frowned, usually only Jo-anne could make the man move that fast, but they had seen her like 20 minutes ago and she had been perfectly fine, had even been chuckling to herself, at his expense no less. But he had let it go, was trying to stay away from the woman.
It could be one of T.J.’s two sisters, he guessed. He was quite protective of all his family members. West shook his head and returned his attention to the contract before him. T.J. would mind-link him if it was urgent or something that needed his attention.
‘West, pack hospital now. Jo-Jo not breathing.’ his Beta’s voice came down the mind-link about 7 minutes after he’d rushed from the office.
‘What?’ West had roared, shot up on to his feet. Why the hell hadn’t he told him it was Jo-anne earlier when he’d run from the office? Volt was already pushing everything he had at West as they to now ran from his office at top speed, leaving the pack-house in the exact same manner as his Beta had. Headed right for the packs hospital ‘not breathing’ what the hell did that mean? She’d been fine like 25 or 30 minutes ago.
He shot through the front doors of the hospital and his eyes fell on her. Lying there, a breathing tube coming from her neck, her neck was completely black and blue already. He could see someone had been strangling her. Those bruises were hand prints, strangling her with all their strength, their wolf had helped. He could see deep claw marks in her neck, whoever had done this had all claws out.
The one who had done this was not out to just hurt her. They were out to kill her. Had likely damned near succeeded, Volt was whining inside his mind for Clova. He tried to calm his wolf. ‘unconscious is all Volt.’
He’d lost his Mate once before and just looking at her, he could feel his wolf worry he might loose her again. They would have to wait and see, but as he focused on her with all his Alpha senses, West could Sense Clova still in there somewhere, not gone just unconscious like Jo-anne.
“What the hell happened?” Patterson snapped before West could get any words out, he was too busy focusing on the woman herself. Why did he always have to see her covered in bruises and all bloodied?
“Heath.” T.J. stated flatly.
West was listening, but still didn’t seem to be able to form words. Watched as Jo-anne was wheeled away from him, latched on to Patterson, he still didn’t know the extent of her injures, he didn’t want to hear it, but needed to at the same time “Is she going to be alright?”
‘Breathing. Crushed windpipe. The Beta was not wrong, but she's got penetrating claw marks all around her neck, still actively bleeding. I have to check those.” then he turned to leave and go and tend to her injuries.
West knew the man would do his job, heard T.J. yell, ‘women only.’ saw the man frown back at the two of them annoyed, then pushed through the door to go and heal her and tend to her wounds.
To hear it was her own father once again. First Jester had bitten her and now this. To try and kill her, and Jester right there with him. Why? Again, it made no sense.
T.J. had actually had the man, but had released him in order to save Jo-anne. That man had known what he’d done. Told his own pack Beta as much. The one man in this pack other than West himself. You didn’t want hunting you over Jo-anne. That sick son of a bitch was going to die. West was going to rip his freaking head clean off his body. Volt was once again aligned with West’s thoughts, he wanted to do it himself. Kind of felt a little odd him and his wolf getting along and agreeing about things for the first time in a decade.
His Beta was trying to talk him out of it, shocked West more than a little, but he unfortunately did see the logic in the man’s words. So did Volt. He nor his wolf wanted either Jo-anne or Clova to hate them. So, instead, he would hunt that bastard down and beat him to within an inch of his life, for the rest of his damned life, till she gave permission. If she never gave it, the man's life was about to become a living breathing nightmare.
T.J. was right about interrogating that man, he had already hurt her once and now to try and kill her, there had to be a reason. He would find out what it was or T.J. would one of them was bound to pull it from him.
The man in question, Heath, he realised had yet to go rogue. That was odd. He had to know at the very least T.J. was coming for him to kill him for the injuries she’d sustained, one bite last time and T.J. had torn strips of flesh off of the man, 10 full lashes, now to try and kill her. The man had to know there was no escape for him.
Heath had to be relying on Jo-anne begging both of them not to kill him, because he was her father. Little did he know. West knew that he was not actually her biological father.
West would tell her the truth, if need be, to gain her consent. T.J, on the other hand, restraining him, might be the bigger problem. He was as pissed off as West was.
West closed his eyes and tugged on that tether inside his mind, that belonged to Heath, shut everything else down in his mind until it was just Heath. The man was running at full wolf speed, it felt like, heading right for the eastern border, he was definitely on the run now. Though without going rogue, West had that bastard locked in his sights in his mind. ‘ You want to run fast you bastard.’ he shot down the mind-link to let him know they were coming for him, let fear eat him alive before they got to him. Told T.J. that he was indeed running for his life.
“ Let's get that mother fucker.” he grated out.
“Let's.” West agreed. Mind-linked Ricky and Cole with the information and all four of them now, off to hunt that son of a bitch down.
West felt the minute Heath went Rogue, it was right at the time he and T.J. were joined by Ricky and Cole. It was also the minute he felt Heath leave the packs territory. A smart decision, to go rogue in pack territory would make him one particular, rotten smelling, foul creature that would set off one alert after the other as he fled across the pack, and any, and all warriors, on duty or not, that was within close enough rage to smell him, would instantly be reporting the smell of a rogue to him, their Alpha, and being going after it themselves a second later.
The man was a border patrol man. He knew how this pack dealt with rogues. Swift, deadly action would be taken against him regardless of who he had come across on his flee to rogue territory.
They found the eastern border Patrol man dead, accounted for why he’d not been stopped from leaving the pack. Or why West had not been alerted to Heath trying to flee. Heath would have known the man in all likelihood, if he was in human form could have just walked up to him to say high and then attacked him. Actually, that’s exactly what it looked like Cole told him. He was a good tracker that one. His Delta had a father who, was the previous Delta, but his mother was a tracker from another pack. From Wests' understanding gave Cole’s dad quite a bit of grief, trying to bring her in to be his Mate. Sedated the man and took off, from West's knowledge, not that, that had deterred him at all. Just pushed him to hunt her with a vengeance. Kicked in all his primal instincts to hunt and claim what was his.
Heath shifted into his wolf form, the second he went rogue, he didn’t even stop to take his clothes off, shredded clothes to be seen. The man had a good 20 minute head start, but that was not going to save him. He and his unit stripped their clothes off, no one in his pack could out run he and his Alpha Unit.
The hunt, it seemed, would continue out into rogue territory. That son of a bitch was not getting away no matter how long it took them to hunt one foul-smelling rouge out in rogue territory, he might now smell like all the rest of the filthy diseased-ridden critters, but they had a distinct advantage. They knew what his wolf looked like. So, even hiding inside a group of rogues would not save him.
The only other problem they had to deal with was they couldn’t kill him. So they had to corner him out here in mountainous terrain, was more difficult than any of them had thought it would be. West could not order him to shift into his human form, and he had tried, used everything he had.
It did not help that in the middle of hunting him they’d had to defend themselves against a roaming pack of 4 other rogues and the man had bolted off once more, and the bloody hunt had to start all over again. Finally caught up with his wolf a second time, 30 minutes after they’d had to fight off other rogues.
Jester himself was quite the agile wolf, suppose he had to be, when dealing with rogue wolves all the time, attacking and taking down rogues on a regular basis, as part of his job inside the pack, made his wolf very alert to all attacks on him.
In the end, West had given the order for all them to attack at once, they were never going to get him one on one without killing him. His wolf did not want to be taken alive and likely neither did Heath. They both knew what they were in for. The four of them had taken to him and he’d not been able to defend against them all. He’d been injured to the point that his wolf could not sustain his wolf form anymore and he was shifted back to his human form.
Then they’d had to haul his unconscious ass all the way back to the pack across Mt Rainier, no less, took hours. Dumped his unconscious body in the cells to let him heal up so they could interrogate the man when he woke up, chained both his ankles to the back wall and left him there.
Night had fallen by now and he and T.J. headed for the packs hospital. He left Ricky and Cole to start the report of their hunt.
Jo-anne was lying on the bed in the Luna’s suite of the hospital, just like so many times before, that breathing tube was still in her neck, under a light sedation, due to having woken up in a panic and ripped it out only to not have Clova back yet, to heal her and it had to be reinserted, had taken Patterson and two of his nurses to get her pinned downed for him to sedate her even before he could reinsert the tube so she could breath.
To his surprise, his mother was sitting in the room, reading a book as she sat there. He’d not told her what had happened. Patterson in all likelihood, he realised. She lifted her head up and looked right at him. “Did you get him?”
“Yes, in the cells.”
“Good, I want a word with him myself. So don’t go killing him just yet.” her eyes moved from West to T.J. “That goes for you as well, Terence.”
T.J. did not say a thing, just stood staring at her and she stared right back at him. Those two were obviously going to have private words about this. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife.
“There will be no killing. Till Jo-anne okays it, or...I tell her the truth about the man, in the hope she will give it once she knows the truth.”
His mother nodded at him. “If you don’t have to, best you don’t. It could hurt her more to find out the truth. She was blood bonded to him, so he is her father as far as she is concerned.”
West sighed, but said nothing. That was a completely normal thing for them to have done. Even he would have done it as the Alpha in charge, with such a young baby, barely days old.
He watched T.J. walk out of the room after his mother and left them to it. He knew the story. How T.J. had claimed Jo-anne and had not wanted her out of his sight, even at just 4 the man was so darn protective of the girl. His mother had taken Jo-anne from him and given her to Heath. The argument they were about to have, was one that would likely take place inside the Luna’s office itself. Private not for all ears.
Probably going to be one hell of a screaming match, his mother might be the Luna, but T.J. had royal blood in him, he could make just about anyone bow down to him, if he so chose to. He was generally so laid back and happy just to be the Packs Beta and 2nd in command that he just never did it. Could put West down if he so wanted to.
Today was likely going to be the acceptation to the rule, and his own mother was in T.J.’s line of sight. West was going to stay out of it, knew better than to get between T.J. and the thing he held dearest to his heart. Letting them sort out their own issues was all he could do. There would be fallout, he’d have to deal with it, he imagined.
West looked at the woman in question, Jo-anne. Lying there in the hospital bed, wound dressings attached to her sleeping body. It was not the first time he’d seen this, though the last time, like this...had been his fault and he knew it. Would never forgive himself for that day.
They had not seen it coming, he or his wolf, and then it had been too late. Her naked and broken body was lying on the ground before him, as he’d knelt before her near lifeless body. Filled with pain and grief, unable to comprehend. Frozen as he’d stared at her broken body, his hands had been out stretched to touch her, but he had not, couldn’t touch her. It was his fault and he’d known it even then. Had no right to touch her.
His parents had been right there, had seen him flying through the pack-house Volt in full control rushing to get to her. They had tracked him knowing on instinct something was very wrong. They had stood there yelling at him, telling him to pick her up, but he couldn’t.
His wolf had been howling in pain inside of him, already knew Clova was lost to him, his connection to her had been severed so violently as he’d run through the pack-house at full Alpha Wolf speed to try and get to her, to catch her before she’d hit the ground, but not even Volt had been fast enough, likely wouldn’t have helped either.
Would have killed them both, but Volt had not cared about that. His only thought was to get to his Mate to try and save her. T.J. had come running, came to a halt, staggered about clutching his chest, staring down at her. Then somehow he had been able to pull himself together and snapped out of it, picked up her body and fled with her to the pack hospital, while West had sat there still on his knees, staring at the pool of blood where her body had been.
West didn’t even remember walking to the hospital. Shock had obliterated it from his memory. Just recalled T.J, had turned on him so violently and they had ended up in a massive fight all wolfed out and trying to kill each other over it right there in the hallway of the packs hospital outside the emergency room.
They had both been tranquillised by his father, the Alpha at the time, and the two of them had woken up in the cells. With his father and T.J.’s father both sitting on chairs staring at the two of them.
West pulled the chair his mother had been sitting on over to the bed and sat down next to her. Not the first time he’d done that either. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. He’d not been able to protect her twice now. Since she’d come home, since he’d made her come home. Forced her to be here, in fact. It was his fault yet again that she was lying here in a hospital bed injured. It may not have been by his own hands, but had been by his own actions.
Patterson walked in and looked at him. “Didn’t I tell you, I hated patching this girl up Alpha.”
West nodded, indeed he had done so. Just a week ago, just outside this very room. “I’m sorry.” he apologised to the man, there was nothing else he could say.
“This is not your fault, West.”
“Yes it is.” he disagreed “She had a contract to live overseas for the next 2 years. I null and voided it and physically brought her back here myself.”
“That does not mean it is your fault.”
“Yes it does.” he again disagreed with the man.
“West...Alpha, it would of only put this off for 2 years, in all likelihood, this has nothing to do with you. Something else is going on.”
It did make sense, he supposed, there didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to why her own father would attack her or try to kill her. For that matter, as far as he knew, she’d had no contact with him over the past decade. Bar these two interactions. The man had been in the cells up until 2 days ago, so it seemed he’d gotten out and come right for her the minute she was out of the pack-house.
This knowledge, however, did not make him feel any less guilty on the inside. He reached out and took her hand in his. His eyes had not left her, not even with Patterson talking to him.
“I’ll take the tube out shortly, Clova is actively healing her, just slowly due to the light sedation.”
West nodded “When do you expect her to wake up?”
“When I actively stop that sedation drip. Alpha.”
Wests eyes moved to the bag of fluids that was hanging by her bed, then turned his eyes on Patterson, “You’re keeping her sedated still?”
“Yes, it's for the best. The Luna approved it.”
That was interesting he thought “When will you be stopping it?”
“Likely when T.J. comes back,” he commented, “Or if that isn’t before I head home, in the morning.”
West sighed and nodded “Fine.” He didn’t argue about it, she would likely want T.J. not him in this room, when she woke up anyway.