Chapter Three (Eirika – Cold grave & Mate Bond)

Arric and his ten gammas cautiously made their way through the dense woods, their senses on high alert as they searched for any survivors of the attack on the Ironbridge wolf pack in the region of The Grey Wolves. They were all wearing ski masks to conceal their identities, not wanting to be recognized, and carrying a backpack. As they moved deeper into the woods, Arric caught a fresh sweet floral scent added with the scent of freshly cut grass and earth. And then there was the damning smell of blood - a peculiar kind which made him and his beast; Steelclaw uneasy. He picked up speed, startling his men and they rushed after him as he ran through the forest, skipping dead and fallen logs and swatting aside branches, following the trail of the scent.

Suddenly, he stumbled upon a deep ditch and came to an abrupt halt. One of his men almost collided with him from behind. 

Breathing hard, he looked inside the ditch and saw a bloodied, naked female lying sideways and curled up on the dark sandy ground with one leg caught in the jagged iron teeth of a bear trap. Steelclaw whimpered. The sight affected Arric and Steelclaw in ways he could not describe. 

“Shit!” one of his men exclaimed and made to jump inside but Arric snapped his gaze in his direction and a threatening growl escaped his lips. The other werewolf staggered backward in surprise. 

Reverting his gaze, Arric jumped inside, quickly taking off his backpack and leather jacket. He then gingerly crouched beside her to drape the jacket over her naked form.

“Mate!” Steelclaw growled in his head and Arric felt his heart clenched so tightly it seemed it was going to expire. Letting his gaze trail down her body, they settled on her injured leg and he tore apart the iron trap with a grunt, freeing her leg. Removing his shirt and ignoring the biting cold, he wrap it tightly around the injured leg before reaching for her head, cradling it in his hands as he turned her face so she could face him.

His heart skipped a beat at the sight of her face. He thought she was stunning even though blood and dirt had smeared her face and caked in her hair. 

‘Mate…’ Steelclaw growled again. 

‘Yes … mate,’ Arric echoed.

‘Your father … he is responsible for this. You should have let me kill that fucker!’ Steelclaw raged.

‘Don’t worry … he will pay,’ Arric said in a solemn vow. ‘I just need to take care of her first …’

Steelclaw whimpered in reply.

Gently lifting her, the she-wolf let out a faint whimper, causing Arric to settle his gaze on her luscious lips. He fought the urge to touch his lips to hers and gingerly rest his forehead against hers instead, for about a second, in a somewhat comforting act. He then lifted his head and leaned to the side of her face. “No harm will come to you. I swear it on my own very life...” he whispered close to her ear.

Gathering her up into his arms, he straightened his spine and looked up, “Stand back!” he called out, and his men did as told. He then half shifted into a Lycan and leaped upward and out of the ditch, landing on the edge. 

“Keep looking for survivors,” he said, “I will get her back to Gabriel and come back…" he said. 

“Is she going to make it? Her heartbeat is faint,” Bishop said, giving the girl a concerned look.

“She must …” Arric said, “keep looking,” he added and hurried away. The she-wolf jerked in his arms as if she was drawing her last breath and Arric held her tightly to his massive chest, silently willing her to be strong. 

“You can’t die…” he muttered, picking up speed as he started to run. 

The journey back took about two hours. Once at the base of a mountain they had earlier set camp, he hurriedly to the tent they had set as an infirmary. Calling out to the pack's physician; Gabriel. 

"Alpha? Back so soon…" the older man called out in confusion but then saw the bloodied girl as Arric gently placed her on the examination bed. Gabriel dropped his coffee mug on a side table and called out his assistant; a female Omega as he hurried to the side of the bed.

"Oh dear!" he said when he saw the wound on her chest, stomach, and her mangled leg. 

'`Fix her, now!' Arric growled, holding the older werewolf’s eyes as if compelling him to perform some magic. 

"Yes, Alpha," the older man replied in somewhat understanding. A middle-aged female, quickly came in through the back opening to join them. She quickly peeled off Arric’s leather jacket and wore a white hospital robe for her instead.

Then the two assessed her injuries and the Omega proceeded to clean up her wounds as the physician began operating on her. Gabriel first concentrated on taking out the silver bullets lodged inside her body and then setting, and binding her leg to stop the bleeding. When the she-wolf whimpered in pain. Arric snarled, “Give her some shots, damn it! She is in pain!”

“I have already…” the Omega started to reply, giving him a bewildered stare. Arric knew he was acting out of character but he just couldn’t help feeling on edge at the moment. This was his mate in a near-death situation caused most definitely by his father. He was afraid if she dies he would not be able to stop Steelclaw from going crazy and making him go after his father. Even though the bastard would deserve it. He just didn’t want his death to be by his hand. He didn’t like how his stomach seemed to tie up in knots at the very thought. That would definitely pitch him against his junior brother and he was not ready to burn that bridge just yet or ever.

“Give her more then!” he snarled, interrupting the dark-haired she-wolf.

“Give her morphine, Ophelia,” Gabriel said and shared a look with his assistant who quickly went to bring out some bottled injection fluid. 

Arric paced all through the surgery, causing the physician and his assistant to be a bit nervous. 

“Perhaps you should go and leave her with us. I promise…”Gabriel started to say.

“No!” Arric said simply and continue to pace, intermittently darting his unconscious mate a worried stare. 

Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief when he finally bandaged the girl's ribcage. 

“Now we can let her rest and Ophelia will clean her up…”

“Can I lift her?” Arric asked, ignoring Gabriel.

“Uh … yes,” the older werewolf replied, his eyebrows furrowed in a confused frown.

“I will clean her up,” he said almost to himself, lifting her from the operation table. 

“Alpha … we still have to watch her… she is not out of the woods yet,” Gabriel cautioned.

“She will be in my tent. Do that there,” he replied and left holding her like a precious cargo against his chest.

“He is acting weird,” Ophelia whispered to Gabriel. 

“Yeah, and I think I know why…” the older man said with a smile.

Arric took the she-wolf inside his tent and placed her on his makeshift bed. He then quickly went to get a bowl of water and a towel and came to kneel beside her. He first washed blood and dirt from her hair and then her face and shoulders. 

He avoided removing the white robe Ophelia had worn for her and managed to clean her up. He knew his action was redundant, he had already seen her naked in the ditch and knew she was beautiful and the thought of that made it extra hard to concentrate but he tried his best for her. 

Afterward, he stood at the foot of the bed with arms folded against his naked, massive chest, and just watched her sleep – a bit peacefully now.

“You know she is going to hate me, right?” Arric muttered. 

‘She is ours,’ Steelclaw replied vehemently. Arric let out a sigh. His heart grew heavy. He was a Lycan not a werewolf and mating for his kind was a bit intense and unbreakable. Lycans love till death and if this she-wolf somehow holds him responsible for her people's death. His life was about to be filled with unending misery. He clenched both his jaw and fist in trepidation.