Calculated Coldness

Layla

We crashed onto the hood of a car, rolling off and hitting the ground as another gunshot echoed through the air. The back window of the car in front of us shattered, raining shards of glass all around us. Surprisingly, I found myself on top of Axel more than he was on top of me when he twisted to respond to the attack.

With a swift and agile move, he wrapped an arm around me, pulling us up and into the next row of cars. Another gunshot rang out, this time closer. Axel lunged forward and I tumbled to the ground.

I knew Axel had been hit. A wave of pure rage washed over me as Nate stepped between the cars, his intentions clear. He was ready to kill Axel in cold blood. He was going to unload his gun on us.

Before he could fully pull the trigger, I lunged forward. The next shot went wild, slamming into a different car. Nate cried out as my jaws clamped around his arm, nearly breaking it. I was in my wolf form, trying to tear him apart.

He retaliated with a hard punch from his free hand and shifted into his wolf form. We were a tangle of fur and teeth, my white fur standing out in the darkness between the cars, contrasting with his gray fur. We were locked in a vicious fight, growling and yelping.

He managed to sink his teeth into my scruff, yanking me between two cars and into a clearer area. I was smaller than he was, and in my state of anger and rage, I hadn’t thought about using my ability until just then. But as a wolf, it was harder to do. I needed to get a hold on him again.

I tried to twist around, but he shook me like a rag doll, slamming me into the ground.

He lunged at me, aiming for my throat. Others were trying to intervene, but it was hard to tell where the danger was. If there were others with weapons.

Before Nate could reach me, a massive black form crashed into him. I heard the sound of bone breaking as Axel, in his larger form, slammed Nate to the ground. The snap was very audible as Nate yelped in pain.

Axel was relentless. He was massive compared to us and had the advantage of hand-like claws over paws. His jaws were more powerful and tore into Nate. Blood soaked Nate’s fur, and with a powerful hit, Nate slid on the ground away from Axel who darted forward. There was no contest, Axel was clearly the better fighter.

I tried to stand, only to find that one of my legs wouldn’t support me. I was bleeding. I didn’t think it was broken, but the flesh was torn. My gaze shot over to Axel rushing Nate. Nate, realizing he was losing, tried to retreat, but Axel wasn’t having it.

Axel managed to get his jaws around Nate’s neck. He pinned him to the ground with a deadly bite into his throat. There was no way Nate could recover from a bite like that. Axel’s jaws were nearly closed all the way through Nate’s neck. He dropped him and came back toward me, shifting back into his human form.

I shifted back as well when Axel came over, grabbing me and checking me over. There was a hint of fear and panic in his eyes. My hands and eyes were also scanning him for wounds. I knew he had been shot! How was he moving like he hadn’t been?

“Oh my god, Axel,” I said, noticing the bullet wound on his right side. It was still bleeding profusely and I knew it must have torn through something. Or maybe the fighting had made it worse. Yes, he was a super healer, but that was a lot of blood and he fought with that wound like it didn’t matter.

“Are you okay? Let me look at you. Let me see,” Axel demanded, pushing my hand down. He was determined to check me over. I let him, placing my hands on his side and stomach, trying to stem the flow of blood and help him heal faster. He was losing a lot of blood and a moment later, he swayed.

“Fuck,” Axel muttered, placing a hand on his side near my own. I stayed calm as I heard others rushing toward us. I met his gaze.

“Just lay down for me, and let me work, okay? Let me heal you so you don’t keep bleeding internally. Trust me,” I said, and he gave a slow nod, lowering himself to the ground. I heard a fast, hard run and another lycan was there.

Harper shifted back into his human form. He had been inside with the other witnesses as he had brought them. Plus, he was collecting a few things at Axel’s mental request as the hearing ended. The whole ordeal happened in minutes, ending before he could get here.

“Jesus, tell me what to do. What to get,” Harper said, looking at me with concern and then down at Axel. His jaw was clenched, and Axel was starting to look pale. I was doing my best but there was a lot of internal bleeding. The bullet hadn’t passed cleanly through. It had torn through him, causing a lot of damage. It must have been a special weapon.

“I need another healer besides you, get me anyone that can heal. I need a medical kit, a coagulant package if they have one.” I listed off a few more things and more people were coming up. Harper gave a call, moving forward to shout for any medical staff and also a med kit the facility should have.

“We are healers!” someone called, running over. I was so grateful to see them because my energy was getting low. I was pretty sure I had the worst of it slowing down. However, if he moved too much it would tear. I was a good healer, but it took time too. I could see Axel was fighting to stay awake.

The other two knelt down and got to work with me to stop the worst of the bleeding. Then mend enough of the damage so that he could be moved. I swore to God that if any of these sons of bitches refused to give Axel aid for who he was, I would kill them myself. Luckily no one seemed unwilling to help and that kept me focused.

“He’s dead, it was outside the challenge grounds. Axel should be taken into custody once stable. This needs to be investigated,” someone said near us, and I nearly got up to launch myself at the alpha that said it. One that sided with Nate and hated Axel.

Axel was shot and that was the shit they said? Nate attacked us! I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. Harper pressed down and kept me there.

“Stay here, Luna, he needs you. I will deal with it,” Harper said moving from us, and I gave him a nod. Harper was up and immediately moved to the man who was pointing and about to dish out orders.

“The fuck you are going to take him in or to a medical facility in Boutin.” Harper got right in the other alpha’s face. His eyes were black. He did not fear the other alpha; Harper’s presence was strong.

“Stand down, Beta, you have no say.”

I looked over but glanced down at Axel. His eyes had closed. I felt Axel really struggle to stay awake. He did not trust anyone here, but I would fight for him and so would Harper.

It appeared others were on his side too this time. I felt that we were at a good spot with the wound so that Axel could be moved safely for a more thorough healing. Someone dropped a med kit next to me, but I kept listening to Harper.

“I do have a say if my alpha is unresponsive. That piece of shit tried to gun him down in cold blood. That is an absolute challenge. You are going to have another one in a second if you take one step toward him,” Harper said. I glanced up noting that Harper’s eyes were black and a few features threatening a change. That made me look at Harper, he was a beta by choice. I could see that now.

“He was attacked from behind and with no warning using a weapon, Alpha Kenton. No one is taking him to Boutin. That is simply unreasonable. Alpha Axel was well within his right to protect his mate and himself from the attack like any of us would,” another said, and there was agreement.

A few others were covering Nate with a sheet or something. A call going to help get him. This was not a human situation, there wasn’t going to be the same kind of investigation. That was not how it worked. Werewolves disgusted me. One was dead, and another near critical, and this was the shit they were arguing about?

“Harper, help me move him. We can move him if someone can bring us a car. I need to get him to a hospital right now,” I demanded. I was not at all afraid to pull rank on a lot of those here.

“Another is already getting one, Luna Layla.” This was a werewolf from me and Axel’s pack, one that testified for Axel. I felt relieved. The moment that the vehicle was brought close, several helped get Axel into the back. Harper and I helped with a couple of others from our pack trusting no one here.

I was tired, exhausted, and hurt. My one arm was numb but healing; I had the mobility of it as a human, so it didn’t seem as injured as I thought.

I got in the back of the suburban that had the seats down, and Harper was going to drive. Someone tossed in a bag with some clothes, and I reached to shove on a shirt. Axel made a slight sound and moved a little waking as Harper took a fast turn out of the parking lot.

“Layla?”

I instantly came over to him, even though I was tired and sore, and checked him. His wound was still good and healing a bit faster with the attention it received.

“Stay put, okay? Let yourself heal. No macho nonsense right now, Axel, I mean it,” I said, a hint of frustration creeping into my voice. His eyes were shut tight, but he managed a small chuckle.

“Just the two of us?” he asked.

“And Harper,” I added.

“Seriously, Axel, how many lives do you think you have?” Harper’s voice echoed from the driver’s seat.

“Go to hell, Harper,” Axel retorted, grimacing in pain. I bit my lip. Why did guys have to be so stubborn? He could’ve lost his life. He still needed to recover.

“You’re all right, aren’t you?” Axel’s voice was barely a whisper, his strength waning.

“Yes, but you’re not. Save your energy and focus on getting better,” I insisted. I could’ve sworn I saw a faint smile on his face before he lost consciousness again. I stayed by his side, obsessively checking on him until we reached the hospital.

To be honest, I didn’t think Harper was driving fast enough, even though I knew he was pushing the speed limit. All I knew was that Axel had better keep fighting. If he didn’t, I’d hunt him down in the afterlife and make him pay for stealing my heart so quickly, only to shatter it.