Chapter 5

Blood and Bond

The clinic's front window was shattered, glass glittering like fallen stars in the parking lot. Blaze scented the air as he approached – blood, fear, and underneath it all, Maya's distinctive desert sage sweetness tinged with pain. His wolf nearly took over right there, the need to destroy whoever had hurt his mate almost overwhelming. He wanted blood for her pain.

He found her in the back treatment room, pressing a blood-soaked towel to her shoulder. Her honey-gold hair had come loose from its braid, and a bruise was darkening along her cheekbone. But she was standing, and her eyes were clear and alert when they met his.

"The prospect," she said immediately. "They tried to get to him. I couldn't—" She swayed slightly. She didn't look good. Her body trembled.

Blaze crossed the room in two strides, catching her before her knees buckled. The contact was electric, the mate bond singing between them. This close, he could see the fine tremors running through her body, smelling the metallic tang of her blood mixed with something wrong. Something chemical. Wolfsbane, maybe.

"Maya." His voice was rough. "What did they do?"

"Wolfsbane." She managed a weak smile. "In the bullets. I recognized the burn. My grandmother taught me... taught me how to..." Her eyes started to unfocus. Fuck she wasn't doing well at all. Wolfsbane spread through you quickly unless it was pulled out. The healer would help her, and he would claim her.

His snarl echoed off the clinic walls. Wolfsbane bullets were outlawed in their territory. The Blood Moon MC had just signed their death warrant. He would kill them all.

"I got the bullet out," she continued, professional even now. "But I might have missed some fragments. The prospect is safe... I hid him in the secure room when I smelled them coming. Grandmother always said... have a backup plan..." She was smart and beautiful his wolf said softly he was already in love with her.

She slumped against him, her skin burning with fever where it touched his. The wolfsbane was working its way through her system. Without thinking, he pulled her closer, pressing his face into her neck where her pulse fluttered like a trapped bird. His wolf whined at her pain.

"Stay with me, little wolf," he growled, scooping her up. She felt so small in his arms, but he could feel the strength in her even now. She'd stood her ground, protected his pack member, faced down armed attackers alone. She got hurt and that pussed him off those fuckers shot her. She put up a fight and he couldn't be prouder of her. She even protected a pack member without a second thought.

His mate. His brave, fierce mate.

Ghost appeared in the doorway, eyes widening at the sight of Maya's condition. "Boss, we've got their trail. Tank's leading the first wave to their clubhouse."

"Call Moira," Blaze ordered, naming the pack's healer. "Tell her to meet us at my place. And Ghost?" His eyes burned alpha-gold. "Find out who gave them wolfsbane bullets. I want names."

Maya stirred against his chest. "The clinic... my patients..." She wasn't even worried about herself he fumed. She worried for her patients and he knew deep down he made the right choice.

"Shh." He nuzzled her hair, not caring that Ghost was watching. The mate bond demanded contact, demanded he comforted her. "Pack takes care of pack."

"'M not pack," she mumbled, the wolfsbane making her delirious. "Just the new vet. Just... nobody important..."

The words cut deeper than any bullet. What had happened in her past to make her think she was nobody? To make her hide her strength behind such careful walls? She was acting like she wasn't important.

"You're mine," he growled, too quietly for anyone but her to hear. "My mate. My wolf. And when you're better, we're going to have a long talk about exactly how important you are." He left her no choice but to agree. She nodded and hissed in pain.

He felt her surprise in the way she tensed, then melted against him. Her small hand fisted in his cut, holding on as if she was afraid he'd disappear. The trust in the gesture made his wolf howl in triumph.

Looking at Ghost, he added, "Post guards here. No one touches her clinic. And call Tank – tell him no one makes a move on Blood Moon until I get there. These mutts attacked my mate. I want to handle this personally."

Maya's breathing had grown labored, her skin too hot where it pressed against him. He needed to get her to Moira, needed the wolfsbane out of her system. But first...

He looked down at her face, at the quiet strength there even in unconsciousness, and made a decision that would change everything.

"One more thing," he told Ghost. "Call a full pack meeting. Tonight. It's time everyone knew exactly who Dr. Maya Sterling is to me." He would make it loud and clear he was choosing his mate and Roxy could get bent.

Ghost's scarred face broke into a rare smile. "About damn time, Boss." He felt the tense feeling lift a little.

Blaze carried Maya to his bike, keeping her secure against his chest. The mate bond hummed between them, growing stronger with each passing moment. His wolf was fully present now, focused on one thing: protect, heal, claim. He would make sure she was safe and cared for.

Roxy and pack politics would have to wait. The Blood Moon MC would learn what it meant to attack an alpha's mate. And Maya...

Maya would learn that she wasn't nobody. She was everything to him and his wolf. She would learn he was all in when it concerned her. Would the road ahead be easy? Fuck no but he was going to fight for them. She was going to be his heart, body, and soul.

As long as he could keep her alive long enough to tell her. She was going to be his world.