Chapter 7 > Even in death, she still captured his heart.

There was a lot of noise in the tavern, different groups having the same conversation about the arrival of Akila's sister appearing in town when Dustin's phone rang.

He removed his phone from his pocket and saw the caller was his brother Mike, upon seeing Mike's cell phone number, he was not surprised, and thought that it was Akila's sister who had already started causing some sort of trouble, afterall she already caused some trouble here at the tarvern.

He really hoped she hadn't escaped from him. "Hello, Mike? Why are you calling now?"

"You've gotta come really quick!" Mike yelled into the phone, his voice breathless, Dustin could hear the pain in his brother's voice over the phone.

"Hey Mike what's wrong? " Dustin jumped up from his chair. "Where are you?"

"Shots been fired. There's a shooter out here and I've been hit,near Morgan's bed—"

The call was cut off.

"There's been gunfire at Morgan's!" Dustin yelled as his heart started to pound so fast against against his ribs, Dustin and Lucas dashed for the door of the tavern,pushing aside some crate of beer as they ran through the door.

Without looking back, Dustin could hear the thunderous roar of boots that followed behind he and Lucas, it seems everyone in the tavern must have left their drinking and gossip behind to follow them.

Dustin was full of fear for the safety of the woman and his brother as he ran towards the hotel, his muscles tensed, in preparation for a fight if necessary.

He already had the burden of his deceased mate to bear, he couldn't afford to bear the burden of sending his brother to his death, no, he wouldn't be able to live with that.

Though an insidious thought crossed his mind,maybe Mike was shot by Akila's sister , maybe she was the one who tried to kill him.

Lucas shouted from just behind him, "Morgans Bed and Breakfast, or the other Morgan's?

"Morgans Bed and Breakfast," he yelled at Lucas, making it clear that it was not the Morgans Hardware store.

"Damn it, Dustin, what now?"

"Another round of Shots were fired and they heard this one. Shit, I didn't know." Dustin blamed himself for putting Mike's life in danger when he should have followed her instead.

His phone rang and he grabbed it from his belt.

"Mike, what the hell..."

"I'm hit deep and bleeding."

"Where are you?"

"Behind..." Mike stopped talking.

In the eerie silence, Dustin and Lucas stopped suddenly, holding their breath expectantly. "Mike? Mike!" There was no response from the other end of the phone , only dead silence.

"Armed shooter somewhere near Morgans. Call for Dr Sam, tell him to hurry, Mike's been hit by a bullet

Dustin yelled at his men.

Baker, a grizzled and unshaven man, who was still in his Black suit — the usual attire for the Silver City bank owner,pulled out his phone. "On it now, boss."

"Were you hit by silver bullets or ordinary bullets?" Lucas asked.

"The call went dead again."

Suddenly, there was more gunshots coming from the distant woods.

Cursing, Dustin sped off again towards Morgans.

"Be careful, guys. I don't know what type of bullet the shooter is using, try not to get hit.

He motioned some people to search around the front of the B&B. Then he, Lucas, and a few others went around to search the back of the building.

"Where the hell is Mike?" Lucas asked in a low voice.

"Perhaps he already passed out."

"I'll kill the son of..."

Suddenly, they heard a groan came from behind the dumpster. Anger burned in his veins as Dustin and Lucas ran around the green trash can, they found their brother in blood..

Mike lay on his back, clutching his bloody head, his eyes blank. "Where did she go? Oh fuck, my head hurts really bad..."

"Tell the others we found Mike!" Darian yelled at some of them as they closed in. One of them handed him a handkerchief. Darian squatted beside his brother, rested his head in his lap, and wrapped the handkerchief around Mike's bleeding wound.

"Are the bullets silver or ordinary?"

"No they are regular bullet, not silver. My body is rejecting the bullet, but it's hurting real bad. Mike closed his eyes. "Where's Asta?"

Two other men came running towards them.

"Dr. Sam is on his way." Baker stuffed the phone into his pocket. "No sign of the girl or the shooter." He raised his Black eyebrows suspiciously. "Are you sure they're not the same person?"

I'm Hoping that isn't the case, Dustin turned to look at Mike for answers.

"No, of course not, they are not the same person." Mike's gaze wandered, and he closed his eyes. "He also shot Asta really bad."

Dustin cursed under his breath. The idea that a madman is threatening the life of Akila's sister twisted his guts. It took him all his strength to issue the next order, and he wanted more than anything to handle the case himself. "Find her and get me that damned shooter."

Anything else would make it seem like he cared more about the Brown's safety than his brother or a member of the Wolf Pack -- and that was certainly not a good leadership quality.

He held the wound, wishing Dr. Sam to hurry up and arrive soon, because no matter what he told himself, this woman looked too much like his late mate to deny his feelings for her.

Even in death, she still captured his heart.

He couldn't restrain his impatience any longer, and shouted loudly: "Where the hell is Dr. Sam?"

Three more gunshots rang out, echoing through the forest, and Akila stepped back in fear. The shooter couldn't see her and he must be shooting at shadows. she hoped.

It was survival of the fittest. That was what she was thinking as she lay in the bushes at the foot of the spruce grove with her back against a mossy rock.

Her thoughts wandered, and the pain of the three bullets that landed on hers heart intensified. Her back didn't seem too good either.

She had survived much worse things than this in the past, Hunter's injuries as a wolf, attempted rape, and near-drowning and now here she was again with 3 bullets lodged into her chest.

Her guardian angel sure worked overtime for her, she prayed he wouldn't give up now.