“They’re ghost, like me. I got to know them a little bit earlier today. They come and go at different times, but they like to gather at Charlie’s and play poker. Usually after it closes, but they’ve been hanging around to watch over the place. They felt that bad vibe too and are doing their version of patrolling. You won’t see them unless they want you to. They’re not out to spook people, they consider themselves to be protectors. As I said, they’re just visitin’.”
Devlin spoke up. “Wait, how long ago did they feel this vibe? Did the evil presence follow you or was it already here?”
“I didn’t ask. Hold on, I’ll be right back.”
Devlin sat back down beside Olivia and took her hand, squeezing gently. “I want you to stay here tonight. If this guy has the power to toss Niall on his ass, I can’t imagine what he would do to you. He’s a sicko who likes to attack women, and I don’t want you in his sights.”
Lisa sat on her other side and spoke softly. “We have plenty of room, and we’d all feel much better if you stayed here.”
“I could make us both feel better if you stayed in my room,” Devlin muttered.
Olivia ignored him and glared at Niall and Rafe when they both snorted in laughter. “Thank you, Lisa, I appreciate it. I do need to go back tonight and get some of my things though. ”
“I’ll get them, you stay here where it’s safe,” Devlin announced.
She was already shaking her head no. “I’m going,” she stated flatly. Olivia did not want him packing up her toiletries as some things were too personal, and he was still a stranger to her.
Devlin started to argue when Jack appeared before them. He had a grim look on his face.
“They noticed him here about a week ago. That’s why they’ve been showing up. I think that’s why I’ve been pulled here too. I’ll need the extra power the water provides to take him on.”
“Relax lad, we’ve got your back.” Niall turned to Devlin. “You need to do your magic with computers and see if you can dig up anything on Jack while I take Olivia to get her things.”
“Oh, hell no. I’m taking her. I’m not letting her out of my sight,” Devlin snarled.
Rafe laid a hand on Devlin’s shoulder. “Go. You can start your search as soon as you get back.”
* * *
Devlin found a spot across the street from the bar and whipped into the space, parallel parking. Niall climbed out and surveyed the area before nodding to Devlin to allow Olivia out. He wrapped his hand around her waist and hurried her across the street and into the bar.
“What’s the rush?” She asked, yawning. She was ready to fall into bed, wanting to sleep and let go of all the worries of the day.
“I want to get you back to the castle in case he shows up again.” Devlin barely acknowledged Hank as he bolted up the stairs and pulled her along behind him.
She was breathless when he reached her room. “I’ll hurry.” Since she hadn’t even unpacked her clothes, she hurried to the bathroom and shoved her toiletries back into their bag and was ready to leave. Devlin had her other bag in his hand where he waited by the door.
“Niall is waiting downstairs, let’s go.” Devlin opened the door and rested his hand on the small of her back, propelling her along.
Olivia had her foot on the second step when she felt it. Someone was watching her. She froze for a moment when she realized Devlin no longer had his hand at her back. Grabbing the railing, she looked back to see him bent over holding his stomach. “Devlin!” she screamed.
He straightened in time to see Olivia turn around and start back to him. Then, in a moment that would haunt him forever, he saw her arms pinwheel as she fell backwards and tumbled down the stairs.
Ignoring the pain burning in his gut, he ran to the stairs, leaping several feet to land at the bottom where Olivia lay unconscious.
The bar grew quiet as everyone saw the woman’s twisted body lying at the bottom of the stairs.
“Olivia,” Devlin whispered. He could barely speak as he reached to pick her up.
“Doona move her.” Niall grabbed his arm, holding him back. “She may have broken her neck.” He stated grimly. Seeing Hank, Niall yelled. “Call fer an ambulance.”
“Ross is here, he’s playing pool in back. He’s a paramedic.” Hank ran from the room, returning quickly with Ross, who squatted beside Devlin and reached for her wrist.
Devlin sat back on his knees, devastated as he watched Ross do his evaluation.
“I can’t be certain, but I don’t think her neck is broken. See the way her arm is twisted? Looks like her shoulder took the brunt of her fall, and I think it’s dislocated. She may have a concussion since there’s a bruise forming on her forehead. I won’t move her until the ambulance gets here with a collar. Too bad she hasn’t been changed, she’d already be healed.” Ross shook his head sadly.
“I just met her, there hasn’t been time.” Devlin stroked her cheek, willing her eyes to open. He could hear the siren in the distance.
Niall moved everyone aside as the stretcher came through the door. Ross was a member of the Wolf Creek Fire Department and started giving orders to his brethren for a collar and backboard.
Once the collar was in place, Ross held her head steady as they rolled her onto a backboard. Once loaded into the ambulance, Ross had to implore Niall to keep Devlin out of the vehicle.
“There’s no room lad. They need room to work. Come on, I’ll drive. We’ll stay right behind the ambulance. Give me yer keys.” Niall jerked Devlin away, dodging when he swung at him.
Devlin growled as the doors slammed shut, and the siren started up again. He ran to his pickup and felt Niall shove him aside and over to the passenger seat. “You’re in no condition to drive.”
Grabbing the keys, Niall started the truck and peeled out, tires screaming. He quickly caught up to the ambulance and stayed on her tail. “Call Rafe, tell him what happened.”
Devlin pulled his phone from his pocket to call his brother. The short conversation ended with Rafe and Lisa leaving to head to the local hospital.
“What happened?” Niall asked, staring grimly at the road.
Devlin raked a hand through his hair. “We left her room, and she was in front of me. Out of the blue, something punched me in the gut. I’ve been punched before, no big deal. But this was different. I felt like I was on fire, like my gut was burning from the inside out.”
“Lift your shirt.”
Devlin reached up and turned on the cab light before raising his t-shirt. He let out a low whistle. “Damn, look at that.”
The red tint on his stomach looked like a rash. “How the hell did he do that?” The injury was already healing, although slower than normal.
“My best guess? When this guy died, demons were waiting for his soul. We know he dinna go to a good place. There are all kinds of evil in the nether world. Who knows what friends he may have in that realm?” Niall asked.
Devlin didn’t give a crap about this guy at the moment. All his concentration was on the ambulance they followed as it backed into the bay area for emergency vehicles. He barely waited for Niall to stop before he jumped from his seat to follow the gurney through the sliding doors.
“Sir, you can’t go in there.” A tiny woman, dressed in scrubs slapped her hands on his chest.
Devlin recognized her as one of his pack. “That’s my mate.” He was about to order her to step aside when Niall spoke from behind.
“You’d just be in their way. Come on lad, you ken she’s in good hands here since this hospital is run by yer pack.” Niall gripped his shoulder, trying to pull him towards the waiting area.
“I’ll check on her now and I will update you as soon as the doctors have checked her out.” The nurse dropped her hands, hoping he would not rip her apart for defying him.
Devlin was about to pick the small woman up and move her bodily aside when Rafe and Lisa came through the doors.
“Devlin! Do not touch her!” He grabbed Devlin’s other arm so that he and Niall could pull him over to the seating area where Rafe shoved him into a chair.
Rafe nodded to the nurse. “Go, find out her condition and come back immediately and tell us how she fairs.”
Rafe stood before him blocking his view while Lisa sat beside him and took hold of his hand.
“I know you aren’t thinking straight brother, but you know better than to touch a shifters’ mate in anger. Her mate is one of the doctors who run this place for us.” He waited until Devlin acknowledged him before sitting down.
Niall moved to sit beside Rafe and tell him what had happened. “I’ve no’ dealt with anyone in the death realm before.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “I dinna know who to contact for help.”
“A psychic maybe?” Lisa asked.
Devlin tuned out the conversation around him, staring anxiously at the area beyond the nurses’ desk. She’d only been in his life a short time, and now he could not imagine living without her. He felt lost, not knowing how to fight an invisible enemy. Jack, he thought as he surged to his feet. They needed Jack to protect her.
“Jack, you here?” He glanced around the room, thankful there were no humans in the waiting area.
If Jack was in the room, he was keeping silent. Devlin concluded he wasn’t in the room and zeroed in on the same nurse as she came through the door.
He saw her give a small nod to her alpha before turning to Devlin. “She’ll be fine. The doctor will be out in a minute to explain her injuries. Thankfully she did not have any major concerns.”
Devlin exhaled noisily in relief. “I need to see her.” He started towards the door as it was pushed open, and the doctor halted in front of him.
He gave a nod to his alpha before speaking to Devlin. “She has a dislocated shoulder. The x-rays showed no broken bones and the CAT scan we did on her head was negative. Only a slight concussion, but we want to keep her overnight.” He paused, grinning when he heard Olivia’s loud singing beyond the glass nurses station. “She’s feeling pretty good right now. Hence the singing.”
Devlin was finally able to relax and smiled at James, their pack doctor before shaking his head ruefully. “You call that singing?”
They all chuckled at the tone-deaf rendition going on in the back.
“Before you head back there, you need to know I’ve put her arm back in its socket, but she will need to wear a sling for about six weeks. Normally I would have an orthopedic surgeon see her since she’s human. But, I’m assuming you’ll be mating her, and she won’t need a surgeon or the sling for very long.”
Devlin knew he needed to move things along. She was vulnerable as a human, and she needed the protection and strength being a wolf could give her.
He nodded to James. “Yes, I’ll be changing her as soon as I can convince her to accept me.”
By the time they got to the back, an orderly was rolling her bed down the hallway to a private room.
“Devlin! Hiya my little wolfie bear.” Olivia had a huge, goofy grin on her face.
Devlin went over and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I would ask how you’re feeling, but it’s obvious.”
He stroked her arm as the orderly wheeled her into the room. Devlin waited to speak until the door shut behind the orderly. “When you’re better, I need to change you. You’ll need the strength and healing your wolf can give you.” He knew she would not remember the conversation, but continued anyway. “I cannot stand seeing you hurt this way.”
Olivia nodded adamantly. “You’re right.” She tilted her head back, exposing her neck. “Bite me baby.”
Devlin snorted. “I’m not a vampire.”
There was a light tap on the door, and Lisa poked her head around, followed by Rafe. They both went to stand on the opposite side of the bed.
“Hi! I’m about to become a wolf!” She announced happily.
Lisa giggled while Rafe looked to Devlin. “It’s the drugs,” Devlin said simply and grinned.
“Oh, look at the dots on the ceiling. They’re moving! Do you think I could play some pong?”
Rafe looked to James as he came into the room. “Is this normal?”
“Yes, it’s the morphine. We adjust for weight and height, but some humans have a high or low tolerance for meds. It seems Olivia falls into a very low category. She was in a lot of pain before I put her shoulder back in place.” James placed his stethoscope on her chest. “We’ll watch her breathing, but her stats are good. She’ll fall asleep soon, and we’ll be monitoring her throughout the night.”
After instructing Devlin to wake her hourly, James left.
Olivia had fallen asleep and was lightly snoring, so Devlin grabbed a chair to pull up and sit beside the bed. “You two can go on home, no need to stay up here all night.”
Niall entered as Rafe and Lisa were leaving, saying they’d be back first thing in the morning. “How is she?” He asked.
Devlin filled him in, telling him he didn’t need to stay either.
“I’ll stay. My duty hasna changed. I’ll watch your back.” Niall leaned by the window, staring at the parking lot.
Devlin stared at her and wondered why Jack wasn’t here. He realized he did not know a lot about how things worked for a ghost. Did he go somewhere to rest or sleep?
He spent the night waking her hourly, asking the usual questions while she grumpily told him to leave her alone and let her sleep.
Olivia woke the next morning when a cheery voice asked if she was ready for breakfast. She looked around in confusion and saw Niall across the room in a chair while Devlin sat beside her with his head resting on his arms on the side of her bed.
Both men jerked awake and stood before relaxing when they saw there was no danger.
Olivia looked around the room as the woman placed her tray on the table.
“Let me help you, love.” Devlin moved the tray stand closer and pushed the button to raise her bed. She reached for the dome covering her food and groaned in pain. Devlin grabbed the dome and picked up her fork, intending to feed her.
Olivia used her good arm to take the fork from him and slowly started to eat. She knew why she was in the hospital; the memories were all too clear, but she did not want to think about that right now.
“I’ll go find a doctor and get you checked out.” Niall smiled at her before leaving.
“Finish eating and I’ll ask the nurse to give you something for the pain,” Devlin said.