A Chase Christmas (City Shifters: the Pride Book 6) Read online

  Eloise, tears already turning her eyes red, leaned against him. Benedict squeezed her again, just to reassure himself, then nudged her toward where his brother waited. "Go. We'll find these wolves and figure out what's going on. You go to the hospital and help Nat. She'll be fine. I'm sure she'll be fine."

  Eloise trembled but straightened her shoulders and headed for the door, her hair a wildly twisting cloud around her head. Atticus hustled her into one of the cars and they peeled out. As Benedict stared after the car, wondering whether they would face a family torn apart by losing Natalia or the baby, Kaiser slapped his shoulder. The bear's gravelly voice almost pushed Benedict over the edge. "Go to the hospital, man. We can handle this."

  "There'll be too many people there already." Benedict wouldn't admit he hated hospitals, particularly the one where shifters went for treatment. It reminded him of when Eloise almost died and lay there, paralyzed and stone still, for what felt like an eternity. It made his skin crawl just to think about it. He shook off the terrible fear and strode toward the mouth of the alley. "So, we need to wrap this up. Those wolves — they weren't crazy. They were protecting each other. I don't think they're here for the other pack. They might be here because of the other pack, but I don't think they're working for them."

  Kaiser frowned as they strode toward the car and got an update from Evershaw's trackers on where the rogue wolves headed. "Do you think they might be ... Could they be the parents? The ones Smith's looking for?"

  "Possibly." Benedict took a deep breath as they got in the car and headed after where Evershaw's guys stalked the strange wolves. "I don't know if that would be good or bad, man. Maybe they can't change back."

  "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Kaiser sped up, large hands dwarfing the steering wheel. "And then we're getting you over to the hospital."

  Benedict stared into the dark city, a sharp pain in his chest. Natalia. She had to be okay. Logan would be destroyed if he lost even a piece of her. If she were gone for even a moment, part of Logan would die. Benedict watched Edgar fall apart and walk away to die when his first mate died. Benedict couldn't see another brother go through that. His eyes burned and he turned away so Kaiser couldn't see whatever emotion tried to fight through the lion's panic and fear to the surface. Everything would be fine. It was Christmas. They would all be fine. He repeated it to himself, over and over, until it became a mantra that kept him moving.

  Chapter 12

  Eloise

  I hated hospitals. Hated them. Everything about them — the squeaky tile floors, the smell of antiseptic and chemicals and despair, the heaviness of the air. I shivered, and Atticus put his arm around my shoulders, trying to comfort me despite the panic that turned his eyes gold. It wasn't the normal hospital, but the small, high tech place the shifters used. Atticus dragged me into a small room, crowded with people and two beds, and shoved me forward. "Eloise is here."

  A dozen sets of eyes fixed on me, but I didn't care. I could only see Natalia, pale and unconscious in one of the beds. Wires and tubes ran from her to a bunch of machines, and two sets of beeps filled the air — one uneven and slow, the other fast to the point of frantic. I held my breath. "What happened?"

  "Logan made her go to the doctor," Isobel said softly from where she stood against the wall. Edgar held her close to his side. "She passed out in the car on the way here."

  I looked at Logan as Atticus eased closer to him. The alpha stood in the corner, staring at his wife as if he could will her back to perfect health, and his eyes flashed gold. But he stood silently, hands flexing and clenching at his sides, and waited. Barely breathed.

  "What's wrong with her?"

  Owen, the youngest of Kaiser's bears and a former medic, checked how one of the sensors attached to her stomach, and I finally recognized the frantic beep as the baby's heartbeat. "She's bleeding internally. The baby turned and something ruptured. We're not entirely sure what happened, because there aren't many cases of humans carrying shifter babies. But we can't do surgery without risking them both."

  Logan started growling, and Atticus leaned against him, voice low. "It'll be okay, brother. Breathe."

  "You might be able to help," Owen said, brushing the dark hair out of his eyes. "Gorgon blood from the right vein is healing, remember?"

  "But what does it do to humans?" I whispered, panic welling up. I would do anything to help Natalia, anything. But my blood wasn't a blessing, it was poison. Being a gorgon wasn't anything I would wish on my worst enemy, much less someone like Natalia. She was the reason I still lived. Her and Benedict. I shook my head and hugged myself, trying to breathe steadily as my heart tried to mimic the baby's. "It could hurt the baby. Or her. What if it only works if I've frozen someone? I could make it worse. I don't want to make it worse."

  Carter eased away from Ruby, who crouched next to Natalia's bed and held her limp hand, and gave me a hug. He patted my back and took a deep breath. "Eloise, you can't make it worse. And even if it doesn't help, we'll be grateful that you tried."

  I wished Benedict were there. I really wanted him to be hugging me, although Carter was a comforting wall of chest to lean into.

  "You saved your own life," Owen said. He held up a piece of tubing and some kind of IV. "Give it a shot, Eloise."

  "Of course." I straightened my shoulders and leaned away from Carter as I wiped my cheeks. Time to hike up my big girl panties and do what needed to be done. I wobbled a little as I walked over to where Owen waited.

  He nodded at the bed next to where Nat lay. "We don't know how much it will take."

  "All of it," I said, and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from wailing. She looked so still, so gray. She looked already gone, despite the beeping of the machines. Panic welled up in my chest and I started to choke, breathing coming faster and uneven, and I couldn't see. Couldn't move or think. Natalia.

  "We won't need it all," Owen said. He squeezed my hand and put the tubing down to help me sit on the bed. His voice, low and steady and calm, broke through the cloud of fear. "Breathe with me. In. Out. Nice and easy."

  It helped, but I wanted Benedict there. I needed him there. My hair tangled and twisted, rearing up as tears spilled down my cheeks.

  Owen smiled, but sadness made him look a lot older than he had any business looking. "He'll be here soon. Kaiser said they're on their way. But the sooner we get started, the better."

  "Okay." I lay back on the bed and held out my right arm, shaking so violently it took him two tries to get a band around my upper arm. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed to anyone who would listen. She had to be okay. She and the baby had to be okay.

  As I tried to block the feeling of the needle sliding into the crook of my elbow, I heard Edgar murmur, "Did she agree to change, if something went wrong?"

  Logan's voice, eerily flat and cold, caused a hiccup in the room. "We didn't have a chance to finish the conversation. She said she would think about it. If I changed her, it would be against her will. Maybe."

  I squeezed my eyes shut and imagined the blood flowing from my veins and into hers. Wished it would carry life and healing through every inch of her, into and around the baby. Prayed to work magic. Hoped that the curse I'd carried my entire life would finally do good for someone. Would save a life instead of taking it.

  The only sounds in the room were Ruby, softly praying as she held Nat's hand, and the monitors beeping. I gnawed my lip until I tasted blood. The beeping remained sluggish and uneven for Nat, and just on the right side of unbearable for the baby. It wasn't working. It wasn't working, and we would lose her. I couldn't breathe. My breath hitched and caught in my throat and I almost lost it. Almost lost all control and sobbed like a child.

  "It's okay," someone whispered beside me, and I forced my eyes open to see Sophia standing on the other side of my bed. She squeezed my left hand, her blue eyes flashing gold, and stroked the hair back from my forehead. "You're doing so well, Eloise."

  She gave me more courage than I had a right to, and my breathing steadied. The hush-hush of my pulse grew louder in my ears and a chill slid across my skin. I sighed and relaxed in the bed, feeling darkness drift across my mind. Natalia would be okay. It was Christmas. It was all I wanted for Christmas.

  I blinked in and out of consciousness, and at some point Benedict was there in the bed with me, curled around me and repeating "I love you" over and over and over.

  And still the beeps filled the room, unsteady and uneven.

  Part III

  Ruby & Carter

  Chapter 13

  Ruby

  It didn't feel like Christmas Eve. We stood at the airport watching the arrivals board in silence. Carter held my hand, now and then squeezing it as if to reassure himself I was still there. Benedict supported Eloise behind us, the gorgon practically using him as a kickstand. She remained weak from donating all that blood to Natalia, but didn't want to stay at the mansion. Nat got a little better with the blood, but she definitely wasn't back to her old self. So the mansion remained nearly silent and still, everyone going around in socks and tiptoes to avoid disturbing her or angering Logan, who'd been on a short fuse since getting back from the hospital.

  I held my breath as the green lettering on the board blurred, and for a moment, I allowed myself to rest my forehead on Carter's shoulder. He turned his head to kiss me and looped his arm around my waist to pull me to his side. "It'll be okay."

  Everyone kept saying that, after we got Nat back from the hospital. It felt close enough to truth, at least, when before it was just a hope. A prayer, really. It'll be okay. She'll be okay. It was all anyone said at the hospital. I straightened and winced as Carter patted my butt. And then my cheeks burned as I stared straight ahead and refused to acknowledge the smug smile on his face. He'd give
n me one of my Christmas presents early: a beautiful hairbrush with a wide handle and smooth wooden back. Wide enough for a hell of a spanking.

  My stomach squirmed at the thought, at just the memory of the previous night when he paddled me until I begged him for more. I held my breath as my knees weakened, and I pushed the thought away. I could absolutely not picture my mate bending me over his knee and spanking my bare ass when I met his mother for the first time.

  Carter played with my ponytail, tugging on it until he could whisper in my ear, "There's another present with your name on it waiting at home."

  Heat surged through me and I could have jumped him right there. Another present. God help me. I bit my lip as I glanced at him. "Give me a hint?"

  "Something we'll both enjoy." And he smiled. I knew that smile — it meant trouble for me and a hell of a long night.

  Before I could retort, Carter smiled and waved at a small woman with ramrod-perfect posture. "Mom!"

  I patted my cheeks, trying to diffuse the flushing, and bit back surprise as Mama Chase hugged first Carter, then Benedict. She didn't look anything like I pictured, or anything like a fierce leonine matriarch. She looked like someone's mom, like milk and cookies in the afternoon after school, and a snug bedtime story. Steel gray hair, still a hint of blonde mixed in, stayed in a perfect coif despite the boisterous greeting from her sons. She smiled when she caught sight of Eloise and me, and held out both her hands to catch mine. "And you must be Ruby. Lovely to meet you, dear."

  I hugged her, not wanting to crush her, despite not having any reason to think her frail. She just looked like someone you wanted to take care of. And she smelled like cinnamon. But as her gray eyes weighed and measured me, I knew she wasn't someone to cross. Particularly where her sons were concerned. I cleared my throat. "It's great to meet you as well, Mrs. Chase. Carter talks about you frequently."

  She smiled and touched my cheek, then greeted poor Eloise, who still looked a foot in the grave. And then there was a flurry of activity, getting her luggage as Carter brought the car around, loading everything and everyone into the SUV, and navigating the traffic around the busy airport until we finally made it to the highway. Mama Chase sat up front with Carter, talking quietly about Natalia and the baby and how Logan was coping. I kept an eye on Eloise as she dozed in the seat next to me, but glanced down as my phone rang. Rafe.

  I answered my brother and kept my voice down. "What did you guys find out?"

  "They're definitely the parents of the three cubs," Rafe said, sounding exhausted. He'd taken the lead with the pack while I focused on Natalia and the rest of the family, as well as the three cubs. The second little boy, Harrison, had popped over to human the day after Nat got home from the hospital, but the girl remained a cuddly little wolf pup. But Rafe struggled to run the pack and lead the investigation into the two rogue wolves we'd trapped.

  I turned a little to face the window, dropping my voice. "Have they shifted yet?"

  "No," he said. "We tranq'd them yesterday and managed to do some blood work — there's some crazy drug in their system. We sent it away for tests, but Owen said it looks like the opposite of wolfsbane. If someone gets jabbed with this, they get stuck in their animal form and can't shift back."

  My heart sank. Those poor people. Searching for their children, looking for help, desperate to survive — and unable to ask for any of it. Unable to change and help themselves. I pinched the bridge of my nose and looked down. "Do you think the kids got shot with it as well? Is that why the girl isn't changing?"

  "It's possible. Owen's running more lab work on her." Rafe covered the phone and shouted at someone else, then made an irritated noise. "For fuck's sake. Everyone's fighting and bitching about holiday plans and who's going to work at the bar day after Christmas and New Year's Eve. Are you sure you can't get over here to help?"

  "Family obligations," I said under my breath, trying to hide my glee. I hated dealing with the little conflicts that consumed the pack most days. We could pull together in an emergency, and any of my wolves would fight to the death to protect the pack, but they were like siblings — squabbling and picking on each other until something threatened the family. "Did you get everything set up for the kids Eloise sent over?"

  "Yeah, they're in the apartment above the bar. One of the twins will stay with them — Sara or Cindy, I don't know which. But they'll be fine."

  "Good. Thanks for handling that. We'll keep the cubs at the mansion. Just let me know as soon as their parents shift back. I don't want to get their hopes up if their parents will always be wolves. We'll have to make a plan for what to do next." I took a deep breath and shook my head. "They stay with us, of course, but still. Are you coming over tonight?"

  Something large crashed in the background, and yelling almost hid Rafe's words. He growled, then said, "Probably tomorrow morning. I'll call. Damn it, I already told you three —"

  The call cut out and I snorted, rubbing my temples. When I glanced up, Carter watched me in the rearview mirror and his mother turned enough in her chair to study me. "More little ones to keep an eye on?"

  "We found their parents, thankfully," I said, and reached out to squeeze Eloise's hand. She stirred but didn't open her eyes. "But the parents are stuck in wolf form. One of the kids is, as well. Until we know how to reverse it, the kids stay with us."

  "Good. Children make a home happy." She faced forward again, but patted Carter's arm.

  I liked her immediately and completely. Isobel had feared, despite Edgar's assurances, that Mama Chase would resent Ella Rose because she wasn't Edgar's, but I had no doubt Mama Chase was beyond ready to be a grandmother and start spoiling the hell out of little ones.

  Chapter 14

  Carter

  Chaos erupted as soon as they got home. The foyer packed with people and kids and presents and luggage and decorations. All things considered, Carter thought the house looked damn good. Exactly like the Christmases he liked best as a kid. Logan took a break from watching Natalia to greet their mother, and she hugged him for a long, long time. Benedict excused himself early to hustle Eloise off to force-feed her beet juice and beef liver and spinach and anything else he thought contained enough iron to perk her up. Everyone else moved the chaos through the house to the dining room to feed Mom and the kids and Atticus, who got grumpy if he didn't eat.

  Carter sat back and let the swirl of activity carry them away, grateful Isobel hired extra servants to help with the cooking and serving and cleanup, so no one had to worry about anything but eating and talking. And drinking. He needed an entire bottle of wine to start relaxing after the last few days, and watching the way Ruby shifted in her seat distracted him in an entirely different manner. He smiled into his wine glass. She'd been surprised at the hairbrush and gave him just enough sass to earn a hell of a spanking. He hoped they had as much fun with the other present, waiting on his dresser in their room.

  Dinner took an eternity, then they sat in the living room and talked while the kids opened a single present before bedtime. All the while, Carter watched Ruby and imagined her naked in his bed, begging him for more. Teasing him. By the time Atticus grumbled that everyone had to go to bed before Santa skipped the house, Carter was more than ready to throw Ruby over his shoulder and get to work. She leaned against him, a little tipsy from the wine, and set her teeth against his shoulder. "I'm not tired, Carter."

  Her husky voice sent a surge of desire straight to his dick, but he managed to keep his voice level as they walked toward their rooms. "Good. I plan to keep you up a while."

  She practically purred, something her wolf figured out how to do after quite a bit of practice, and he slapped her ass. She yelped, giving him a dirty look as she massaged her undoubtedly bruised butt, and scooted through the door a second ahead of him. Before she reached the bedroom, Carter shut the door and locked it, deliberate with each motion. "Clothes off. Hair down. Put your heels on."