CHAPTER 56: 14
Everyone stayed at the house with Mackenzie. Partly to protect her but mostly to wait and see if Gordon survived. Word had spread, and by midnight, the entire pack knew their Alpha was on Death’s door. They came in groups to see for themselves the mighty fallen Alpha. Tents started popping up on the lawn. No one wanted to leave Gordon’s side. They had erected a wall of muscle circling the house in defence of their Alpha. To protect him from further harm and from Melissa should she return to finish the job. Mackenzie found it touching to see the way the pack rallied around Gordon.
Around three in the morning, Mackenzie fell asleep stretched out across the four dining chairs lined up so she could stretch out across them. Aster suggested she go sleep in the bed or on the couch in the other rooms where she would be more comfortable, but Mackenzie had refused. She wanted to stay in the dining room next to Gordon.
For two days, this was the norm. She would sleep next to the table, and during the day, she would hold his hands and sit with him. Each day he did not wake was torture. She blamed herself. Had she not left his sight and stayed with him in the shop like he had wanted, none of this would have happened.
Lewis assured her Gordon was doing well. He would have her help him clean the bandages and show her how he was healing. He told her that as long as Gordon continued to heal, he would wake up at some point. Given the extent of the damage, it would just take longer than usual.
***
Pain pulsed through Gordon’s body, disturbing his sleep. Slowly his eyes opened, fluttered shut, then opened once more. It took a moment for his eyes to focus. He lifted his head and saw all his cubs littered around the house, all asleep. It was dark outside the windows, but there was a light coming from the kitchen. Quietly Gordon sat himself up, his legs dangling over the edge of the table he had been laying on. The blanket draped over his waist. He looked around, trying to find Mackenzie. He looked down at the bandages on his chest, and he recalled being shot. He had no idea how long he
had been unconscious. Gordon pulled the bandages off to inspect the room. The wounds were closed, but the wound sites were still sore.
He looked up at the IV bag of clear fluids hanging above his head. He reached up and turned off the flow of the fluid. Then he pulled the IV from his hand. He tossed back the blanket and hopped down off the table. Taking the sheet under the blanket, he wrapped it around himself and went toward the light in the kitchen. He smiled when he saw Mackenzie raiding the fridge.
When she turned to see who had come in, she gasped with excitement to see him on his feet. She tossed the food onto the counter and was at his side instantly. She took Gordon by the arm and walked him over to the kitchen table. “You’re awake,” Mackenzie eased him into a chair as she fussed over him. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a semi-truck.”
“I was so afraid you were not going to wake up.”
“And leave you here alone,” he grinned. “What kind of man would I be. How long have I been out?”
“Three days.”
“Have the others been here the whole time?”
“You should see outside. There is a tent city around the house. The whole pack has been guarding you while you recover. You must really mean something to them,” it was nice to know that despite all he had done as of late, the pack still rallied behind him.
“Did anyone catch up to Melissa?” He asked, hopefully.
“They say she got away,” Mackenzie told him.
“Damn it. Ok. It’s ok. We can probably track her.”
“No, Gordon, she’s gone. Just let her be gone.”
“She would have hurt you.”
“And if you go after her, she might succeed in killing you. Our child needs a father more than you need vengeance,” she knelt down in front of him and held his hands. “Please, Gordon, just let it go.”
“Fine. But if she shows her face around here again, I’m going to kill her. Nothing you can say will stop me.”
A sound from the entranceway drew their attention, and Gordon smiled when he saw his daughter. She was practically in tears when she rushed over and hugged him hard. “Easy, I’m still healing,” he said, hugging her back.
Aster looked up into his loving eyes with tears of joy. “I thought I would lose you.”
He stroked her hair and smiled. “I’m tougher than that.”
Mackenzie backed away. “I’ll go get you some pants. Let you two talk,” she said, leaving the room.
Aster smiled weakly at her father. “You got yourself a good woman this time. Mackenzie never left your side. She’s a better mate than Mom ever was.”
“Is that the sound of approval?”
“I approve.”
“That means the world to me.”
“Are we going after Mom?”
Gordon sighed. “No. I promised Mackenzie I would let it go. It ends here. Melissa is smart enough to know that after this, she can never come back. She is exiled.”
“No one deserves it more.”
“I’ll make an announcement tomorrow morning.”
***
Come morning, word of Gordon’s recovery spread. Everyone would cheer that the Alpha survived. They all wanted to welcome Gordon back to the living and to hear his plans for going after Melissa. Around noon Gordon had the pack gathered out front of the house. He stepped out on the porch. With Aster and Mackenzie at his side, he addressed the pack.
“It is my unhappy burden to inform you all that one of our on has betrayed the pack. She turned on us. Her actions cannot be tolerated. I am saddened to say for the first time in the history of this pack Melissa Wilder is… exiled,” a murmur spread through the crowd as the pack absorbed the decree of exile. It was not something they did lightly. One’s crime against the pack had to be grievous to warrant exile. “Should she return, she is to be killed on sight.”
The pack began nodding. It was their way of indicating their understanding of his orders. As of this moment, Melissa was public enemy number one.
Gordon looked over at Aster. “I’m sorry, Aster, she has left me no other choice.”
Aster looked her father in the eyes. “I understand. Should I see her, I’ll kill her myself.”
His daughter’s support was both touching and heartbreaking. No child should be forced to choose between their parents. He knew Aster loved her mother, but she was loyal to the pack, and she understood Melissa’s actions had sealed her own fate. Even Gordon did not have the power to forgive
Melissa’s crimes. He might have been the Alpha, but even he had to obey the laws of the pack; rule number one was you never turn your back on the pack. The pack always came first. That unity was the only reason they had survived this long. If you could not trust the person beside you to have your back, then you all fall. You stood together as one, or you died as individuals. Melissa had made her choice.
The feel in the air was tense. A sombre, heavy feeling that weighed on them all. No one liked exiling. Gordon certainly did not like it, it was the most extreme punishment he could dish out, but they all agreed it was appropriate.
One by one, the pack broke down the camp and headed back to their homes and jobs. As the last of their guests had left, Gordon sat in the living room with a beer in one hand, staring vacantly at the TV. He did not even know what he was watching anymore because he was lost in his own head. He snapped out of it when he noticed Mackenzie sit down on the couch next to him and cuddle up. “Are you ok, Baby?”
Baby?
That little term of endearment brought a startling thought to mind. One he should have thought when he first woke. “The baby? The crash, did it hurt the baby?”
“No, I’m fine,” she promised. “The baby is fine. Remember, this child is half lycanthrope. I would think it would certainly be able to handle a little jostle,” her smile faded by the look of concern on his face. “Or should I have gone to a hospital?”
He understood why she was confused; after all, he had told her not to go to the hospital. Gordon worried because the baby was half-human, and the car she had been in had hit that mountain rather hard. “You’re not in any pain?”
“No.”
“No bleeding?”
“No.”
“Then, it’s probably fine,” he said, trying to reassure her and praying he did not sound as worried as he was. It was moments like this when Gordon hated the fact that Melissa had been the pack’s only midwife.
***
The following morning Lewis came by the house to check on Gordon. Lewis was young, but he understood medicine. He was the pack’s medic. Since they could not go to a human doctor if severely injured, Lewis was the one people went to. He had been the one to save Gordon’s life by digging out the bullets and sewed him back up.
When Lewis showed up that afternoon to check up on Gordon, he had Gordon remove his shirt to inspect the wound sights, which by this time had closed up and left no scar. Lewis removed the stitches for him, which was not painful but felt strange all the same. The whole time Lewis was removing the stitches, Gordon took this time to question the younger man. “Do you know anything about childbirth?” He asked outright.
“Sure, there is a lot of cramping and pain, then bam a baby.”
“Do you know how to deliver a baby? Or have a way to monitor whether or not there is anything wrong before delivery?”
Lewis shook his head. “No. Babies and childbirth are not my forte. You need a midwife.”
“The only midwife we had has been exiled,” he reminded Lewis.
“You do have a problem then? What about one of the mothers. They went through childbirth. They should know what to expect.”
“They won’t be helpful if something goes wrong,” Gordon sighed. “I’m worried the crash might have harmed the baby?”
“Is Mackenzie bleeding?” Lewis asked.
“No.”
“Complaining of abdominal pain or discomfort?”
“No.”
“Can she still feel the baby moving around?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m certain she will be fine,” he said, holding up one finger. “Follow my finger with your eyes, but don’t move your head,” he instructed, moving his finger side to side and un and down slowly while Gordon followed it. Lewis held out two fingers on both hands. Squeeze my fingers as hard as you can,” Gordon did as he was asked. Lewis placed his hand on Gordon’s knees. Lift your legs,” he instructed while he pushed down, adding resistance.
“Well, what’s to prognosis?” Gordon asked.
“Well, the wounds are healed, and you passed the neurological exam, so I’d say you made a complete recovery.”
“Great,” Gordon stood up and walked Lewis to the door.
“Do you want me to ask around and see if anyone else knows anything about delivering a baby?” Lewis offered.
“No, I can ask around myself. Thank you anyway,” they said goodbye and Gordon and closed the door. He turned to see Mackenzie sitting on the stairs. He knew she had heard everything. “What are you doing on the stairs?” He asked, coming to sit on the steps next to him.
“You lied to me,” she said.
“I did not.”
“You said you weren’t concerned about the baby. But you are. Should I be worried?”
“No,” he said quickly, reaching out to take her hand in his. “I just want to make sure. I hope for the best but plan for the worse. That way, we are ready for anything.”
“Do you think there will be complications?”
“I don’t know what to expect. There has never been a hybrid before. This is uncharted waters, and I just want to make sure you and this baby both make it through the ordeal,” Gordon sighed. “I’m sorry, Mackenzie. I don’t mean to worry you. I’m an old paranoid fool. Pay no, never mind to my paranoia. I’m sure everything will be just fine. Why don’t we do something fun? Why don’t we set a date and start planning the wedding?”
Mackenzie’s face lit up. After all the weddings she had planned over the last six years, she finally got to plan her own. He was going to give her the wedding she dreamed of no matter what the cost. He had enough stashed away in his savings to throw one hell of a bash. People would be talking about this party until the end of days.
***
Los Angeles, California…
Donald Falcone waited for his bodyguard to open the door to the office of the private plane hanger he owned where he had been hiding the FBI agent’s wife and daughter when he noticed the man pause. “What is the holdup?” He snapped. He was in a hurry. They had lost all communications with Agent Meskler days ago.
“The door is unlocked,” the bodyguard informed him.
“You didn’t lock the door?” He barked with aggravation.
“I did. I swear, I did.”
They all drew their guns and went inside. The woman and child they expected to see were gone. The rope that had bound them lay on the floor around the legs of the two empty chairs. A middle-aged blond beauty sat in his desk chair, her feet propped up on the corner of the desk as she drank a glass of his twelve-year-old scotch. “Well, it’s about bloody time. You boys sure do doddle, don’t you?”
“Just who the fuck are you?” Donald demanded. : owner of this content.
“Your new best friend… or your worse enemy. It’s really up to you,” she smiled, finishing her drink. “The scotch is damn good.”
“A friend? Where are the two I had in here?”
“I let them go. Trust me. They aren’t of any use anymore.”
“They will go to the cops.”
She laughed. “No, they won’t. I put the fear of God into them.”
“I needed them.”
“They’re useless.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Meskler is dead. Which means you are now going to need my help, or you are never going to get near Mackenzie. Meskler told me all about you. I know what you want and how badly you want it. I want the same thing.”
“Which is?”
She sat up straight. “Mackenzie, dead.”
“Why do you want her dead?” Donald asked suspiciously.
She sat back, getting comfortable once more. “My reasons are my own.”
“Why do I need you to get to her?”
“Because without me, you will never get to her. She has the hounds of hell watching her back.”
“I’m not in the mood for metaphors. Kill this bitch,” he ordered. Every man in the room turned their guns on the woman.
Suddenly her eyes began to glow, and she barked what looked like fangs in an intimidating way. “I wouldn’t if I were you. It will only piss me off, and I would hate to have to kill you and your boys. But I will.”
Each man backed off and made the sign of the cross as if they thought God would protect their sinful souls. “What are you?”
“Humans have so many names for us. Call me what you will; monster, devil, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am your only chance of getting close to Mackenzie. I could kill you all right now, or you
could help me kill her. What is it going to be?”
“Why would you need our help?”
“Because she is being protected by others like me. They outnumber me. I need a little firepower in my corner if I hope to take them on.”
“More like you? How do we take them on?” Donald asked with interest.
“With a little ingenuity,” she said, placing a large hollow tip bullet on the desk along with what looked like dried purple flowers. “Hollow tipped bullets packed with Wolfsbane, guaranteed to put them down. Once the guard dogs are dead, the girl is all yours. So, what do you say?”
“I say this is the start of a beautiful friendship.”