Dave saw her and moved to grab her as Jack growled her name and charged. But she was an Alpha, damn it, she was fast and powerful and she would not let anyone but her brother’s people die out there that day. She jumped around Dave who knocked into the last standing attacker. The wet sounds of teeth meeting flesh and strangled cries sounded in her ears right as the white-hot pain of a bullet ripped through her chest.

But she kept moving until she reached Megan.

“Megan, honey, you have to change. You have to. I can’t help you. Not like this.” She leaned down and spoke in her sister-in-law’s ear. “The wound is too much. You can’t heal as a human. Come on, I order you to change, damn it. Bring your wolf, Megan. Come on!”

Her fingers were slick with blood as she grabbed Megan to hold her close. She realized it was her own as her left arm began to go numb.

“Grace! Fuck, f**k. You’ve been shot. Damn it, why didn’t you stay put?” Jack reached her and fell to his knees. “Come on. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

She turned to him and snarled. “I’m not going anyfuckingwhere! This is my sister, she’s my wolf and she has to change or she will die. You will help me bring her wolf and you’ll do it now. LEX!” she screamed and Lex approached, naked from his shift back to human form. Grief on his face when he saw Megan.

“Shit, Grace, you’re… No, not both of you. Get in the car or I will put you in the trunk.”

“We’re wasting time! Bring her wolf! She can be healed if we bring her wolf. NOW. Damn it, now.”

And the whip crack of authority in her voice finally made them hear her. Both men looked to Megan who barely breathed and began to chant at her, put their hands on her, ordered her wolf to emerge.

And then in a shower of power, weak and warm but there nonetheless, Megan found her wolf.

“Get her into the car and back to the house now.” Grace stood and fell to her knees.

“Hospital.” Jack picked her up and Lex his sister and they jumped into the car.

“No. Not the hospital. They’ll have to make a police report. We can’t risk any more exposure. Take me home. I have medical supplies there, I’ve stored them just in case. Let me transform once I know Megan is all right. For now…” she paused as more blood pulsed from the wound just inches above her heart, “…the bullet passed through. Silver. Tear strips from your shirt and pack the wound. I’m losing blood.” The Pack doctor had headed to the haven as there were several pregnant women who needed her care. Grace had to stay human until she knew all was well.

Dave drove the car faster than was totally safe but Hiroshi kept an eye out for anyone following and called ahead to the house.

Grace slumped back into Jack, feeling his anxiety and worry for her. “Grace, you have to be all right. Change now.”

She shook her head. “Can’t. If I do, I may be too weak to change right back. If Megan needs me…”

She lapsed in and out of consciousness. A normal bullet and her metabolism would already be healing but the silver, even just passing through was poisoning her, impeding healing.

“Cade is going to rip my head off.” Lex brushed the hair away from her face. “You were hell on wheels out there today, Grace. You saved Megan’s life. But if you ever disobey like that again, I’m gonna kick that tiny little ass.”

“And whose army?”

“You shouldn’t let her hang around Nina so much,” Dave called from the front seat. “We’re here. Hold on, they’re opening the gates for us now.”

“Megan on the low table in the living room. Bring my supplies.” Grace had to do that one last thing and then she could transform.

She heard Hiroshi relay the order and allowed herself to rest again. It began to hurt to breathe and she figured there was internal bleeding to deal with as well.

They skidded to a stop and the doors yanked open. Cade. The scent of Cade rushed through her system as Jack got out, still holding her.

“What the f**k? Whose blood is that?” Cade demanded in the background. They apparently hadn’t told him, which was wise. Hiroshi began to explain as Jack followed Lex and took them into the living room. She heard Cade’s bellow of anger in the background.

People rushed around Megan but Grace pushed them back until she could ascertain Megan was all right. Her breathing was normal as was her blood pressure. Grace turned in slow motion to see Cade, throwing aside the wolves who’d been trying to hold him back while she did her check. She coughed and wiped a hand over her lips, staining her skin scarlet. Lovely.

“Okay,” she whispered and fell to her knees. Cade surrounded her, crying out her name as she let her wolf take over.

Cade saw her as the car door opened and Jack stepped out, holding her. Her entire left side was covered in blood. He remembered thinking Megan must have lost a lot of blood. He’d felt pain through the link and weakness but he hadn’t figured… Hers, the blood was hers.

He found himself surrounded by wolves as they rushed past him into the house. Dave explained what had happened, told him he needed to hold back until they knew Megan was all right so Grace would allow her wolf to take over so she could heal.

He’d run to follow, screaming her name, feeling her through their link weaker and weaker. They held him as she checked Megan, his family anxious, wanting her to finish up for Megan and Grace’s sake. He’d tossed off five wolves and finally reached her just as she wiped her hand over her face, smearing blood over her terribly pale skin.