“We need to get out. You carrying?” Dave asked from the front seat.

Josh nodded and then spoke. “Yes.” He turned his attention to Michelle. “You stay here. Let me go first. We need to take care of whoever it is that hit us.”

“You need all the backup you can get,” she replied, grateful she’d brought her weapon as she flicked the safety off. “I’ve had it with all this bullshit. I’m about ready to blow some motherfucking heads off,” she muttered, and Josh barked a surprised laugh.

“Only you could make me laugh at a time like this. Keep your pretty ass down.”

“I’ve called the pack, they’re on the way with backup.” Dave kicked his door open, and she got low, her weapon in her hand. Akio leapt over her, snarling, his wolf protecting her flank.

The car that had rammed them sat a few feet away, the front crumpled, smoke and steam rising from the engine as stinky fluids leaked from the undercarriage.

It was after midnight so thankfully there wasn’t a lot of other traffic, but soon enough looky lous would start to gawk from the highway on the other side of the divider. To the opposite side were several blocks of industry, so they wouldn’t have to deal with civilians coming out of their homes.

“No one is in the other vehicle. Stinks of stolen magic though. Of rotten meat.”

“That’s them.” Michelle used her othersight and caught the greasy stain of the mages who’d harmed Allie. She caught Josh’s attention and jerked her head toward where she saw their energy signatures.

“Stay back.”

“No.”

She had been about to argue further when she heard automatic-weapon fire and started to dive for cover. Only she hit the ground because her legs just didn’t work.

All around her wolves snarled. White teeth, claws. From the ground, she watched Josh’s face as he took her in. Watched, amazed, as grief crossed over his features, replaced by rage the type she’d rarely ever seen on anyone’s face. And then he was wolf.

Pain pelted her like hail. Bright, hot drops, like knives as she looked down at her hands. Blood. A lot.

Someone, somewhere nearby had latched onto her magick and was tugging it from her. It slipped through her fingers a lot like the blood.

Feebly she fought back. Trying to scream out to Josh, to Akio, to anyone. But nothing came out but the magick and blood pouring from her, and with it, her life.

She was going to die. Jesus, after all the last ten days had thrown into her life, she was going to die on the f**king street across the country from her home.

But she’d be damned if she was going to make it easy. She let down her inner shielding and pulled all the magick she could from around her. She didn’t know how to work blood magick, but she called on it anyway. Her control was wild, not focused, but blood was life and life was its own sort of magick and she’d spilled plenty of it there on the street so she grabbed it and she used it, sending pain and hate and rage down the spell siphoning her life away, and she knew it had hit its target when the searing pain lessened to the dull roar of bleeding out on the street and organ failure.

“Josh! Stand down. Goddamnit, stand down.” Dave. Yes it was Dave who was ordering him to stop killing the mage who’d shot his mate. The wolf didn’t care for Dave’s orders and went back to the ripping and tearing of flesh, the taste of blood.

“We have to get her to Grace.”

Dave picked the wolf up and got right in his face, screaming at him, shaking him. The man roused and fought his way to the surface, shifting hard and fast, and the grief nearly swallowed him.

“She’s not dead yet, but she’s close. We have to get her to Grace. Pick her up and get her in the car.”

Josh saw her there on the pavement in a pool of blood. She was pale as parchment, and he rushed over with a cry. He picked her up and felt her presence through the link, but it was so very faint.

One of the wolves who had shown up while they fought the mages drove up and opened the door to the car.

“Go! I’ll clean up here. Save her life, damn it.”

“Why didn’t you take her already? Why not the hospital?”

Akio jumped in and growled until Josh snapped out of it and slid in beside him.

The car screamed off into the night, weaving around bodies and the cars that had been wrecked.

Akio shifted back and moved to them, putting his arms around Josh and Michelle both. He kissed her forehead and looked up to Josh. “Dave didn’t touch her himself because he was afraid of how you’d react if you smelled her on him. And no hospital can help her. She’s been too…”

That made sense.

He didn’t know what to do.

“Give me your shirt so we can stanch some of the worst wounds,” Josh called out to the wolf in the passenger seat. He and Akio were naked after the shift.

They raced through the streets as the wolf driving called the pack house and spoke through the speakers to Grace Warden.

“We’re about three minutes out.”

“We’ll have the gates open, pull right up to the sliding glass doors and bring her into my office. I’ve set up a triage table. Hold on, Michelle,” Grace called out. “Talk to her, Josh and Akio. Keep her with us.”

Josh leaned down to her ear. “You can’t die. I won’t let you so don’t even try. I hadn’t realized how much it had hurt to lose you the first time. You’re my mate. My life. Don’t leave me, Michelle. You and I have a future to live. We have future babies to raise and a wedding to plan.”