Derick, page 9
part #2 of Whitedell Pride Seres Series
“Come on, let’s go,” Ward told him, already dragging Keenan with him while the man complained that he wanted to find Bryce. Jamie trailed behind him, trying to reassure his brother.
“Bryce will be fine, you know that. He’s an excellent fighter. Besides, we don’t even know what’s going on. Maybe it’s a false alarm.”
Derick somehow seriously doubted that, but he stayed silent, following them to one of the safe rooms Dominic and Nate had started building. These were rooms that had been reinforced, and there were only two of them already finished out of the six they had planned, but they would have to do for today.
A crash in front of Derick jerked his attention to Ward. The leopard had locked his arms around the neck of a big wolf who was trying to get to Jamie, snarling and howling. Derick didn’t recognized him, but then he didn’t remember what all of his pack mates looked like. Ward seemed to have problems containing the wolf and he couldn’t let him go to shift, so Derick acted. He quickly took off his jeans and his shirt, not wanting them to bother him once he was in wolf form, and he shifted.
It felt good to be back in wolf form, but Derick didn’t have the time to enjoy it. He launched himself at the bigger wolf, closing his mouth on its muzzle. He needed to distract him long enough to give Ward the time to shift.
Ward must have understood what Derick was trying to do because he let go and the wolf turned on Derick, his upper teeth lifted in a snarl. Derick snarled in return, trying to look more threatening than he really was, but the wolf still jumped on him, going for Derick’s neck. Luckily Derick’s fur protected him and the wolf wasn’t able to get a good grip, but he did manage to lock down on it, and Derick knew he had to free himself.
Lifting his paws, he scratched along the wolf’s flanks without results, but the wolf was thrown down by a black leopard. Ward had managed to shift and he was taking over the fight. Derick shifted back and turned his attention on the two men cowering against the wall.
“Come on, let’s get to the safe room!”
He dragged both of them behind him and had to knock on the door of the room because it was already locked. One of the pride’s soldiers opened it when Derick started screaming their names and they slid inside, Derick not even caring that he was naked until someone gave him a pair of sweats. Then the only thing they could do was wait and pray.
* * * *
The damn wolves had attacked after all. The outdoor alarm had alerted everyone, but some of the wolves had managed to get in the house, and Nate couldn’t even go and check if they had been neutralized. Sure, he had left some of the soldiers inside, but the house was where the most vulnerable members of the pride were. The cubs and the human mates were the ones easier to hurt or capture, but the most important reason Nate longed to go was his mate.
He knew Derick would be able to defend himself in a one-on-one fight, but those attacking were trained, and Nate was scared that they would gang up on him to teach him a lesson. Nate’s leopard yowled at that thought, and he took his anger and his fear on the wolf currently attacking him.
They clashed together in a fury of fur, claws and teeth, both aiming for each other’s throat. Nate didn’t have the thick fur the wolf had, so useful to protect the vulnerable part, but he was faster and more agile.
Lifting his paws, Nate raked them on the wolf’s sensitive underbelly, making him release the hold he had on Nate’s shoulder. Nate could feel blood trickling down, but there was no time to worry about it.
They both fell back on the ground and Nate quickly struck again. This time the wolf moved and Nate closed his jaw on his shoulder, missing the throat again. Gripping tight, he yanked back, taking with him a mouthful of fur, blood and flesh and making the wolf whine and waver.
Nate spat the chunk of flesh, trying to get the foul taste out of his mouth before diving back in and finally grabbing the wolf’s throat, pushing him on the ground. The wolf deserved to die for attacking Nate’s family, and his jaguar yearned to do just that. It would take so little, a tightening of the jaw and the wolf would be dead, but Nate was also human. When the wolf whimpered under him and exposed his throat even more, staying as still as the dead for the rest, he knew he just couldn’t kill him in cold blood.
Most of those attacking today didn’t even know why they were fighting. They just followed their Alpha’s orders. Fuck! Nate mentally swore when the wolf under him shifted. The guy couldn’t be more than twenty years old, which meant he was practically a pup even for the humans, too damn young to fight, and Nate had nearly killed him.
The young man was crying, blood pouring from the open wound in his shoulder. Nate cringed at the sight. He’d been the one to do that, and it would never heal completely. Shifter healing was good but it didn’t do miracles, and it would leave a huge scar—but as much as he pitied the kid, Nate had to be clear. He tightened the hold he had on the man’s slender throat, affirming his superiority and making him whimper in fear. Nate growled low before finally releasing him, the scent of urine heavy in the air. The kid scrambled backward, putting as much space as he could between them, and Nate dismissed him, already looking around the garden.
Dominic was fighting two wolves on his own and Nate’s first instinct was to run and help his Alpha, but instead he just kept looking. Dominic was more than able to win that fight. His lion was big, bigger than real lions and more than two times the size of the wolves that were taking him on. While there were definitely more wolves than cats fighting around the mansion’s garden, several of the pride members were lions, tigers and other big cats that outweighed the wolves and were bigger.
Sebastian was holding his own, as were Soren and Joshua, but Bryce was in trouble. The cougar was bleeding heavily from the side and he was fighting three wolves. Not even his size was helping him. Nate jumped in, taking down one of the wolves and biting on his throat until the bucking body went slack. He didn’t waste time and attacked another one, biting and clawing until he was the only one standing. Bryce had taken care of the last wolf and Nate ran to him when he collapsed on his side, shifting as he moved.
“Bryce? Stay with me, buddy, I’ll get the doc.” Nate looked around and saw that the wolves were clearly loosing. He growled as Alpha Erskine and Vince fled to the woods along with other wolves that could still stand, leaving behind the wounded and dead ones. A true Alpha wouldn’t have done that. He would have surrendered and asked that Dominic have mercy on his wounded soldiers, but the man was obviously a coward, and it didn’t surprise Nate. Who else could attack a peaceful group of shifters in its own house?
The other cats were starting to take care of their pride’s wounded, but Nate wasn’t sure Bryce had the time to wait there for the doctor to come. Deciding that he had to risk it if he didn’t want to watch his friend bleed out on the grass, Nate delicately passed his arms under Bryce and lifted, trying to be as steady as he could. The cougar didn’t even react apart from a tormented groan escaping his lips. Blood was still seeping from the wound, his shifter healing not yet kicking in, or at least not that Nate could see.
Nate kicked open the kitchen door, which was already dented anyway, and started calling for the doctor. Nate turned left and headed for the living room, putting Bryce down on one of the couches and looking up when he heard the doctor and two of his helpers rushing to Bryce, Keenan and Jamie not far behind.
Keenan fell on his knees next to Bryce, stroking the big cat’s head as he murmured soft words in his ear, tears streaming down his cheeks. Nate knew he should go out and help take care of the other wounded and the wolves, but he couldn’t, not when one of his closest friends was on the brink of death.
Nate felt a hot hand on the small of his back and realized he was still naked.
“Here, put these on,” Derick said, handing Nate a pair of sweats that could be found in nearly all the rooms of the house. Once he was dressed Nate grabbed Derick and held him close, his eyes still on Bryce. It seemed that the blood had stopped flowing, but he was still unconscious. The doctor looked at Keenan, then at Nate.
“He needs his mate.”
Keenan’s back stiffened. “Why?”
“Because Finn has the power to heal, and healing usually improves when a shifter’s mate is near. It’s like…it gives the organism a boost. I can’t do anything more for Bryce. He’s not in danger of dying, but it will take him a while to fully heal without his mate’s help.”
Nate looked at Keenan. He knew this was hurting him but they had to save Bryce. “Jamie, call Finn and ask him to come.”
“I don’t know if he will want to. His relationship with Bryce is a bit…tense right now.”
“I don’t care what you have to do, make him come. Tell him Bryce is dying if you have to.”
Jamie nodded and stepped away, his eyes never leaving Keenan. Nate didn’t know if it would be better for Keenan to stay there or to go away so that he would not see Finn, but Keenan seemed to have decided. He stayed next to Bryce, his hands buried in the cougar’s fur, until the air shimmered in a corner of the room and Finn appeared, immediately running to Bryce’s side. Only then did Keenan release Bryce and exit the room, his cheeks once again wet with tears.
Nate stepped next to Finn. “Come on, I’m going to take Bryce to his room.”
The only ones to follow him were Finn and Derick, and once he put Bryce down on his bed and closed the suite’s room behind him, he reached for his mate, needing his presence. That was when he saw the bruise on Derick’s neck. Fingering it lightly, he asked, “What happened?”
“We were going to the safe room when a wolf attacked. I had to help Ward for a while, but he took care of the wolf. I’m fine.” Derick put his hand on Nate’s, squeezing it. “Come on, let’s go see if we can help the wounded.”
* * * *
Bryce wasn’t the only wounded, but he was the worst. Derick had helped treating bites and scratches for the cats, but none of the wolves had wanted him to help them. They probably thought of him as a traitor, and it wasn’t like they had been friends even when he was still part of the pack, but it still hurt Derick to see people he’d known all his life turning around when he walked by. He wanted to ask one of them what had happened to Duncan, though. Derick’s brother wasn’t answering his phone, and he hadn’t taken part in the attack. Derick knew Duncan would have called him if he’d known about it.
“What are you going to do with the wolves?” he asked Nate.
“We’re going to send them back to the pack.”
“But if you do that they might attack again!”
Nate sighed. “I know that, but what else can I do? It’s not like we can imprison them. Dominic’s not like that, he wouldn’t do that.”
“Do you think…you could give them a choice? Tell them that they can choose either to go back to the pack or find another one?”
“I can, but how many of them would just go back? The pack is all they know, and they probably wouldn’t believe we didn’t do anything to provoke this attack.”
Derick sighed. What Nate was saying was true. How could someone leave the pack when they didn’t know where to go? Well, he’d done it, but he was trying to save lives, and it had turned out okay. Not everyone would have his luck.
“Derick?”
Looking around, Derick found one of the few friends he’d had in the pack. Zach’s green eyes were looking up at Derick from where the smaller wolf was sitting on the ground, and Derick winced when he saw the wound in his friend’s shoulder. It looked like someone had taken a chunk out, and it was so big he knew it would scar. Grabbing a pair of pants and what he needed to clean that wound, Derick sat next to him and started taking out bandages from their packages while Zach put on the pants.
“Zach, what are you doing here? You were one of those who attacked?”
Derick’s friend looked at his hands, shame written over his face. “Yeah. It’s not like I wanted to, you know me. I can’t fight for shit and blood makes me sick.”
Derick knew that. Aside from Zach’s gentle nature, he was way too young to fight. He was only twenty, not even old enough to be trained, and to see him there, hurt, made Derick want to find that damn Alpha and strangle him. “Why were you here, then?”
“Vince…he told me I would be kicked out of the pack if I didn’t finally show them I could be useful. Is it…is it true that this pride wanted to eradicate our pack?”
Derick squeezed the disinfectant bottle a little too hard, the liquid pouring on the wound and making Zach jump in pain. “Sorry, sorry!” Derick cleaned the wound with a clean bandage and decided that yes, Zach would need stitches. “Who told you that?”
“Alpha Erskine and the Betas. They said that you came to the pride to give them all the information they needed to attack us and take our town from us.”
“That’s crap! You know I wouldn’t do that, right?”
Zach’s eyes turned back on his hands. “I didn’t think you would, but then you never came back, and Duncan told us you mated with a jaguar, so…”
Derick reached and grabbed Zach’s chin, tilting it until his friend was looking at him in the eyes. “I ran away because I found out Alpha Erskine wanted to attack the pride. I couldn’t let them hurt innocent people. When I got here I found my mate, but no one in the pride would ever even think of attacking another group of shifters without a good reason. Hell, they will send you all back to the pack without hurting you!”
Zach’s eyes were wide. “Really?”
“Yup. The cats aren’t bad, Zach. My mate is one of them and I love him. I couldn’t have wanted a better mate.”
“I’m glad you think that, sweetheart,” a voice rumbled behind him, making Derick smile. This wasn’t how he’d planned to let Nate know he loved him, but it would have to do. He frowned when he saw Zach cower, his arms rising to protect his head.
“What’s wrong, Zach?”
“He…he’s the one who hurt me!”
Derick faced Nate. “You did this?” he asked his mate, pointing to Zach’s wound.
“I did, but it’s not like he gave me a choice. He was the one who attacked me in the first place.”
“Zach,” Derick said softly. “Don’t worry, Nate won’t hurt you. He was only defending his family—you understand that, don’t you?”
Zach peered at Derick from under his raised arm. “Is he your mate?”
“Yes, and I promise you, you’re safe here.”
Zach slowly lowered his arm and let Derick go back to tending his wound, his eyes never leaving Nate.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do this, but they said you were going to hurt us,” Zach told Nate, moving back when Nate sat next to them on the grass.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry I hurt you so bad, though.”
Zach gave Nate a tentative smile and Derick could tell that things were going to be fine between the two. Maybe he would be able to maintain the relationship he had with the other wolf in some way.
“Can I ask you some questions?” Nate asked Zach, who nodded. “First of all, do you know what happened to Duncan?”
“Yes. Alpha Erskine locked him up in one of the cells. He said Duncan was helping your pride.”
Derick’s heart missed a beat. Oh god, had Duncan been hurt for saving him and Nate? “Is he—”
“He’s fine. I’m the one who brings him food. They didn’t beat him.”
Derick let out a relived sigh. His brother was fine. Now they had to get him out of there. Zach flinched when Derick started stitching him, but he stayed mostly still after that even if it had to hurt like hell.
“If you could choose, who would you want your Alpha to be?” Nate asked Zach, shocking the hell out of them both. Answering that question could bring a lot of trouble to Zach if the wrong person heard him, because it could be considered betrayal. When Zach didn’t answer Nate pushed a little. “Don’t worry, you won’t get in trouble.”
“Well, I guess maybe Kameron.”
“Kameron?”
“Yes. Alpha Erskine doesn’t like him, but Kameron always tries to help when someone is hurt or needs medicine, or when the inner circle beats someone up and stuff like that.”
Nate looked at Derick, silently asking him what he thought about it.
“I think Zach is right. Kameron has never taken part in the beatings and the bullying—that’s why he never made it into the inner circle. I guess he could have been a Beta if he’d followed Alpha Erskine’s rules.”
“You think he is strong enough to challenge the Alpha?”
Derick thought about the times he’d seen Kameron fight. “He might be, but even if he did beat Alpha Erskine, the Betas wouldn’t let him take his place, and he is only one against the whole ten members of the inner circle. He can’t take them all.” Well, nine members now that Lucius was gone, but still.
“No, but he could send Alpha Erskine an official challenge, requesting witnesses from outside the pack. If we back him up…the inner circle could be dissolved and the members expulsed if they tried anything. I’m sure there are other honorable members in the pack, they’re just too afraid to do something. If we give them the right push, we can change things for the pack.” Nate looked around. “I don’t suppose Kameron is here right now?”
Zach shook his head. “No, he didn’t want to be part of the attack.”
“Zach, I’m going to ask you to help us. Can you give Kameron a message when you go back?”
* * * *
The past few days had been hard for Nate. He’d had to deal with the pride’s wounded cats, especially Bryce. Luckily he’d been the only one who had been hurt so bad, but he’d sent his mate away once he woke up, slowing his healing, and he’d refused to let the Nix heal him. Nate had tried to talk him into calling back Finn, but Bryce hadn’t budged. He wanted Keenan, but Keenan hadn’t come to see him since Finn had arrived. Bryce had tried to get up three times already, ripping open his stitches and even passing out from the loss of blood the first time, sending Keenan in a panic when he found out. He’d still refused to go and see Bryce, though, which had led to the other two times the cougar had tried to get up, until Ward and Jamie had passed a few hours in his room talking to him. Nate didn’t know what they had told him, but Bryce hadn’t tried again, and now he was sulking.
