"We need to stop. You're bleeding way too much," Lana urged, but Milo was resistant. They needed to cross over into Ethan's territory. That's when they would be fully safe. If someone followed them, his warriors would be on patrol and would provide them with aid.
"Almost there," Milo rasped, his sandy-blond hair matted with sweat. He stumbled, almost collapsing, but Lana grabbed his arm to keep him from falling.
"Why do you always have to be so stubborn?" Lana asked, her voice tinged with frustration. "You're going to get yourself killed one of these days."
"Better me than you," Milo replied through gritted teeth. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
"You shouldn't have carried me for so long. You overexerted yourself," Lana stated as she helped Milo along.
"You move too slowly. I couldn't take the chance that we would be caught," Milo explained. "You can't dodge bullets, but I can."
"I can handle myself, you know," Lana retorted. "I'm not some helpless damsel."
"I never said you were," Milo said, his voice softening. "I can't help but worry about you." He always had a soft spot for Lana and Kasia, but especially Lana. He loved Lana as if she were his own little sister, and he would stop at nothing to protect her.
Lana sighed, her expression also softening. "You always worry. Even when I was a kid, you were always looking out for me. But you need to take care of yourself too."
"I can't help it," Milo said, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "It's just who I am."
"What good are you to me if you die on me?" Lana argued.
As they crossed over into the Lycan king's territory, he collapsed against a twisted tree trunk, his golden eyes clouding with pain.
"This is what I am talking about. You must've been shot," she said, her eyes wide with concern. Lana crouched down beside him and pulled his shirt off, revealing two bullet holes in his back. "So what were you saying about dodging bullets?"
"Whatever. How bad is it?" Milo asked.
"Do you even have to ask? You're bleeding everywhere. We have to get you to a doctor before your blood becomes poisoned."
Milo shook his head, gritting his teeth. "No time for that. You need to dig the bullets out."
Lana glared at him. "You're so reckless."
"That's what you love about me," Milo managed to say with a weak smirk. Lana's hands trembled as she looked down at the wounds. She had to get the bullets out of his back because they were silver bullets. It was amazing that Milo wasn't unconscious.
With a deep breath, she began to probe the wound with her fingers, searching for the foreign metal.
"Ah! Damn!" Milo hissed through clenched teeth as Lana's fingertips brushed against something solid. "There it is."
"Sorry," she whispered, her voice shaky. Drawing upon every ounce of courage, she dug deeper into the wound, feeling the slick warmth of his blood coating her fingers. Finally, she managed to grasp the bullet and pull it free, dropping it onto the ground with a shudder.
"Good job," Milo murmured, his eyes alight with gratitude and pride. "Now, the other one."
"Right." Her stomach churned as she moved to the second wound.
As Lana worked, carefully extracting the second bullet, she could see the change in Milo. The wounds began to slowly close, leaving behind only faint traces of blood.
"Done," she announced.
"Thank you," Milo breathed.
"Thank you for saving me," Lana interrupted, her voice soft and earnest. "But I'm sorry you had to blow your cover for me. Are you going to get in trouble for this?"
Milo managed a weak smile. "No, not at all. Alpha Ethan knew I couldn't be undercover forever. Besides, I couldn't kill Kasia, and I certainly wasn't going to kill you. As you saw, they clearly didn't like that. Only thing I regret is not being able to rip that putrid woman's neck out."
"Thanks for not killing me," Lana said.
"No need to keep thanking me, but why were you alone? Even though the city is a neutral area, it is not safe for a human to be on their own," Milo asked.
"I lost track of Kasia, and things just spiraled out of control," Lana explained. "Is Kasia safe? Do you know?"
"I don't know," Milo replied. "This all seems too much like a convenience. Hunters, vampires, Kasia is kidnapped…all of this can not be a convenience. We need to get back to Alpha Ethan and fill him in on what's been happening."
"Agreed," Lana said, her heart pounding as they began their trek back to the pack house.
As they walked through the dense forest, Milo suddenly paused, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?" he asked, his voice tense.
Lana tried to detect what he was sensing, but her human senses were no match for his. "What is it?"
"Death," he replied grimly. "Stay alert." He began following the scent, with Lana close behind him.
They soon came across a freshly disturbed patch of earth. Milo's eyes narrowed as he studied the shallow grave. "This is strange," he muttered, crouching down to examine it more closely.
"What do you mean?" Lana asked.
"We would not bury our people this far away if we did not cremate them." If it was a rogue, we always cremate them," Milo explained.
"We should dig it up, right?" Lana suggested. She didn't like the idea of disturbing someone's resting place, but this was too odd.
"We have to," Milo replied. "Something's not right here."
Together, they began pulling back the dirt, revealing the faces of two people.Recognition and horror washed over Milo's face as he realized who they were. "It's Ethan's beta and his mate," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.
Lana gasped, covering her mouth. She had met them briefly during her time at the pack house, and the shock of seeing their lifeless bodies was overwhelming. "Oh, God. Who would do this?"
"I don't know," Milo said as he continued to uncover the bodies. "But we need to get back to the packhouse immediately and tell Ethan. Someone is targeting his inner circle. He needs to know immediately, because no one should have been able to touch them."