Wendy nodded then pointed to a room. “Over there at 306, I had them prepare that room to accommodate the injured until Doc Wesley can take a look at them or my Uncle’s pack doctor arrives.” James was surprised to hear and feel the alpha influence in her voice. That’s when he realized what was said. Nick was still out there and the teen was the acting alpha of her dad’s people.
He breathed as he got out of the car, watching Bill and Donovan carry Sanders over to the room Wendy had pointed to. “She’s in 302 but you can’t see her until the doc is finished,” Wendy told him.
“Did you see her?” James asked, looking at said room.
It wasn’t until they were alone Wendy said in a soft, meek voice, “Yeah, I saw her. Her face wasn’t bad as Sanders but her internal injuries are really bad.”
“I’m sure your dad is okay,” James told her, setting a hand on her small shoulder. “We and I’m sure his group as well, had the advantage that the wind took most of the silver away from us.”
“Thanks but until I see him…” she said, sounding more like the alpha now.
“I know,” he replied, seeing Bill and Donovan leaving the room. “I want to come with you,” he demanded.
“No,” Bill insisted. “It’s too dangerous for any lycan’s to go with us. There could be silver still in the air,” he insisted.
“I don’t care,” James argued.
“No, I need you here,” Wendy stated, surprising James. “I need you to lead the preparations for tomorrow night. My uncle is busy with his own defenses. With Charlie gone, Dad and Chris out there, I have no one currently working on ours and I refuse to wait for the vamps to wake up. After this, I don’t know if the vamps will come for Tris but I fully expect they’ll have something for us.”
Still feeling a little off kilter from Wendy’s change into alpha, James nodded. “Alright, Wendy. I’ll take care of it. Can you let me know when I can see Lily?”
“Of course.”
James went in the hotel to get to work while Wendy went on giving orders to people and Bill and Donovan left in the SUV for Nick’s group. He was impressed with Wendy’s sudden slip into alpha, James hoped Nick and Chris were not among the list of injured or worse. They really needed them now.
James sat around a table with four other wolves. One was from the local alpha, another two were Nick’s and the last was a one of the wolves that had come with James and the others. They’d been working on a plan for almost an hour and hadn’t gotten too far when they heard the door open. Everyone stood as they saw Nick limping into the room.
He had silver burns dotting his face, neck, and hands. “Good to see you made it out in one piece,” he said to James.
“Same to you. What happened to your group?”
“When we hit the spikes, we assumed there was more to it. I thought snipers so Chris and I stayed in the car. Evangeline insisted on going out and check the situation and the Canadian insisted on going with her,” Nick explained with a grim tone. “When the succubus tripped the wire, he threw himself on her to protect her from the blast… it wasn’t pretty or quick.”
“Just him or did Evan fall too,” James asked, trying to use his analytical mind to keep his emotions from overwhelming him.
Nick ran a hand over his face then winced. “She’s alive. She has some burns from the explosion itself and apparently silver doesn’t sit too well with her kind either, but the worst is up here,” he said tapping his temple. “The girl’s blaming herself for the Canadian.”
The door opened again. A tall, lanky black man walked in with an exhausted look. “Good to see you on your own two feet Alpha. You should be proud. Wendy did quite well in your absence,” he said giving a tired smile to Nick. “I’ve come to give you an update on the injured.”
James stood and joined the two men. This he had to hear too.
“Mitchell and Evangeline will recover but there will be some scarring and I doubt Mitchell will ever see out of his left eye,” he began. “Alpha Sanders is stable thanks to Miss Xin Qian. If it wasn’t for her, I believe we would’ve lost him. However, like Mitchell, I do not think he’ll recover his eyesight.”
“What about Lily?” James demanded, unable to keep himself silent any longer.
“Her condition is still uncertain,” he replied. “I’ve flushed her lungs and believe to have removed all the silver. However, in her vampiric state, she’s not healing and I can’t guarantee her survival if she changes back to the wolf. I don’t know enough about vampires correctly address this situation.”
No, no, no! James thought, burying his head in his hands. This couldn’t be happening! “What about Xin Qian? Can’t she heal her enough to make the shift?” Nick asked, giving James some hope.
“No,” the doctor said tersely. “I’ll tell you what I told her. She’s already given her all to save Alpha Sanders. Healing Miss Lily would need her to be a hundred percent. As of now, the girl is almost falling over with exhaustion. She can’t help anyone else until she rests. I’ve made sure her mate knows this and he’s making sure she gets the proper rest she needs.”
“Is Lily stable?” Nick asked, glancing at James with a worried expression.
“I believe she is,” he replied. “Being a vampire stopped further damage so I see no reason for that to change now.”