Page 20 of Protected By The Polar Bear

“He’s going to be okay, Tessa. He’s a shifter. They heal fast,” Elle reassures me, and I sniffle, dashing at the tears on my cheeks.

“I’ve been so stupid and petty,” I admit, and she reaches out, squeezing my hand.

We pull into the parking lot of the hospital a minute later, and I see Niko and the guys rushing toward the front doors.

“Come on. Let’s catch them,” Elle says as she hurries out of the car.

I’m quick to follow her, and we jog through the snow-covered parking lot towards the front doors.

“Niko!” Elle calls, and her mate stops and spins to face us.

“Any news?” I ask the guys as we catch up to them.

“No, I haven’t been able to get ahold of Flint yet.”

“Fifth floor,” Alec says as he checks his phone.

We head for the elevator and ride in tense silence up to the fifth floor. I can hear Elle and Niko whispering to each other, but I’m too distracted to pay attention to what they’re saying.

Please be alright, please be alright, I repeat over and over again to myself.

“This way,” Alec says, pointing down the hall. We all follow him over to a little waiting room where Flint is anxiously pacing back and forth.

“What happened?” I choke out, and Flint gives me a sympathetic look.

“There were hunters, and they were shooting at God knows what. They hit Ash in the shoulder.”

“Hunters! Was he… shifted?” I whisper, and Flint shakes his head.

“No. The hunters shouldn’t have been shooting there. We were still on the resort’s property.”

“Did you catch them?” Elle asks Niko, and he nods.

“Yeah, and you’ll never guess who it was,” he says and I frown.

“We know them?”

“One of them at least. It was Randy Miller.”

My stomach drops and Elle and I share a shocked look.

“It was him and his brother. Randy was ranting about Ash stealing his girl when he grabbed him. We dropped them off at the station in town and came here. The Alphas are going to deal with them… once they sober up.”

“They were drunk?” I ask in surprise, and he nods grimly.

“Yeah, they were wasted. We’re lucky that they didn’t shoot anyone else or kill anyone.”

“I can’t believe that Randy…” I trail off and Elle nods.

“Me either. I guess it’s a good thing that Ash went with you to Colorado. Lord knows what he had planned at the signing,” Elle adds.

“It’s not good for Ash! He was shot,” I argue and she winces.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she says and I shake my head.

“I know. I’m sorry, I’m just stressed. How was Ash when they brought him in?” I ask, my eyes straying over to the surgery doors.

“He passed out. They said that he lost a lot of blood; they probably hit an artery. Hopefully, they can get the bullet out, and then his polar bear will be able to help.”

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