Page 40 of Shattered Soulmates

Snake turns away, unable to look me in the eye. “After Joyride’s been treated by Doc, put her in one of the cells,”he directs. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“What about Paisley?”

He quickly shoots a glance at Paisley. “Have Doc check her out and lock her in an empty bedroom suite for now. Make sure she’s comfortable.I’ve some investigating to do.” He looks over his shoulder darkly at Joyride. “We’ll question Joyride when she regains consciousness.”

A couple of the brothers grab Joyride up under her arms and drag her to the medical clinic while a couple of the club girls approach with cleaning supplies and bleach.

“Send a meal up to Paisley’s room and stock a mini-fridge with water and snacks for her,” I suggest, glancing at Paisley, who is still crying. “One of you ol’ ladies got some clothes she can change into after she takes a shower?”

“I’ll get her some clothes and towels,” Melitta offers. “I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

“Thanks, Melitta,” I say. "See that Doc checks Paisley’s injuries.”

"Will do, Lynsey,"Bulldozer replies as he and another brother take Paisley to a room.

“I need to get some air before I burn this place down.” I walk outside, and Que follows quietly beside me. Taking my hand, we do a few circles around the lake until my temper wanes, and I can breathe cool air again.

We stop on the far shore, and Que pulls me in, his hand roughly grabbing the back of my head as he kisses me. “There’s my good girl,” he murmurs, his voice low. “For a second, I thought I was going to have to put you over my knee and spank you.”

I raise an eyebrow, feeling the heat rise again. “Who says you still don’t have to?”

Chapter 18 – Wind Howl Pack

Alpha Stone

I pace outside the ICU, where Beta Miles is kept alive by machines. Even the continuous IV drip of Amra isn’t easing his CMS symptoms as effectively as it once did. They continue stitching him up, but his body isn’t able to recover fast enough. Each time he heals to the point where he can leave the ICU, another episode hits, and he’s right back in surgery. It’s an endless cycle.

Marissa is well aware of the damage CMS causes. We didn’t hold anything back when Dr. Skye showed her the photographs and videos. But she’s heartless.

Miles isn’t blameless either. He had to know Marissa wasn’t being celibate when she disappeared for months. But when she returned and beckoned him, he was foolish enough to take her back without much hesitation and jump into bed with her again. The betrayal set his fate in motion as he later sealed the bondto Marissa through a claiming bite, disregarding Paisley’s pain.

Now he’s paying the brutal price for trusting Marissa and breaking Paisley’s heart.

I left Beta Knight in charge of the pack to check on Miles, who’s in bad shape. Continuing to pace, I see Dr. Skye approaching.

‘Alpha Stone,’ she begins, ‘Come with me, please.’

Dr. Skye, the surgeon treating Miles at Stone Mountain City Hospital, is the foremost authority on CMS, having more experience with it than any other surgeon.

“Sure,” I reply following her into a small room where we sit down at a table.

“Listen,” she hesitates, making me uneasy. I can tell this conversation is going to be hard. “Miles is the most serious case of CMS I’ve ever treated in a living person. It’s a miracle he’s still alive with everything he’s going through. It’s a testament to his strength. But...he doesn’t have much more to give. After every surgery, he loses a little more ground.”

“I could wring Marissa’s neck!” I roar, pounding my fist on the table.

“Marissa? Is that his mate?”

“Yes. She ran off a couple of months ago and hasn’t returned,” I spit. “I have enforcers looking for her, but she’s crawled into some hole and hasn’t come out yet.”

“I see,” she sighs. “I've heard the story and know what Beta Miles did to his fated mate, and I usually don’t feel ill will toward my patients, but this is Karma at its finest–he’s been suffering for months now, hasn’t he?”

“Yes. Even though our healer has been increasing his dose of Amra, nothing seems to be helping. His pain is off the charts.”

"His mate is cheating repeatedly." Dr. Skye quips. "When he’s conscious, his pain can’t be controlled well at all,” she adds. “And, his condition is precarious, and I’m becoming desperate. There is an alternative that we need to consider.”

“There is a she-wolf who actually cut her mate mark off with a spell that worked, effectively removing the bond. Let's pursue that route quickly. At the rate of deterioration, Miles doesn’t have much time left.”

I agree with Dr. Skye’s assessment, and she proceeds to fill me in on Luna Charlie’s bond-breaking ritual when she and Alpha Jenson split up. We all knew that they had divorced, but I wasn’t aware of the extent of Jenson’s indiscretions or the things Charlie had gonethrough to cut ties. By the time we left that room, we had a plan in place and had made all the arrangements with Charlie herself to assist with the spell.

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