40: Best Hope

CALLUM POV

“There we go. Thanks, guys,” Zoe smiles, wiping the sweat off her brow as she, Xander, ’n’ I finish gettin’ Sasha, still in panther form ’n’ breathin’ real shallow, off Drake’s back ’n’ into the hatch of their SUV. Rika’s rummaging through their stash o’ supplies like her existence depends on it, prob’ly lookin’ for somethin’ to try’n help her injured friend. She’s somethin’ else; never thought a bloodsucker’d give a fuck ’bout healing, but she’s damn skillful an’ cares a lot more’n she’s willin’ t’say.

“Here, man,” I say to Drake, shovin’ the bundle of his clothes ’n’ stuff we threw together before goin’ into that goddamn warehouse in front of his nose. He takes it gently in his jaws, but his eyes are fixed on Sasha’s limp, battered form. “Take ’em ’n’ go find a place to shift back. We’ll take care of her. Promise.”

Drake reluctantly bounds away with his things. I’ve no doubt he’ll be back soon. Meanwhile, Xander’s been talkin’ with Zoe, but I ain’t payin’ them any attention. She ain’t played straight with me and ain’t earnin’ forgiveness anytime soon, but seems like she ’n’ Xander hit it off while they was interrogatin’ them fae. I’m grateful we made it out that crazy place alive—none of us even hurt except Sasha—but this is still a shit situation an’ I’m still afraid this is some sorta trap.

Truth be told, I’m also damn scared Sasha ain’t gonna pull through and that it’ll wreck Drake for good, but I ain’t breathin’ a word ’bout that to no one. Drake’s already a mess, worryin’ ’bout her, even with all the bullshit she’s put him through, and it’s possible Rika ’n’ Zoe are even more torn up ’bout her. And they got reason to be worried. I’ve never seen someone with that much blood loss and that many injuries recover.

“I think I’ve got everything we’ll need,” Rika announces, comin’ back ’round to the open hatch of the SUV with an armload of supplies. “Zoe, cover her and then hold her down, please.”

“On it,” Zoe nods, already movin’ with blanket in hand.

“Xander, Callum, please stand behind me in case I need backup.”

“Sure thing,” Xander agrees.

“What you plannin’ to do?” I ask, more than a little skeptical even as I follow Xander to take the place Rika assigned. Zoe’s already got Sasha wrapped up in the blanket and is straddlin’ her, hands pressed against the panther’s head and shoulder. The pose makes all her muscles stand out. Damn, she’s jacked. Wonder if she lifts weights?

“Gonna inject her with a nutrient solution—something like if an IV drip and a sports drink had a baby, to help her recover—and then give her a shot of adrenaline,” Rika explains. Her jaw is hella tense, her movements quick and efficient. “We’ve done this before. Sometimes she spazzes a bit.”

“Excuse me?!” Xander demands for both of us. This sounds like a good way to get mauled by an angry panther.

“If she freaks, dive in from the sides—watch out for her claws—and help Zoe hold her down. I’ll take the brunt of it.” Her cold dark eyes brook no argument.

“Beat up as she is, it’s unlikely she’ll be much of a danger to any of us, even with the boosts Rika’s giving her,” Zoe adds. Likely she’s tryin’ to reassure us, but it’s hard to take comfort when Rika’s already puttin’ the first injection into Sasha’s one exposed shoulder. The panther don’t so much as flinch. I don’t like this.

“And once she’s awake? Then what?” I prompt.

“Then I pour this quart of blood down her throat,” Rika gestures to what looks like a large juice box at her left elbow, then continues her process of taking the spent syringe outta Sasha’s shoulder and preppin’ the next one while she keeps talkin’. “It’s not her blood type, so I can’t give it to her as a transfusion, but it’s infused with extra vitamins and stuff that will help her heal. She’s a carnivore, at least in this form, so it should be fine. It’s about the best I can do with the supplies I have. We didn’t come out tonight planning for something like this. Once she’s got it down, I’ll get her to shift back to her usual form.”

An unwelcome stab of pity pierces my gut. They ain’t wanted it to go down like this, either. But that don’t excuse all the lies an’ bullshit they’ve fed us leadin’ up to this point.

“You said you’ve done this before?” Xander questions, clearly worried. Rika rolls her eyes at him and plunges the adrenaline shot into the panther’s shoulder, then grabs Sasha’s jaws with both hands, creatin’ a makeshift muzzle.

“What the hell—” Drake exclaims behind me.

“She’s tryin’ to help, and she’s got more experience ’n’ know-how than the three of us put together,” I interrupt him. “Best let her do her thing if you want the panther to live.”

“Yes, we’ve done this a couple times,” Zoe confirms as she plucks the empty adrenaline syringe outta her friend and tosses it to the side.

In the next moment, Sasha jerks and her eyes snap open, glazed ’n’ unfocused. Beside me, Drake jumps like he wants to go to her, but both Xander and I put ourselves in his way. Now is not the time to be doin’ stupid shit. She starts squirmin’ under Zoe, but the blonde’s experienced as well as toned, movin’ like a bull rider to keep Sasha from hurtin’ herself or anyone else. Maintainin’ her grip on Sasha’s jaws, Rika keeps her eyes locked with the panther’s green ones.

“It’s okay, Sasha. Look at me. You know me. You’re safe,” Rika soothes her friend. Panic ’n’ confusion give way to somethin’ like recognition. Sasha’s flailing slows to a stop as the vampire continues. “Anselm’s dead. You killed him. He can’t hurt anyone anymore. That’s it. Easy does it. I need you to drink this for me, ’kay? Just tilt your head back…”

Rika guides Sasha’s head into a better position, gently releasing her makeshift muzzle. Zoe moves to provide support. The three o’ them are in their own little world. Drake, Xander, ’n’ I might as well not exist.

“Now just open up for me. I’ll pour slow. You need to drink it all,” Rika instructs Sasha. She pops the cap off her juice box. Red liquid drips into the panther’s open mouth. Zoe strokes her throat to promote swallowing.

Seems they have done somethin’ like this before. They work like a well-oiled machine.

“Callum. You think she’ll live?” Drake asks, barely audible.

I know what he wants me to say. But I ain’t gon’ lie to him. He’s had more’n enough o’ that shit.

“Not sure,” I admit, wincing as his face falls. “But those two are the best chance she got of pullin’ through.”

“Thank you, Sasha. You’re doing great,” Rika encourages Sasha as the beleaguered panther swallows the last bit of blood from her container. “I just need you to do one more thing for me. Can you shift?”

Green eyes stare blankly into black ones. All three WASP operatives are still as a tableau. Nothin’ changes.

“Come on, Sasha. You got this. Work’s done. Time to relax,” Zoe tells her friend.

“I know I’m asking a lot. But you’ll feel so much better once you’ve done it.”

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the black fur starts to recede and fade from Sasha’s face. Rika ’n’ Zoe work together to give her privacy, holdin’ ’n’ wrappin’ blankets around her as the panther melts back into the human form I recognize as the woman who’s got a hold on Drake’s heart.

“She’s out again,” Zoe remarks softly.

“Let her sleep. She’s had it rough and needs the rest,” Rika answers, head under Sasha’s blankets.

“What’s she doing?” Drake whispers. He’s radiatin’ jealousy an’ concern.

“Checkin’ her wounds, most like. Chill,” I admonish him.

“Did the trick, though, shifting did,” Rika reports. She tucks the blankets back around Sasha’s unconscious form. “Wounds look much better. But she’s gonna need a few days of rest and continued treatment to recover.”

It feels like a collective weight has lifted off all of us as Rika an’ Zoe climb out the SUV, leaving Sasha sleepin’ on the floor in the back.

“Glad to hear it,” Xander replies. “So now what? You gonna take us back to my truck, or—”

“Under the circumstances, we should probably all stay together, and we should not stay in Columbus.”

“What you mean?” I demand, but I think I already know the answer.

“When Sasha put herself on the line to save you, she defied an order from her commanding officer. And then proceeded to assassinate him,” Zoe explains, eyes fixed on Drake. “While officially Rika and I have exonerated the three of you of the crimes WASP suspected you were committing, the fact that our partner basically committed high treason during our investigation might invalidate that report. You’re all still in danger, and so are we.”

“Hence that business with the fae.”

“Yeah. Having them in our corner will help, but there’s no guarantee WASP doesn’t send more operatives out to apprehend—or eliminate—all six of us. And our best fighter’s out of commission,” Rika adds.

“Is it safe to get stuff out of our homes before we skip town?” Xander asks. “I’m sure y’all have a lot of supplies you’d like to grab, and we’ve got some, too.”

“That’s probably reasonable. But then we’ve got to get out of Columbus. No stopping for a nap or anything. I can drive first so the rest of you can sleep—”

“We can go back to Maine,” Drake suggests. “The pack would help us, no question.”

“I don’t doubt that. But your pack homeland is one of the first places WASP would look for the three of you, and going there would likely put them all in the same danger we’re in,” Zoe argues. Rika opens a door of the SUV and grabs a tablet.

“Here,” she hands it to me.

“The pack’s full of fighters—” Drake is arguing as my eyes scan the information on Rika’s tablet screen. This Anselm fucker Sasha merc’d was mad suspicious of the Linto-Gizos pack. WASP got details on ev’rythin’ that went down with Drake’s uncle, all sorts of email communications with Elder Eric ’n’ other pack Elders….They’ve more than got a case to burn the whole place to the ground, if we go home now.

“Ain’t no way in hell,” I interrupt Drake. “Too dangerous. That lion Sasha wrecked been lookin’ for an excuse to wipe out the whole pack.”

“If anyone at HQ is on the same wavelength Anselm was, joining your pack is effectively giving them all a death sentence,” Rika affirms.

“Call yo’ dad ’n’ tell him what’s gone down, though, and that they all better lay low or go into hiding.”

“Where we gonna go, then?” Xander demands as Drake sputters incoherent protests.

Rika and Zoe exchange glances.

“Drake. How much did Sasha tell you about our trip to Montana?” Zoe asks gently.

“Her mom sent her out there to see a great-aunt to help resolve a family crisis—” he starts.

“Right. That’s…not what happened. But we did go to Montana. And we helped a guy fix a problem he was having out there,” Rika interjects.

“Doin’ WASP work, though?” I question. “How can you be sure he gon’ be on our side?”

“He as much as said he owes us a favor. And he and Anselm weren’t on friendly terms. He’s the closest thing we’ve got to an ally who might help us change how WASP operates. And he’s got equipment that would be super helpful,” Zoe explains.

“You plannin’ to drive straight through to Montana again?” Xander grumbles. “Ain’t you just got back?”

“Well, um. We flew last time.”

“But going to the airport tonight is too risky,” Rika warns as Xander’s eyes light up and Drake groans at the weight of more lies he’s gotta unravel. “We’ll drive it this time.”

“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ shittin’ me,” I snap.

“You got a better idea?” Zoe counters. “I know this is a lot. I know you didn’t ask for any of this mess. But that dead lion in there’s more to blame for all this bullshit than any of us, and we’re trying to keep you and ourselves alive.”

“If you want to try and make it on your own, I guess we can’t stop you,” Rika adds with a sigh reekin’ o’ fake melodrama. “But as far as I know, our best hope for survival is in Montana, so that’s where Zoe and I are taking Sasha.”

I glance at Drake and Xander, hoping against hope that one of ’em’ll back me up on this.

“I’m not letting her out of my sight until I’ve had a chance to talk with her,” Drake mutters. One look at him’s enough to know he’d fight me tooth ’n’ nail if I argue with him, and as riled up as he is, that’s a fight I might actually lose.

Xander shrugs. Shoulda known better’n t’think he’d be any help. He never turns down a chance at adventure. And Montana might be where his pack of origin was, ’fore they was wiped out.

“Let’s go get our supplies and head towards Montana, then,” Xander decides.

“Good call,” Zoe smiles. “Someone should sit with Sasha, make sure my driving doesn’t hurt her worse than she already is—”

“I’ll do it,” Drake volunteers grimly. He crawls into the back with Sasha while the rest of us claim seats.

Bitches better not be lyin’ this time, or there’s gon’ be hell to pay.