Stay For Me

Chapter 3

DECLAN

Declan mind-linked his pack members. *Pack your bags. We leave tonight.* Almost instantly, he got a response from Matt. *What's up, Alpha? We have another three days here!*

*I found my mate, and someone in this wretched excuse for a pack is abusing her!*  Declan was livid. All he saw was red. Colton howled in his mind as he lifted Ranielle in his arms.

He stalked out of the basement, handling his precious cargo with the utmost care. He slipped out the back entrance, to the black SUV's that were parked there. Matt, Nik and the rest of his group stood there and nearly jumped out of their skin when they saw her.

"That's her?" Matt asked quietly. Declan nodded, afraid that if he said anything, he would haul off and murder someone. He gently placed her on the backseat, climbed in himself, and gathered her into his arms.

"Drive, Nik. Get me away from this hellhole." Declan growled. Nik stepped on the gas and they roared away into the night.

Declan smoothed her hair away from her face. Her body was still covered in bruises, and she looked horrible. She had been unconscious for three hours and looked like death itself.

Nik pulled into Bloodriver Pack's territory and parked in front of the pack doctor's office. Declan jumped out and ordered his men to bring him a stretcher to put Ranielle on.

"Dec, you okay, man?" Matt asked as they rushed into the office. Declan didn't reply.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Janice, the elderly pack doctor, rushed in wearing her bathrobe, looking outraged that the group had stormed her office and home in the middle of the night. Then she caught sight of Ranielle.

"Matt, get my kit, second cabinet on the right. Nik, get as much gauze as you can find," Janice barked orders at Declan's men as they scrambled around. "Declan, is this your mate?" She asked softly . Declan whispered, "yeah."

"Alpha, you are going to have to step back so I can get to fixing this. She's probably been like this for a while, and it isn't healing." Declan nodded and let her step up to the table. "I need you to leave. All of you." Janice's voice was shrill and sharp.

"Why?" Declan asked, panicked.

"Just go, Alpha. Go now." She practically shoved the sixlet out of the room and slammed the door in their face.

JANICE

The young girl on the bed before her was almost battered to beyond knowing she was a girl. After getting rid of the men, she carefully stripped her. She looked up at the stars from the skylight, and whispered, "Moon Goddess, let her live."

It was hours before Janice had finished examining, cleaning, and bandaging every inch of the girl from the beating she had received. She finally emerged and said, "Alpha, you can come in now."

DECLAN

Declan stood in a flash and rushed into the room, which smelled like antiseptic and blood. He skidded to a stop as he saw his mate lying there, unmoving.

"Oh, Rani, why wasn't I watching you more closely?!" Declan whispered in anguish. He stroked the hair away from her eyes, which were closed and unmoving like the rest of her.

He pulled a chair close to her bedside and sat down, pulling her hand into his and kissing it. *Mate looks like death,* Colton said. *Finally you show up. You haven't said anything since we found her.* Declan snarled back. Colton went silent. Declan laid his head down beside her, still clutching her hand, and slowly drifted into a fitful sleep.

RANIELLE

Ranielle slowly blinked her eyes open and shifted slightly. The first thing she noticed was that she was warm. She'd never been warm. As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she felt a hand in hers. She looked down and stared in awe at the warm, brown, calloused hand that gripped hers. She squeezed it softly, her motion just enough to cause the person to stir.

"Declan?" Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. It barely could be heard, but his head perked up instantaneously. "Can I have some water?"

"Of course you can, baby girl...." His voice trailed off as he stood up to hand her the glass of water and help her hold it to her lips. Ranielle shivered as the icy water poured down her throat. Declan removed the glass and sat on the edge of the bed.

Ranielle's shield went up and she threw her hands in front of her face. "Rani, don't do that..." Declan gently prized her hands away from her face and she caught a look at his eyes. They were soft, warm, filled with pain that she thought he would hurt her.  A tear slipped out of Ranielle's eye. She looked away, and realized she wasn't in her basement. She panicked, her eyes growing wild as she looked around for Blaze.

"Hey, hey, calm down, you're at my house, in Bloodriver Pack. Shh, shh, baby, calm down..." He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to his chest, so close she could hear his heartbeat, thumping in his chest.

"My heart beats only for you, Ranielle..." Declan whispered as he stroked her hair, holding her closer to his chest. That did her in. The tears flooded from her eyes like rivers, as she wept horribly for days long past.