CAROLINE/KARA

Groaning, I opened my eyes to see that I was in a hospital like set up and I was alone, but I could hear William's voice close. It caused a smile over my groggy face.

I flung my legs over the side of the hospital bed and stretched my arms high, letting the tension in my back and arms weaken. I really should not have done that stupid climb on my own, so soon after healing those men.

Frowning, I thought to all the wolves still trapped in that sick form. How long would it take me to get through them all if I passed out after even five?

But I shook the thought off and wanted to get to William. Checking over the tube in my arm, I realized I was attached to a saline drip and knew I shouldn't, but pulled it out on my own. My face wrenched into a grimace and then softened as my natural healing closed up the wound.

It was still so cool that I could heal like that.

I wasn't in my own clothes, just some neutral grey sweats but there were flats to wear as shoes beside the bed, so I assumed those were for me as well. Slipping them on, I wandered out in the hall to find Will.

I hadn't made it two steps out when I saw Will and his family in the room across the hall. A subconscious smile lit my face as I watched through the window.

They were all huddled together on the hospital bed, William's brother at the center of a very perfect family hug circle. His mother was crying tears of joy and his father was desperately trying to control his breathing to not break down too.

It made my arms prickle with goosebumps knowing the love that their family shared and how joyful they were to be back together. Love blossomed over my heart in longing for that feeling. I missed my family so desperately and I wished so intently for what William had. My emotions bubbled from me in strong waves of longing.

But I didn't want to disturb them, interrupt that perfect family time. I would surely be invited into the circle with open arms, but I still felt a tinge of awkwardness that I shouldn't be allowed in that very personal moment, when I had only pushed myself into part of their family through Will's bite.

His parents accepted me right away. Surely his brother would too. Wouldn't he?

Before I could even take one step to see, I was thrust into my own mind, the healer stepping forward.

I turned to where she was leading me, marching purposefully through the hallways and down an adjacent corridor. A few nurses and guests watched my walk and studied me as I strode, but none made a move to stop my direct path.

Opening the heavy metal door to a white hospital room, I took in the chaos around me.

A hospital bed, now empty, was saturated with blood and deep striped cuts from wolf claws that had torn clear to the springs. A mid-twenties man dressed in hospital scrubs lay unconscious slumped against the wall. Two female nurses and one male doctor surrounded a large female wolf in the corner. All were coated in blood and the wolf had a dripping open incision across her very pregnant belly. She was growling a warning so fierce, she was nearly in her own trance of pain and scare.

Yet the medics continued their cage of her, doctor proceeding forward with a sedative.

"Stop," I commanded their advances.

The three turned to me, strange looks of trepidation across their faces.

"Let her breathe, she is frightened. Step back. Do not use that sedative."

The doctor, a late fourties man in green scrubs and masked up, dark long hair tied in a bun below his head scarf, gave a glance to my clothing and then commanded the nurses, "Ladies please escort this patient back to her room."

"I am not a patient."

One woman with a long blonde ponytail and large doe eyes studied me. Her name tag stated Nurse Marta. "I don't think we can Dr. Nyx."

He flinched with the wolf's sudden movement, but then eyed back on me. "Then call security. Get her out of here! We have a situation to deal with!"

The other nurse, Serena, with tanned skin and blood to her elbows agreed. "We can't ask her to leave sir. She has more authority here than you."

The doctor then finally took all his attention from the cornered growling wolf. He looked me up and down. "And who do you think you are?"

A nod of greeting. "I am Healer Kara. I am here to help this woman."

He stood to his full towering height, demanding respect. "I am Doctor Olsen Nyx, senior surgeon here at Hightop. I have no knowledge of any healer being available to this pack. So again, I ask, who are you?"

Nurse Marta smiled, "she's the one from that video."

The other nurse's eyes lit. "Oh, yes! I recognize her now! She was the one singing with Alpha Eric. Beta William's mate. Their song was so magical."

"Beta William has no mate," he objected.

Nurse Serena giggled. "You would know if you opened your morning email announcements once in a while."

He turned back to the frightened wolf, blood pooling under her from the open wound. "I have no time for this."

I spoke to the two. "Tell me what has happened to this woman. Why is she in wolf form? Her children are in distress."

Dr. Nyx stepped closer to the wolf and she snapped forward narrowly missing his hand. He jumped back.

Marta stood tall and spoke professionally. "Mr. and Mrs. Stoller came in when she was in full labor. Her first twin was in the transverse position. We were trying to turn it, but it was causing Mrs. Stoller too much pain. We opted for a c-section. We gave her an epidural and then began the incision. Mr. Stoller passed out. Fearful for her mate, it caused Mrs. Stoller's wolf healing to dilute the anesthesia and when the pain reached her, as well as concern for her mate, she transformed mid procedure."

Serena cut in. "Most pregnant shifters cannot transform their entire pregnancy. It's often the first sign of pregnancy, but in desperate conditions some can. It puts terrible strain on the baby though. And never could a wolf form shifter birth a human baby."

Marta nodded. "So we need to get her back to the operating table and continue the cesarean. But clearly Mrs. Stoller is so in her wolf form that she is going on wolfen instincts protecting her young, we cannot get to her."

"She's bleeding to death!" Serena added.

"Dammit!" Dr Nyx shouted as he reached forward trying to stab the shifter and she bit down on both his fingers and the syringe, shattering all.

"Step back!" The healer in me demanded and all hurried to obey. With a glance to the doctor's destroyed fingers, I cautioned, "get a bandage on that. I can help you next."

I stepped forward to the wolf, the healer's demeanor in me gentle and motherly. "Jenni, please be calm. I can help you and your children."

She growled a low warning as I advanced, eyes pointed at my outstretched hands. I knelt before her and reached to grab her muzzle.

Kara stop what you're doing! William's absolute command beat into my skull like a punch from the inside out.

And then my body was frozen.

The wolf darted forward jaws biting onto my outstretched forearm, clamping and flicking her head, taking ribbons of flesh between her teeth.

The pain was instantaneous and brutal, like dipping my hand into battery acid, yet I couldn't cry out. The healer relinquished some control as pain blossomed, but she held enough to wash calm over my head and wound.

"Healer!" Serena wailed and the three all stepped forward to demand my release.

Stop. I requested of them through my linked voice as my throat was cut off from all muscle movement. I can endure this. Please do not get yourselves hurt, or worse do more damage to the infants.

My next link found William. William, Mate? Could you uncommand me, please?

The wolf howled her fight into the air and dashed again for a harder bite at my arm, my radius bone shattering under her strong jaw. I was too under both the demands of the healer and of the submission bond I could not even shout out in my own pain.

Dr. Nyx stepped a single foot forward, frustrated against being forced back. "She is killing you. You are doing no good. Surrender control of this situation back to me."

I ignored his plea and instead let my golden eyes flash to the wolf as her jaws remained steady over my arm. All I needed was a simple hand to her face and I could take back the situation, but Will was indisposed holding my hurt into himself. I reiterated to him, hoping to convey the gravity of the situation. I do need my arms to defend against this werewolf attack.

Control was immediately relinquished back to me and I sped forward catching the wolf's face in my hands.

Kara, honey, where are you?

As the energy started flowing through my touch, her fight drained out of her, relishing the serenity of the healing. I could not fully heal her wound, as we still needed to get her children to safety, but I gave them all a dose of calm and an extra pulse of oxygen down to the infants.

William came upon the room now, still holding his arm like the break was his own. "What happened?" He looked upon the room.

Nurse Marta filled him in as the last bits of energy slowed into a now human Mrs. Stoller, and I stepped back, her resting form laying across the reddened wet floor.

I turned back to Dr. Nyx holding the mess of own fingers delicately. "Keep pressure to that wound. And you two," I looked at the nurses. "Please get Mrs. Stoller back on the operating table and clean her incision for the rest of the procedure. Mrs. Stoller's son needs to be delivered immediately."

My glance flew over Mr. Stoller and I knew I'd have to wake him up to put Mrs. Stoller back at ease, but with him, Dr. Nyx, and my own wound to deal with my inner power wasn't up to finishing the full task.

I needed a boost.

I turned to William next.

"What can I do?" He was ready to jump in.

Instead, I summoned his inner wolf for consent for marking. The golden eyes of his wolf pulled forward at my beckon and Will bowed his submission.

Quickly, I took the two steps to him, my hands steadying myself at his shoulder and one curving his throat. Then I sunk my teeth into his lower neck, pressing as hard as instincts told to mark him as my own, drawing our life energy together.

He pulled in a low breath but didn't cry out.

The second mark then was bit high into his neck and he stiffened, body filled with the marking euphoria. I clamped on, letting the bliss flow through us, swirling like patterns of the milky way. The healing energy buzzed between us like an overflowing river. The force pooled at my arm, gluing shards of bone back together and tissues again tying. The tiny olden scar across Will's jaw, the sites of nail scratches over his calf from a battle many years ago, every old injury being completely cleansed of his. I held on until we were whole again, two bodies but of one heart.

My teeth released and I licked the new punctures to their scar form. The procedure itself a type of healing magic that every wolf held.

When I finally leaned back, Will's hand brushed over his neck, his breathing long and ragged. "Wow," he rasped and tilted against the wall for support.

I smiled at him, the gold of our eyes connecting strongly for a few seconds and then I turned back to my work, fully powered.

I stepped to Dr. Nyx and grabbed his mutilated hand, sandwiching it between mine. He hissed in pain. My eyes closed letting the healing power boil inside of me. The power surged over his hand in a ball of warmth. He sighed his own statement of relief as the bones mended and pain melted.

In another minute the muscles tightened to normal, and his hand was healed as new.

I stepped back, a soft bow to him and he flexed his fingers as if he'd never seen them bend before.

"Ready yourself for the rest of the cesarean. The boy needs to be born immediately."

He nodded and turned to the sink to clean up for fresh gloves.

The ladies were finishing prepping Mrs. Stoller back for the rest of the incision and hooking monitors back on.

I kneeled to Mr. Stoller and set a hand across his pale forehead. A flash of energy was sent to wake him and he startled, arms up in defense.

William's grasp was already around me, pulling me from the frantic flailings of the finally awake man.

A slight grin of mine went to William, and a twinkle of eye, before I kneeled back to the man's side. "Mr. Stoller. You're okay. Your wife is okay. Come grab her hand and let the bond know you are near. We need to continue the surgery."

After a few racing heart beats, he nodded and stood to her side grabbing her hand in his. He looked down adoringly to her dozing face. "Jenni baby. I'm here."

The nurses had put an oxygen mask over her face but done a wonderful job of clearing the blood.

I spoke to him. "We need to keep her under during the rest of the procedure, but she will do better with you by her side."

"Yeah," he nodded and gripped her hand tighter.

My attention went to Dr. Nyx who was now stepping up in clean robes. "Finish the incision and birth the babies. I can take it after that to close the cut and make sure the babies are fit."

He nodded and took over, giving commands to the nurses. I stepped back to William, but my eyes were still on the process. William's arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me against his heat. A kiss to my cheek brought Kara to the front, and with a breath I pushed the healer to step back a few minutes.

I turned my head slightly to him and he gave me a quick peck. A bright smile slid over both our faces. Then I turned back to watch the medics as Will's thumb roamed over the marks left on my neck.