Order of Protection Ch. 15-22

Patrick's POV

I instinctively ducked away from the fireball and the flying debris, raising my right arm as I twisted my torso down and left. I felt the car rock and heard the impacts of objects on it, like hailstones. I gathered myself and sat back up, opening the door and running towards the explosion.

I heard the car start behind me and tires screech as Sergey accelerated into the empty road. He parked a safe distance from the burning car, I heard the door slam as I finally reached the sidewalk and my heart stopped.

Jessie was crumpled against a wall, blood down her face, and a chunk of steel imbedded below her chest.

The Father was in even worse shape, his right leg had been blown off above the knee, and he was bleeding everywhere. Somehow, he was still conscious, and trying to pull himself towards Jessie's body. I ripped my belt off, tightening it around his bloody leg and pulling tight. "Fuck me," Sergey said as he came up next to me.

"Check Jessie," I said as I tied off the tourniquet. I pulled off my shirt, using it to hold pressure on another gash on his chest.

"Bring me... to her... please," he said as he continued to try and pull himself with one arm and leg towards her.

"You're badly injured, stay here so I can stop your bleeding," I said to him.

"No... already dead... must save her." He kept going, so I grabbed his belt and pulled him next to Jessie. Sergey had laid her down and was tearing his shirt into strips to make bandages. The Father moved until his hands were over Jessie's chest, and started to chant. I felt a chill as the wind started to circle around us, and his hands took on a faint blue glow. I could see in his face, whatever he was doing was draining the life from him quickly.

"What the fuck?" Sergey was watching a deep cut on Jessie's arm, it healed up as he watched.

"Witchcraft," I said with awe in my voice. He kept going for another ten seconds, then he collapsed and the glow was gone. I put my fingers to his neck, his heart was stopped. Father Kempechny's secrets were not gone with him.

"We've got to get her out of here," Sergey said as I pulled the Father off her body. "Bring her to the car." He got up and ran for the car, opening the back door.

I picked her up carefully, I could hear her breath rasping as I moved back into the street. I laid her across the seat, kneeling on the floor as I pulled the door closed. "GO," I said, and he screeched the tires as he pulled back out. I checked her quickly, placing her on her side to prevent her from choking on blood. Starting at her head, I could see the gash on the back of her head was healed, but the blood still coated her hair. I could feel broken bones and ribs, probably the cause of her wheezing. "She might have a punctured lung," I said as he took a corner at speed. I had to put my hand down to keep from rolling around. "How far to the hospital?"

"We're not going to the hospital," he said as he pulled his phone out. I ignored the rapid-fire conversation in Russian as I continued to check Jessie for injury. The worst injury was the puncture wound from a shard of metal on the left side of her abdomen, the healing had slowed the bleeding but it couldn't heal with the shard still in place. Her right leg was broken above the ankle, she had bruises everywhere, and I probably didn't know half of it. The first aid training I had taken in my Pack hadn't prepared me for this kind of damage. Finally, Sergey was off the phone. "She's badly hurt, we need to get her to the hospital now," I said.

"Take her to a hospital and she's dead," he said. "Someone found out who she is, that was a Mob hit. No hospital within a day's drive of Moscow will be safe, they have eyes everywhere and you can bet they'll pay for the information. Somebody would have been watching, they know she wasn't killed. They won't stop until the job is done," he said gravely.

"Then what do we do?"

"We drive east," he said. "I've called my Alpha, he's sending a truck with our Pack doctor and a nurse west to meet us. If this is Yuri, he's got no influence in our Pack hospital. Our Pack will protect her," he promised.

"Is she going to make it?"

He just laughed. "Do I look like a fucking doctor? I have no idea. I can just tell you, that was a hit. The car that blew up was left there by the werewolf that was spotted earlier. He would have been around somewhere to detonate it as they walked by. Trust me, Yuri already knows she survived the blast and he's already sending crews down here to finish the job."

He was right; as the Alpha heir to the Moscow Pack and a threat to Yuri inheriting his wealth, Jessie was the most wanted woman in Russia right now. "How the hell did he find out who she was, and that she was here?"

"I don't know, but we need to clear the trail. Check her purse." He had grabbed it when he took off for the car, and handed it to me. Phone, money, credit cards- and a room key to the Old Monastery Hotel. Sergey made a quick call, then we pulled over to the side of the road. He left the room key at the base of a road sign, then got back in and pulled out onto the road again. He called a number, giving instructions in Russian. "One of my men will retrieve everything she left in the hotel room and sanitize it, removing all fingerprints," he said.

Jessie still hadn't woken, but she was breathing a little easier now. There were no areas that were bleeding heavily, thanks to whatever the Father did to her. "What happened with Father Kempechny back there? Was he a witch?"

"He must have been, that had to have been a healing spell. We can ask the Pack Elders when we get back."

"If he could heal, why didn't he save himself?" I was thinking back to how determined he was to reach her, even though he was dying. "Maybe he knew he couldn't save himself?"

"I don't know, but I'm glad he did. If he hadn't healed all those wounds, she'd have bled to death on the sidewalk." I didn't want to think of that, but watching her gashed open body heal itself in seconds was amazing. I grabbed a bottle of water and a spare shirt that was stored under the back seat and started to clean the blood from her. I took my time, removing the torn and charred clothing she was wearing.

I wasn't creeping on her nudity, I was a werewolf, we grew up with social nudity as it was part of having to shift. She didn't show any signs of waking, but her breathing was starting to even out. It had been an hour, and the raspiness was gone. Finally having her cleaned and now on her back, I covered her with a blanket and sat down on the floor. "How long until we meet your doctor?"

He'd just closed up his phone. "Another hour, maybe longer. The rest of my team is behind us; everything is out of her hotel room, and they verified the room was under Father Kempechny's name, not hers. As far as we can tell, she only used the name Natalya, no last name, and not her real name."

"The police?"

"They got there a minute after we left. No suspects, and I wouldn't expect the investigation to go far. Too much corruption, and the Mob is too powerful."

"The Father was a good man. It's too bad." I thought about the man who told Jessie about her mother, who practically begged her not to find out all she could, but we had both found out how stubborn and willful she could be. "I've never met a witch before. Can you tell who they are by smell?"

"It's my first time too. I was taught that if they use dark magic, they smell of death and decay. White magic, they smell of ozone and rain. If they haven't used their magic, they smell fully human." He laughed. "Because they are. Human, I mean. Witches are a talent, a power within, it isn't biological like with a werewolf. We can't hide our nature, our scent gives us up." I took a deep smell of Jessie's shirt, I could pick up the smell of rain in it. "Since it was white magic, there was balance. He gave up his own energy to give to her. He literally died saving her life."

I held Jessie's hand, looking at the faint scars that were all that was left behind by his healing power. I wondered what else he had done, and whether it would have any long-term effects. Mostly, I wondered why he healed all he did, yet she was still comatose. Did the magic use her energy too? Was there enough?

I didn't have any more answers before we met the truck from the Kstovo Pack and transferred Jessie to the care of their Pack Doctor. They took off, while we had to stop to get gas and food and go to the bathroom.

My hands were shaking, and I couldn't stop them.

Unknown POV

I watched from an alley up the street as they walked down the sidewalk. I checked my phone again, it was them, the Father and a hot young woman with black hair. When I was called by the Boss this morning, I was told to take care of the problem and to make it public. I loaded the bomb in the trunk of a stolen car and parked it near his apartment.

The St. Petersburg recruiters were combing through the remains of the Moscow Pack, taking in talent where they could find it. I was an early pick, having made my bones at fourteen; now twenty, I had "taken care" of dozens of people when I was told to do so. I preferred knives, but orders were orders. Nothing was more public than a bomb.

I saw them walking, it was perfect. I waited until they were alongside the car and pressed the button. The explosion sent them flying into the wall of the nearby house, and I could see the Father had a leg blown off. I turned and ran down the alley away from the scene. By the time the cops arrived, I'd be long gone.

As I arrived at the train station, I was smiling. The hit had gone perfectly, the Boss would be pleased. I settled in to my seat for the ride back to the Moscow station. A book had been left on the seat next to me, it was called "Blue Butterflies" and after three chapters I was hooked.

I walked out of the station and a black car was waiting for me. I got in the back, the door closed, and we drove off into traffic. "Success?"

"Yes sir, went perfectly."

"Then how come the girl survived?" I didn't have a chance to answer before I felt the garotte around my throat. I kicked and fought but couldn't get free. The thin wire cut through my neck, and as I lost consciousness, all I could think about was how there was no way she wasn't dead. Not after that.

Ch. 16

Patrick's POV

It was past midnight before we pulled in to the driveway of the Kstovo Pack House. The house was a lot like the wolves- strong, understated and completely lacking in ornamentation. Made of concrete and steel, it would withstand anything short of artillery.

I got out, my clothes still covered in blood and dirt. I looked at the top of the stairs, four people stood there waiting for us. Sergey talked to me as we walked towards the bottom of the stairs. "That's the Alpha family. The big guy is the Alpha, Viktor Kirolinko. To his right is his mate Marina, then his daughter Mischa. The Alpha heir, Konstantin, is on his right."

"I've met Alpha Viktor at the last meeting, but he didn't bring his son. Big guy, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he takes after his father in that." When you think of a man who looks like a Russian bear, it would be Viktor. Huge chest, thick arms, hardly any neck. He looked like he could snap you in half without breaking a sweat. His son was almost as wide, but more muscled with a narrower waist. His mate was tall, with waist-length straight blonde hair and high cheekbones. It was the daughter who took my breath away.

She was like her mother, but taller and with a fuller figure. She was wearing a floral print dress, a white band holding her hair back from her face. Her lips were full, her features delicate, and as I walked up the stairs I saw her eyes widen, the ice blue color taking my breath away.

Then I caught her scent. 'MATE," my wolf yelled at me. "MATE MATE MATE," I could feel him spinning around, pushing to take over so he could have her. I held him back, barely, as I ran towards her. Konstantin moved to intercept me, but it didn't matter- he grabbed me, but Mischa ducked under his arm and threw her own arms around me. "MINE," I growled loudly.

"MINE," her beautiful voice said in agreement. I barely noticed Konstantin letting me go as I embraced my mate and lowered my mouth to hers. We kissed, and it was the greatest feeling I'd ever experienced. You learn as a pup about mates, about the signs, but their descriptions could never convey what I was feeling right now. We lost ourselves in the bond that was growing between us, nothing else existed.

"Beta Patrick." I heard it, but I ignored it. "MISCHA." She stilled, then pulled back from me. I growled and tried to pull her closer, but the dominance of Alpha Viktor was soon present in my face. My wolf wasn't happy, but he submitted, and I stepped back. The Alpha took his daughter's hand and handed her off to her mother. "Congratulations, Beta Patrick. A mating is a wonderful thing, worthy of a celebration. Unfortunately for you, Mischa will not be of age for four more months. You may mark her at a ceremony, but you must wait to mate."

My wolf calmed, the Alpha was not taking her from me. "I will wait an eternity for her if I must," I said as I looked into her eyes. Her mother was hugging her from behind, while Konstantin stared me down.

"It will only seem like that," he said with a laugh. "Come, we drink to your good fortune in finding your mates at a young age. You are how old?"

"Twenty-one, Alpha."

"Good, good. Come on, meet my son Konstantin properly." He walked me to him, and I reached out my hand to shake it but he didn't take it.

He moved forward and pulled me into a hug. "Welcome to Kstovo, my future brother," he said loudly. In my ear, he whispered, "Hurt my sister and they'll never find your body."

"I could never hurt her, she is already my life," I said.

"And the human female you are here with?"

"My charge to protect, she is the mate of another Beta." Satisfied, he clapped my back a little too hard then stepped back. "This is our Mama, Luna Marina."

I bowed my head to her, keeping my eyes low in a sign of respect. She pulled me into a hug, she was thrilled at what had just happened. "I'm so happy for my Mischa! Come inside, we need to talk." She took one of my arms, and I reached out my hand and Mischa took the other. I kissed the back of her hand as she blushed, and we were all pulled inside the building. The interior was beautiful, completely different than the outside. Stone floors, plastered walls and antique furniture filled the hall, with a large stairway ahead and rooms to each side. "It's late, and you look a mess," she said as we reached the table where a pack member was setting out shots of vodka. We all took one.

"To Patrick and Mischa, may your mated life be filled with joy and pups," Viktor said as a toast. We raised our glasses and gulped it down. The strong drink reminded me of something my father had told me on the way to the airport: never EVER try to out-drink a Russian. "Now, Ekatarina here will show you to your room, and we can talk in the morning." A young Omega nervously approached and waited for me.

I was so caught up in Mischa I forgot about why I was here. "How is my charge doing? Is Jessie all right?"

Viktor nodded. "She is in surgery now, the Doctor said she has a fractured skull and many other injuries. Tomorrow we will talk about this Father Kempechny."

I nodded, I wanted to talk as well. "Can I see her?"

"The surgery is expected to go on for several more hours. I will have someone get you when she is placed in a room. Now, get some sleep and a change of clothes, the smell of human blood and witchcraft is not a good one."

"Yes, Alpha. Luna, thank you for your hospitality." I bowed and turned to Mischa, who was looking up at me with a mixture of love and lust in her eyes. "Soon, my mate, we will be tied together." I put my hand to her face, she melted into it, then I kissed her. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I reluctantly let her go, following the Omega towards the door.

Behind me, I heard Viktor talking to Konstantin. "Mischa is your responsibility. She doesn't leave her room without an escort as long as he is here," he said.

I continued walking to my room and took advantage of the shower before falling into bed. My dreams were of my beautiful mate, and I was happy.

Alpha Viktor's POV

I watched as Konstantin led my reluctant daughter away, and Marina hugged into my side. She was happy and sad at the same time, I could feel it through the mate link. "I'm not ready for this," I told her.

"They grow up quickly, but this is a good thing for her. Finding your mate before you are of age is a blessing." I kissed her head. "I'm sad because this means she will go to America."

"Not yet," I said as I led her to the wing where our quarters were. "I need to contact his Alpha, there is much to discuss."

"I'll sit with you," she said. It was always better when she was there, her presence helped to calm me. Sometimes two Alphas didn't get along all so well. "We will be tied by blood to his Pack soon, it is good that we are helping each other now."

We sat at my desk and I booted up my computer. "We're eight hours ahead of them, so it should be around dinnertime in Minnesota." I brought up Skype, it was an encrypted connection, so we could talk freely. It took a few rings for Alpha Stan to pick up; in the background was the dining room, full of people. "Alpha Larsen, I'm sorry to disturb you but I need to speak to you and Larissa immediately about some private business."

"Viktor, I'm surprised you are still up. I was going to call you in your morning."

"Events dictated the time, Alpha. If you could call me as soon as you are in your office, and please have your Beta and his mate there too since this affects them."

He looked worried. "Patrick?"

"He's fine, but I can't talk until we are in private."

Stan looked off for a moment, talking to some people, then turned back to me. "Five minutes, Viktor." He closed the connection, he probably had to wolf down the rest of dinner and walk to his office.

"Patrick's parents should be here for the claiming ceremony," my mate said as she wiggled in my lap a little. "It would be a good opportunity to invite the Alphas, and build the alliance between our Packs."

I nodded. "Maybe more than that." I sent to my Pack Doctor. "Oleg, how is our patient doing?"

"I am just closing up, Alpha. The head injury is the most concerning, but I also had to remove the metal shard from her abdomen and put plates in her lower right leg to stabilize the breaks, it was almost crushed. She will survive, but it's too early to tell if there will be permanent damage."

"When will she wake up?"

"I need to keep her in a medically-induced coma for a week or so to make sure the swelling on her brain is controlled. If she was a werewolf, she'd be healed in a week. As a human, she needs months of rehabilitation, even with the magic healing. What healing she got was hurried, it was just enough to close wounds and stop bleeding. The tissues underneath will need time to knit back together."

I pinched my nose, for her own safety she needed to be out of here before the St. Petersburg pack could find out we were harboring her. "How soon could she be sent home?"

"Ten days IF she has medical supervision and a flight that can handle the bed. A month If she has to fly commercial."

"Thank you, Oleg." I turned to Marina, she had been listening in on the link. "What do you think?"

"Let's have the mating ceremony a week from Sunday, that's nine days from now. The St. Croix Pack members can fly over and take her home with them if they make the proper arrangements."