Three Fated Hearts by LNC
Chapter 16

~Lincoln~

The ride to Tia was silent and took way too long. I tried my hardest to drive as fast as possiblewithout getting pulled over by human police. I hate that we have been away for as long as we have,and I hate that we were away for the reason we were.

I take off toward the tree line that's behind the apartment complex. “What is it? Where is she?” Idon't stop to answer Landon. Something tells me that we are on borrowed time. We need to get toTia immediately, or things are not going to be good.

I hit the tree line and look around. I don't see anything out of the ordinary then it hits me. I cansmell a trace of Tia's scent, along with a rusty smell. Blood! I take off running into the forest. I followthe scent of blood and my mate, praying to the Moon Goddess that the blood isn't hers. Somethinginside of me is telling me to be prepared because I'm not going to like what I'm about to see.

I continue to run into the forest, and the smell is getting stronger. I turn to the left, then to the right.I run a bit more until I come to an open area where the trees are sparse; there are just a few fallenlogs. On one of those logs is my mate. She is barely recognizable, with open wounds and bloodeverywhere.

I run to her and fall next to her. I gently touch Tia, afraid to hurt her more. I can barely hear herheartbeat, and her breathing is much too shallow. I gently stroke her cheek, tears pooling in myeyes. “T...Tia? Tia can you hear me?” There is no response. I look up just as Landon makes it to theclearing. He takes the sight of us and immediately pulls his shirt off and brings it over. He lays it ontop of Tia and presses his fingers to her neck.

“She is still alive, barely.”

"We.....we have to get her back home. She needs help.” I'm having trouble speaking with the lumpthat is in my throat. I want to scream and cry, but I want to help Tia.

“We can’t make it back to our pack with her like this. She may die on the way.”

“DIE?! She can't die! We have to help her...we have to do something!” I'm starting to get hysterical,and I can feel Brutus bucking in my head. He is itching to get out, but he's torn between replaceingwho did this and dragging his mate to a hospital to be saved

“Calm down brother. We won't let her die. The Moonlight Pack is not far from here, 20-30 minutesWest. Let me call Alpha Brenner and see if we can bring her there.” Landon steps away, and I hearhis phone beeping. I trail my fingers down Tia’s arm to grasp her hand in mine. I hold her handgently, not wanting to let go but also not wanting to hurt her.

“It's done. He said we can head there. He will alert the guards to let us in and lead us straight to theclinic. We need to hurry though because we don't know how long she has been like this. All of theseopen cuts are concerning; they should be healed or healing by now.” I don't respond. I stand up andgently pick Tia up. I hold her close to me, careful not to exacerbate her injuries. I hurry through thetrees to get to the car. We have to get her to the clinic as soon as possible. I put Tia in the backseatwith me, laying her head on my lap. Landon jumps into the driver's seat and takes off. “Don’t worry,baby. I won't let you go. We will get you help.”