Phoenix Reborn (Alpha Pack, #7.5)(3)
Apparently not, judging by his next words; the redhead wasn’t fazed by his outburst. “That makes no sense, you being straight. First of all, how could your Bondmate be so wrong for you? And second of all, I’ve seen you together, and I know you like him. A lot. And I don’t mean as buddies who watch football and drink beers together.”
A chill washed over Nix’s skin as he stared at Aric. All these years, he’d fought so hard to stamp out that side of himself—the part that his father saw as an abomination.
“I—”
Whatever Nix had been about to say was interrupted by a loud tone over the intercom system. A red light flashed from a corner of the hangar, signaling an emergency somewhere within the compound. Immediately Nix dropped the sponge and wiped his hands on his shirt, listening as the automated voice announced where help was needed.
“Personal emergency alert device activated. Sanctuary, level four. Nearest Alpha Pack team members please respond. Repeat, personal—”
Nix was running before the voice finished repeating the information, Aric right on his heels. It didn’t matter that he was wearing nothing but wet, loose cargo shorts, that he had no weapon. Nothing mattered except getting there and making sure his mate wasn’t the one in danger.
Never in his twenty-eight years had he moved so fast. He crossed the distance between the hangar and Sanctuary in record time, bounding up the front steps, throwing open the doors, and dashing into the lobby. A wide-eyed receptionist was standing behind the front desk, panic etched on her features.
“Room 412 is on lockdown,” she called. “That’s Leonidis, our tiger shifter’s room.”
“Who’s in there with him?” Nix demanded.
The woman shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Shit.”
Nix took off for the closest stairwell, aware of more pounding bootsteps behind him. Ever since Sanctuary had been breached by a monster trying to kill Micah Chase, one of their Pack brothers, they’d implemented and practiced new emergency measures in every building. The elevators were shut down to prevent easy access to escape routes, as well as every stairwell but one. Everyone was on lockdown, nobody in or out of the building except Alpha Pack team members unless their commander said so, or until the situation was contained. Period.
Nix and Aric took the stairs two at a time, Nix barely aware of the burn in his thigh muscles as he reached the fourth floor. As soon as they emerged into the hallway, an alarmed orderly pointed them toward the correct room. The racket from the tiger throwing himself against the heavy hospital door, snarling and scratching, could be heard all through the corridors.
Sprinting again, he rounded a corner to see Melina pacing with a tranquilizer gun in her hand. Several nurses hovered anxiously behind the desk at the nurses’ station—none of them were Noah. Nix’s gut clenched in dread.
“Thank God you’re here,” she said sharply. “I can’t open the door to tranq him until he’s distracted or subdued.”
“Who’s in there with the tiger?”
“I can’t say for sure.” Her gaze slid away from his.
“But you have an idea.”
The beast slammed the door again, with such force that Nix feared the frame would splinter and give way. If the tiger escaped the room, things could get messy real fast.
Correction—messier.
With a nod at Aric, Nix dropped his cargo shorts right there in the middle of the hallway and crouched on all fours, shifting quickly into his wolf form. His friend did the same, and they waited for Melina to open the door a crack.
When she did, Nix and Aric wasted no time rushing the tiger waiting on the other side. Nix was hardly aware of the door slamming shut after them as they tackled the shifter, rolling with the snapping creature and crashing into a chair. Jesus, the f*cker was huge! They were going to need backup, fast.
They kept the tiger occupied, saving themselves from serious injury by double-teaming him. Aric nipped at his flank, and when the beast turned to roar and swipe at Aric with deadly claws, Nix moved in to snap at the tiger’s face and neck. The tiger was cornered, but by no means was it safe for Melina to enter the room and take a shot with the tranq gun.
The tiger charged Nix and he dodged just in time to avoid his jugular being torn out. They crashed into the rolling tray, sending it skittering into a wall, and Nix prayed his teammates would arrive soon.
Finally, the door burst open and several more wolves raced inside. Thank f*ck!
One on one, a wolf shifter couldn’t hope to match a tiger’s strength. Their goal was to subdue him, not kill him. However, with several wolves, they were able to bury him underneath an old-fashioned dog-pile, so to speak. The tiger went down under their combined weight, and though he struggled, was finally pinned.
On top of the pile, Nix shifted and called out, “Melina! Get in here!”
The door opened, the doc hurrying inside. Assessing the situation, she tucked the tranq gun into her coat and removed a huge hypodermic needle from an inside pocket.
“Since you’ve got him held steady, this drug will work much faster.” Uncapping the needle, she crouched next to the tiger’s head. “Sorry about this, Leo.”
The tiger’s eyes rolled in what Nix recognized as true fear. It was apparent the shifter had awakened in the hospital, confused and frightened, and so he’d gone on the attack. From what Nix knew of the man and his family, he wouldn’t have normally done such a thing if he were in his right mind.