A stinging sensation in my cheek jerked me out of my stupor.  My eyes stung when they opened, but that was the least of my problems as I immediately began hacking, my mouth coated with sea water. My shoulders heaved upward then crashed back down onto the sand as coughs slammed into my chest. As I regained my sight, fighting through the pain with each blink, I noticed two things. One, I was very cold. Second, Misty was hovering over me, on her knees with her hands clasped over her heart.

"Oh God, I thought you died," she sighed, shifting backwards so she was no longer hovering over me, but leaning away in relief.

"The sea would never kill me," I managed, then plunged into another coughing fit. Well, I always thought the sea would never kill me, but it felt like I had come close.

"It certainly looked like you were going to die. You weren't even able to swim. I'm sure you would have been carried out if the sea hadn't pushed you back to shore. But, it doesn't matter. We need to get out of here and go to a hospital."

"Easton," I croaked, able to prop myself on my elbows.

"He's alive but he's still bleeding. I need your help getting him in the car so we can get him treatment. I don't even know if we can take him to a hospital like this. Maybe a vet would be better?"

Had the situation been any less dire, I would have shoved her away and told her to let me rest. But I climbed onto my wobbly legs, using Misty's shoulder to help me balance. I could feel her leaning against me too, clearly spent.

We neared Easton as quickly as we could, both drained and dazed from all the energy we expended into the water. It was a hobbling mess and when I was close enough, I let go of Misty and dropped to my knees.

His eyes were blinking and didn't have that strange glaze that bodies got, but his breathing was slow and he made almost no effort to acknowledge me. 

We somehow managed to get Easton into the ratty car that he and Misty had arrived in. Misty and I split up after that. She hopped into the SUV that Nero had brought with Eddy in the backseat, knowing that he needed medical attention just the same. I found Easton's discarded cell phone and almost wept with relief when I saw Rose's number on it.

It was a high speed race with Rose on speaker phone and Easton awake, but not entirely responsive on the backseat. I think Rose was trying to stay as calm as she could, but her voice carried a pinch of hysteria as she guided me through Aberdeen to the nearest packlands, also driving her own vehicle there.

I drove for about fifteen minutes, glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure that Easton was still breathing, that he was still blinking, that he was still panting a little. I couldn't tell if I ended up in a new little town or if it was a district of Aberdeen, but I drove straight to the address that Rose provided in Cove Bay. I didn't even hesitate when I saw the logo for the business on the side of the building. If Rose said the people at the dog groomers could help, then I had to trust her. I didn't have a choice now.

I pounded on the door for a few seconds before a small woman appeared, seeming a little startled to see me. I didn't care that I must have looked like an evil ocean creature with my soaked hair, drenched clothes, and wild eyes. I explained that I had Rose's brother in the back of the car and he needed urgent medical attention. After that, it was the softness that Nero mocked that saved Easton's life. 

Three of us lifted the brown wolf inside and dozens of hands were on him after that. They let me stay close, but it was clear I was to touch nothing in the medical room where they laid him out on a table. It seemed that this was a dog grooming company by day and a wolf clinic by night. It only took my mind a handful of minutes to deem this place as safe and wholesome. Easton was crowded with people who held medical supplies. Someone offered me a hot beverage which I accepted. I was also given a folding chair to sit on, so I could stay close to him, but not be on my weak legs. 

I faded in and out of sleep, but even so, I could hear bits of the conversation that floated around.

"He's Rory and Daniel's boy, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"I wonder what happened. After a couple years with those two, he was the sweetest kid around. Fighting it so unlike him. And isn't he an alpha in Canada now? Strange he would come here for some kind of dispute."

"But these wounds are from a fight. No way around that. From the looks of it, it wasn't a dominance thing. Someone wanted him dead. I wonder where the other wolf has been taken, if they're still alive."

"I'm sure that Rose will get here soon enough and tell us what happened."

Rose did get there. it seemed that one moment I was half watching them stitch up the wound, the next Rose was there and Easton's neck was completely wrapped up, no more needles under his thick skin.

"Hey," I croaked out.

"Oh, Kaia," Rose gasped, sweeping me into a bone crushing hug and hoisting me off the chair. I felt her tears soak through my now semi-dry clothes. I vaguely wondered how long she had been standing there, sobbing over her brother while I slept. It would have taken her at least two hours to get here. I must have been out cold for some time. "I'm so glad you're okay. I know that you don't want to talk about it, but I called Keiko and Ajax too, they are flying here so they can track down Nero."

It was then that I realized that I had blurted out that Easton had been attacked by that awful man, but had failed to mention that he was dead. After determining that the room was empty aside from an unconscious Easton, I filled her in on what had happened. Nero was dead. Eddy was in a hospital, hopefully the human kind, and we still had one loose end to tie up.

"So when Ajax and Keiko land in Aberdeen, I'm going to meet them and we are immediately going to turn around and go straight to Canada. Elliot's a flight risk. I'm sure that if he knew his dad was dead, he would be running. I want to have him dealt with as soon as possible," I finished, certain that I had covered everything she needed to know.

"I'm going to kill that bastard," Rose seethed. "Easton has trusted him for years and this...how could he? Easton would have jumped in front of a bullet for him!" 

"That's why we need to arrest him. Easton needs his chance to carry out his punishments."

Rose peered at me with her dark eyes. Her fingers played with her tight ringlets as if she was still full of anxious energy. "And what about you? What do you get?"

The corner of my mouth lifted. "I just commanded the sea into swallowing the man who took away hundreds of lives. Right now, I can't want for anything else."

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What are your favorite guy names?