He walked to the basement door and knocked on it before trying the knob. She had locked it like he had told her, one of many plans they had gone through when he’d gotten a sense that something might be in the air.
“Eimear, it’s me. You can come out now.”
He heard the deadbolt click as she flipped it open and opened the door to him. She looked like she was in a state of shock as she rushed into his arms. He hugged her tightly to him and then pulled away.
“Eimear, I need help,” he said.
She looked confused and then looked to see the blood running down his leg. “Oh, Jesus,” she gasped.
“Get my phone. Put my thumb on it. Call my bro...” he managed before passing out.
It was the last thing he could remember until he woke up in the living room, curled up in bear form on the large rug in front of the sofa. The coffee table had been moved out and Eimear and Olcan stood over him. Ronan and Niall were nearby taking the piss out of one another about some girl they had met and taken a shine to.
She had gotten him help. Eimear had made sure he was taken care of even after all that carnage that had unfolded around them. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Things were bound to be okay.
When he woke up again, it was dark in the house. Eimear was asleep on the sofa beside him, and he could hear snoring from his bedroom. He assumed his brothers had stayed and were sleeping in the bedrooms. He would have to chastise them for taking the beds and leaving a woman to sleep on the sofa, but after he considered it for a moment, he realized she probably made the choice. The thought of that made him smile as he drifted off to sleep again, trying to stay in bear form for as long as possible to heal his wound.
When he woke up again, he found their family doctor checking his wound. Dr. Carney, he believed was his name.
“Ah, welcome back to the living,” he told him.
“Look at that. Hey, Eimear. Your big stinky pet is awake,” Ronan called out from nearby.
Fergus met her eyes as she came around the sofa to look at him. She smiled, turning to the doctor. “Can he shift yet?”
“Aye. Shouldn’t be a problem now that the bullets are out.”
Fergus stood, feeling a little lightheaded. He waivered a bit but caught his balance before shifting into human form. Eimear rushed to him and hugged him, quickly pulling back when he made a wincing sound.
“God, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he laughed. “Could one of you little bastards get me some clothes?” he said to Ronan and Niall.
“Sure thing, you bag of dicks,” Niall replied with a laugh.
“Getting shot still makes you grumpy, huh?” Ronan added.
“It ain’t no good time,” Fergus groaned before turning to the doctor. “Did you say bullets, as in more than one? I thought it just grazed me.”
“Aye. One did, but two more went into your thigh. I’m surprised you could even function in human form like that. You damn near bled out. I had to do an emergency transfusion when I got here. Good thing your girl managed to keep compressions on it until I could get over here.”
“For five hours?”
“Nah. I was over at the O’Malley cabin all day and decided to stay up at the lodge instead of driving back. Lone wolf shifters up in these parts. They had a whole mess of babies,” he said, making a mock shuttering motion with his shoulders. “You got lucky. Olcan called me and I got right over here and got you patched up. You owe me a pint of blood when you feel better.”
“I’ll give you two, but not at once, and I’ll bring this lot of miscreants with me to give too,” Fergus told him, nodding toward his brothers.
“I’ll hold you to that,” the doctor replied.
“It’s clean in here. What happened to my visitors?” Fergus asked. “Did you guys clean them up?”
“I put them in the lake,” Eimear blurted out.
“You did what? How?” Fergus asked, raising his eyebrows in her direction.
“Wheelbarrow in your garden. I was anxious while the doctor was watching you and your brothers were on their way. I was afraid someone might have heard the shots or the noise and didn’t want dead bodies lying all over the place when they got here,” she said.
“Are you fucking serious?” he laughed.
“Yes. I moved them and scrubbed the floors and walls.”
“She did a terrible job too. This house will never pass forensics, but it was good enough for the naked eye. You’ll have to alert the cleaner to come rework the scene,” Olcan said.
Eimear stuck her tongue out at him playfully. “Well, it was my first crime scene. I did what I could.”