Taming the Beast

(Keegan's POV)

I had to leave Caroline's room as they performed surgery to get the bullet out. I was pacing upstairs in the living room with Danny seated on the couch watching me. We'd both been quiet for the last half hour; me trying to figure out if Caroline was okay and Danny was trying to digest everything he just saw.

"How is any of this even possible?" Danny whispered.

"I can't believe you shot her!" I yelled at him. I couldn't help it. I was upset and I needed someone to take it out on. Plus, the doctor had mind-linked me earlier, telling me that the bullet was silver and really close to a major blood vessel. Caroline might not make it out of this.

"I didn't know it was her! My thoughts when I see three wolves coming towards me aren't exactly 'gee, look, my sister, her boyfriend and her best friend', so I'm sorry, okay!" he snapped back at me. I growled as my eyes watered.

"I told you any wolf that was trying to attack you. She was stepping away from you," I argued.

"I panicked okay!" he said, his hands going up in the air before dropping in his lap again. "Wolf or not, she's still my sister," he said softly. I sighed and shook my head as my eyes closed. I stopped pacing and pinched the bridge of my nose.

Alpha Keegan, Luna is out of surgery but we won't know the results until she wakes up. We had to cut out all areas touched by the bullet to allow her to heal herself. Now all we can do, is wait, Dr. Thomas informed me. I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding.

"Thank God," I said out loud. Danny looked at me curiously. "Caroline is out of surgery... They said that if she heals herself, she'll be fine. If not..."

"Yeah, I get it," Danny said quietly.

There's something else we found Alpha, Dr. Thomas linked me.

Is she going to be okay, I asked.

Yes, he linked. I could feel the anticipation of him wanting to tell me more but I just wanted to know that Caroline was alright. I didn't want all the details.

That's all I need to know, I replied before I cut off the link and turned my attention back to Danny who was bouncing his leg.

"What were you doing with silver bullets anyway?" I asked him. Danny shrugged.

"I prefer them over the normal ones. They cut through easier. I always have silver bullets on me," he explained. I sighed and shook my head.

"Well, keep them away from my pack and keep them away from Caroline, got it?" I said before I went outside. The fight had long since been over. After the rogues found Natasha's dead body, they panicked and ran away.

"She's out of surgery," I told Aiden when I found him. "Get someone else to run perimeter. Caroline is probably going to want to see you too when she wakes up. And you are her Luna Protector. I think you're the only male I'll be okay with around her," I said. He nodded and turned out of wolf form before pulling on some shorts.

"Did the doctor say anything else about her condition?" Aiden asked. I nodded as we started walking back to the house.

"It's touch and go. Danny shot her with a silver bullet so they had to take a large chunk out of her shoulder to give her wolf blood a chance to kick in and heal it," I answered quickly. We walked

through the house and down to the hospital. "It should be a few hours before she wakes up," I added. He nodded as we made our way to her room.

I froze at the door as tears stung my eyes. She looked so fragile and vulnerable. Her normally bright tan skin was pale and ghastly. Her parted lips weren't their normal pink color. They were dry and cracked. Even her normally bright, wavy blonde hair was limp and lifeless. She was hooked up to a heart monitor and there was an oxygen chord running under her nose. I held onto the doorframe tightly as

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sucked in a breath. I could hear the wood splintering under my grip but I didn't care. My Caroline's life was hanging by a thread and I couldn't take that. I took a step back, and then another before I ran back upstairs. I ran up the second flight of stairs and slammed the door to my room. I pressed my back against the door as I tried to calm my staggered breathing. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me and I couldn't get my breath back. I crawled forward slowly and let out a pained howl as I reached my bed. I leaned against the bed and let the tears fall freely. I couldn't stop the sobs that racked my body. There was a light knock on my door, but I was too broken up to acknowledge it. My mom walked in with red puffy eyes and sat next to me, pulling my head into her lap.

"She's going to be okay, Keegan," my mom whispered, although I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. She ran her hand over my hair and kept repeating her words. I wanted my Caroline here comforting me. wanted my Caroline to be laughing and smiling instead of half-dead and hooked up to a bunch of machines. I held on to my mom's armas I sobbed into her lap. Dignity was the last thing on my mind. I would walk around dressed as a princess in heels if it meant I could have my Caroline back.

I love you, I mind-linked her even though I knew she probably wouldn't hear me. I needed her to survive this. I needed her to live.