Kiernan
Kiernan managed to duck to the side, but the bullet hit him in the shoulder just the same. The immediate burn told him it was silver. He wasn't surprised.
Matthew was taking aim again, but then Carly was there and standing front of Kiernan.
"Carly, go back in the car," Kiernan said, his voice pained.
Carly stood her ground. "The fuck I will! Matt? What the hell?! What the HELL are you doing here?! Why do you have a gun?!" She looked at Kiernan's shoulder. "Oh my God, did you just SHOOT Kieran?!"
"Get out of the way, Carly," Matthew demanded. "This is between me and him. He's a monster, and he needs to be put down."
"WHAT?! Matt, you've completely lost it!" Carly held her arms out as a shield while Kiernan was bent over slightly and cradling his shoulder.
"Carly. Get. In. The. Car." Kiernan's tone brooked no refusal.
The gunshot had drawn the attention of other RV-ers, and doors were opening and people were stepping out.
"Fuck," Matthew said. "This isn't over, asshole." He holstered the gun at his side under a jacket and retreated into the shadows.
"Matt!" Carly called. When her brother didn't answer, she turned to Kiernan. "Oh my God, Kiernan, oh my God!"
Pain lanced through Kiernan's whole body, emanating from his shoulder. "We have to go. Carly... you need to drive."
"I'll just call an ambulance." Carly turned towards the SUV.
Kiernan gripped her arm. "No. We need to go to MY doctor."
Carly frowned. "What do you mean YOUR doctor?"
People had begun to gather, and Kiernan shook his head. "Later. I'll explain... later. Just... we need to go now."
* * *
Carly
Carly was about to object again, but Kiernan's grip on her arm tightened, and people had already pulled out their phones, calling 911. Carly wanted to get Kiernan treated, and didn't know what the big deal was about going to a certain doctor. But then, her brain reminded her that her brother had done this. Her sweet, obviously confused baby brother. She didn't want the police hunting Matthew down. At least, not until she'd had time to think and they'd had time to talk.
"Where is this doctor?" Carly asked.
"Spooner," Kiernan said with a wince. "Wisconsin."
"WISCONSIN?!" Carly shook her head. "No, we've got to get you to a hospital now."
Kiernan grunted with pain, but remained adamant. "I'll be okay for the two and a half hours it takes to get there. Trust me. Please."
"Two and a half—!" Thoughts of Matthew being handcuffed were all that got Carly helping Kiernan into the SUV and sliding into the driver's seat herself. "I must be out of my mind."
"Thank you," Kiernan said. He was holding his shoulder, but very little blood was seeping out, and there was a burning smell on the air.
Carly didn't know what it all meant, but she was throwing the car into gear, and before she knew it, they were on the road in a spray of gravel.
"Don't speed too much. No more than five miles over," Kiernan instructed, his teeth gritted together.
Carly got them onto the highway, then reached back behind her and pulled her overnight bag to the front. She rummaged through it with one hand and pulled out a t-shirt. "Here. Use this on your shoulder. Keep pressure on. Two-and-a-half hours, Jesus."
"I'll be fine," Kiernan said again. He pulled his hand away for a second, and Carly saw that the edges of his wound were blackened as though charred.
Carly almost swerved over the line. "What the fuck, Kiernan?!"
"Just drive! Eyes on the road, not on me. I'll tell you where to exit and where to turn." Kiernan pressed the t-shirt to his shoulder.
It was a tense two-and-a-half hours, especially since they had to slow down to 25 miles per hour through several small towns. When a slow, laden truck pulled in front of them just before the final stretch of highway, Carly cursed roundly and fluently.
Kiernan chuckled. "You have a better vocabulary than a British sailor."
"Yeah, well, the situation calls for it," Carly said. "Two hours and now this fucker."
Kiernan put a hand on Carly's knee. "Breathe. Just breathe."
When the truck finally turned off in Spooner thirty minutes later, Carly gunned it.
"Slow down!" Kiernan protested.
Grumbling under her breath, Carly eased her foot off the gas pedal.
"Turn left by that gas station. It's just another twenty minutes," Kiernan said.
Carly whipped her head around to look at him. "You said two-and-a-half hours! That's more like three!"
"Two-and-a-half hours to Spooner. We still need to get to the lake."
"Lake?" Carly repeated.
"Dunn Lake. I'll tell you where to turn. He lives at a resort." Kiernan groaned in pain.
"Fuck," Carly said, and started taking county roads so insignificant that they were called "T" and "K." "We're having a really long conversation when this is over."
"I know," Kiernan sighed. "Just trust me for now."
"Hmph." Carly passed Dunn Lake Resort, looking at Kiernan for confirmation, but he shook his head.
"Not yet," he said.
They began to circle the lake. About halfway around, Kiernan stopped her and pointed at a sign. It was set back in the trees a bit, which made Carly wonder how anyone ever found the place to stay there. "Crescent Moon Path Resort?" she said, reading the worn wooden sign in the SUV's headlights.
"That's the one. Turn in here." Kiernan pointed.
Carly turned right down a dirt path. A dust cloud rose around them, and Carly thought she heard a wolf howl. "We're not going to be eaten by nature before I can get you to your doctor, are we?"
"I hope not," Kiernan said cryptically, and Carly stared at him.
"SERIOUSLY?!"
Kiernan squeezed her knee. "It'll be fine. I'm sure they're coming out to meet us. They're not going to leave me untreated."
"They?" Carly said.
Indeed, "they" showed up. Just as cabins appeared in the darkness—along with a large lodge—a group of men, perhaps five or six of them, stood in the road with their arms folded.
Carly put on the brakes and rolled down her window. "Help! My—er—boyfriend needs a doctor!"
"You smell like Hunter," the one in front of the group said, his eyes narrowing in the light of the headlights.
Hunter? Carly shook her head. "No, his name is Kiernan. He said his doctor is here. He's been shot!"
"Kiernan?" the group leader said with a frown. He went over to the other side of the SUV and wrenched the door open.
"Hi Alec," Kiernan grunted. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Fuck. Who is she? Did you lead them here, you dumb fuck?!" Alec dragged Kiernan out of the SUV and threw him at the others.
"Hey!" Carly opened her door. One of the men kicked it back shut.
* * *
Kiernan
Two men held Kiernan while Alec, his Alpha, looked him over. "Did you lead them here?!" he asked Kiernan again.
"No. At least, I don't think so. It was just one Hunter. He ran away." Kiernan looked up at Carly, who was struggling between herself and the much stronger man on the other side to get her door open. "She's my mate."
Alec's eyes widened. "Fuck," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Alright, fine. We'll take you to Doc." He nodded to the men, who were, of course, actually werewolves, and they began carrying him off.
"Her, too," Kiernan demanded. "I want Carly with me."
Alec glanced back at Carly. "She smells like Hunter."
"She's still my mate. Kiernan actually grinned slightly as Carly finally rolled down the car window and made herself known.
"Look, motherfucker, I'm getting out of this car if I have to kick out the windshield to do it, so open the damn door!"
"Feisty," Alec said with a nod of approval. "It's okay, Sean, let her come, too."
Sean stood back from the door and Carly tumbled out. She stood up, dusted off her dress, and stalked towards them in a swish of skirts.
"You." Carly stabbed Alec in the chest with a finger. "You asshole..."
"I sure am, honey." Alec looked her up and down. Then he looked at Kiernan and took in his garb. "I don't even want to know. Guys, take him to see Doc."
"Yeah, you'd better take him to see Doc," Carly muttered, stomping after them.
With his wolf hearing, Kiernan caught more of what Alec said, once they were outside Carly's range of hearing. "Keep up the perimeter, double the guard. Sean, keep an eye on the Huntress. If she fucks anything up, I'm mounting your head in the lodge next to Kiernan's."
"Yes, my Alpha," Sean said.
Kiernan was annoyed, but he wasn't in a position to complain. First, he needed to get a bullet out of his shoulder. Next, he had to grovel to his Alpha to let them stay.
Lastly, he had to explain to Carly what the fuck was going on.