“I’m not going to get lost,” she shot back.
“I get it. These are your woods, but I’ll worry less if you’re with him. If someone came after Zach, who’s to say they won’t come after more Grangers?”
Her knees almost buckled. “You think this is some act of revenge against my family?”
Shit. He’d stepped in it now, but what else would the Granger symbol with a line through it mean?
“I don’t know, but I want to be cautious.”
Tawny blew out a breath. “Fine.”
“Help me make a fire circle while Alex is gathering more wood.”
Just as they finished with the ring, Alex returned. “The wood is wet.”
“I figured, but it will have to do. I can find enough dry kindle in here. Go with Tawny to mark the trail.”
“You got it.”
After he gathered some twigs and lit them, he placed the wet wood in a square around the small fire to help dry it out. All the while, he kept checking on Zach. Even in his human form, his body should have started to heal.
While Tawny and Alex were out, Liam rubbed Zach’s hands to warm him up. Heat would help with the man’s circulation. He then rubbed Zach’s legs.
Two and a half hours later, the chatter reached him. Help had arrived. Tawny led her father and the medical team inside. He recognized Malia, Benson Granger’s nurse sister, and moved out of the way to let the experts do their thing.
While Tawny had come back in a few times to check on her brother and to warm up, she now stood over the fire, rubbing her arms. He bet she was nearly frozen herself.
Since the paramedics might not know about the wounds on Zach’s back, Liam told them. “Whoever did this, ripped open Zach’s jacket in back, so I gave him mine.”
“I appreciate it,” the sheriff said.
Both he and Alex had met the sheriff since he was a good friend of General Armand. The medics slipped off Liam’s jacket that was now stained with Zach’s blood. They cleaned his wounds the best they could and then placed a blanket on him before putting him on a gurney. It would be a long journey to the parking lot. Even though the gurney had one wheel under it, with the snow it might be easier to carry it.
They hooked up an IV to Zach’s arm, lifted him up, and left. Liam, Alex, and Tawny followed. If they were lucky, the group would make it back to the parking lot in about three hours. He hoped Zach would last that long.
“Did your dad say where they would treat Zach?” Liam asked.
“Yes. My dad’s sister is married to Augustine Weston. He is the administrator at Midvale Hospital. Treating a werewolf there can be tricky, so he built a room at the back of his house and set it up as an emergency room for werewolves.”
“That’s awesome,” Alex said.
“I agree. His son David is the emergency room doctor at the hospital. I’m sure he’ll be at the house when we arrive to do surgery or whatever is needed.”
“Your family is amazing,” Liam said.
“They truly are.”
Fortunately, the weather cooperated on the return trip, and with little wind and sunny skies, the journey wasn’t as treacherous as Liam feared. An ambulance was waiting for them when they reached the parking lot. Sheriff Granger had brought the cavalry.
“Are you going to ride with your dad or with us?” Liam asked.
“I’ll go with Dad.” She turned to face them. “I can’t ever thank you both enough for your help. I don’t think I ever would have found my brother without you.”
“We were happy to help.” Though Liam could think of a lot of ways she could thank them. “Can you text us to let us know how Zach is doing?”
“Sure.” Tawny stood on her toes and kissed his cheek, turned around and did the same to Alex. Then she hurried off to her dad’s cruiser.
“I guess that was a success,” Alex said.