The Wife's Resolve

Chapter 11: Deadly Response

When the last guest finally left the hall, Valerie fell into a chair. The room was spinning, but she did not say a word. Damon came over and placed his hand on her shoulder, and ran his hand over the top of her head, and she flinched. He knelt down beside her, touching her cheek gently."Valerie, are you okay? You don't look so good."

Valerie's eyes rolled back, and she passed out, slumping onto the table. "Valerie," Paxton and Nicoli called in unison, running over, "We need to get her back to the pack hospital."

Damon jumped to his feet. "Back to the pack hospital?"

"I say this with all due respect, Alpha, but we need to get her there now. We will tell you everything once we get her back to the hospital." Paxton stated boldly.

Damon clenched his fist and was about to react when Valerie came to, "Damon, don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, Baby, let's get you to the hospital." He said gently as he lifted her into his arms and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes, and he shot Nicoli and Paxton a dirty look and headed for the door.

"Alpha," Nicoli stopped him.

Damon tried to keep his voice down as his eyes glared at Nicoli, "What?"

"Use the back door," Nicoli insisted. "You don't want news crews seeing you carrying her out of this event; they will ask questions we can't have asked tonight."

Damon did not reply but changed directions, heading for the service elevator, "Make sure my car is in the back in two minutes, or so help me, Nicoli," he threatened.

"Yes, Boss," and Nicoli and Paxton both ran out to get the Alpha's car.

Damon entered the elevator and tried to control his breathing. He needed to know what was going on. He noticed the stitches on his wife's scalp as her hair shifted in his hold. "What the hell happened?" his inner wolf was pacing in anger. When the door opened, Paxton and Nicoli were waiting outside his car. "Get in," he yelled. He got in the car, and Paxton and Nicoli slid in as well.

The ride to the hospital was tense and silent. When the car pulled up, doctors ran up to the car, and as Damon pushed the door open, the doctors backed up. "Hurry up, and attend to my Wife. Don't act like you haven't seen her here today. She did not have stitches this morning. Nicoli and Paxton with me, Doctor, tell me immediately when she comes to."

"Right away, Alpha, the doctor replied as the nurse rolled out a gurney to put her on and then rolled her away.

Damon turned and walked into a hospital room and motioned for Paxton and Nicoli to follow. He slammed the door shut and pulled his weapon from his back. "One of you better tell me right now what happened to Valerie, why neither of you thought I needed to know, and anything else I need to know. Then and only then, I will decide if I put a bullet in your head for insubordination."

Paxton put his hands up in front of him, "Valerie called me."

Damon growled and advanced on Paxton, but Nicoli jumped between the two. "Alpha, this is hard to hear, and it will not be made any easier by reacting before you have all the information. Please let him finish before you kill him. I need the details that he has." When Damon backed up and lowered his gun, he motioned for Paxton to continue.

Paxton took a deep breath. "Valerie called, frantic. Her driver had been killed. Her car had been hit. Penelope was hurt and needed a doctor right away. She said she was still breathing but not conscious. She told me she was bleeding but did not know if it was serious. I immediately called Nicoli."

"Why did you not call me?" Damon yelled. "My wife was in an accident, and you didn't tell me. She could have died."

"She did not want me to, so I sent Nicoli. He was closer and could assess if yes was in imminent danger."

"What did you see when you arrived?" he demanded of Nicoli.

"On the secene or your wife," he asked.

"Scene then wife." his eyes were intense as he stared at them.

"When I got to the bridge, I could see skid marks. I will have to confirm with Valerie, but I believe the car was hit twice before it went through the guardrails and fell into the river. The water was not deep enough to sink the car. The driver was dead at the wheel. The rear right door was opened, and I followed a trail from Valerie dragging Penelope. She made it about thirty feet into the woods, but out of sight. When I approached, she was confused and scared. She was worried I was there to hurt her. She only settled when Paxton told her she was safe and sent me. She was only concerned with Penelope. Her head was bleeding pretty heavily, but she would not allow me to check the wound. Paxton had to threaten her to call you and Valentine for her to give in. She started to walk towards me and passed out. Luckily, Paxton arrived. He carried Penelope, and I carried Valerie, and we went straight to the hospital."

So let me get this straight, you come across my wife. She is afraid of you. She is delusional and bleeding heavily, and you are still more worried about her being angry than calling your Alpha. Have I left anything out?" He questioned severely.

"She was worried that if you knew, you would not go to the charity ball."

"Are you telling me that she and you agreed the ball was more important than her life?" he shook his head. "Have you all lost your minds?

Paxton decided to be brave, "Valerie considers the charity ball the only thing that we do that is good for our image. She was worried you would cancel it or, worse yet, not go. We know it is not more important than her life, and we told her the doctor would need to agree she was okay to go. If the doctor had told us her condition was serious, she had agreed to tell you."

"It's like my wife thinks the business matters more than her. Does she not realize she is my life?" Damon asked no one in particular.

"I think, given everything that has been happening lately, she might have a hard time believing she is your whole world," Paxton stated.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he answered, sounding offended.

"I think he is referring to Elena," Nicoli added.

"Nothing is going on with Elena. She is marrying my brother, that is all." Damon refuted.

"It does not change how people talk." Paxon had to rub it in further, "Do you know what people say, Damon?"

"Why don't you enlighten me? You seem to know so much about how my wife feels," Damon spat.

"Rumor is you agreed to the wedding because Elena is pregnant with your child, and since your wife can't provide an heir, you have taken a mistress." Paxton was delighted to spill the tea. He was tired of treating Damon like some perfect man, when Damon had serious flaws, and Elena and her grip on him was one of them.

"This is not helping," Nicoli added, trying to stop the fight that was itching to happen, "we need to be concerned about who caused the accident and why it happened. I don't for one second believe it was an accident that Valerie was run off the road less than a mile from your house. Whoever it was was sending you a message." Nicoli finished explaining.

"Me either," Damon reasoned. It was too much of a coincidence. "If they wanted her dead, they would have finished the job. The only other option is a warning."

"Perhaps a jealous ex," Paxton joked, but Damon did not appreciate the joke and leapt to his feet and punched Paxton until Nicoli was finally able to break them up. Blood pouring from his nose, he still provoked, "Hit me all you want, but I'm sure your wife will think the same thing."

"Get out, Paxton," Nicoli hollered, "before he kills you."

"With pleasure," he stopped at the door, "the difference between us, Alpha, is she will run to me when you disappoint her again." Damon kicked out and got Paxton straight in the gut, sending him through the door.

"Stay the Hell away from my wife, I'm warning you, Paxton," Damon yelled for all to hear.

"If she calls me, I'm answering," Paxton yelled, and then he picked himself up off the floor and left the hospital.

"You can't kill him," Nicoli stated, watching Paxton head toward the exit.

"I can and I will," he declared.

"And risk Valerie holding it against you forever," Nicoli tried to reason with him.

"She will have to understand," Damon replied carelessly.

"She will not," Nicoli said as he released him, "if I know anything about Valerie, she will not."