Rig was at her side, his mom and sisters following quickly behind him.
"Call the clinic, let them know I'm bringing her in!" He directed over his shoulder as he knelt beside her. His hands hovered uncertainly, wanting to gather her up but afraid to do any more damage.
He heard his mom on the phone, explaining that Georgia had fallen and was unconscious and they were bringing her in for treatment. She was having trouble getting them to accept that she was human and it was ok for her to be here, finally directing them to the Alpha for any further explanation.
He knew her tailbone was broken, he'd clearly heard it when she hit the pavement, but he wasn't sure what else might be injured. Gently he put an arm under her knees, then under her shoulders. Helen reached to support her head, crying out and pulling her hand back covered in blood. Her eyes met her brother's, both scared and unsure.
"Rig I'm not sure we should mover her, what if we make it worse?"
"I don't see how it can be much worse. Can you drive while I hold her?"
"Yes, yes of course." She helped rest Georgia's head against his shoulder as he scooped her up. Maria hurried to open the passenger door, shutting it gently behind him once he was settled.
"We'll follow in my car Rig, she's going to be fine." His mom called after them as they pulled out. She hugged Maria against her. They all knew humans were fragile in comparison to themselves, but how fragile? Claudia and Maria stood watching the truck for a moment, before gingerly stepping around the pool of blood that smelled so strongly of Georgia and pulling Helen's car out of the garage.
Rig felt like he was coming apart. Georgia was limp in his arms, her pulse weak and thready, The smell of her blood was terrifying as it soaked into his shirt. She was so soft, so. . . breakable. What the hell had happened?
"I wasn't imagining it, Jason fucking Miller shifted in front of my mate?" Rig growled from between tightly clenched teeth.
"Uh, yeah, he was already running by the time I got out the door. What the hell was he up to?" Helen darted a look at him.
"I hope he's somewhere praying Georgia is ok, because I already want to tear his head off. If she's not ok. . ." Rig choked, holding Georgia more tightly against him and kissing her forehead.
Helen had never seen her brother so affected. Anxiety, fear, was rolling off him in waves and his eyes were bright with tears. She thought about her mate, Chris, their wedding just a week away. What if he were hurt, unconscious, bleeding? Her foot pushed down on the gas, speeding them more swiftly toward the community clinic.
Will walked swiftly into their office, responding to the distress he sensed from his mate. Karen was on the phone, pacing, she looked up, her brows drawn together and gestured him over.
"No, no, I assure you we know and we've given our blessing." She put her hand over the mouthpiece and explained, "Georgia's been injured, she's unconscious, Rig is taking her to the clinic."
"Yes, I'm well aware it's an unusual situation." She answered the tinny objections from the other end of the line, "We are headed over now, just treat her as best you can." She hung up decisively and shook her head.
Will gave her a quick hug, "I haven't even met this girl but she's sure making things exciting around here."
Karen snorted, "We'd better hurry to the clinic to smooth things over, the doctor was having a conniption."
Helen pulled into the clinic parking lot, trying not to bounce Georgia any more than she had to. She put the truck in park and jumped out, running around to open the door for RIg. As she helped him step down the doctor and a couple nurses came rushing out with a gurney.
Rig reluctantly lay Georgia on the gurney at the doctor's insistence. He hated to let her go, but he knew she needed help he couldn't give right now.
Helen took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly as they rushed after the medical staff. One nurse hung back as the gurney pushed through a set of swinging doors.
"I"m sorry but you can't go back right now, you'll have to wait while they evaluate her." She was gentle but firm, directing Rig and Helen to the nearby waiting room.
She disappeared for a moment, returning with a clean scrub top. "Why don't you change into this while you wait, I think you'll be more comfortable." She held the shirt out with a sympathetic look.
Rig looked at the scrub top, then his own blood covered shirt. The color drained from his face and he sat down heavily. Helen rushed to his side, taking the scrubs and helping him change shirts.
"Will you be able to answer some questions for me?" The nurse asked kindly.
"Yes, what do you need to know?" He rubbed his face then raked his fingers over his scalp.
She picked up a clipboard and asked a series of questions, most of which Rig didn't have the answers for.
"We just met really, we barely know each other." As he said it he sent a silent prayer that they'd still have the chance to change that. He rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head.
While she was getting as much information from him as she could his mom and sister came in, followed by Will and Karen. The nurse bowed her head respectfully to the Alpha's and slipped through the double doors to join the team working on Georgia.
"Rig," Will clasped his shoulder, "Do you feel up for telling me what happened?"
"Yeah," Rig took a deep breath and straightened up, "I'll tell you as much as I know."
Karen chatted with Claudia and her daughters, they were giving her what information they had. Maria bounced on the balls of her feet, full of anxious energy.
"We spent the day out at the lake. We got back to the house and were going inside but she got a phone call from her job. She said she'd just be a minute to go ahead and go in. So I went inside and she was standing in the driveway." Rig scrubbed at his face, "I was talking to my mom when all of a sudden I felt this panic hit me and I knew I needed to get to Georgia."
Will and Karen exchanged a glance, Karen cocking her eyebrow.
"You were sensing her panic?" Will prompted.
"Yeah, I guess so, it wasn't clear what was going on just that she was terrified. I ran down the stairs and out the front door." He clenched his fists and his face went red as he remembered coming around the corner of the garage. "Jason Miller." His voice was deadly.
"Jason Miller?"Will sounded surprised, "What did he do?"
"He shifted in front of her! She panicked of course and tried to run. She ran into the mirror on the side of the truck and went down hard." The anger drained out of him as he remembered Helen pulling back a blood covered hand from under Georgia's head. "I know something's broken, her tailbone I think, and there was so much blood." He shook his head. Claudia sat in the chair beside him and took his hand, holding it between hers.
