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When he looked at Palani, the beta had found a spot against Enar, his eyes closed. Was he asleep? It sure looked like it. Sivney seemed to take advantage of the situation as well to rest for a bit, which was smart. This still had a ways to go.

But what was that sound? It was too low for cars, and it had a sort of rattle that cars didn’t make, like pickup trucks that carried a load in the back. It turned out, he hadn’t been far off because about a minute later, the first of an endless convoy of Army trucks rattled by. All were filled with young soldiers, their faces tight as they observed their surroundings, holding on to the rail in the truck with one hand. They’d been right then. This was a coup.

When the last truck had finally passed them, Bray signaled that they should stay put, then trotted off, disappearing into the tall bushes along the road. Silence descended, only interrupted by distant gunshots that made Mostyn cringe. They didn’t see anyone else, which was worrisome in itself, though not the worst news for them.

Palani and Sivney slept, but Mostyn was too fired up for that. Instead, he snuggled close to Isam, who put his big alpha head on Mostyn’s in a gesture that made him feel closer to him than he’d ever felt to anyone. If not for the horrible circumstances, it would’ve been peaceful.

Bray came back what felt like twenty minutes later, indicating it was time to split up. Mostyn followed Isam, who took the lead for their group of three, with Sivney between, so Mostyn could make sure the omega could keep up. Mostyn had been asleep when Bray had driven him back to the ranch, and he hadn’t been outside of the hospital during the week before that, so he hadn’t seen what the city looked like now.

Shocked didn’t even begin to describe his reaction. It looked like a war zone, desolate and eerie, especially now that dusk was falling. They passed burned-down houses, collapsed buildings, and shops that had been looted. Gas stations where the pumps were obviously empty and all groceries and useful goods had been removed from the adjoining little stores. There were multiple abandoned cars that had probably run out of gas, the windows often smashed in—as if that did anyone any good.

And Jesus fuck, it smelled bad. No wonder, with trash everywhere that hadn’t been picked up in weeks.

But what stood out most was that no one was outside. One man scurried past in the distance, but he never so much as looked at the three wolves—or maybe he couldn’t see them from that far away. They probably blended in with the darkness.

Not until they were a few blocks away from the city center and thus the hospital did they run into the first humans, a group of marching soldiers, their boots hitting the ground in a staccato rhythm. Their presence would’ve been comforting under any other circumstance, but now, it triggered nothing but fear.

They slipped through alleys, crawled through yards and under fences, and stayed off the streets as much as possible. It helped that Mostyn knew the neighborhood well, having lived there for two years, and he’d been able to give Isam solid guidance on which route to take.

When the hospital came into view, Mostyn breathed out with relief. Some lights were on, which meant there was power, at least in part of the building. If not, he would’ve had to start the emergency generator, which made a hellish racket, and he wasn’t even sure if he could run the MRI on it because the machine drew way too much power.

They slipped in through an open door, and after listening to make sure everything was quiet, Isam signaled for Mostyn to lead the way. He led them down the stairs to the basement, where they had to shift because opening heavy doors in wolf form was impossible. But he needed to be in human form anyway to operate the machine. They quickly got dressed, then headed inside.

The MRI room was surprisingly empty and neat, which made sense because it held no value for anyone. There were no meds, no drugs, nothing that people could use. The defibrillator had disappeared and the table Palani would have to lie on didn’t have a blanket, but that was all doable.

“I need some time to start everything up and recalibrate, since it hasn’t been used in a while,” he told Isam.

“How long do you think?”

“Roughly fifteen minutes.”

“Anything I can do?” Sivney asked Mostyn.

“If you can see if you can find something to cover the table with so Palani doesn’t have to be cold, that would be awesome. And remember, nothing metal in that room. No buckles, no rings, nothing.”

“On it.”

Mostyn focused on starting up the machine. It whirred to life, and he breathed out with relief. They were off to a good start.

Sivney found a sheet somewhere. It wasn’t the cleanest, but it was better than nothing, and he was putting it on the table when Bray, Enar, and Palani arrived. Bray was in human form, but the other two were still wolves. When Isam told them it would take a few minutes, Palani immediately dropped to the floor. Mostyn exchanged a meaningful look with Isam. Would Palani even be able to make it home?

No, he couldn’t think about that now. He had a job to do. While the machine recalibrated, he searched all the cabinets for contrast solution—which he found—and needles and an IV to administer it—which he didn’t. No surprise there because those would be of use to others. They would have to go without it then.

“Is that a problem?” Sivney asked him.

“It would be better with, but we’ll be able to spot any big problems. We just won’t be able to get an accurate picture of all the blood vessels in his brain.”

Mostyn didn’t say it, but he doubted they’d need it. If his gut was right, Palani had a tumor, which would show up even without contrast.

He ran some last tests, then nodded. “We’re ready,” he told the others.

Enar woke Palani up, and they both shifted. Enar helped his mate onto the table, and Mostyn checked to make sure the beta was properly positioned, then covered him with the sheet. “Make sure to stay absolutely still,” he told Palani. “It’ll take roughly thirty to forty minutes and make a lot of noise, but that’s normal. It’s okay to fall asleep, so if you can manage that, do it.”

“Okay,” Palani said weakly.

“You need to leave the room,” Mostyn then told Enar, but the doctor shook his head.

“I’m staying.”