 On a good day, Declan felt he was taking his life into his hands when he was a passenger in Lucas’s Jeep. When Lucas had the siren attached and on, Declan could only pray crash bars really did work. They took a corner at a speed most NASCAR drivers wouldn’t think of traveling, and Declan grabbed the armrest with one hand and shoved his other hand against the dash. Lucas shot him a look. “You know I’ve actually taken classes in this kind of driving. You don’t have to hang on, and you’re a damn vampire. The crash won’t kill you anyway.” “Uh-huh.” Siren and flashing light on the top of the Jeep aside, Declan was not feeling impressed or safe. “There could be lives at stake. I have to get to the hospital before the ambulances do.” “Lucas, we’ll get to the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland before the ambulances get to the hospital here in Boggslake. The life that could be saved is mine!” “Don’t be so dramatic.” Lucas sped up, and they crossed train tracks, the Jeep going airborne for a split second. Declan was delighted when they arrived at the hospital. He was out of the Jeep before Lucas had the engine off. There were large bay doors open in the area the ambulances would pull into. Now there were men and women standing by with stretchers and gurneys. Declan picked out a mix of human and werewolf and a few vampires, like the police department and local college. Two ambulances arrived with the words Coate Family on the side. Anita, Lucas’s sister, and an older man Declan remembered as also being a doctor by the name of Williard Moran climbed down from the first one. A woman with a clipboard approached them. Lucas strode over to her as well. “Drs. Coate, Dr. Moran, thank you for coming to help.” The woman pointed a pen at Lucas. “We’ll have you and Dr. Moran handle the initial triage.” She handed both of them a stack of colored cards and turned toward Anita. “We’d appreciate your help in treatment. If you head inside, someone will get you set up.” Anita nodded. “These vehicles are at your disposal if you need extras. They’re not fully equipped, but they’ll suffice and leave yours and the EMTs freed up for the critical cases.” The woman thanked Anita and rushed off as ambulances began to arrive. Hillary Lassiter and Daphne Waterhouse were among the first to be unloaded. While Hillary was human, Daphne was a vampire, and they were both on the city council. Declan heard heartbeats from them both, however, each of them was seriously wounded. Even a vampire could be killed if hit with enough bullets. It would take longer and be an excruciating death Declan wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy. Daphne would live only if the bullets were removed. Lucas’s words about how serious injury to vital organs could outpace healing ability if extensive enough echoed through Declan’s head. Jonas had probably lunged right into the middle of the gunfire once he’d arrived at city hall. He heard someone say Daphne had thrown herself into the gunfire to save Mayor Lassiter, and it was a miracle she was alive. Declan knew it was no miracle. Anita stepped up to him and Lucas and took Lucas’s arm. “This hospital can’t treat werewolves and vampires,” she said. Before either Declan or Lucas could say anything, Jasper and Simon arrived. They gave one another suspicious looks and ran, along with Blair, to where Declan and Lucas stood. “Uh, a building full of bleeding humans probably isn’t the best place for me to be,” Simon said. “Yeah,” Lucas said. When his Uncle Jasper joined them, Lucas clamped his lips shut. Jasper spoke to Williard Moran and Anita. “How much help will you be?” “I haven’t opened anyone up since the first few years after medical school,” Williard said. Declan guessed he was over a hundred years old. “I think I can do a lot here,” Anita said. Jasper barked at one of the uniformed cops Declan knew was a werewolf. “Gower, get over here.” “Yes, sir?” she asked, ignoring the rest of them. “Get the injured werewolves and vampires to our compound clinic. Dr. Moran will coordinate the triage there.” He pulled out his phone. “We have doctors that I’m sure can deal with the injured vampires very well.” Gower stiffened and pulled in a breath. “Us and vampires?” Jasper turned on her. “Are you deaf? Yes. Some are seriously hurt, and they aren’t going to get proper treatment in this hospital.” He started talking into his phone. “Jacob, open the gates. We’ve got injured people coming. We need to let them into the clinic.” Jasper’s eyes glowed gold for a split second. “Get your head out of your ass. It’s city council and our Council, who cares if some of the injured are vampires? Now open the goddamn gates or I’ll drive through them myself!” Shifting Chaos is available in eBook, paperback and through Kindle Unlimited.    
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