Authors: Vanessa Devereaux
Should
she call a vet or an ambulance? A tear ran down her cheek as she cradled him in
her arms. They were in the middle of nowhere and if she didn’t think quickly
the
man she loved
was going to die.
Maisey, Lucas—they’d know what to do. They’d
know where to take him so no one would find out what he really was. He’d be
safe. She’d always keep him safe.
****
Nick
tried to shift
back
but didn’t have
enough energy left to do it. Dane had told him the same thing had happened to
his wife Lucinda when she’d been shot by the hunter. The injuries the lone wolf
had inflicted upon him had caused enough pain, but the bullet, holy shit, death
was preferable to the searing heat ripping through his body right now.
Had
Ava meant to shoot him, get it over and done with? Had she made her decision
and felt people who were different, the nonhuman’s residing on Earth, didn’t
deserve to live? Had seeing him in his wolf form forced her to make a decision?
Or had she done him the biggest favor of his life and thought he’d be better
off dead than being locked up and maybe even experimented on.
Maisey
and Lucas both stroked his head, lights flashed overhead and then he was lifted
up onto a table. Ava was standing in the corner of the room sobbing and her
shoulders lifting up and down as she cried out. Was she having regrets or had
shooting him been a stupid mistake on her part?
Hopefully
he’d live long enough to find out.
His
eyes tried to refocus. Two people approached him. It was Charlotte Renner and
the new Kodiak shifter doctor, called Bear, who’d arrived in Kalispell a few
days ago and already had the
women
swooning.
“If
we can stop the bleeding, get some blood back into him, I think he should be
able to shift back and then we can access more of the damage,” he said.
“Lucas,
you think you can donate some blood to him?” asked Charlotte. She turned
sideways, her scrubs barely fitting over her huge belly. Aiden was so lucky; he
was going to be a father. Now he’d met Ava he realized he wanted children too.
“Sure
can.”
“Roll
up your sleeve and lie on this gurney and I’ll get a line started,” said
Charlotte.
Something
sharp pierced Nick’s front leg, but it was nothing compared to the rest of the
pain shooting through his body. Warmth traveled through his veins and he
suddenly felt pressure on his chest. His energy was returning and soon he’d be
able to shift back.
Nick
tried to relax. Soon paws turned into feet and hands, and as he looked down at
his now human form he saw cuts and gashes where the other alpha had fought him
for the territorial rights. Tonight Nick hadn’t been thinking and had wandered
as a lone wolf into the territory of real wolf pack with the alpha on his track
before he’d realized it.
He
glanced down again feeling sick when he was the hole in his stomach where Ava
had shot him. He moved around hoping that would ease the pain but it only made
it worse and he was sure he was about to throw up.
“Hi
Nick, can you hear me?” asked Charlotte. She held
his
hand.
He
nodded.
“We’re
going to get you into surgery so hang on, okay. Bear and I are going to take
good care of you.”
He
grimaced as they started to roll him out of the room and hit an obvious bump on
the floor. Ava rushed to his side just as they got outside.
“I’m
sorry, I’m so sorry. And just to let you know the answer is yes.”
That’s
all he needed to hear. Some hope to hang on to while they operated on him.
Could they repair him? He hoped so because now he had
a whole
lot more living to do with his mate by his side.
Chapter Sixteen
If
she’d ever had any thoughts of turning
these
people
over to her agency, they were now a distant memory. The Kalispell
Shifters, as she now referred to them,
were the nicest bunch of people she’d ever been around.
People she had never met
had dropped by the hospital and brought her
drink, food, even some paperback books to pass her time while she waited for
news about Nick.
What
was even more amazing was she’d been the one who shot him and still they
embraced her, not hated her. Maisey and Lucas hadn’t left her side and right
now it seemed like hours had passed since they’d taken Nick into surgery.
She
stood to stretch her legs just as the doctor they called Bear headed their way.
He still wore his scrubs and looked both tired and hot. Could she read anything
from his facial expressions and tell if it was good or bad news?
Maisey
had obviously seen him too because she ran to him. “Please tell us he’s okay.”
Bear grabbed both her hands.
“He’s
going to be fine. I found the bullet and removed it. He’s a bit torn up inside
but nothing that won’t heal as long as he takes it easy for a few weeks, more
if we can convince him to do it.”
Ava
put her hands over her mouth and almost cried out. “Can I see him?” she asked.
“He’s
still groggy from the surgery so let’s give him a few hours to rest but after
that I think he’d probably like some company.”
“Thank
you, thank you,” said Ava grabbing Bear’s hands.
“You
have Charlotte to thank as well because without her it would have been a lot
harder.”
Ava
was going to take them both out to dinner very soon.
****
Nick
focused on his surroundings trying to figure out where he was. He squinted and
saw Charlotte sitting by his bedside writing in a book.
“Seems
I was doing the same thing with Maisey just before Christmas,” she said. She
got up and held his hand.
His
throat was parched and scratchy.
“Good
thing you shifters are easy to put back together,” she said.
“Am
I okay?” he managed to say.
“You
will be if you follow your doctor’s orders.”
Since
Charlotte had come into their lives, taking care of their medical needs had
become so much easier. No having to hide certain characteristics about their
body, their blood, or how they could heal certain things by themselves. Many of
them had stayed sick so they didn’t raise any red flags. Now that was all in the
past.
She
brought her hand up and touched her belly. “Baby’s on the move yet again.”
“Can
I feel?” asked Nick.
“Sure.”
She lifted his hand and placed his palm on the left side of her belly.
Something every distinctive pounded against it. A new life, part shifter, part
human. A little creature that would be the best of both their worlds.
“So
how’s our patient doing?” Nick looked toward the door and saw Bear heading into
the room.
“He’s
still sleepy but as cute as ever,” said Charlotte.
“Great
but I think you, momma-to-be, should go home and put her feet up. I don’t want
you going into labor because I’m too damn tired to deliver a baby tonight.”
Charlotte
yawned. “I am kinda beat now but I think I’m going to twist Aiden’s arm into
taking me to the Starlight Café for some of the Black Forest cake.”
“That
sounds good, maybe I’ll head over there later too,” said Bear rubbing the back
of his neck.
“You
take care and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Charlotte leaned over and kissed Nick on
the forehead before leaving.
Bear
pulled up a stool and sat by Nick’s bed.
“I
told Ava she can come see you in a few hours. I was going to ask if it’s
serious between the two of you, but I can hear your heart beating just that bit
faster when I mentioned her name, so I guess I’ve answered my own question.”
“You
know that’s one thing I like about being around humans, they can’t read your
mind, and they can’t hear things going on inside your body.”
No
hiding the truth.
“So
is she your mate?
He
wasn’t going to fight it anymore. Nick nodded. “Maisey said she’d find me one
for Christmas and she’s only about three months late on that promise.”
Bear
laughed.
“And
how about you? You have a mate?” asked Nick.
“Nope,
haven’t found her yet but I guess she’s out there somewhere.”
“You
do know now that you’re in Kalispell you’ll have your pick of any shifter woman
you want? I guess you can hear their
heart
beats
picking up when you enter a room.”
“I
think it’s the doctor thing they like,” said Bear. He stood. “I need to head
out and get some sleep. I’ll tell Ava she can stop by and visit. I think Maisey
and Lucas also want to see you but after that it’s rest and relaxation time for
you.”
Nick
nodded. The three of them had saved his life. Okay, Ava might have shot him but
her quick thinking and the fact she was smart enough not to call 911 and have
him taken to a real medical facility or even the closest wildlife rescue center,
had saved the day.
****
Ava
was torn between staying with Nick to make sure he did as he was told while he
recovered and going home to see
other special
man
in her life, Jake. She simply told her boss that she thought
everything had been a hoax and as far as she could tell nothing had been
forged. They were
everyday
folk going
about their business, period. She’d also had to explain why she’d fired her gun
and simply told the truth, but in her own special way. A local man was being
attacked by a wolf and she had to shoot the animal before he killed him.
Nick
pulled her down onto his body and kissed her.
“So
what are we going to do about this situation?” he asked her.
“What,
your obvious erection and you’re supposed to be resting?”
“Hey,
what do you expect when you take off your clothes and get under the covers with
me?” said Nick.
She
stroked his cock, loving its hardness, the distinct veins that stood out on it
and, the pre-cum that clung to its tip.
“You
could do your vibration thingy and you wouldn’t have to move your body around
too much,” she whispered in his ear.
“I’ve
spoiled you, haven’t I?” asked Nick.
“You
sure have.”
She
reached over to his bedside table, pulled open the drawer, and pulled out a
condom.
“You
know this is a great sacrifice for me wearing one of these things.”
“I
know. I think it would be great if we humans were like you shifters in the
mating and getting pregnant department.”
She
slipped the condom onto his shaft, raised herself up, and impaled herself onto
him. Tonight he felt hard and big, and she felt hot and tight. Yeah, even their
sex organs were perfect mates too.
He
reached up and touched her nipples.
“I
did hear a yes that day, didn’t I?” asked Nick.
“You
sure you can deal with a human as a wife?”
“Most
definitely. You gonna keep your job?”
“I’m
not sure. I want to and not just because I’ve worked my ass off to get into the
agency, but maybe someone on the inside would be a great asset to the group.”
“I
like the way you think. And I love the way you feel.”
She
leaned over and kissed him feeling him vibrating his cock inside her.
“Don’t
wax down there anymore,” he said. “I like the hair. I guess I didn’t know what
I was missing with my shifter girlfriends.”
Ava
dug her fingers into his biceps as her pussy grew warm and tight.
“Will
you miss not making love to one of your own
kind
?”
“Not
one little bit.”
Ava’s
thighs seized as her climax built.
“You’re
so beautiful when you come,” said Nick. “You take my breath away.”
“I’m…”
She
couldn’t get the words out and she threw her chin up and howled when her orgasm
washed over her.
“Hey,
was that what I think it was?”
“Did
I really howl?”
“You
did and it was beautiful, baby, just beautiful.”
“Can
you make me howl again?”
“That
depends
.”
“On
what?”
“You
letting me finally go back to work.”
“Nope,
I
like
having you in this bed, being in
this cabin with you all to myself,” said Ava.
Ava
howled again as another climax took her by
surprise,
but this time she got a response from a nearby pack. It echoed outside.
“We
might just make a wolf out of you yet.”