by Eden Ashe
Directly above his mark on Shelby’s breast was a mangled mess where the bullet had torn through delicate flesh.
“Alright.” He clenched his hands into fists to stop them from trembling as he moved in closer to the bed. “What do I have to do?”
Seren was already moving. “She needs your energy. She doesn’t have enough on her own right now. Without it, she doesn’t have the strength to fight as I heal her.” She pointed to the chair next to Shelby’s hip. “Sit and grab her hand.”
He obeyed without thinking, taking Shelby’s fragile hand into his.
Seren glanced at her husband. “You know what to do.”
“Don’t worry, wife.” Adrian Cage moved in front of the door and crossed his arms over his chest. “No one’s getting in.”
Daniel barely heard them. “What happened to her?” he asked finally, his voice hoarse to his own ears.
“She was shot exiting her car at the premiere.” Seren moved to the other side of the bed. “My brother’s in town this week. As soon as I saw your mark on her, I sent him to see what he could find out.”
“I want to know as soon as he gets back.” He didn’t bother to ask which brother. She had two, Luca and Micah, but Micah was so deep in the Chicago underworld he wasn’t safe to be around dragon or human population, while Luca had been fighting side by side with Daniel for centuries.
As she gently placed her hands over Shelby’s abdomen, Seren’s focus sharpened on Daniel. “I need you to concentrate. She needs everything you have if she’s going to survive this. She’s lost more blood than any human can withstand. If you hadn’t mated to her and changed her on a cellular level she’d have bled out already.” Her face softened, and Daniel was dimly aware of her voice going sharper. Like she was trying to channel his energy on Shelby before he internally combusted, which is exactly what he felt crawling up the base of his spine. The need to explode. “Focus on her, Daniel. Use your emotion and determination. Remember why you mated with her in the first place.”
His gaze snapped to hers. Her voice and demeanor had turned steely. “It doesn’t matter how it happened, or why. You mated with her. It meant something when it happened. I need you to use that emotion now.”
He tried. He closed his eyes to block out all the bad memories. She’d been amazing, he thought, until he’d come down from his sexual high to find the hired gun she’d sent to kill him.
“No.” Daniel’s head came up at the sharpness in Seren’s voice. Sweat beaded on her brow. She was chanting frantically as she tried to repair the internal damage caused by the bullet’s concussion. “I’m losing her. Goddamn it, Daniel! I need you to try harder.”
He let out a low sound of frustration. This time, he forced everything else out but the good as he concentrated on pushing his energy into her.
He went back to that night in his head. She’d been so beautiful when he’d picked her up. Halfway through the date, he’d realized how much he goddamned liked her.
She’d been easy to talk to despite their differences. Which said a lot. He never found talking to anyone easy.
But Shelby...Daniel struggled to open his eyes against the severe energy drain. Her small body was impossibly still, all of the compacted energy that had fascinated him gone, replaced with the steady whoosh of the ventilator that kept her breathing. She’d charmed him when he’d been positive it wasn’t possible for him to be charmed, and against all common sense, every time she’d smiled, he’d felt his world swing right.
Part of him had expected her to want to hit the main paparazzi zones in LA for some free publicity, but instead they’d ended at a small bistro barely big enough for the ten couples there. She’d been gracious when people recognized her, and though he’d felt out of his depth and like an uncoordinated giant, she’d been genuinely interested in him. Despite more than two millennia of not talking unless necessity dictated, she always drew him into conversation.
“You’re doing great,” Seren murmured. “Her body’s slowly responding.” She glanced at him for the barest of seconds. “How did you meet her?”
“I was hired to head up security on one of her movies.”
“The king? Doing security?”
“Yes. There were some rumors floating around about Hunters that I wanted to personally check out.”
Seren smiled the slightest bit, though her focus never wavered from Shelby. “Talkative as ever, aren’t you. Come on, Daniel. I’ve known you a very long time and we both know Shelby is not your type. I can’t think of anything you’d hate more than the possibility of being in the spotlight.”
“I like her,” he shrugged, before he amended with a growl, “liked her, anyway. But it was almost a year ago.”
“What happened?”
His lip lifted in a sneer. “Is it important?”
Her gaze lifted in a dead-on imitation of her husband’s irritated scowl. “Yes,” she said slowly, studying him as if searching for a head injury. “It is. Start talking.”
He considered ignoring her. It wasn’t any of her business. But he sighed and shrugged again. “She tried to have me killed.”
Adrian snorted from his post at the door. “Imagine that.”
A violent snarl rumbled through Daniel, his sluggish body going stiff. “Watch it, Hunter.”
“Hush.” Everything about Seren went still as she sighed at her husband, before she went back to repairing the damage done to Shelby. “You’re sure she was behind it?” she asked Daniel quietly.
It was his turn to snort. His head felt fuzzy as he continued to feed Shelby his energy, but he had no desire to relive that night. “Seeing as her house is as secure as Fort Knox and we were in her bedroom at the time, my guess is yeah. I’m sure it was her.”
Seren winced a little as her hands stilled. “You’re not kidding,” she murmured. “She set you up?”
Daniel didn’t take offense. Shelby Kincade was the most famous woman in the world, who had a reputation of being sweet and caring. Whereas Daniel had a history of pissing people off to the point of them actively trying to kill him.
“Yeah.” Though he wouldn’t admit it even if Cage was threatening to pull his heart out, it was driving him fucking insane seeing her lying there so still. “I didn’t know she was my mate at the time.”
Seren hesitated for a long moment, before she finally blurted out, “Why don’t you know she’s your mate? What happened to you tonight? Where were you when I called?”
He snarled. “Why are you acting like I’ve got brain damage? I started a bar fight when some asshole couldn’t keep his mouth shut about Shelby. Since I couldn’t kill anyone, I headed home with plans of doing my damndest to get shit-faced drunk.” He knew what she was getting at, and it pissed him off. “I didn’t mate to her, Seren. I know the rules. I only fucked her twice.” His gaze shifted unwillingly to Shelby, and he shook his head. “I swear it was only twice,” he whispered as the pain in his chest threatened to explode. He growled against it, a long, dark rumble that reverberated through the trauma room. Almost instantly, the irregular beating of her heart steadied.
“That’s odd,” Seren murmured softly, pulling back to study the monitor.
“What? What’s odd? Is she alright?”
She shook her head, her hand rubbing at her belly as she watched the machines. “For someone who tried to have you killed, she likes your growl. It calms her.”
Daniel dropped his gaze to Shelby’s face. Though he was sure he was imagining it, she did seem more peaceful.
It was his turn to be confused. “Seren, are you sure she’s alright? She’s not going into shock or something? Or, I don’t know, fading out?”
Seren looked as confused as he felt. “She’s your mate. You’re supposed to be able to calm her. It’s why you’re here.”
He swallowed hard, and too fuzzy to piece together what was happening, he repeated the sound like the goddamn purring pansy he was.
Her hand tightened around his.
“Seren–”
/>
“I saw it,” she murmured. “Why don’t you try talking to her? Your voice seems to have the same effect on her as your growl.”
He shook his head, panicking. “Talk to her? What the hell am I supposed to talk to her about?”
A ghost of a smile tugged at Seren’s mouth. “You did say she was easy to talk to before everything, ah, went south.”
“When she’s conscious, damn it, and in case you didn’t hear me the first time, she fucking tried to have me killed. We both know I could have said something to piss her off badly, so why the hell would I want to talk to her?”
Seren winced. “I don’t know, but she’s responding to your voice. You need answers, so talk to her.” Her voice gentled as she concentrated on what she was doing. “She wants to fight. I can feel it in her. So give her reason to, even if you plan on walking away.”
Seren was out of her mind. Daniel was sure of it. He didn’t know if the pregnancy hormones had addled her usually sharp mind or what, but the woman had lost it. But even he had to admit, as he took in every inch of Shelby’s beautiful face, he was having a hard time seeing the cold-blooded woman who’d set him up. This was the woman who’d made him smile against all odds, who had set his very blood on fire until he was sure no matter how many times he had her, he’d never get enough.
His chest constricted painfully. Which shouldn’t have surprised him. If her hired gun couldn’t get to him, why wouldn’t this finish him off?
“You have to save her,” he said hoarsely as he reached out with a shaking hand, brushing a pale curl out of Shelby’s eyes. “People go insane for her smile.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Daniel realized how stupid he sounded. Ryuu. It wasn’t enough the woman had tried to have him killed, but she was turning him into a goddamn pussy while she was at it.
His heart, which never got involved in anything or anyone, had picked one hell of a fucked up time to go to war with his head.
He surged to his feet and pointed a finger at Seren. “Just fucking fix her, alright? And stay out of my goddamn head while you’re doing it.”
Concern flashed over her face as Daniel swayed on his feet. In the next instant, Cage was behind him, as if they were worried he was about to fall on his face. He shook his head because it was just an energy drain, but it took him longer to realize, that even though he’d stood, he’d yet to let go of Shelby’s hand.
A low, frustrated sound rumbled through him. “Alright,” he snapped. He sat back down in his chair, tightening his grip around Shelby’s. “How much damage did the bullet do?”
Seren kept her gaze on what she was doing as she drew in a careful breath. “The bullet tore through a major artery just below her shoulder. She was barely alive by the time they got her in here. It was almost as if her body was fighting them, and me.”
“But you can save her.”
Because it was a demand, Seren only nodded once. “Yeah. I think as long as you hang on and keep feeding her your energy, she’ll keep fighting.”
He did. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there. Between watching Shelby and snarling at Seren to hurry the hell up, it felt like forever before the insistent, irregular beeping of the monitors steadied, and Shelby’s breathing evened out.
He didn’t allow himself to relax. Although his head was fuzzy, body exhausted and sluggish, he had enough experience with Shelby to know it was pure stupidity to let his guard down anywhere around her. Even comatose, she had the power to gut him. Not just physically, either.
His lip lifted in a self-mocking snarl as his brain decided to play back that night again. Peace wasn’t something he’d ever felt before. Instead of being wary, he’d let the feeling of tranquility lull him into a false sense of security which had nearly cost him his life.
Seren finally straightened. She looked as exhausted as Daniel felt. “Alright, it’s up to her now.” She tore off her surgical gloves as she moved to check Shelby’s vitals. “I repaired the major damage, but she still needs to rest. She’ll be sore, but it won’t be anything she can’t handle. I’m going to keep her on the ventilator for a while longer to limit the strain on her heart and lungs because she is still technically human, but she should be breathing on her own–”
“I’m not leaving.”
Her face softened when he snapped the words out before she’d even finished speaking. “I don’t want you to. You saved her life. I’m not just talking about transferring your energy to her, Daniel. Her body started to respond the second your hand touched hers.”
“She tried to have me killed,” he said. “She’s probably pissed to find out I’m still alive.”
Seren snorted out a tired laugh. “You’ll have to take it up with her when she wakes up.” She moved back a couple of steps until she was leaning against her husband, her hands resting against her pregnant belly. She eyed him up as if she thought he’d grown an extra head. “You mated to her without realizing it.” She blew out a breath. “I was thinking the other day, how long have we known each other?”
Daniel wondered how Cage handled her being off her rocker without going bat-shit crazy himself. “Since I was gutted when Luca and I went up against that warlock a thousand years ago, and he took me to you for healing. What the hell does this have to do with anything?”
She ignored him, asking him another bizarre question instead. “What year is it?”
Daniel turned his attention to Cage. “What the hell is wrong with her? Why doesn’t she know what year it is? Why is she acting like one of us has brain damage?”
Cage’s lip lifted, his body coiling tight, but Seren only shook her head, keeping her focus on Daniel. “I’m worried about you,” she murmured. “I don’t understand how you don’t remember having a mate.”
Daniel dragged a hand over his face. “I don’t know what the fuck happened. I only had sex with her twice. I’m not that stupid.”
“What about oral sex?”
Daniel jerked before he sat hard on the chair, the responsibility and consequences of what he’d done all but smacking him in the face.
Seren’s mouth dropped open. “Wait. You didn’t know it counted?”
Ryuu. Yeah, he’d gone down on her. He hadn’t meant to, but she’d tasted like heaven and he hadn’t been able to stop himself once he’d started. Daniel closed his eyes. “Fucking hell. You’re kidding.”
“Because this is something I kid about. Though it is kind of funny you managed to go two thousand years without knowing it counted. At least I don’t have to worry you’ve somehow lost the ability to add to three.” She glanced up at her husband as his cell phone rang, before she let out an exhausted sigh and moved over to the room’s sink. She scrubbed her hands, then started pulling out antiseptic, gauze and bandages. Hooking a wheeled stool with her ankle, she yanked it over to Daniel and sat on it. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
It took him a moment to figure out what the hell she was talking about, until he remembered getting sliced by the bastard in the bar. He tried to push her away. “I’m fine, Seren.”
“No you’re not.” She shook her head as she began to clean around the wound. Daniel didn’t bother to remind her that his body would heal itself over the next few hours. Seren was as much a dragon as he was. “Shelby took a lot out of you to keep fighting, and she’s going to need more yet. I can’t put blood in her as quickly as her body can produce it, thanks to your mark. The last thing either of you need is for your gash to get infected.”
He snarled at the sting of the antiseptic, again not bothering to point out that dragons couldn’t get human infection. He knew she worried, so they’d long since come to a compromise. He allowed her to bandage his wounds as long as she didn’t try to use magic. The last time he’d let his guard down enough for someone to use a spell on him, he’d ended up chained under a lake for months. “What the hell am I supposed to do with her? Can’t I just leave her here?”
Daniel gritted his teeth when she shook her head. He hadn’t expected her
to agree, and even if she had, it wasn’t in his DNA to leave his mate vulnerable. He’d screwed up, and until he found out who had shot her, he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight.
She glanced at him as she wrapped a bandage around his torso. They both knew it was a pointless gesture, but the healer in her ran deep, even if pregnancy was currently limiting her abilities. Healing took a lot of energy out of her, draining her while leaving the baby vulnerable if something happened. “So why haven’t you let go of her hand yet?”
A smart-ass reply came to mind, but his large hand still gripped tight around Shelby’s much smaller one. He’d meant to let go of Shelby the second Seren said she was going to be all right.
Ryuu. He knew he was an idiot, but he’d never realized how masochistic he really was. He couldn’t even refrain from holding the woman’s hand. Maybe Seren had a point. Maybe he did have brain damage.
“Ashborne.”
Cage’s tone of voice caused every muscle in Daniel’s body to tighten. He turned his head slowly to find the Hunter watching him, the puckered scar bisecting the left side of his face twitching.
Cage didn’t waste words. “It looks like a hit. She wasn’t the target.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Daniel asked, rage starting to build at the base of his skull. “Who were they aiming for?”
Shelby moaned softly in her sleep, her body trembling as Daniel’s temper rocketed through the room.
“Daniel.” Seren snapped as she moved in front of him. It left him no choice but to look at her. “I need you to calm down, do you hear me? For your sake and–”
“Wife.”
Seren rounded on her husband. “This can’t wait?”
“No.” He barely spared her a glance before he re-focused his attention on Daniel. “It was Luca on the phone. He’s not sure Shelby was the one they were after. He thinks it was you.”