Iggy [Gillham Pack: 15]

by Catherine Lievens

  Christian didn’t look happy. In fact, he looked like he wanted to hit Zane, but Clea put a hand on Christian’s shoulder and Christian relaxed.

  “I’m not telling you that you can’t see him,” Zane added. “But right now he needs rest, and he needs to be in a place that’s his. He’s going to be confused enough as it is when he wakes up, and I’ll have to tell him about his ankle. I know you thought he was dead, but right now, he’s sleeping and doped up on painkillers. Please. I’ll give you my number and you can call me tomorrow. We’ll decide when you can come by then.”

  Zane thought Christian would say no, but he slowly nodded. Maybe things would be all right after all.

  * * * *

  Iggy was too warm. He was also stuck, because something heavy was stretched against his front and on top of his arm.

  He pressed his free hand against the thing in front of him and froze when he felt fur. Why would he be sleeping with fur in his bed?

  Wait.

  Why was he in his bed period? The last thing he remembered was the battle, and Tom shifting in public. Tom had bit him.

  Iggy winced and tried to move his ankle. It hurt, but it didn’t hurt as much as it had before. Of course, he didn’t know how much time had passed since he’d become wolf chow.

  He opened his eyes, because he felt ridiculous not looking around, and he realized he was in his bed, in the house he shared with his friends. Not in Kameron’s house. Which meant he wasn’t doing his job.

  He jerked up and the mound of fur next to him growled. Iggy froze again and looked at the wolf. The last encounter he’d had with a wolf hadn’t ended well, but this one could have eaten him whenever it wanted, yet it hadn’t.

  “Zane?” Iggy asked hesitantly. It had to be Zane, right?

  The wolf rolled and wiggled around until it—he, it just had to be Zane—managed to get Iggy on his back again. That meant Zane’s head was pressed against Iggy’s chest and that he was basically a living blanket, and if Iggy had felt warm before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. It was so good to have Zane in his arms, though, and Iggy didn’t protest, even though Zane was heavy as fuck.

  “What happened?” Iggy asked. Not that Zane could answer, but he needed to ask.

  Zane whined and closed his eyes, obviously wanting to sleep some more. Iggy turned his head to look at the window, surprised to see the sky was dark. Now that he focused on it, he realized the house was completely silent apart from the normal creaks of the house.

  “It’s the middle of the night, huh?” he asked in a whisper, and Zane licked his hand. “Ugh. That’s disgusting, Zane.”

  Zane grinned, and the expression was so goofy on a badass looking wolf that Iggy laughed. He slapped his hand on his mouth because the last thing he wanted was to wake someone. Zane rolled his eyes and put his head on Iggy’s chest again, sighing and closing his eyes.

  Iggy poked at his nose. “I need to know everything’s fine. How did...”

  How had the battle ended? Was everyone all right? What had happened with the humans? Did they now know about shifters, or had Mihaja managed to keep things under wraps?

  Zane didn’t look like he was going to shift back, though, so Iggy scratched the top of his head. “Okay, just nod or shake your head.”

  Zane narrowed his eyes, but when Iggy asked, “Is my family all right?” he nodded.

  Iggy breathed easier after finding that out, never mind the weight on his chest and stomach. “Are they here? I mean in pack territory,” he asked next, and Zane nodded again.

  “What about Kameron, and Malik, and Quinn and Kir? Are they all right?”

  Zane nodded again, and Iggy relaxed some more. He didn’t really know the enforcers who’d fought with him, so while he hoped everyone was all right, he could wait until the following day to be sure of it.

  Zane’s eyes were sad, and Iggy thought it might be because he knew the enforcers better, but before he could ask, Zane closed his eyes again and snuffled, sticking his nose against Iggy’s neck and sniffing. Iggy let him do it without protesting, even though his nose was damp and cold. He probably needed it after what had happened. Iggy could only imagine how scared Zane had been while he’d been unconscious.

  He hugged Zane, enjoying the feeling of fur under his fingertips, and gently pushed him off his chest. Zane scowled, and Iggy thought the expression was impressive on a wolf. He rolled his eyes at Zane. “Just stretch next to me, yeah? I won’t be able to sleep with you on top of me, and I’m pretty sure I’d end up suffocating.”

  Zane growled, and Iggy didn’t know whether it was because Iggy had implied Zane might kill him in his sleep or not, but he was done asking questions for now. He snuggled against Zane’s side and burrowed his fingers into the fur at the back of Zane’s head. He was asleep in what felt like seconds.

  The second time Iggy woke up, he was alone in bed and sun shone through the window. He closed his eyes again and listened, smiling when he heard people moving around and someone singing downstairs. Mal and Elliott weren’t very good singers, but they sounded happy.

  Iggy opened his eyes again. He was hungry, and he needed the bathroom, so he pushed the blankets away and sat up with his legs off the bed. He scowled at his ankle, wondering how bad the thing was, because it still hurt.

  He pushed up, took a step, and his ankle folded. He managed to fall backward rather than forward and ended up on the bed, but his ankle hurt like a motherfucker now, and it obviously couldn’t hold his weight.

  The door opened and someone gasped. There was the sound of ceramic rattling, but Iggy kept his eyes closed, needing it to get over the pain. Someone sat beside him and stroked his hair, and after a few minutes, he finally managed to relax.

  He opened his eyes, not surprised to see Zane looking down at him, his eyes dark and worried. “You tried to get up,” he said, and Iggy nodded.

  “What happened?”

  “How about you do what you need to do and get back into bed to eat breakfast first?”

  “I want to know.”

  “I’ll tell you over breakfast then.”

  Iggy nodded. “Deal. But I’m going to need some help to the bathroom.”

  Zane smiled and got up. He held his hands out and Iggy took them. He wasn’t overly happy about needing help, but he knew Zane wouldn’t protest and that he was actually happy to help. Iggy could feel it.

  Iggy drew the line at having Zane in the bathroom with him. He closed the door and made sure to avoid putting too much weight on his bad foot. He hopped around, holding himself up on the counter and the walls, and while it took him longer to do everything, he was out of the bathroom in ten minutes. He wanted to shower, but it could wait, and he wouldn’t mind Zane’s help for that.

  Zane was hovering by the bathroom door, and Iggy smiled at him when he slid an arm around Iggy’s waist. He was glad to be back on the bed, because his ankle throbbed. It was nothing extreme, but he didn’t like being in pain.

  Zane was in mother hen mode, fluffing the pillows behind Iggy’s back and carefully handing him the tray that Iggy only now realized held breakfast. There were pancakes, eggs, and bacon, and a cup of coffee.

  “You made this?” Iggy asked.

  “Mal and Elliott are taking care of breakfast.”

  Iggy ate a forkful of eggs and gestured at Zane. “Spill.”

  “Your family is fine. They’re all over at Kameron’s house, and they can’t wait to see you.”

  “You didn’t let them see me?”

  Zane frowned. “You were hurt. We spent several hours in the hospital and you were unconscious for most of that time. You briefly woke up when we got you home, but you were asleep again in seconds.”

  Iggy didn’t remember getting home. If he thought about it, he vaguely remembered a hospital room and a guy with brown hair wearing a white coat, but that was it. “That’s fine. They know I’m alive.”

  “Your mom already called a few times. I tol
d her we’d see them later today. Kameron is expecting us in his office anyway.”

  “Oh, joy.”

  Zane grimaced. “Yeah, it’s a cluster fuck out there. I’m not looking forward to it.”

  “What happened?”

  “Mihaja didn’t get the videos off the internet in time. People saw some of them, shared them, and, well. You can imagine the rest.”

  Iggy nodded. He could imagine all right. It wouldn’t end well, but he hoped they’d be safe in pack territory. Nothing was certain, though, and it was scary.

  * * * *

  “What about my foot? What did the doctor say?” Iggy asked, and Zane had been dreading that question. He needed to tell Iggy the truth, though.

  “You were badly hurt. Tom shredded your skin and muscles and broke your bone. It was... really bad.”

  Iggy grimaced and moved his foot. “Yeah, I remember some stuff.”

  “A doctor and two Nix worked on you for a couple of hours, and you’ll need to have more healing sessions with a Nix.”

  Iggy slowly put down his fork and looked at Zane. “That bad?”

  Zane swallowed and nodded. “Yeah. The bone was poking out, and, well...”

  “What did the doctor say?”

  “They did their best, but you might have a limp.”

  There was a pause, then, “A limp? You mean for a while?”

  Zane wanted to look away, but he owed it to Iggy to tell him the truth and to be there for him. “No. Nothing’s sure yet, and nothing will be until you have several healing sessions, but the doctor said you might have a limp for the rest of your life. They managed to get the bone back together, and the muscles. The skin was easy from what they told me, but the rest was a lot more difficult.”

  Iggy looked numb. Zane had expected shock, anger, sadness, but not that. He took the tray away, knowing Iggy wouldn’t eat anymore, and put it on the dresser. Then he took his jeans off and climbed into bed. He manhandled Iggy until they were both lying down, Zane on his back with an arm, around Iggy, Iggy with his face tucked against Zane’s neck.

  “Talk to me,” Zane whispered.

  It took Iggy a few minutes to ask, “What am I going to do?”

  “What you’re already doing.”

  Iggy tried to sit up, but Zane kept his arm around him, and Iggy slumped against his chest again. “I can’t be a bodyguard anymore.”

  “Who said you couldn’t?”

  Iggy snorted. “How can I protect anyone if I can’t even walk?”

  “Don’t say that. You were wounded only yesterday, but you sound like you expected to be perfectly fine today. The Nix can help, but they don’t do miracles. You’re lucky we have them, or you’d have lost your foot.”

  “You’re not helping.”

  “Iggy, it happened yesterday. I know it’ll take a while for you to heal, but who’s to say it won’t happen? Especially if you have healing sessions.”

  “What if I never heal completely?”

  There was a tremor in Iggy’s voice, and Zane wanted to be able to reassure him that everything would be all right, but he couldn’t. “If you never heal completely, well. We’ll find you another job, or maybe you’ll still heal enough to be able to continue. Now that Tom is gone, Kameron doesn’t really need a bodyguard anyway, right?”

  “I guess.”

  “I know your job means a lot to you, but you need to focus on getting better. The doctor said it’d take at least a month for you to heal completely, even with the healing sessions. Then he’ll be able to tell what you’ll be able to do. I know it’s hard, but it’s no use worrying over it right now.”

  Iggy didn’t answer, but Zane could feel the confusion and fear coursing through their bond. He couldn’t tell why Iggy was scared, but he had a pretty good idea. “No one is going to kick you out because you don’t have a job,” he said.

  Iggy tensed in his arms. “I know that.”

  “Do you really? I know you took that job because you felt you had to be useful to the pack, you felt you had to prove yourself. No one thinks you’re a traitor or that you’re here to spy on us. They know you, and now that Tom is gone, who would you report to anyway?”

  Iggy snorted. “I’m sure there’s someone out there who wants nothing more than to eradicate the pack.”

  “Probably, but no one thinks you’d help do that. You haven’t been here long, but Kameron trusts you. Besides, you’re my mate.”

  “Oh, and that solves everything?”

  “No, but I was born into the pack. Everyone knows me, and they know I’d never do anything to harm the pack and that I’d never be with anyone who would.”

  The fear passing through the bond decreased. It wasn’t completely gone, and Zane doubted it would be soon. He kissed the top of Iggy’s head, smiling at the way Iggy relaxed against him.

  “Try not to worry too much,” he said, his lips still pressed against Iggy’s hair. “I know it’s hard, but you’ll be fine. Even if you do limp, you’ll be fine. You’re not alone anymore.”

  “I wasn’t alone before. I had my family.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re not making sense.”

  Zane thought he was making more sense than Iggy wanted to admit, but he kept it to himself.

  They stayed in bed for a while, softly talking and cuddling, their breakfast forgotten. Then someone knocked on the door, popping their peaceful bubble, and Zane sighed. “Come in.”

  Simon peeked in. “Good, you’re decent. The doctor’s here to see Iggy.”

  Zane nodded and got out of bed, ignoring Iggy’s whine. He put his jeans back on and Dallas came in, followed by a blond guy wearing a nurse’s uniform. The guy wasn’t one of the Nix who’d helped Iggy the day before. Those had been enforcers, but this guy was a nurse and obviously worked at the hospital.

  “Hi,” Dallas said. “You were out most of the time yesterday, but I’m glad to see you’re awake now. I’m Dallas. I took care of you yesterday. This is Nuallan. He’s a nurse at the hospital, but he’ll be moving to Gillham soon.”

  Iggy smiled, and Zane was relieved to see it was a real smile. “Oh?”

  “He’s going to work with me in the infirmary. I’ll need a nurse, with all the people living here. Now, can I check your ankle?”

  Zane gave them the space to work, but he didn’t leave the room. Dallas was smiling, so hopefully he had good news. Nuallan did his magic and Dallas checked Iggy’s ankle again, nodding.

  “You’re doing great,” he said.

  “Do you think I’ll have a limp?” Iggy asked.

  “I can’t know right now. This is only the first healing session, and you were wounded only yesterday. Give it a few weeks, with one healing session a week, and we’ll talk about it, okay? You’re doing great, though, so try not to worry too much.”

  “Can I walk on it?”

  Dallas grimaced. “It would be better if you kept your weight off it completely, at least for the next few weeks.”

  “I can’t stay in bed for two weeks!”

  “What about shifting?” Zane asked. They all looked at him, and he blushed. “What? Iggy’s a bat. He might not be able to walk, but as long as he can shift, he could fly. Right?”

  Dallas nodded. “Shifting shouldn’t be a problem, as long as he keeps his weight off his feet even then.”

  “I’ll make sure he does.”

  “Good. I’ll see you next week, then.”

  As soon as the door closed behind Dallas and Nuallan, Iggy took his clothes off. Zane blinked at him. “What did I miss?”

  Iggy flung his pajama pants at Zane’s head. “Get naked.”

  “Not that I’d normally have problems with obeying that order, but I’m not sure now’s the time to have sex.”

  Iggy rolled his eyes. “We’re not having sex. We’re shifting and going to Kameron’s house.”

  “Oh.” That made sense, but Zane couldn’t help being a bit dismayed. Still
, he stripped, taking a small fabric bag from the dresser and packing some clothes for both him and Iggy in it. He’d be able to hold it in his mouth while in wolf form, something Iggy couldn’t do since he was too small.

  Zane opened the door still wearing his boxers, because there was no way he was walking around the house naked. Something hit his shoulder and climbed on his head. He jerked, almost batting it away, but he realized Iggy had already shifted and was now in his pallid bat form, nestling in his hair.

  He moved to stand in front of a mirror and scowled at the small nose poking from his hair. “You could have waited.”

  He could almost feel Iggy roll his eyes. There was a pull on his hair, and Zane took it for a shut up and hurry, so he left their room and bounded down the stairs. “We’re going to Kameron’s house!” he yelled, knowing someone would hear him.

  He opened the door, shivering in the cold, and quickly took off his boxers. He pushed them into the bag, put the handle in his mouth and shifted.

  Iggy squeaked and tightened his hold on Zane’s fur as Zane started running. Iggy might not be able to walk for now, but Zane could be his legs until he could.

  Chapter Seven

  Iggy was having the time of his life, even though he wasn’t flying. It felt like it, though. He was still on Zane’s head, clutching his fur as best as he could to avoid being dumped in the middle of the forest. Zane was running, and he seemed to be having as much fun as Iggy. Maybe having to rest wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Maybe Iggy could be fine even if he couldn’t walk well anymore. Zane was right—there was more to Iggy’s presence in the pack than his job as Kameron’s bodyguard.

  Zane slowed down once they reached Kameron’s house, but he didn’t shift back. He scratched on the door instead and barked when it opened and Zach peeked out. He laughed. “You guys are so cute. Come in. You can go to one of the guest rooms to shift and dress.”