by JoAnna Grace
“No.”
“Humph.” Charles shook his head.
“What happened to your arm?” Ezekiel asked, scenting fresh blood under the wrappings.
Charles grinned and held it up. “Our Amilynn has a serious temper and an aversion to the words ‘quit growling.’”
Melissa giggled first and the rest of them joined in, the relief among them so thick it was palpable.
“We had to sedate her . . . twice.” Charles pursed his lips and took a deep breath. “I’ll come check on her later once she wakes up.”
Vivian shook the doctor’s hand before he left. She called Kasey to fill him in.
When Ezekiel saw Amilynn, he lost his footing. His vibrant, beautiful woman was so pale and still, her breaths coming so slowly. Tubes and wires connected her to machinery.
“Oh, Ami,” Melissa said, taking the words out of his mouth. They all stood around her bed, and he looked to Vivian.
She touched Ami’s hair and bent to kiss her forehead. When she straightened, her eyes were all cat and ringed in tears that didn’t fall. “I’m going to find out exactly what happened,” she growled.
“I’m not leaving her,” Ezekiel said as he pulled up a chair next to Ami’s bed. Not even his uncle could pull him away, alpha or not.
“Go, Vivian. We’ll stay.” Melissa hugged her sister and then went back to the security of Ty’s arms.
“I want to know the instant she wakes up.” It was nothing less than a command from Vivian.
Not ten minutes after Vivian left, a young nurse came in the room. “I’m sorry, I can only allow two people at a time in the recovery rooms.” She was Pack, a bear, and she recognized Ezekiel. “Sir.”
Using the unseen force that labeled him as alpha, Ezekiel lowered his voice. “I think you’ll make an exception.” He held her stare until she averted her eyes.
“Yes, sir. My mistake. Page me if you need anything.” She dropped her head and exited the room. Ezekiel didn’t care about protocols and how many people could be in a room. He wanted to be left alone with Ami, to will her awake and on her feet again. She shouldn’t be so still.
The day seemed to drag on into an excruciating rotation of nurses, machinery readouts and bandage checks. Ezekiel made the nurse teach him how to change the wraps and clean the wound. The first time he saw the damage, his stomach roiled, but he didn’t lose his lunch. He took a deep breath and got through it. Melissa helped pass the time by talking to him and Tyrone, who was a freaking statue standing in the corner. A couple times, Ezekiel noticed his eyes closed, but that was the only change in his position. Melissa didn’t bother him, but instead tried to keep Ezekiel’s attention elsewhere.
Tyrone made them both jump when he finally stood and stretched. “Let’s go eat.” He took Melissa’s hand and looked expectantly at Ezekiel, who didn’t move. “She’s highly sedated. I can sense it in her blood and in her mind. Come on.”
They made their way from the fifth floor to the cafeteria on the ground level. As they passed the main entrance of the hospital, the doors slid open and a group of doctors entered. Ezekiel, Tyrone, and Melissa stopped and lifted their noses to the air.
The scent of an unfamiliar feline drifted in when the doors opened again.
“Shit.” Tyrone shoved Melissa to Ezekiel. “Go to Ami.” He took off out the front of the building.
EZEKIEL DIDN’T HESITATE; he grabbed Melissa’s hand and rushed her back into the elevator. After a check of every corner and closet, he locked himself in the hospital room with Melissa and Ami. Three of the nurses on the floor were Pack. He discretely informed them that anyone who smelled of shifter, Pack or not, was suspect until Ezekiel alone cleared them. Dr. Charles was paged and Ezekiel told him what he’d smelled. Two security guards, also Pack, were quickly stationed outside of Ami’s room.
Tyrone didn’t come back for nearly an hour. “I lost the trail, but they were here. We’re not safe in the city. We need to get her back to the Packlands.”
“Amilynn can’t leave,” Dr. Charles argued with him. “She just went through a major surgery and lost far too much blood. Ami shouldn’t be moved for a minimum of twenty-four hours. Post guards, do what you need to, but do not move my patient. I don’t care what kind of magic tricks you can perform.”
Tyrone growled, but Melissa calmed his already agitated beast. “We’ll find another way. Call Conall; he can stand guard while you rest, Ty.”
As soon as Conall and two other wolves arrived, they took up posts at various places in the hospital. The two wolves were in civilian clothing and casually scouted the various areas inside and outside of the building. Conall, on the other hand, was in full uniform and looked like he was ready to kill the first motherfucker who stepped foot within twenty feet of Ami’s room.
Ezekiel smiled when Melissa motioned to the nurses gawking at Conall. The big man didn’t even notice, but Melissa and Tyrone smiled. Did Conall know how intimidating he was, especially in his black Pack uniform? The guy was as wide as the door and nearly as tall.
Rustling from Ami’s bed got Ezekiel’s attention. He leaned over Ami, watching her eyelids flutter but not open. Her fingers moved.
“Eee,” she whispered ever so softly. Was she moaning or calling for him? She’d left his bed in the early morning hours and, all day, he’d dealt with the fact her feelings weren’t deep enough to keep her with him. Could she really be asking for him? Could she want him after all?
“Zee,” she moaned. Her pulse sped up, the machine ticking away each beat.
“I’m here, Ami.” He took her hand. Goddamnit, he was going to cry right here in front of her brother. Screw it; who cared? His heart was about to explode with relief. “You’re okay, babe. Rest.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her eyes still closed. The beats of her pulse slowed down.
“Hush, stubborn woman.” Ezekiel cleared his throat and tried to control his emotions. He sniffed and blinked away the tears in his eyes. “Rest, Ami. I’m not leaving, baby. Ever.”
One side of her mouth barely lifted in a smile. “Did you bring the litter box?”
The air left him in a rush. Ezekiel laughed and kissed her temple, running his hand over her hair. “Smartass. Always a smartass.” And if she was cracking jokes, she would be fine.
Ami faded away, back into a deep sleep. Tension in Ezekiel’s neck and shoulders eased. He hadn’t realized how wound up he was until the vise released. He collapsed in his chair and took a heavy breath. She wanted him. Her first waking thought had been of him. There was hope. That was all he needed to know.
Melissa came up behind him and rubbed his shoulders. “Relax, sweetheart. She’s going to be just fine and you are too.” The touch of the submissive helped the last of his worry and stress fade away. All his leopardess needed was rest and recovery time.
“Now that she’s coming out of sedation,” Ty said, “I’ll run to the cafeteria and grab some food. What do you want, angel?” He linked his arms around Melissa’s tiny waist and nuzzled his nose to hers. It was odd to see such a loving act come from such a scary bastard. It was proof that a good woman could tame even the wildest of beasts.
Once Tyrone was gone and Conall shut the door again, Melissa smiled at Ezekiel. “You’re a good male. Ami can deny it all she wants, but I think you two will be a good match for each other.”
He huffed. “If I can figure out how to quit screwing it up.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s so damned hard to figure out. Every move I make seems to be in the wrong direction or backwards.” He rolled his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“My mate would tell you that is the case with most women.” Her blue eyes sparkled as she spoke of Tyrone. Man, he wanted Ami’s eyes to shine like that when she talked about him.
“I thought I did everything right yesterday. We went dancing, had fun, I didn’t sleep with her, I comforted her after her nightmare.” He sighed. “And she still left.”
“Ami’s a runner. It�
�s what she does.”
“I’m handcuffing her ass to the bed next time.” Ezekiel’s teasing made Melissa grin.
“Good luck with that.”
Amilynn registered the pain first. It started in her right leg and traveled upwards, forming an ice pick to her cerebral cortex. What was that beeping? Oh yeah, that would be the machines surrounding her. She inhaled and picked up three scents immediately. Family. Safe. Her cat was still half drunk off the sedatives. Whatever Charles had knocked her out with was good stuff. It took a hell of a drug to knock out the animals within shifters.
The smell of cafeteria food made her stomach cramp. What time was it?
“Ami?” Ezekiel’s tentative voice brought her leopard out of the stupor. Our mate. He’s guarding us, taking care of us.
Her eyes fluttered open. Damn, since when did eyelids weigh so much? The low light helped, but it still took a moment to focus on the handsome face beside her. Ezekiel’s slate-blue eyes were tired and soft. His face was shadowed with growth, but she could still see the dimples on his cheeks clearly as he flashed a smile that won her heart. Ami reached up and put a hand on his cheek. Ezekiel closed his eyes and pressed her palm firm to his face. Man, he would be so easy to fall for, so easy to depend on, and . . . submit to.
“You look like shit,” she said.
Ezekiel chuckled and nodded, his eyes misting over. “Yeah, well, the bat-shit crazy woman I love tried to take off her leg via a mountain lion today. Sue me.”
Ami smiled and closed her eyes for a second. He loved her? How? Why? She’d done nothing but cause problems since the day she arrived at the alpha house. He hadn’t even had sex with her. How could he know he loved her?
“You have terrible taste in women.” Ami turned her attention to Tyrone and Melissa, who stood on the opposite side of the bed. “Hey.” Her brother leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple, leaving his forehead against her hair for a moment.
“Don’t do that again,” he said in his gravelly bass voice.
“No worries. The next time I see a damned wolf in trouble, he’s S.O.L.” Amilynn coughed and sweet Melissa was right there with a glass of water and a straw. “Did you find out who the mountain lion is?”
Tyrone shook his head, his jaws clenched. “Won’t shift. Can’t make her.”
“Her?” Amilynn’s voice cracked. “What do you mean her?” She’d assumed it was a male.
“She’s one of Brian’s. Conall recognized his scent all over her.”
Amilynn let out a stream of expletives that would’ve made sailors go to confession. Brian had taken another girl. God only knew what kind of torture this one had to endure in the name of his love. How brainwashed was she? Did he force himself on her too? Ami felt sick and it had nothing to do with her empty stomach. That bastard had ruined another female.
“Let’s not talk about this right now,” Ezekiel said to her brother. “Why don’t we call a nurse to see if you can eat or drink something? How is the pain?”
“I wouldn’t say no to drugs. But not on an empty stomach.”
Twenty minutes later, a nurse brought in a tray with broth that resembled horse piss. Ami sniffed it. Barf. She glanced over at Ezekiel and mouthed, What the hell is this? He covered his grin.
The nurse held a syringe of pain meds to put in the IV. Tyrone snatched it from the nurse and gave it a sniff before allowing her to inject the line. Once the annoyed nurse left, Tyrone explained that they had scented more felines around the hospital. He didn’t trust anyone or anything.
“Oh God. The boys?” Ami turned to Ezekiel. “If they wanted to get to me—”
Ezekiel held up a calming hand. “At school. Soldiers are watching over the campus. They’re coming up here this evening.”
Ami nodded, her heart monitor sounding off with the frantic beats of her pulse. She reached up and pulled the patch off of her chest, much to the amusement of her family. The even-more-annoyed-than-last-time nurse came in and narrowed her eyes at Amilynn.
“What?” Ami shrugged and sniffed at the horse piss. Ugh. “I didn’t have a damned bypass. My heart is fine. Sit me up.” Ami fussed with the elevation controls until the nurse came and assisted her.
“Will you please refrain from tampering with medical equipment?”
“I wasn’t tampering with anything but my own skin. That thing itched.” Ami scratched at her chest twice, just to annoy the young woman who kept eyeing Ezekiel.
The nurse got huffy but left.
Conall stuck his head in the door. He grinned at her. “You’re such a brat.” The others made room so he could come sit on the edge of the bed. He clasped Ami’s hand. “How you feeling, Ami?”
“Minus the horrendous pain in my leg, never been better. I think we should go dancing tonight.” She coughed and groaned, trying to shift her body.
Conall’s thin lips pulled back. “As soon as you’re back in fighting form.”
“You want some horse piss?” Ami held up the bowl of broth.
“I’ll starve, thanks.” Conall nodded to the door. “I’m right outside if you need me.” He leaned down to peck her cheek.
“Thanks, Conall.”
There was a knock on the doorframe and all of their eyes shifted to see Martin standing there. He had a bouquet of flowers and a bandage over his face and wrist. “Can I talk to Amilynn . . . alone?” His eyes darted over to Tyrone and he paled. What the hell had Ty done to him?
Conall barely moved his hands, but took a pistol out of his holster and slid it under the blanket next to Amilynn. The action surprised her. Did they think Martin was a danger? He’d nearly died today too.
Tyrone growled—actually growled—at Martin as he passed him by. WTH? There was no telling what her brother had done to the man. Poor guy.
Ezekiel was the last to exit the room and his eyes were trained on Martin’s face. “Ami?” He asked her what she wanted and that meant more to her than she dared to admit.
“He’s fine.”
Z bent down and kissed her on the lips, a clear and undisputable message.
“Caveman,” Ami whispered.
“Smartass,” he said and grinned back at her. He wouldn’t go far, but he did give Martin and Amilynn some privacy.
Martin awkwardly handed her the bouquet of fall flowers and she commented on how lovely they were. He pulled up a chair and Ami did a quick mental calculation at how he was angled towards the door and how quickly she could draw the gun if she needed to.
“How are you?” he asked. He was so stiff, so tense. Then again, with Tyrone, Ezekiel, and Conall shooting daggers with their eyes, she’d be tense too.
“I’ll dance again.”
Martin’s eyes went to her bandaged leg. “Good. That’s good.”
“How about your face?” Ami pointed at the bandages that ran from his cheek to his neck.
“I’ll heal.” He tried to smile at her, but it was a quick and emotionless gesture half interrupted by the bandages. “I went back to the scene after you left in the chopper. I don’t know how in the world you got off that cliff.”
“Cliff?”
“It was a fifty- or sixty-foot drop, Ami. You could have been killed if that lion hadn’t broken your fall.”
“I didn’t notice.”
“Do you always jump off of cliffs without taking in the surroundings?”
She shrugged. “Recklessness isn’t exactly a recent development.”
After an awkward moment of silence, he cleared his throat. “Ami, I—” He deflated and leaned over to rest his elbows on his knees. “I’m so sorry for everything. I . . .” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean any of those terrible things I said the other night. I was hurt and angry, that’s all it was. You know I don’t think you’re a . . . I mean, you’re a wonderful person. Period. I wish things could be different between us, but I caught Ezekiel’s, uh, mating scent as soon as the elevator doors opened on this floor.” He shrugged, holding up his hands. “How can I compete with that? He’s your ma
te and, as much as it sucks for me,” he took a deep breath, fidgeting, “it’s great for the two of you.” The words on their own might have been kind, but the begrudging tone and the eye roll ruined it. He relaxed into the chair as if it took all his effort to be honorable and now that he’d forced the words, he sighed with relief.
“Martin, I need to be completely honest with you.” Amilynn inhaled long and slow. She didn’t know how religious people did this all the time. Confession sucked. But if she was going to actually build something solid with Ezekiel, she needed to clear the way. Ami might not ever have a clean slate, but she could at least dust it off a little. “Ezekiel claimed me the first day we met and I’ve been resisting and rebelling this whole time.”
Martin’s brows furrowed. He bit at his bottom lip. Ami said nothing, allowing him time to come to his own conclusions. Martin’s voice was quiet and controlled when he spoke. “So that first night, after the party, that was what? Defiance sex? Was I just the lucky schmuck who showed interest and got drunk enough?”
Ami crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the opposite side of the room. “You might not believe me, but I really did like you, Martin. I enjoyed hanging out with you and talking to you. It’s been a while since I had that with anyone.”
“And the sex? I guess that meant more to me than it did you.” He stared at her, his face slowly growing cold and distant.
“Sex has never meant much to me, unfortunately. That’s my issue; not anything you could’ve known or dealt with.”
He leaned over with his elbows on his knees and narrowed his eyes. “I hope for your sake and for your mate’s that you do deal with it. Because you’re in for a long, unhappy life if connecting with another person is so meaningless.”
Ami didn’t want to cry. If anyone asked, she was going to blame it on the pain in her leg. But she caught herself tearing up as Martin leaned over the bed and kissed her temple. “I wish it meant half as much for you as it did for me.”
She didn’t dare open that can of worms. Her newly found conscience was already beaten and battered. Her head had been buried deep in the sand when it came to Martin. As angry as he might be, she deserved it.