Tooth and Claw (The Harry Russo Diaries Book 2)

by Lisa Emme

I pushed his arm off my hip and sat up to assess the situation. I was dressed in a set of green hospital scrubs. My side, which had been torn open by the redcap, was tender, but a quick examination showed me that, for the most part, it was healed, a large rectangular patch of pink, new skin the only reminder of what had happened. The pixie bites had been healed as well.

  I rolled onto my knees and crouched beside Nash to take a better look at him. His face had at least a day’s worth of stubble, which only helped to give him even more of a sexy, rugged look. He was shirtless and I paused to admire his muscular chest complete with a generous dusting of downy dark hair – all in the name of ensuring his injuries had been healed, of course. He was sporting his own swath of healthy new skin, a sign that the healer had been in to see him as well. I was tempted to peek under the sheet to see if his thigh had been similarly healed, but it would be my luck that someone would walk in on me and think I was being pervy.

  Sure enough, a minute later, the door to the room opened and an older woman bustled in. She was dressed in a set of scrubs similar to mine.

  “Oh good, you’re awake.” She smiled at me. “How are you feeling?” She stopped on Nash’s side of the bed and grabbed a clipboard and then began checking the monitors, jotting down the readings.

  “I…I’m okay. Why am I in Nash’s bed?”

  She peered over her clipboard at me and gave me a knowing smile. “Don’t you worry yourself dear, doctor’s orders.”

  “Doctor...?”

  “Of course, dear. We’ve found that mates usually heal much quicker if they are in close contact with each other.” She set the clipboard down and began to switch out Nash’s I.V. bag.

  “But why isn’t he awake? What’s wrong with him?”

  I caught a quick frown before she managed to school her expression with a pasted on smile. “Detective Nash is going to be just fine dear, you wait and see.”

  “But he’s unconscious! That doesn’t seem fine to me.”

  “Well, he is just recovering from acute silver poisoning. These things take time. If you need to know more, you’ll have to speak with the doctor, dear.” She pursed her lips and turned to leave but then stopped and turned back. “His condition started to improve immensely the moment we put you in bed beside him. Isn’t it just amazing what the mate bond can do? You stay by his side, let him know you’re there and I’m sure he’ll be up and about in no time.”

  She turned to leave again so she didn’t see me roll my eyes. “Wait! What time is it? Do you know how long I’ve been here?”

  “Why it’s early morning dear, just past 6 am. They brought you both in yesterday around this same time.”

  “I’ve been asleep for 24 hours?” I looked at her in shock.

  “Pretty much. You’ve missed several visitors, in fact one of them, that nice vampire Isaac I think it is, was here watching over you all night. He only just left about an hour ago.” With that, she let the door swing shut as she stepped out into the hall.

  Mate bond. I was really getting tired of hearing that word, but I guess if I was helping Nash get better, I could spend a little more time beside him, hardship that it was.

  I settled myself back down in the bed, my head resting on his chest. The nurse had turned down the sound on the monitor so it was comforting to hear the lub-dub of his heart under my head. I closed my eyes and drifted off again.

  ***

  “Harry! Psst! Harry!”

  “Aww, don’t they just look so cute together? So peaceful.”

  “He’s got his hand on her ass. He must be getting better.”

  “Harry, wake up.”

  The last voice was Tess again. The other two sounded very familiar, but I couldn’t quite place them.

  “Maybe we should just let her sleep?” I opened my eyes to see Christina looking back at me in concern.

  “Nonsense, the nurse said she was already awake once this morning. Besides, I brought breakfast.” Tess dangled a large white bag in front of her.

  “You brought me Dorfman’s? BMGs?” I sat up in bed, pushing away Nash’s hand, which was on my ass, by the way. Dorfman’s Donuts made the best donuts in town. Their Bacon Maple Glazed was out of this world. Moist, dense cake donuts, glazed with maple syrup frosting and liberally covered with strips of crispy bacon. “Gimme!”

  “Nice to see you too, Harry.” Tess laughed and grabbed me in a big hug.

  I squeezed her back, happy to be alive and able to do so. “Oh my god Tess, I’m so glad to see you.” I looked over her shoulder at Christina. “And you. Are you okay Christina?”

  “Nothing a few years of therapy won’t cure,” she joked half-heartedly. Eileen, the other familiar voice in the room, came over to stand beside Christina, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

  Tess turned and opened up one arm, gesturing the other two women over for a group hug. It felt good and the reality that the nightmare was over and I was safe finally sank in.

  “Alright, alright, enough with the mushy stuff. I have got to pee.” They laughed and the mood lightened. “No, seriously, I really have to pee,” I said struggling to put the bed rail down.

  With a laugh, Christina helped get the rail down and I shuffled over to the private washroom.

  “I brought you a change of clothes too, Harry, in case you want to take a shower and get dressed first.”

  I walked out of the washroom, drying my hands on a paper towel. “Are you kidding? When there are Dorfman’s BMGs calling my name?”

  We settled down, finding chairs for Tess and Eileen. Christina and I sat on the bed. I figured if knowing I was safe was helping Nash get better, then knowing his sister was also safe should help too. It couldn’t hurt at any rate.

  We quickly demolished the dozen donuts Tess had brought with her while she and Christina brought me up to speed on what I had missed. There really wasn’t a lot to tell. Isaac and Tess had found the holding cells and an uninjured Christina, just as Nash’s SRU team raided the place. As all hell broke loose, they helped the SRU secure all the missing wolves, including Christina’s friend Diane, and get them to safety. Finally, when they had everyone safely in vans on their way to the hospital, Isaac, Tess and Christina joined the remaining SRU members in a search of the building for me and Nash.

  They had found us of course, only to have us disappear with Navarre right in front of them. Finding us a second time wasn’t all that difficult after Navarre had set his magical dome in place. Then it had just been a matter of agonizing over what the hell could have been going on inside the dome.

  “I thought Isaac was going to rip the SRU’s mage apart, when he couldn’t get the dome down or find a way to get through,” Tess said, her eyes wide with awe.

  “He was very worried about you Harry,” Christina added quietly, her voice catching.

  “So what happened to you, Harry?” Eileen leaned forward eagerly. Something must have shown in my expression because she quickly added, “If you’re feeling up to talking about it that is.”

  I really didn’t feel up to it yet, so I took the out she gave me. Despite having slept for nearly 24 hours, I was actually feeling tired.

  “Don’t worry about it now Harry, rest up.” Christina patted my arm. “Wait until everyone is here so you only have to tell it once.”

  That sounded like a good plan to me. Eileen and Christina left shortly after, saying they would be back during visiting hours. I had expected that Tess would have to leave for work, but she shook her head.

  “Nope. I’ve got the whole day off and so I’m going to sit here and keep you company. Besides, I promised Isaac I would keep an eye on you during the day.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter you know.” I rolled my eyes.

  “No, but if Nash keeps getting handsy in his sleep, you might need a chaperone.”

  ***

  After I had showered and changed, I cud
dled up to Nash for another nap. I basically spent most of the morning drifting in and out of sleep. When I wasn’t napping, I did manage to get the whole story out to Tess. She was incensed at everything Navarre had done.

  “That fucker. Good thing you killed him Harry, or I’d have to hunt him down and do it myself.”

  I frowned from where I was curled up on Nash’s bed. I felt uncomfortable at the thought that although I had wanted Navarre dead for everything he had done, I was the one that took his life. Even though it was the undead that killed him, I was ultimately responsible. In the space of a week I had killed two people, not to mention all the countless redcaps whose deaths I had caused without even a pang of remorse. What was I becoming?

  A growl from Nash startled me and the arm that was wrapped around me pulled me closer against his body, holding me tight.

  “Nash?” I struggled in his grip to sit up so I could see him. “Nash are you awake?”

  The nurse, the same one from earlier, came in to check on him in response to Tess pushing the call button.

  “He growled and his arm moved,” I said, finally managing to turn over to face Nash.

  “That’s a good sign, dear. What did you do to upset him?” The nurse gave me a stern look.

  “Nothing! I’m just lying here.”

  “Well, you were just wallowing in self-pity a second ago Harry,” Tess supplied with a smirk.

  “I was not.” I bit my lip. “Okay, so maybe I was feeling a little sorry for myself. I think I’m entitled.”

  “Of course you are, dear,” the nurse patted my arm. “But remember he can sense what you’re feeling. Try and keep it to happy thoughts right now if you can.”

  Unbelievable! I had forgotten about the fact that Nash seemed to be able to read my emotions just like Isaac could through the blood bond. I was so going to kick his ass when he got better for marking me or whatever the hell he did.

  Nash grumbled again, his arm tightening around me.

  “See dear, you’re doing it again.” The nurse came around to my side of the bed. “Maybe you should just settle down beside him and try and relax.” She eyed Tess. “It really isn’t visiting hours yet you know.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll try and keep from getting worked up, but my friend stays.”

  I made a show of snuggling down against Nash’s chest. The nurse looked at me skeptically with one eyebrow raised and then settled a blanket over my shoulders.

  “You do that then, dear. I’ll be back to check on Detective Nash in a while.”

  ***

  I must have drifted off because the next thing I remember is hearing voices.

  “Kee! Kee!”

  “Shh, inside voice please. Uncle Cian is sleeping. So is Auntie Harry.” Evaine’s voice was quiet.

  “Harrreee!” Michelle squealed.

  I figured by that point it would be impossible to play possum. I’d have to be unconscious like Nash not to be woken up by the toddler’s happy squawking.

  “Hi Michelle, what do you have there?” I looked at the little girl in her mother’s arms. She had a fistful of helium balloons.

  “Bloons!” She held out her little fist, the balloons bouncing up towards the ceiling.

  “Wow, what pretty balloons.”

  “Hi Harry. Sorry, we didn’t mean to wake you. We just wanted to drop a few things by to make the room a little brighter.” She looked over her shoulder to Kevin who was carrying a large flower arrangement. “Mrs. Potts says ‘hi’, by the way, and not to worry about a thing at the shop.”

  “Oh, thanks. You picked up flowers from my shop? But that’s way across town from you.”

  “Of course, Harry. You’re family now. The pack supports each other.” She said it matter-of-factly.

  I really didn’t know what to say to that. There was an awkward silence and then Kevin cleared his throat.

  “So I hear you saved Cian’s life.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded.

  “I…yeah, I did.”

  Before I could say anything else, Evaine was across the room and leaning over to hug me one armed. Michelle, sitting on her hip in the other arm, giggled and patted my face.

  “Hareee!”

  Evaine gave me another fierce squeeze then stood up. “Thank you for saving my little brother Harry.” She brushed away a tear. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry like a baby.” She stomped her foot in frustration then patted her belly. “It’s the hormones, honestly. I’m not usually such a basket case.”

  “You’re pregnant? That’s great!” I looked at Kevin who was beaming with pride. “Congratulations.”

  “Kee! Kee!” Michelle leaned over in Evaine’s arms trying to reach Nash.

  “Uncle Cian is sleeping Michelle. How about you give him a kiss and you’ll see him when he wakes up. Okay?” Evaine carried the little girl over to Nash’s side of the bed and bent down so the little girl could touch her lips to Nash’s forehead.

  “Kiss Harreee!” She reached for me.

  “Me? Oh, okay.” I leaned over and she planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek. “Thanks sweetie,” I said, giving her curls a little pat.

  “Let’s leave the balloons for Uncle Cian now Michelle, then we’ll go home.”

  “Nooooo! Bloons mine!” She clutched her fistful of balloon strings to her little chest.

  “One balloon is yours,” Kevin said, pulling a pink one from the bunch. “The rest are for Uncle Cian.”

  “Mine!” Michelle clutched the pink balloon, letting Kevin pull the rest away. He tied them to the arm of a chair at Nash’s bedside.

  “Well, we don’t want to tire you out, Harry. We’ll see you soon.” Evaine smiled and gave my arm a little squeeze.

  “Sure. Thanks again for the flowers.”

  Kevin held the door open for them to leave just as Tess was returning, two large take out containers in her hands. They traded hellos and then Tess stood back to let them through the door.

  When they were gone, she sat beside the bed, plunking the two containers down on the raised tray table.

  “Thought you might be hungry when you woke up, so I ran out to Minetti’s.” She looked around the room. “Nice flowers and balloons.”

  “The flowers are from my own store.” I huffed out a little laugh. “Because we’re family now and the pack supports its own.”

  Tess looked at me carefully and nodded. “Yeah, we do. But you have always been part of the pack, even when you didn’t know it. It’s just that the rest of the pack knows it now too.”

  “You mean this doesn’t have anything to do with the mark?” I looked at her hopefully.

  “Oh, this totally has to do with the mark.” She smiled at me teasingly.

  “Gah! Why is it such a big deal? I thought it was just a hickey.” I looked at her with narrowed eyes. “You need to tell me what it’s all about.”

  Tess looked uncomfortable. “Harry, I’d like to, I really would, but I can’t. Nash said – “

  “Forget what Nash said. This isn’t about me or Nash, just tell me about the mark in general.”

  “That’s the same as – “

  “No, it’s a loophole. I’m half vampire remember? We live for loopholes.”

  Tess bit her lip, thinking. “Okay. I’ll tell you what I can.” She gestured at the food containers. “But can we eat our meatball subs first?”

  We polished off our subs, with only the occasional grunt of satisfaction and smacking of lips, breaking the silence. When the containers were in the trash and we had both made trips to the washroom to clean the copious amounts of marinara sauce off our hands and faces, Tess gave me the low down on the werewolf mate mark.

  The more I heard, the more dismayed I became. This wasn’t some temporary love bite. Nash had permanently marked me. It was there for all to see, or rather sense. Every werewolf would recognize it as a sign that Nash and I were
mates. As unbelievable as that sounded, it got worse. The mark bound us together, made us more attuned to each other’s emotions. In actual wolf pairings, some mates actually achieved true mind to mind communication, like Isaac and I had when a blood bond was active.

  “They say the sex is amazing with a mark because you feel each other’s emotions.” Tess looked at me expectantly. “So was it?”

  “Forget it,” I said shaking my head. “I’m so not going there.”

  Tess just looked at me, her lips pursed. She crossed her arms in front of her. “Spill, Harry.”

  A few minutes passed with Tess simply staring at me. Finally I caved. “Alright, alright. It was incredible, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?” I threw my hands up in defeat. “It was the most incredible sex I have ever had.”

  “Ha! I knew it.” Tess slapped her thigh. “It would have to be.”

  “Why? What do you mean?”

  “Well, because you’re mated for life. You know, good old monogamy? Having sex with the same person ad infinitum?

  “We’re what?” I looked at her dumbfounded. “But we’re not even dating!” My heart was pounding, I was so angry. How could Nash do that to me? To us? To himself? Nash began to growl again. On the monitor, his heart rate increased as if in tune to mine, which it probably was thanks to his stupid mark.

  “Uh, Harry. You better try and calm down or Nurse Rachett is going to come back.”

  With an unintelligible sound of frustration, I threw myself back on the bed and tried to calm my breathing. Nash’s breathing had quickened as well.

  “Shh, it’s okay Nash. Calm down. Everything is fine.” I petted his arm soothingly. “Just relax so you can get alllll better.” I kept my voice calm and quiet, like I was trying to lull a child. “Shhh, that’s right. Nice and calm so you can wake up soon and I can kick your ass.” I smiled pleasantly at him. Tess sat back in her chair trying not to laugh.

  ***

  I must have slept again because the next thing I knew Eleanor was standing in the room looking at me and Nash. Nash’s hand was once again on my ass. Men! Even unconscious, all they think about is sex. I was up and out of the bed in a blink of an eye, my face turning beet red by the feel of it.