Chapter Six
Dream
Fog crept lazily in thick waves over bright green vegetation. Malformed trees grew awkwardly from the ground. The smell of pine and earth mixed with something else made my senses tingle.
Smoke?
Fire?
All of a sudden, I was heading toward blazing flames that scalded my face. All around were girls dressed in lacy gowns.
Some were crying. Some were singing and there, in the middle of it all behind the blaze with flames licking his face, he stared at me.
He was lost.
He was hurting.
Fire engulfed him, and I screamed as loud as I could.
“Seth!”
I woke up trembling and gasping for air. Arms immediately met me and held me close. “It’s all right, Duchess.” Stephan cooed. “I’m here,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m here.”
“I want Seth.” I whimpered.
“I know,” Stephan said.
“Where is he? Has there been any word on him? Or on the girls Faust was searching for?”
Stephan let me go. “You want to talk about this now?” he asked.
I nodded.
I needed to talk about this now.
Stephan knows how stubborn I can be and that there is no point in arguing with me when my mind is made up.
“Faust said to get in touch when you wake up. He is at a dead end,” he said softly.
“What?” I felt sick to my stomach. “What about? Cross? Maybe we could––”
“They found him dead.” Stephan cut in.
I took in a big heavy breath. Did I want to know how? Did it matter?
“In the alley behind the club. His neck was broken,” Stephan answered without me asking. “The vamp squad is searching for the culprit. They think it was a rogue shifter.”
Now was the time to ask the most important question. The one that was going to determine my sanity.
“And Seth?” My voice was barely audible.
Before speaking Stephan stood up and paced about the room.
I knew the news wouldn’t be good and the anticipation was killing me.
“Stephan.” I prompted.
“Okay, Seth and––”
“Good morning, Miss Sinclair.” A young woman wearing green scrubs and a smile walked into my room. “So wonderful to see you awake.”
Fuck. Not now.
“How are you feeling?” she asked checking my IV fluids.
“Super.”
She chuckled. “Well, for what you’ve been through, you look super.”
I didn’t know if I should take the compliment and thank her or ignore it. I chose to ignore it.
Stephan took the opportunity to make his way out. “I’m gonna grab a cup of coffee. You want something?” he asked.
As if on cue, my stomach rumbled ferociously. “Meat. Like…a burger or something.” The thought of it in my mouth made me salivate.
Stephan raised a brow. “But…”
I raised my hand to stop him. “I know, just please get it.”
He gave me a quick nod. “I’ll be back.”
As he made his way out of the room, a short man with graying hair, round glasses, and wearing a white coat made his way in.
“Good morning.” He greeted. “I’m Dr. Cranston. How’s my patient?”
“She’s seen better days,” I answered, truthfully.
“You are healing remarkably well considering your injuries, Miss Sinclair,” he said looking down at my chart. His tone implied something.
“And that’s not normal?” I suggested to him.
He gave me a smile. “Everyone is different, but I guess it’s normal for a lycan.”
My heart sank into the empty pit that was my stomach. “A what?” I asked sitting up straighter.
He looked at me with surprise and then checked the chart in his hands. “Err…a lycan, Miss Sinclair.”
I shook my head. “Look, I may be a lot of things, but a lycan is not one of them. You made a mistake.” I hissed.
“Actually, the bloodwork was pretty clear.”
“Test again.” I ordered. “That’s a mistake.”
He cleared his throat. “Okay. I’ll have Jessica repeat the labs.”
I clenched my teeth and let out a breath. The test had to be wrong. “What other injuries do I have?” I asked.
He looked down at the chart again. “You suffered four broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a broken wrist. Dislocated both knees, tore several ligaments in your legs and fractured a hip.”
I felt my eyes grow wide, and then I swallowed back the memory of the pain I had endured that night. “Is that all?” I asked.
“No.” He handed the chart to the nurse and walked over to examine my head. “You also suffered a massive head injury that required fifteen stitches. Your CT scan was good. EKG was normal. You’re lucky to be alive.”
My body hurt just listening to him, but I had feeling luck had nothing to do with it. “What about my mouth?” I asked feeling the sting on my tongue.
He gave me inquisitive gray eyes. “Your mouth?”
“My tongue hurts, and it feels swollen.”
He made me open my mouth and he shined a small flashlight into it. “Hmm, you might have bitten yourself on impact.”
Did I?
“Miss Sinclair…”
“Jade.” I corrected.
He smiled patiently. “Jade. You are healing in a way that I have never seen before. Even for a…well, it’s incredible.”
“And that’s bad?” I shifted my weight on the bed because I felt uncomfortable. Like I was a subject he wanted to study intensely.
“No. Not at all. I am very pleased to see that you will make a full recovery.”
I gave him a nod and relaxed against the pillow.
“We’ll hang on to you for another night just to be safe and then in the morning, if all is well, I’ll get started on your discharge papers.”
“One more night? Exactly how many nights have I been here?”
“Three,” he answered.
“Okay. Thank you.”
He walked out of the room after giving the nurse instructions to retest me.
She put on a pair of blue gloves and tied a yellow band around my bicep. The constriction caused my arm to tingle. She opened a small packet and wiped my free arm. “Little pinch.” She warned before sticking the needle in.
Dark red blood immediately filled the vial.
I swallowed hard.
“Your boyfriend is very protective of you.” She blushed. I wanted to correct her, but she didn’t give me a chance. “He chased off the reporters who came to try and snap pictures of you or get an interview from one of the staff.” She took out the full vial and replaced it with an empty one. I couldn’t figure out what exactly she wanted, but I assumed the conversation was going somewhere. “He wasn’t the only one that worried about you like that. I mean there have been lots of people to see you and bring you flowers, but I have never seen an officer sit and watch a patient if they weren’t under arrest.”
That caught my attention, and I was suddenly very interested in what she had to say. “Which officer was that?” I asked.
“Adrian Kincaid,” she said and her full cheeks turned pink again.
Ah, yes. I remembered now that there was an officer in my room when I woke up. Was he the one touching me with all those conflicted feelings?
“I’ve never seen him display any interest in a patient unless he hauled them in here in handcuffs.” She giggled.
Another vial was replaced with an empty one. My arm was starting to burn.
“How long did he stay with me?” I asked keeping my voice neutral.
“Few hours.” She shrugged. “But then your boyfriend came and he took off.”
“Stephan is not my boyfriend.” I finally corrected her.
Something sparked in her eyes.
Hope.
Ah, there it was.
That’s what she wanted.
“He’s not your boyfriend? I’m sorry.” She smiled and finally finished drawing my blood.
After removing her gloves and tossing them into the trash, she put a sticker over the vials with my name on them and then wrote something down on a small piece of paper and handed it to me.
“Can you maybe give him this and tell him to give me a call sometime?”
Unbelievable.
“Stephan is not…never mind. Sure.” I agreed.
“Thank you.” She smiled sweetly. “The results should be back by tomorrow morning. Feel better,” she said walking toward the door.
“Thanks.” I muttered.
Officer Kincaid had my attention now. I remembered the accident, the glow around me…the kiss?
Stephan came back into the room carrying a paper coffee cup and a brown paper bag.
I decided not to mention the doctor’s mishap about me being a lycan.
The smell of the meat was absolutely delicious. I tore the bag open and bit savagely into the dripping burger.
Instant gratification.
“Hungry?” Stephan asked with a chuckle.
I chewed fast and took another bite before answering with a nod.
“So, I’m assuming we are eating things with a face now?” he asked lightly.
I wasn’t sure how to even answer that. I had been a vegetarian since the ninth grade.
I swallowed another big bite. “I think my body just needs protein.”
He smiled. “Whatever you say, Duchess.”
“My nurse seems to have an interest in you,” I said after another mouthful. “I can’t blame her though. You are cute…when you are sleeping.” I handed him the small white note with her number on it.
He rolled his eyes and shoved the paper in his pocket.
“You plan to use that?” I quizzed.
He shrugged. “Suppose I throw it away in here and she finds it? Would that not hurt her fragile little feelings?”
“Point taken,” I said finishing my burger and wiping my mouth. “Hey, you met the officer that was in my room last night?” I asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Did he say what he wanted?”
“Not exactly.” His eyes studied me for a moment. “Again, why?”
“Just curious as to why he would sit in here and watch me sleep for a few hours. That’s not very typical if you ask me. Creepy, you know?”
He stood up, walked over to the bed and cupped my face.
“Don’t read too much into it, Duchess. He was the responding officer on the scene. That’s all.”
I nodded, but that didn’t mean I agreed not to pursue it further. “Okay. Now, about Seth.”
Stephan’s face paled. “Maybe we should talk about that later,” he said.
“No. I need to know.”
“Jade, please.” He touched my face.
“No. I want to talk it about it now,” I said. “Have they found anything? Anyone?”
Stephan was quiet. His expression careful.
“Tell me.” I urged again.
Stephan nodded and gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Okay, Duchess,” he whispered. “But you won’t like it.”