Chapter 9
Marko tried to stay focused as he prowled along the boundary of StoneCrow’s acreage. It was really late…or way too early. The sun was just about to crest the horizon, and he’d spent most of the night patrolling in bear form in an effort to withstand the arctic front that had dropped down from Canada. He’d shifted back to his skin only an hour earlier to talk with one of the other Sentries out on patrol. Since the attack, the patrols had been doubled, and he knew he should be paying closer attention, but his head kept wandering back to thoughts of Thea. He hadn’t received an update yet on her condition, and he felt guilty for not being in the infirmary waiting for her to wake up. Something told him he should be there, and that same feeling kept tugging at his attention and making it hard to do his job. It was almost as if the longer he was out on patrol, the worse it got.
A mental nudge indicated an attempted communication, and he permitted it.
“Marko!”
The urgency in Stoney’s voice had fear skittering up his spine.
“What? What is it?”
“The infirmary. Get to the infirmary. Right! Now!”
The connection was severed, but he was already moving. Two steps and he’d shifted into the form of a white hawk that had just a hint of grey on his wing tips. He was on the furthest outskirts of the estate property, and he had a lot of land to cover.
As his wings beat at the frigid air, his heart thundered in his chest. His mind reeled with worry as he wondered what could be wrong. Thea could be hurt or dying. There could be an attack on the main estate house. Honestly, he prayed it was the latter because he didn’t think he’d be able to live with himself if something had happened to Thea and he hadn’t been there.
As the warm glow of lights from the estate house came into view, he tucked his wings and dove. The chill wind whipped against him and his beady eyes blinked rapidly. With expert precision, he stretched his wings at the last second, catching an updraft that slowed him just far enough from the ground that he could shift and drop, back in human form, onto the snow-covered hill just outside the estate’s main doors.
He was inside in a blink and racing toward the infirmary doors. Before he even got to them, he heard a sound that chilled him to his core. A scream. An agonized, pain-filled scream wrenched from a throat that sounded hoarse from the prolonged activity. And not just any scream. It was a scream that begged for him.
“MARKOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Thea!
He didn’t think he could move any faster. He was wrong.
The door leading the infirmary crashed open so hard that it banked off the wall, one of its hinges ripping from the top so that it hung awkwardly.
Stoney was sprinting toward him, face flushed, eyes filled with tears. “Marko! Thea needs you!”
He rushed past her with a snarled, “How long has she been like this?”
Another scream filled the hall and ripped at his insides. His animals were lunging for the surface now, shredding his insides and inciting him to move faster.
“All night! She didn’t want to have to be taken care of that way. She made us swear we wouldn’t contact you, but she’s getting worse, and Jenny’s afraid she might not make it. The pain meds stopped working two hours in, and she’s been going on will-power alone, but her vitals are dropping fast now…”
The rest of Stoney’s words died off as Marko shoved into Thea’s room. Jenny was there barking orders loudly to three other nurses who all looked just as frazzled as Stoney. Marko’s eyes landed on Thea and rage filled him.
She was curled up in a tight little ball, arms wrapped around her legs. Her gown and hair were drenched with sweat, but she was shaking so damn hard that Jenny was having a hard time reinserting the IV which appeared to have been ripped out gauging from the blood on the sheets and Thea’s arm.
“Out,” he snarled.
No one moved or even seemed to notice he was in the room or had spoken.
“OUT!” he roared, and the nurses gasped and jerked their heads up. His eyes were glued to Thea, and when she peeked open a weary eye to look at him, the relief that flashed across her face made his heart constrict painfully. He could have fixed this. Stoney said Thea had been in agony all night and it didn’t have to be that way.
Without looking at her, Marko growled, “Jenny, take your nurses and get the fuck out, now!”
Whether she knew better than to challenge him right now or simply agreed with his plan, Jenny ushered the nurses out before dropping the blinds over the window and sliding a blackout curtain into place.
Marko heard Jenny click the lock on the door before she left and alone with Thea, Marko started stripping.
The entire time he undressed, his eyes were locked on her. She looked exhausted, and the scent of her sweat, blood, tears, and agony was ripping him to shreds. He had to touch her.
Crossing the room to her, he settled a hand on her arm. The second he touched her, her body went lax, and she whimpered a satisfied sound as if just his mere touch was a great relief. Bending, he lifted her enough to scoot her body over before he climbed onto the bed beside her. The second he was flat, Thea’s eyes struggled to open as she crawled as best she could up onto his body. He knew what she needed though and right now he sure as hell wasn’t going to make her work for it.
Rolling, he pinned her beneath him. Stripping off her hospital gown was easy.
Both of her arms had wounds that told him she’d ripped needles them, and aside from the fact that she’d been suffering all night, the wounds in her arms appeared to her only outward injuries.
Thea tried to lift a hand to touch him, but it flopped lifelessly back to the bed. She was exhausted, but the scent of her need was like a sledgehammer between the eyes. The scent was much thicker than mere sexual hunger. She was sexually starved, and he was going to gut Jenny for letting Thea get this bad. Hell, Delain had told him that she-wolves had died from not being taken care of after being injected, and they were shifters, which meant they were naturally stronger than humans.
Bending, Marko pressed his lips tenderly to Thea’s. She’d suffered all night and for no damn reason.
Thea whimpered against his lips, and he didn’t wait any longer. He couldn’t. Still not sure how or why sex worked, he simply eased her legs apart and slowly pushed into her. Shaking hands lifted and clawed at his back, pulling him closer.
“Shhhhh,” he crooned at her ear as Thea’s body shook with sobs. “It’s alright, honey. I’m here. I’ve got you. I’m not leaving.”
She tried to say something, but her throat was so raw that only a rasp came out. She gave up the effort and simply nodded as he tunneled into her.
The sex was raw, visceral, but something about it felt so damn romantic. He was the one who could save her. He was the one who could bring her back from the brink, and while she’d tried to fight against it, in the end, she’d sent for him. He wanted to feel pride, but concern weighed too heavily on him. Beneath him, Thea’s body shuddered, and he knew she was close. He also knew that one coupling wouldn’t be enough. The night they’d spent together in the cabin after she’d been shot had been a marathon. Thank God he was a Skin Walker. It meant he was up to the task of giving Thea everything she needed for as long as she needed.
Arching her back, Thea moaned as orgasm seized her. Marko didn’t even slow. He just kept right on pumping, his lips dipping to capture one petal pink nipple. He was a breast man, always had been, and Thea’s breasts were everything he dreamed of. Too much for his hands, tipped with berry ripe nipples in creamy skin, Thea’s breasts drew his attention every single time she was near. Now, capturing one stiff peak between his lips, he drove into her one last time before his cock erupted and shot his seed deep.