I slowly opened my eyes and stared at an unfamiliar ceiling. The surface I was on was soft, and I rubbed my hand on what felt like a blanket. So I must be on a bed. I spent a lot of time in various hotels, but I couldn't place this one. I didn't even remember checking in. I pondered that oddity.

Where was I? A part of me knew I should be freaked out. The last thing I remembered was letting my panther take over. My human mind went to sleep and I ran. So how did I end up here, and why wasn’t I in my panther form anymore? Why couldn't I remember? Nothing made sense. I felt like my head was wrapped in cotton. Like all of me was wrapped in cotton. And nothing could penetrate the soft barrier.

I took a deep breath and suddenly the world came alive. Sounds and scents swamped me. I heard people talking softly nearby—muffled, as if they were on the other side of a closed door. Soft beeps nearby. Someone was breathing softly next to me, as if they were asleep.

The scents were odd: antiseptic, blood, worry, strangers, family, and my mate. None of it made sense. Why was I so calm? I should be frantic. I was in an unknown situation surrounded by strangers. But I felt like I was floating in a pool of tranquility. The water gently lapped at me.

I was sinking back into those serene waters when a thought occurred to me. I had smelled my mate. How could I? Why would I think my mate was here? Red was dead. I waited for despair to crash down on me, but the fog that surrounded me kept everything away. I was so detached, almost as if I was outside watching this happen to someone else. I flexed my hand and felt something odd, like I had a stick under my skin. I glanced down and saw a tube taped to my arm. I followed the tube up to a plastic bag on a stand.

A little noise drew my attention to the chair next to my bed. I turned my head and saw Red slumped over in the chair, her arm folded under her head as it rested on the bed by my knee. Her other hand held mine, the one that didn’t have the tube attached to it.

I blinked in confusion. How was Red here? Was I dead? How did I die? If I was dead, why was I in a hospital? Dead people didn’t go to the hospital, they went to the morgue. If this was the afterlife, why was Red drooling? Before I could focus my thoughts, the fog moved forward and swallowed me into sleep.

* * *

I opened my eyes and my head felt a bit clearer, as if the cotton had been removed. Not all of it, but some of it at least. My eyes immediately focused on the chair by my bed, and disappointment crashed into me when I saw it was empty. Had I imagined her? Was Red really gone? I swallowed down my emotions. I needed to figure out where I was, what was going on, and how to get out of here.

I studied the monitor next to me. I didn’t want an alarm to sound when I removed the devices attached to my body. I had to figure out how to turn it off. I turned my attention to the tube sticking into my body. I’d have to remove that, too. I looked at the bag feeding the tube. What was in that? Was that why I felt fuzzy?

I couldn't focus for long. My thoughts bounced all over the place. I was having trouble doing something, but what? I frowned. This wasn’t good. Not good at all. I needed to do something. I couldn't remember anymore.

I looked over as the door to the room opened. Red stepped in holding a bottle of water. Her eyes grew wide as they met mine. The drink hit the floor with a loud crack of plastic.

"Red," I whispered. Was this a delusion? A hallucination? It felt real. Almost. Damn, those were good drugs.

Before I could say anything else, she was at my side and tears ran down her face. Then she was in my arms, her face buried in my right shoulder. I rubbed her back as her tears soaked into my skin. There was no way this was a product of my imagination. She was warm and real. I lifted my other arm and felt a twinge in my left shoulder, but that didn’t stop me from holding her.

"Red, baby, don’t cry," I said. Her tears tore right through me. "Shh, tell me what’s wrong. Don’t cry, please, don’t cry."

"Maddox," she sobbed.

"I’m here." Suddenly it hit me. Red was alive. She was in my arms. My eyes grew wet and I blinked rapidly. I didn’t know who the poor soul was that the EMTs had been talking about, but it wasn’t her. It wasn’t my Red. The relief made me light-headed for a minute, then I crushed Red to me.

"Maddox, no!" she cried, pulling back.

I didn’t want to hurt her, so I let go, confused. Why did she pull away?

"Red, what?" I asked, my brain was so fuzzy.

"Your shoulder," she said, looking at said body part. I followed her gaze to my left shoulder, but all I saw was the hospital gown. It occurred to me that the gown was a little lumpy. I reached over with my right hand to feel it, but Red grabbed my hand before I could touch my shoulder.

I looked back at her and smiled. I didn’t care what happened to my shoulder. My Red was here. I squeezed her hand. She squeezed back, then let go, her look uncertain. I had the feeling she was going to step away. Before she could, I sat up and grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss.

She froze for a moment, then kissed me back passionately. Her hands came up and one went to the back of my head, the other touched my left arm.

As soon as her hand touched my arm, she stiffened up and pulled back. I moved to follow but she held onto my arm to keep me in place.

"Maddox," she said, then paused to take a deep breath. "Maddox, you’re drugged. You got out of surgery a couple hours ago. You can’t . . . " I thought she was trying to sound firm, but she sounded breathless to me.

Then I processed what she said. Oh, I was drugged. I looked over at the clear bag again. Right. That explained a few things. I thought about it for a moment and decided I didn’t care. I was fine.

I grinned and reached out to catch Red. "C’mere."

She stumbled back out of my reach. "No, Maddox. You aren’t thinking straight."

There was something in her eyes I couldn't puzzle out. It was like sadness and worry all bundled into one. Grief, maybe. There was no need for grieving. She wasn’t dead. We were together.

She took another step back and I felt panic rise within me. She couldn't leave. Not now.

"Don’t go," I said, alarm in my voice. I couldn’t bear to have her out of my sight. What if I was wrong and this wasn't actually real and she never came back? "They wouldn’t let me see you in the morgue," I said sadly. "Don’t go now."

Her brow wrinkled. "In the morgue? I wasn’t in the morgue, Maddox. What are you talking about?"

I nodded, suddenly pleased. "Only dead people are in the morgue." I smiled, overwhelmed by happiness. "Which means you aren’t dead. Because you're here."

She looked at me as if I was crazy. "Maddox, what are you talking about? Of course I’m not dead."

"No, but the girl in the car is," I explained.

She paused for a moment, as if deep in thought, then she tilted her head to the side with a frown. "You thought that was me?"

"It wasn’t you. You weren’t smashed by the truck. Or was it a semi?"

She took a deep breath and looked to the ceiling, as if asking for patience. I followed her gaze, but didn’t see anything of interest, and looked back at her. She studied me and I wondered if I had something odd on my face. I raised my hand and the thing in my wrist poked me again. I wanted it out, but when I moved my other hand to make that happen, Red stepped forward and grabbed it.

"No, Maddox. You have to leave that in." She had the patient tone of a parent speaking to a cranky toddler.

"How did you know I wanted it out?" I asked in wonder. Could she read minds now, too? I wasn’t sure that was such a good thing. I turned my attention to her and studied her with interest.

A small smile curved her mouth. "I can see you, silly. Wow, you're drugged out of your mind, aren't you?"

I shook my head. "No, I don’t think so. Everything is fuzzy, though."

She nodded. "Yeah, no, you’re definitely stoned."

"Red," I said, focused on her as worry clawed at me, "I won’t let you go."

She laughed, but her eyes looked wary. "That'll be awkward when I have to go pee. Are you sure that's what you want?"

I shook my head. It was important she understood what I meant. "No, Red. You’re mine. I’m keeping you."

She snorted, then smiled down at me indulgently. "Like a lost puppy?"

I shook my head. Why didn’t she understand? "Red, Alex can’t have you. I won’t let him."

"Uhh, since when was Alex trying to have me?" She glanced over at the wall and back to me, as if she was hiding something. But the thought was gone when her gaze met mine again.

"Don’t care." I shook my head again as I struggled to keep my thoughts together. "Keeping."

"Maddox," she said as she drew out my name like my mother did when I’d done something bad as a child. "Now . . . isn't the time for this."

Even with my drug-addled mind, I picked up on the hesitation in her voice. I was afraid I was too late. I would make a good mate for her. I knew it. I loved her and was going to keep her. She had to understand. "Give us a chance, Red. Let me prove it to you."

"Prove what, Maddox? I can't compete with destiny." Sadness filled her eyes, but she blinked and it was gone. "I mean, what will happen when your mate shows up?"

Her words were light but they didn’t match the expression in her eyes. I’d seen the sadness there. She shouldn't be sad. I missed something, but couldn’t figure out what. I shook my head.

She closed her eyes, raised her eyebrows, and tilted her head, an expression I’d seen on women’s faces time and time again. Usually my mother and sister. Sometimes Red. My mother always said she was trying to find patience.

"Did it work?" I asked, intensely curious. Maybe I should try it.

Her eyes snapped open and narrowed as they looked at me.

"Did you know your eyebrow goes up to a point when you get mad?" I asked.

Said eyebrow rose.

"Yep," I said happily, "just like that."

"Maddox, this isn’t working," she said, frustration in her tone.

"What's not working?" I looked around, ready to fix whatever was broken. I was good at fixing things.

"This conversation," she said.

Something told me that wasn’t what she meant, but the thought fled before I could figure it out.

"'S’okay," I said cheerfully. "We have plenty of time." We had a lifetime. She wasn’t dead. Suddenly, it was very important that I made sure she knew that. Maybe that would help her come to her senses. "You’re not in the morgue."

She slowly shook her head. "Maddox, we've already covered that. I’m right here."

I nodded. "Right. Not in the morgue. You’re not dead. You’re here. With me. That’s the way it should be."

She sighed. "What will happen when your mate shows up, Maddox? You keep on forgetting that little detail."

Why was she back to this? My mate was here. "You're not making sense," I said with a frown. Why didn’t she get it?’

"Since when am I the one not making sense?" She looked confused again.

I smiled, she was so cute when she looked confused. Her brow wrinkled and her eyebrows came down and almost met in the middle. The way her mouth quirked up at the corner. A little dimple appeared at the corner. Had I ever noticed that before?

"C’mere already," I said. "I need to kiss that dimple. It's cute."

She looked at me warily. "You're so not fit for a conversation right now."

"Did Alex kiss it?" I growled at the thought and tugged on her hand as I tried to get her to come to me. "No more kisses for Alex."

"What?" Her mouth opened and shut, then opened again. "Kisses for Alex?"

Suddenly I was angry. Those kisses were mine. I wasn’t going to share. I told him that I wasn't going to let her go, and that wouldn't ever change.

"What kisses, Maddox? When did I kiss Alex?"

"Doesn’t matter," I said firmly. "No more. All the kisses are mine. No more kisses for Alex, no more dates with him." There, I put my foot down. My gaze went to my foot. No, it wasn’t down. It was on the bed, next to the other one.