“All right, Orion, she's good. I need to check her wound,” Desmond says.

Rion's lips stay on mine as our tongues continue to dance with one another. His sandalwood scent wrapping around me.

“Rion!” Aries yells. It's enough to snap me out my haze and release the grip I have on Rion. He pulls back, those mesmerizing eyes of emerald green on me, and growls deep in this throat.

Aries' hands lift from my leg and arm. “Calm down. We're good. Ari's okay now. Des needs to check her over.” Rion doesn't move. His hands are planted on either side of my chest as he hovers over me. Somehow, he still has his feet on the floor.

Sliding over on the bed, I push myself closer to Aries and Desmond and then pat the bed next to me. It's Rion's turn to calm down, and I'm going to help him do so any way I can. He hesitates for a moment but then realizes I'm inviting him to lie beside me. His strong body climbs onto the bed, his eyes still only on mine. I roll to my side so I can face him while giving Desmond access to the back of my thigh.

“Good job, Ari. Keep it up,” Desmond whispers. I can feel the slight tugging of my skin. He must be removing the stitches.

The effects of the drug are wearing off quickly. Where I was ready to run before and burn off this energy, I feel like a deflated balloon now. Tired—exhausted—wanting to do nothing other than rest my head on Rion's chest and go to sleep for many hours.

“You healed perfectly, Ari,” Desmond says. “Not even a scar.” He stands, hooking me back up to the IV. “I'm going to give you some fluids now. It might make you a little cold as it starts to go into your bloodstream. I'll get some blankets.”

He returns a minute later with two white blankets and tries to drape them over me, but Rion sits up and takes them. He carefully puts them on me.

“Orion, Aries and I are going to leave you two alone for a bit. Ari needs to rest though. Ari, we'll be right outside if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” I whisper but don't take my eyes off Rion. His wolf is still front and center, demanding his turn to look over me.

The lights dim, and the door to the room clicks closed. Rion's green eyes still shine brightly. Gently, I run my hand with the IV in it through his hair and down so I can cup his cheek. He takes my hand in his and presses it against his chest. Our hearts still beat in tandem.

“I'm okay,” I say quietly. “I'm healed. Good as new.”

He releases my hand to run his over my hip and down the back of my thigh. He's making sure I'm healed. While he's doing it out of concern, he's lighting a fire in me which no guy has ever lit before. He slowly runs his fingers over my leg, caressing me as his eyes change from green to crystal blue. I breathe a sigh of relief. I was able to appease his wolf, show him I'm all right.

“Are you okay?” I ask. The last thing I want is him running from the room to go after Desmond or Aries—or worse yet—the wolf who bit me.

“I am now that I know you're healed.”

“Are you still planning on going after the wolf who attacked me?”

“You're my mate, Ariane,” he says quietly, with none of the anger he had earlier. “I won’t sit by while he, whoever he is, gets away with attacking you.”

“But it was in a premonition.”

“That may be, but his bite was very real. We have the tooth to prove it. “

“Well, maybe he didn't lose it in real life. Maybe a future version did.” We could really use Ford right now to explain this to us.

And just like that, he appears. I don't even jump this time when I see him. Rion’s hand grips my hip tighter, but I hold his eyes, silently trying to tell him not to start anything.

“Can you read my mind?” I ask Ford.

“No,” I can hear the smile in his voice. “I wanted to check on you. Oh, and also tell you that Kiara is a convincing version of you. Your dad is up, but she's pretending to be asleep.”

“Please thank her for me. I'm healed but exhausted. I'll be home soon.”

“You're going to need me to take you.”

“That I am.”

Rion breaks our eye contact and sits up. “Can I ask you a question?”

“If you want to play a round of who can bite who first, we better take it outside. I don't want to get yelled at by Lealla.”

“No, it's about Ari. Her premonitions, to be exact. How real are they?”

“Ari was bit in her dream state and showed up here with blood running down her leg. I'd say that’s pretty real.”

“I've gathered that much,” Rion says dryly. “A tooth was found in her wound. Would the wolf who bit her be missing a tooth right now, if I found him?”

“Interesting question.” He taps his cleanly shaven chin as he thinks about it. “I'm going to go with no and here's why. That wolf doesn't know anything about the dream he was in of Ari's. He wasn't there nor was he dreaming the same dream. For instance, Ari, has Rion been in any of your dreams?”

“I think he was there last night. A black wolf took out one of the wolves who was chasing me.”

“I did?” he asks, shocked.

“Yeah, at least I think it was you. I’m not sure who else is a black wolf that would come so quickly to my defense.” Though, it’s not like I know the color of every other wolf in Avynwood Pack either. “You came in from the sidelines and slammed into him. Of course, a bunch of others were still chasing me, but that was one less I had to worry about.”

“Rion, did you sleep at all while you were guarding her house?” Ford inquires.

“No, I was alert the whole time.”

“Then my theory is proven. That wolf still has his tooth. While Ari returned with it in her thigh, and a very real wound, she is the only one with a memory of it. And me of course, but I didn't see her get bit. I came in, grabbed her, and got out of there.”

“That reminds me,” Rion murmurs and gets out of bed. He slowly rounds the bottom where my feet are to get closer to Ford. His voice drops into a thick, menacing snarl. “Did you bite Ariane earlier?”

“Yes. She needs to be able to protect herself in the premonitions, in case I can't get to her fast enough. You should be a happy wolf.” He pats Rion on the shoulder and my whole body tenses. “She has a new way to help her survive.”

Rion's arm whips out, and in an instant, he has Ford against the wall by the throat, a good foot from the ground. “Don't you ever sink your teeth into her again. If I hear you drank from her, I will end your life. You won't be able to teleport far enough away where I can't get to you.”

The door to the room flies open, almost hitting Rion in the back. Aries and Desmond are about to pull Ford and Rion apart. I clear my throat and both heads swing to me while Rion continues to hold Ford against the wall. Shaking my head, I tell them silently not to intervene. Ford and Rion need to work this out between them or it’s never going to stop. Aries nods and closes the door after they leave.

“You know,” Ford chokes out in a raspy voice. “You can't kill me this way. I'm the undead, remember? Unless you're pocketing a silver stake, this does nothing. I'll heal from anything else in a matter of seconds.”

“We're in a mansion full of wolves. How much do you want to bet there are at least twelve pure silver stakes in this house? I can have one in my hand in seconds. All I have to do is ask.”

“Furthermore,” Ford continues, as if Rion didn’t say anything. Bringing his foot up, he plants it on Rion’s abdomen then shoves him away. “I’m stronger than you. And one snap of my fingers will have me teleporting both of us to the top of a mountain, where I will leave you to freeze to death.”

For the love of… I jump off the bed a little too fast, gripping the IV pole, and sway on my feet. Rion is by my side, holding me up. “I'm okay. Just a little tired.” I grip his shoulders to steady myself as the room slowly stops spinning. “As I was about to say, you two need to knock it off. Did you ever think that if you worked together, you'd both be helping me? All you're doing now is fighting with each other, and no one in this room is the enemy. The other pack is. Can we get on the same page, please? Yes, Ford bit me, but in doing so, he gave me the power to teleport. That's not a bad deal.” Ford gets all cocky and smiles wide. “As for you,” I say pointing to him, “next time you think about biting me, maybe ask first before gifting me with one of your abilities.”

“That I can do.”

“Fantastic. Can you please tell Kiara I'll be there in a few hours? I need to sleep. I'd rather do it here, without having to worry about my mom coming in and thinking I'm sick or something. Tell Kiara if that happens, just to mumble to Mom something about staying up late reading. That's a common occurrence with me. She'll buy it and let her sleep a while longer.”

“Deal, but I'm going to pick you up after school tomorrow. We have practicing to do. And no snapping at all until then.” I hope I don't need to snap for some reason. What if there is a situation that requires snapping? Ford snorts with a laugh. “What kind of situation requires snapping?” he asks, reading my thoughts.

“You never know. And get out of my head!”

“Not going to happen.” He winks and teleports away.

“Bed,” I mumble to Rion. He gently helps me back to the hospital bed and crawls in beside me. I quirk an eyebrow at him.

“You let me lie here before.”

“Yes, because if I didn't, I was afraid you were going to shift and attack Desmond or Aries.” He moves to stand, but at the last second, I grip his shirt and pull him back down. “I changed my mind. I don't want to be in here by myself.”

“As long as there is air in my lungs, you will never be alone.” If I weren't so exhausted, I'd let out a breathy sigh at how sweet he is. But I am tired and need sleep. I’m also grateful he’s not talking to me about what just happened with Ford.

A chill works its way up my spine and down my arms, causing goosebumps to break out. Rion reaches toward the foot of the bed and pulls up the blankets that were covering me before Ford popped in.

“You should sleep, too,” I say while yawning. “We're in a mansion surrounded by wolves. No one is going to attack us here.”

“I'll agree to sleep if you agree to stop talking so you can rest, too.”

“Works for me.”

My eyes flutter closed. Rion's hand finds mine and our connection flares to life once again. When it calms to a low hum, I finally float off to sleep.

Voices drift to me, rousing me from a deep sleep. “What's going on?” I ask sleepily.

“Ford's outside the door. We need to get you home. Your mom has been in your room twice, and Kiara isn't sure how much longer she can stall her,” Desmond states.

That wakes me up fast. Sitting up, I'm grateful the room doesn't spin this time. I toss the blankets aside and again curse myself for not putting on pants. My shirt is covered in blood from where I touched my leg and smeared it on the shirt, or from when Rion held me after wrapping his shirt around my leg. Desmond hands me a shirt that looks similar, but not exact to the one I’m wearing. It’s an oversized unisex shirt. It’ll work.

I quirk an eyebrow at Desmond and Rion. Both turn around so I can change without their eyes on me. Quickly, I slip out of my ruined shirt and into the one Desmond handed me. It smells of the woods and crisp mountain air.

“All right, I’m good.”

Both men turn back around. Rion moves to stand before me. I give him a quick kiss. Any more than that and I'd be lost in him. There's no time for that. I need to get home.

“Come visit me tonight after eleven,” I say. “I'll sneak out to see you quick before I go to sleep.”

“Sounds good, little mouse.”

Ford opens the door to the room, obviously not caring if he's wanted or not. “Let's put a move on it, princess.” I roll my eyes.

Rion clenches his jaw, but I don’t have time to reassure him that I’ll be fine. Ford is by my side and teleporting me back home before I even have a chance to thank Desmond.