Twenty-Four
Rylee floated in a sea of darkness. Her body was losing the battle to survive. On some level, she knew Niko was there, fighting for her life. So was Luca. Another was present, as well, maybe more, but she couldn’t identify them by scent, and her eyelids were too heavy to lift so she could see. Whatever they were doing drew her closer to a wakefulness she wasn’t sure she wanted to achieve. There was pain there. Grief. It settled into her bones, making the vise around her heart squeeze tight. Or maybe that was one more sign of her imminent passing. She couldn’t be sure.
For some reason, she expected to be cold as life leeched from her body, but only warmth filled her. A cool nose pressed against her heated skin. Teeth nipped at her arm—not hard enough to break through, but to anchor her in the here and now. Darkness gave way to an orange glow as the sun beat against her closed eyelids. Had she been able to, she would have turned her head to avoid the stab into her brain the brightness caused.
“Come on, little sister. You can do this.” Luca’s words penetrated her foggy brain. Where was Niko?
Another nudge from a furry head against her shoulder drew her closer. There. She had to get to where Niko was.
The muted discomfort from before came crashing into her, exploding into every cell until all she could do was scream as the pain overtook her. Bright flashes blinded her as she opened her eyes, yet she couldn’t close them. She jerked and thrashed on the ground. She couldn’t breathe—couldn’t do anything but ride out the wave of agony swallowing her whole.
Niko nudged her cheek, then licked her skin. Always so sure and confident, hearing him whimper next to her ear was almost as intolerable as the pain.
Something was wrong. Deep in her core, a tearing of soul and body ripped her apart. It was as though she’d been jabbed with hundreds of tiny hooks. Each one was being pulled taut with the intent of splintering every cell until there was nothing left.
She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came.
After what had to have been hours, the agony finally receded, giving way to a hazy, grey fog. A black nose poked at her again, then snuffled. Niko. Too weak to formulate words, she turned her head toward him and licked his muzzle before closing her eyes and letting the exhaustion beating down on her take her away.
When she opened her eyes next, all she saw was an expanse of blue sky above and trees whipping by on either side. The truck hit a bump, jostling her. A growl rumbled next to her. She turned her head, her gaze finding Niko’s. He was still in wolf form, standing guard and protecting her. He was a good mate.
Good mate, a voice readily agreed from within her. Her breath caught in her throat. What the hell was that? Heart pounding, she opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t get her tongue to roll the way she needed to formulate words.
Niko nuzzled her neck, making a soothing noise that was part whimper, part growl, and she settled. The wordless sound said I’ve got you. You’ll be okay. And for some reason, it was enough. She closed her eyes again and let sleep take her once more.
***
“It’s been six days,” Niko said, his voice hushed but nowhere near as quiet as he figured it should be. Not that it mattered. His mate had been asleep for the better part of a week with no end in sight. She hadn’t opened her eyes once since she’d licked him in the bed of the truck and drifted away from him.
He tugged at his hair, wishing the bite of pain would make the worry disappear, if only for a few seconds. He was slowly going crazy.
“Go for a run. I’ll sit with her,” Luca offered, just like he had each day since the accident.
And as he did every other time his brother had suggested it, Niko shook his head and growled. When Rylee opened her eyes again, it would be him she would see—no one else. “I’m not leaving her side.”
Luca sighed. “Suit yourself. Maple dropped off food and candies. Want some?”
Niko didn’t want to eat, but he’d choked down two meals each day in his human form before shifting and lying with his mate on their bed. He glanced at her still form. The golden fur covering her chest rose and fell in slow, steady breaths. She was getting better. He refused to believe otherwise. Now she just had to wake the hell up.
“Not right now. Thanks, though.” Niko followed Luca to the bedroom door. Once he left, he’d strip and join Rylee again.
“Whatever. More for me.” Luca turned away. A second later, his gaze spun back to where Rylee lay, and a grin spread across his face. “Tell your mate I’m holding the candy hostage until she gets her ass out of bed and comes looking for it.”
“I heard that,” a weak voice croaked from the bed.
Niko’s heart thundered against his ribs. He was across the room, and next to the bed in seconds. Only the soft snick of the door closing alerted him that Luca had left.
“Hey,” he said softly, his voice broken as he spoke around the lump in his throat.
Her brows dipped as she opened her eyes. The slate grey color that had been her wolf’s was gone, and the warm brown of her human eyes was back. She stifled a yawn, then cleared her throat. “Did you confiscate some for me?” she asked.
She swallowed hard, her tongue darting out over her chapped lips.
He was at her side in a second. With shaking hands and the gentlest of touches, he helped her sit and then reached for the cool glass of water he kept at the bedside. “Have a drink.”
Her gaze met his over the rim of the glass as she took a sip, then another. “You look like you haven’t slept in weeks,” she said as she lifted her hand to his cheek.
“Six days, but who’s counting?” he joked. It was either that or let the relief flooding him come out in the form of tears.
Lips pursed, she tilted her head to the side. “Did I dream it? Was I a wolf when I woke up?”
All moisture in his mouth evaporated. He wouldn’t lie to her. He’d taken those choices away from her, but she was alive. He couldn’t regret that. Even if she hated him for the decision he’d made, he would do it again in a heartbeat. “You weren’t dreaming. You were in your wolf form. You would have died had I not changed you. Hell, you almost died anyway.”
“So, we’re mated now?”
He sat on the bed beside her and urged her to take more water. She needed the fluids. And food. He’d get a feast ready for her as soon as he could pull himself away from her long enough to do it. “No. We’re not mated. I bit you to change you, but I didn’t claim you. I was hoping you’d be conscious for that part when it happens.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but she hadn’t tensed or recoiled from him. She hadn’t denied that it would happen, either.
Rylee stretched and sighed. “I’m not even sore. How is that possible? I think every bone in my body shattered when I crashed.”
A shudder shook him to his core. His gums burned with the force of his canine teeth pressing at them, and his skin itched with the fur slithering beneath the surface with his need to shift. He couldn’t think of the accident without the same visceral reaction claiming him every damned time. Forcing a calm he hadn’t yet mastered since that day, he took her hand in his. “You were in bad shape, but the wolf healed you while you slept.”
“The hard drive?” she asked before she settled into the pillows he’d surrounded her with while she rested.
“Aric was here a few days ago. He took it to Blue Creek with him.”
“And the vampire?”
He couldn’t keep the growl from his voice. “Didn’t survive the crash. His helmet flew off, and the sun fried him.” Emmet had gone looking and found the smoking suit in a tangled heap not far from the wreckage. Niko hadn’t even been aware of his old Alpha’s presence until he’d shown up at the house hours later and told them what he’d found.
Rylee sighed and turned, facing him, then patted the area next to her. It was the same spot he’d occupied all week. The one he’d continue to keep warm every day of her life if she’d let him. As soon as he was lying next to her, she snuggled into his side, her head resting on his chest above his heart.
“Thanks for saving me. I wasn’t done with my tomorrows yet,” she whispered before closing her eyes and drifting off once more.