“Good,” Elyse breathed. “We saw it earlier, before Logan woke up.”
Saxon’s hand tightened on hers. She’d told him about what happened with Logan, and though they hadn’t expected him to wake so soon, she could tell he was mad at himself for leaving her with the newly turned hunter.
The ringing of a phone caused Nathan to jump, and he fumbled with his pockets before pulling it out. “Hello… Okay… I’m on my way.”
He hung up and looked at all of them. “Vicky’s in labor. I have to go.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Elyse didn’t remember muchabout the journey to the large compound where Saxon and the others lived. The rolling fields and farms of Maine gave way to the city of Boston before becoming woods and homes she couldn’t see from the road.
She didn’t register any of it until Saxon helped her from the SUV, and she tried not to cringe at the hideousness of the mansion looming over her. But as ugly as the turrets and gargoyles on the outside were, the beauty inside the place stole her breath.
A tall, thin man with dark hair going gray at the temples met them at the door. His round spectacles were perched on the tip of his large nose as his brown eyes surveyed her and her father with open curiosity. Declan and Lucien slipped past them and went up the stairs while the others went with Nathan to the hunter side of the compound.
“Can you ready a room for us, Baldric?” Saxon asked the man.
“Marta has readied the third room on the right in the left wing,” Baldric replied. “Ronan called ahead to let us know you were returning with friends. He also said you might need this.”
He lifted a black cane with a golden eagle head and held it out to Saxon.
“That will come in handy,” Saxon said.
He took the cane and handed it to Elyse’s dad who was holding onto the stick Saxon found in the woods for him before they left Maine.
Elyse restrained herself from jumping in to help as her father awkwardly adjusted his hold on the cane before leaning his weight on it. He had to learn to do these things on his own, and she was starting to drive him crazy, but she’d just gotten him back and hated seeing him struggle.
“The hunter doctor is waiting in the library for you,” Baldric said.
“Thank you,” Saxon said.
Baldric nodded before slipping into the shadows.
“You have a butler?” Elyse whispered.
“Baldric’s family has worked for Ronan’s family for over two thousand years. His wife, Marta, also lives here.”
The cane clicked against the gray and white marble of the sweeping foyer as they walked across it. When Elyse tried to clasp her dad’s other arm, he waved her away. She dropped her hand as Saxon led them into an enormous library filled with books. Her eyebrows shot up as she tried not to gawk, but this place made her fingers itch to explore the numerous tomes.
A plump man with blond hair stood by one of the shelves with a book in hand. He looked up when he heard them enter and smiled before returning the book to the shelf and striding over to them.
“Hello,” the man greeted, and to his credit, he didn’t wince when he saw the damage inflicted on her dad.
Elyse settled on one of the couches and watched as the man examined her father. She saw the sadness in the doctor’s eyes when he finished and dropped his stethoscope into a bag.
“The ear is getting infected,” he said. “I’ll give you some antibiotics, but the other wounds are doing fine, and your heart and lungs sound good. Some rest and food will help, and when you’re ready, I know a woman who’s doing some ingenious things with prosthetics.”
The doctor rested his hand on her dad’s shoulder before digging into his bag and pulling out a bottle of pills. He set it on the table next to her father. “I’ll come back tomorrow to check on you, but there’s a baby on the way, and I have to get back to the mom.”
“Of course,” her father murmured.
Elyse felt a little better as she watched the doctor leave. At least her father was still healthy. “Are you okay, Dad?”
He gave her a wan smile as he lifted the pills and put them in his pocket. “You heard the doc, I’m fine. Though I am tired.”
“I’ll take you to your room,” Saxon offered.
When Elyse went to help him rise, her father waved her away. She felt like a nervous parent watching a child take their first steps as she hovered nearby, but he managed to get himself back on his feet.
