Page 188 of The Werewolf’s Wrong Mate

I leaned closer at once.

“I’m here.”

Cassie settled again.

Sava looked at me. There was no fear in her face now. There had been, for one second after the hunt, when I carried Cassie through the door half back inside myself and half still on the killing ground. Sava had hidden it quickly because she was too practical to waste time being afraid of a thing she had to manage.

Now she looked tired.

“You should sleep,” she said.

“No.”

“Excellent. I enjoy wasted advice.”

“She is in pain.”

“She was almost killed by three Thorne wolves. Pain is expected.”

I hated the plainness of it. I needed it too.

“Her breathing changed twice.”

“Because bodies are rude and continue being bodies without consulting you first.”

I looked at her.

Sava sighed. “She is stable. Hurt, exhausted, angry even in her sleep, but stable.”

Some of the pressure in my chest eased. Not enough.

Sava glanced toward the door. “Cormac is outside.”

“Why?”

“Because the human side is coming apart.”

I went still. Sava saw that too. She saw everything that mattered, which made her useful and deeply irritating.

“Her father is done accepting explanations,” she said. “He wants to see her. In person. He has demanded the doctor, the police, a lawyer, the resort owner, and someone named Joey, who may or may not be a legal authority.”

“Her family cannot push into the wrong wing,” I said.

“No. They cannot. Which is why Ronan wants you below.”

“No.”

Sava’s expression didn’t change. “I assumed you would begin there.”

“I am not leaving her.”

“I will stay with her.”

“No.”

“Careful,” Sava said.

The word was not sharp. It was worse. It was soft enough to get under my skin.