Page 90

“Ma’am, we’re going to need a statement.” He says, flipping the page on his notepad.

“She has a likely concussion, officer. I’m taking her to the hospital for further assessment. You can speak to her after she’s been seen by a doctor.”

The officer nods and continues, “Mr. Clark wants to press charges against you, sir. He says you interrupted his wedding and then attacked him.”

“Bullshit,” Cordelya snaps, surprising me with the strength in her voice, “That asshole broke into my apartment, drugged my animals, hit me over the head, and kidnapped me. Then he tied me to a damn chair, made me dress up, and was forcing me to marry him against my will. He attacked Auggie with a knife because Auggie came to rescue me. If anyone gets to press charges, it sure the fuck isn’t Chad!”

She lays her chest against my head, closing her eyes again.

“If we’re making notes for medical purposes, I’m dizzy again.”

I kiss her head and look at the officer.

Pocketing his notepad, he says, “I’ll come by the hospital to get a full statement, but what you said about him being the assailant is what the witnesses have told us.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a business card and hands it to me. “Give me a call when she’s ready to talk.”

“Yes, sir,” I say, striding past him.

Two hours later I’m helping Cordelya into her hospital bed after she changed out of the wedding dress Chad had forced her to wear.

“How are you feeling?”

“My head still hurts, but I’m not so nauseous anymore.”

I take her hand in mine, stroking her knuckles softly. “Good. Can I get you anything?”

“I’d love for you to lie with me.”

“Anything you want, Moonlight,” I say, crawling into bed with her.

She puffs out an indignant breath. “Don’t say ‘anything.’ I wanted to go home, but my mate insisted I needed to be monitored overnight.”

The way she says mate sends a pleasurable pulse through me.

“As a medically trained professional, it was my opinion that given your symptoms, you needed overnight evaluation. The doctor just happened to agree.”

“Uh, huh,” she says, rolling her eyes, but there’s no heat to it.

“And what about you?” she asks as her hand skims over the rip in my shirt where Chad stabbed me.

“I’m fine, really. Thanks to you. You saved me. Without your blood, I’d be in much worse shape. Now all I’ll have is a scar. Even before that, I was wasting away. Dying, really. Slowly, dying because of my condition. When Chad stabbed me, and you let me drink from you, you literally saved my life.”

“We saved each other.” She whispers, tracing the wound with her fingertip.

I pull her close, letting her get comfortable before wrapping her in my arms.

I’ve never felt so content.

For the first time in my life, I feel whole.

And strong. I don’t think I’ve ever had as much strength as I do from just the small amount of blood I consumed from Cordelya. My skin is now a soft pale gray, the dark circles beneath my eyes are gone, my hair is no longer lifeless, and my eyes have lost their red hue.

All because this beautiful soul lying in my arms gifted me her blood and saved me. Not because she felt obligated to after I came after her, but because she loves me as much as I love her.

We lay there quietly for a long time. I listen to our hearts now beating to the same rhythm.

“Cordelya,” I say softly.

“Mhm,” she murmurs.