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But keeping her here was a sure way to drive her crazy. She didn’t know how much longer she could put up with it without losing her fricking mind. And Shale wasn’t going to be out of the woods just yet.
Leana Shea had indeed helped hold Shale until they’d been able to get him to the pack’s strongest healer, but the wound had been catastrophic.
Deena, the healer and formally trained medical doctor, had been able to stabilize Shale but it had been basic field surgery.
The small clinic Deena ran wasn’t meant for intensive surgery and he’d been hurt badly enough that he needed more than his own natural healing abilities. After Shale was stable, they made hellbent for leather, speeding to the hospital a good thirty minutes away from pack territory.
Night had faded into dawn, dawn giving way to day before the healer deemed Shale was out of immediate danger.
The procedure had been far more complex due to the nature of the ammo used. It was a clever, cruel design, inspired by hollow-tipped bullets that had been common during the twentieth and early twenty-first century before changes in technology led to other, more evolved weapons for both law enforcement, sports, and recreational use.
The hollow tip wasn’t empty; the cavity was filled with tiny pieces of metal—iron, in Shale’s case, designed to kill Fae. Those pieces would have circulated to his heart, lodged there, poisoning him, until saving him was impossible.
While Deena worked on Shale, her lover and mate, Yasmin, a tall, leanly muscled woman with a shy, quiet smile had alternately bullied and coaxed those waiting to drink something, go outside for a walk or just to take a breath of fresh air.
Yasmin had even managed to cajole Niko into leaving the hospital with Zee once they all had news that Shale had stabilized.
Look, gorgeous... that pretty lady of yours is exhausted. I can all but see through her. And you’ve been funneling energy through to Deena and Shale. Once Deena is satisfied that Shale is resting comfortably, I want to tuck my sweetie into one of the beds they keep on hand for the doctor, but I won’t be able to if she’s fussing over our Prime.
It had worked, too, the sweetly gentle bullying convincing Niko that Deena would rest better if she knew he was doing the same.
Because he’d left, Zee had been willing to be swept along in the wake.
It had been almost nightfall before they left hospital. The day was all but gone by the time they were checked into the nearest TAN-affiliated hotel, and edging up on ten by the time they finished off the meal that had been sent to their room within minutes of them unlocking the doors. After a shower to wash away the blood, sweat and exhaustion, Niko had taken her there in the luxury of the massive shower, water pouring around them, his hands and mouth rough, hungry, almost desperate.
Then they’d collapsed on the bed to rest.
She’d woken just over an hour ago to find herself alone, the spot where Niko had been already cool.
She knew where he was, back at the hospital.
He’d left Boone behind to stand guard over her, which she’d discovered when he knocked on her door a short time after she’d woken. He’d had food for her, and a note.
Stay put. We need to at the Hollow again. And eat. Leana Shea said you would have drained yourself to the dregs using your magic as you did. You need the fuel.
She’d been starved, so she ate.
She could still smell blood, despite her earlier shower so she’d showered again, dressing in the clothes that had also been delivered by Boone, all tucked into a duffel, along with her toiletries.
Swearing, she pulled her phone out and sent him another text.
I can’t keep staying in this room, Niko. I’ll go fucking crazy.
She tossed the phone down on the bed and paced back to the window.
She’d given him a little longer.
A few hours.
Then she closed her eyes and sighed. No. She’d give him more than a few paltry hours and she knew it. He would be in a near rage after what had happened. And although she didn’t want it, she was still far too vulnerable when it came to him, her heart all but his, even now.
* * * * *
ZEE CHANGED INTO WORKOUTgear that had been sent along with her clothes and toiletries.
She’d given Niko a deadline and he’d agreed to it—he’d either be there to collect her by noon, or she’d make her own plans to leave the city.
Until then, she was going to attempt to distract herself with a good, hard work out.
