CALLUM
“Get him inside and upstairs.”
I don’t know who my brother’s barking orders at, but they lift me out of the car and pass me over to him. The familiar smell of our compound seeps into my bones, settling my wolf.
Does nothing to curb the raging pain in my chest, but I know enough to be thankful that I can feel anything at all.
“Again?” Corey hisses when I drag my eyes open. “Getting sick and tired of seeing you like this, brother.” He’s carrying me up the stairs like I weigh nothing.
“Sorry,” I slur, gaze drifting to the side, looking for— “Hey.”
Ash tries for a smile but can’t quite pull it off. “Hey.” His eyes are wet, tears threatening to fall as he blinks furiously.
“’S gonna be okay,” I tell him.
“I fucking hope so,” he snaps back. “Because I’ve got questions, Cal. And you promised me you’d answer them.”
“I will.” I try to keep my eyes on him, but they fall shut regardless.
“Get my bag,” Corey snaps while he sets me gently on the bed. “He needs more antidote.”
“So bossy,” I murmur, but I’m fading fast.
“Hold him down.”
Hands wrap around my shoulders and thighs.
“I’m sorry, Cal, but you know how this goes.”
His words take a second to register, and by the time I realise what’s coming, there’s no time to brace for it.
Fire lights up my veins, searing pain shooting across my chest. The roar that tears out of me is the last thing I hear before my body gives in and I embrace the black at the edges of my vision.
I come to in stages.
Soft snores filter in, the rhythmic breathing of someone close by. I inhale, smiling at the scent that’s heavy on the air. A scent that’s changed subtly since I bit him and made him mine.
There’s something clutching my hand, wrapped around it like a vice.
Something warm.
I open my eyes to the sight of Ash fast asleep, holding onto my hand like I might escape at any moment. He’s slumped forward, head resting on the bed next to my hip, and I take a moment to get my bearings, trying not to wake him.
Something tells me he needs the rest.
I’m in the room Corey uses for recovery.
Not all that surprising, but I was hoping he’d taken me to my room instead. The need for familiar surroundings amplifies when we’re injured, and the ache to be in my own space is a physical thing.
Ash stirs like he can sense my agitation.
He can.
As soon as that thought registers, I note the warm pulse behind my ribs, the steady mix of restlessness and contentment coming from Ash. He might be asleep. But he’s not fully relaxed.
“About time.”
I glance up to see Corey leant in the doorway. “How long?”
“Two days.” He nods at Ash. “I finally persuaded him to let me fix his shoulder and look at his wrist yesterday. He refused to shower and eat something until this morning. Apart from that, he hasn’t left your side.”
A rush of affection surges through me, and Ash smiles in his sleep, settling into a deeper slumber.
Corey tsks. “Can’t believe I had to find out from Lynx that my brother got himself a mate. A human one at that.” He walks further into the room. “We’re going to be talking about that when you’re fully recovered.”
“In my defence—” I let out a jaw-cracking yawn. “I was going to tell you, but then Ash got kidnapped and I got stabbed with an aconite blade.”
Corey grimaces. “Please don’t remind me. That’s the second time I’ve had to watch you fight to cheat death.” His expression turns serious. “I can’t do it again, Cal.”
“Noted.”
He peels back the sheets and inspects my chest, quick and efficient, back in doctor mode. I glance down—the angle’s awkward—but apart from a healing scar that looks months old instead of days, my chest looks as good as new.
“Feel up for some food?”
My stomach growls loudly and he laughs. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He covers me up again, gaze shifting to Ash. “I’ll bring enough for both of you because he needs to eat more.” He’s gone before I can reply.
Ash stirs again, and I take that as invitation to reach over and stroke his hair.
He hums, smiling again as his eyes drift open.
I see the moment it registers.
He bolts upright. “You’re awake!”
I smile. “I am.”
He’s got creases down his cheek from lying on my sheets, his hair’s stuck up on one side, and I’m pretty sure he drooled in his sleep.
And I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight in my life.
“You scared me,” he whispers, fingers tightening around mine. “I thought—” He sucks in a breath, eyes filling with tears.
“Hey.” I cradle his jaw, thumb stroking over the soft stubble there. “I’m okay now.”
He shakes his head. “But you weren’t.” He levels me with an accusatory glare. “You told me you loved me as you were fucking dying, and I didn’t know if I’d ever get the chance to say it back.”
My heart stops.
For one, two, three beats before setting off at a gallop.
“Did you want to?” I ask softly, then hold my breath.
It doesn’t matter what answer he gives me, I don’t regret saying it.
But I’m still counting the seconds it takes for him to answer, secretly hoping.
He draws his bottom lip between his teeth, never breaking eye contact, then sighs like he’s come to a decision.
“Not at first.”
Oh.
He shakes his head at whatever he’s feeling from me. “Let me finish.”
Another deep breath.
“You took me by surprise. We were so new.” He looks down at our still-joined hands and smiles. “I know it’s not the same for shifters. Morgan told me. You feel things quickly and with a greater intensity than us mere humans.”
“Ash—”
“Shh.” He puts a finger over my lips. “But then I watched you almost die. I gave you my blood, and somehow that fixed you enough to get you back here still breathing.”
Ahh.
“Because we’re bonded?”
“Yeah. That’s what Corey said.”
I try and parse what he’s feeling, but his emotions are all over the place. “Did it freak you out?” Feels like it did.
“Little bit. But then . . .” He breaks out into the widest smile, taking me by surprise. “Then those awful black lines on your chest started to disappear, and I didn’t fucking care.”
He stands and leans over me so that I have to look up. Letting go of my hand, he gently cups my face, expression softening.
It’s only then I notice he’s got his brace back on, but I don’t want to think about that with the way he’s looking at me.
“I’ve spent the last two days waiting for you to wake up.
It felt like years.” He leans in until we’re almost touching.
“But through it all, I could feel you in here.” He taps his chest. “It’s the only thing that kept me from tearing my hair out. It meant I had a lot of time to think.”
“Yeah?”
He nods.
“And what did you think about?” I’m trying not to hope, but I just can’t help it.
“That we somehow formed a magical connection when it shouldn’t be possible.
That we can feel each other’s emotions without even trying.
All things considered, waiting an appropriate amount of time before it’s socially acceptable to feel how I already feel .
. . seems ridiculous and a waste of time.
” He leans in and kisses me once before easing back.
“And I don’t want to ever waste a single second with you ever again. ”
My heart lurches to my throat as he looks at me with so much affection in his eyes.
“I wasn’t ready then, but I am now.” He smiles at me like I’m the best thing he’s ever laid eyes on. “I love you. And I don’t care what happens next, as long as we’re together.”
Three words.
That’s all I hear.
Three little words that sink into my soul and anchor there. “I love you too.” I might have said them once before, but he was right. It’s far better now we’re alone and not covered in blood.
And he said them first.