Chapter 39 Avery
AVERY
After dinner, Elijah and Aiden promised to see Ian back to his cabin.
Ian had protested, and I told him in no uncertain terms that seeing him run through by a wraith was going to haunt my nightmares for years and the least he could do was literally anything I needed him to do so that I could feel some peace.
He shut up after that.
After a goodnight kiss each from my jaguar and my basilisk, Heath escorted me to the infirmary.
The two nurses manning the front desk didn’t even glance up at our entrance.
Heath had probably come and gone from here an awful lot over the past twenty-four hours, and it didn’t surprise me in the least that he’d decided visitor protocol didn’t apply to him.
We shoved through the metal doors that led to the patient treatment area. The fluorescent lights and stark white of the room never failed to be jarring, despite the number of times I’d been here over the summer. Tonight, it was busier than I’d ever seen it.
Almost every bay, each containing a bed separated from its neighbor by pale-blue curtains, had a patient in it.
Last night had really done a number on us all.
Aisha and several other medics I didn’t recognize flitted around the room, tending to the patients. It was quiet, save the low, no-nonsense voices of the medics and the occasional beep of a machine.
Heath squeezed my hand. “This way.”
He led me to a bed at the far end of the long room, then shoved the curtain aside to reveal Wyatt.
He was sound asleep, a mess of cords connecting him to an IV drip and several monitors.
I choked back a sob. My poor, brave bear.
“Hey,” Heath said softly, rubbing my back. “Feel him. He’s going to be just fine, baby. I promise.”
I approached the side of the bed and then laid my hand on his forehead. He was warm, and his cheeks had good color. His breathing was deep and even, and his bear radiated quiet strength, flashing with extra vibrance at my touch.
“I’m still mad at you, Gale,” I whispered. “But I’ll forgive you if you wake up and show me that cocky, sexy smirk.”
He stirred and mumbled something unintelligible.
Come on, Wyatt. Please.
Dr. Lee stepped around the curtain, tablet in hand. “Ah, hello, Avery. I’m so happy to see you up and about.”
I managed a smile. “Yes, thank you again for treating me under… alternate circumstances.”
He waved a hand. “Don’t mention it. That’s my job. And it was actually a great study in how our bodies and beasts are able to heal when we’re in physical contact with our Moon-blessed mates. You are so rare, as you know.”
“Right.” I stroked Wyatt’s silky auburn hair. “Would Wyatt heal faster if I stayed with him?”
“I suspect so, yes,” he replied. “But he is very much out of the woods, Avery. I don’t want you to worry. His wound is healing nicely, and the energy of his bear is healthy. I should be able to discharge him tomorrow.”
I sniffed and rubbed at my eyes. “Okay.”
Dr. Lee checked Wyatt’s monitors, making notations on his tablet as he went.
He slanted me a sympathetic look, and then he pulled the sheet down, exposing Wyatt’s bare torso and the waistband of his shorts.
Dr. Lee peeled away the large bandage covering Wyatt’s stomach, revealing the angry red scar that bisected it.
The memories of Wyatt in the creek came crashing back. I batted them away. Those would be a mark on my soul forever, but I had to be strong for my bear.
“All is well,” Dr. Lee said reassuringly, placing the bandage back on Wyatt’s wound. “He’s a hero for our community, and so are you, Avery. You and your mates and everyone in this camp. I’m just happy to be able to do my part.”
“Thanks, Doc,” I said softly.
He winked at me and ducked out of Wyatt’s bay, clapping Heath on the shoulder as he passed.
I carefully maneuvered myself under the IV line connected to Wyatt’s hand and then slipped into the bed, curling my body around his and laying my head gently on his chest.
Heath kissed my hair. “I’ll be back in the morning, Killer. Sleep well.”
“You too,” I whispered. “I love you.”
His smile was a bright, beautiful thing. “I love you too. So fucking much.”
He left, and I settled in, content to listen to the steady, reassuring beat of Wyatt’s heart. After a while, the staff dimmed the lights, and I drifted off to sleep.
Sometime later, I awoke to the sound of a low, sexy groan.
“Fuck,” Wyatt rasped. “This is the best dream ever.”
I clutched him tighter, suddenly fearful he would slip away. “It’s not a dream,” I whispered. “I’m here. I’m here with you.”
He groaned again, shifting us in the bed so that I was lying in the crook of his arm and we were nearly nose to nose. His emerald eyes gleamed, and he thrummed with the sturdy aura of his bear. “Wildcat,” he murmured. “You’re really here?”
“Yes.”
“Are you okay?”
“Am I…. You’re the one in the hospital bed,” I hissed.
He grinned lazily. “I’m healthy as a horse, thanks to you.”
I tried to stare him down, but my lip trembled.
His smile fell away. “Baby, no, shhh.” He kissed my forehead. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”
The tears came anyway. “I thought I was going to lose you, Wyatt. I’ve never been so scared.” I sniffed, and he wiped the tears from my cheek with his thumb. “And then when Cash attacked me, and I thought I wouldn’t get back to you—”
“When Cash what?” he growled.
Bear rage blanketed our corner of the infirmary. One of his monitors chirped irritably.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” I whispered, stroking his hair. “We can talk about that later—”
“We will talk about it right the fuck now.”
I heaved a sigh and gave him the highlights, ending with Elijah’s extended nap in my cabin.
Wyatt buried his face in the crook of my neck and took several deep, shaky breaths. “I cannot believe…. After the promises Dad made…. He swore you’d be safe from that motherfucking sadist—”
“Wyatt, your dad couldn’t have—”
“And then he almost killed you.” His voice hitched, and he brought his face back to mine. The red sheen of an enraged bear rolled over his irises, but his expression held only anguish. “And I wasn’t there for you because I was lying in a fucking ditch.”
“Stop it,” I pleaded. “You saved my life, Wyatt. And you almost got yourself killed in the process.” I let my tiger peek out of my eyes. “Never do that again.”
His hand slid from my cheek into my hair, and he grasped a handful in a tight fist, making me gasp.
His irises had turned a brilliant ruby-red color I’d never seen before.
“I thought I was going to die, yes,” he growled.
“I thought that Giant was going to finish me off. But it was only when I thought I was going to have to watch it kill you first that it broke me. Hear that? It. Broke. Me.”
“Wyatt—”
“You want to threaten me with your beast? Good, I fucking love it, but this time I’m going to threaten you right back. Do something like that again, and I’ll handcuff you to me and never let you out of my sight again. Got it, Wildcat?”
I glared at him. He glared back. We both knew we’d do exactly what we did, again and again.
“I’ll always save you,” I said after a minute.
“I’ll always save you too.”
A smile pulled at my lips. “Because I love you, Wyatt.”
He stared at me, blinking, and the red vanished from his eyes, replaced by his gorgeous green. “Thank fuck,” he breathed. “I’m so in love with you, it hurts, baby. I’ve been a goner since the second you wrapped your pretty hand around my throat.”
The last piece clicked into place. The euphoria I should’ve felt the moment my tiger laid eyes on my Fated finally bloomed within me.
Wyatt must’ve felt it, too, because his eyes went wide, and he broke out in a big, beaming smile.
Then he kissed me. Slowly, carefully, worshipfully. I basked in his touch and his reverence and his love. For a few blissful moments, I forgot we were in a hospital bed with only a thin curtain separating us from the rest of the world.
Wyatt rumbled a pleased noise and bundled me closer, hiking his leg over mine. He let out a sharp hiss at the effort, and a quiet cry escaped me at the reminder of his pain.
“Shh, baby. It was just a little… sting.”
“I don’t care,” I said. “You need to rest. It’s—” I lifted my head and looked for a clock, finding one on the nearby monitor. “—three in the morning. Let’s go back to sleep. I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”
“Mmm, I like the sound of that.” He snuggled me back into his chest. “Did the others take care of you, at least?”
I grinned into his firm pec. “I’ve had, like, four orgasms since I woke up from my healing sleep, which was right before dinner.”
“Fuck,” he groaned. “As soon as I’m back at fighting weight, baby—”
“I know. Trust me, I remember.”
He chuckled. “That’s right. We all know who was first.”
I kissed his chest. “Sleep, please.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, already sounding drowsy. “Anything for you.”
His breathing slowed as he fell asleep, and I followed him soon after, my beast purring contentedly in the arms of her bear.