Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
The hospital was small but efficient. It was the nearest werewolf friendly establishment that Mallory knew of and it had a good reputation, but even with Boris’s help it hadn’t been easy to get Alexander there. They’d done it, though. What happened next was out of their control.
She was sitting with Boris at one side of the waiting room with Samantha, Nick, Hannah and various MacTire werewolves opposite. There had been no news from the surgeon since Alexander had been wheeled into the operating theatre.
Nick couldn’t sit still. He stood up, then he sat down, then he stood up again and paced, circling the room like a caged tiger.
When he sat down again, he leaned back as if to settle but started jiggling his legs.
‘He’s always telling me to think before I act,’ he said finally. ‘To consider the consequences.’
Nobody said anything.
Nick continued, although Mallory wasn’t sure if he was speaking to the room or to himself. ‘So why the fuck would he force his way into a vampire’s house? A vampire! I don’t get it.’
Samantha’s eyes flicked towards Mallory then slid away again. ‘He had his reasons,’ she said.
‘What reason could there possibly be?’ Nick’s voice grew louder with every word. ‘If he dies, Sam, if he leaves me alone after what happened to Mum and Dad and…’
‘He won’t die.’
‘You don’t know that!’
She lifted her chin. ‘I do. He’s too stubborn to die. He’s too strong.’
‘Nobody is too strong for death. My dad was strong and so was my mum, and they were both killed in a freak accident.’
‘This is different. He’ll recover.’
‘You don’t know that, Sam,’ Nick repeated. She sighed but didn’t argue. Nick raised his head, his expression ravaged. ‘Mallory, why did he go there?’
She had no idea what to say. ‘I … he … uh…’
‘Tell me!’ he demanded as anxiety got the better of him
Samantha put her hand on his arm. ‘Nicholas,’ she said sharply. ‘That’s enough.’
Mallory was already shaking her head. ‘No, it’s alright. I understand how he feels.’ She passed a hand across her face. ‘Alexander was in my flat waiting for me. He found a note from the vampire that was – threatening.’
‘Threatening?’ Nick looked confused. ‘Towards you?’
‘Yeah, but it was just bluster. The vampire was a client who was frustrated at my lack of progress. It was an old note and I’d already dealt with it, but Alexander read it and must have thought I was in danger. He went to the vampire’s house and…’ She sighed. ‘You know the rest.’
Nick stared at her. ‘No,’ he said after several long moments. ‘That doesn’t make sense. I understand that he’d want to help you if you were being threatened or hurt, but he still wouldn’t be so reckless as to burst into a vampire’s lair.’
Samantha’s expression darkened. ‘It doesn’t matter why he did it. It won’t change anything.’
Nick barely heard her. ‘Wait,’ he said suddenly. His eyes widened. ‘He was in wolf form.’
‘Yeah.’ Mallory nodded.
‘And he thought you were in danger.’
Samantha stiffened. ‘Nicholas.’ Her voice was filled with warning.
He ignored her. ‘He went to save you. His wolf had taken over and he went to save you. That means…’
‘Enough, Nick!’ Samantha snapped.
‘What?’ Mallory asked. ‘What does it mean?’
‘He thinks you’re going to be his mate.’
‘Goddamnit, Nick,’ Samantha hissed.
Mallory blinked rapidly. ‘What? No! No, he definitely doesn’t think that.’
Nick was nodding. ‘Now it makes sense.’
‘You have it all wrong.’ Mallory shook her head.
‘I don’t.’ He smiled sadly. ‘I get it now.’
‘But…’
‘Has he shifted in front of you before now?’ he asked.
Their session in the gym flashed in her mind. ‘Uh…’
‘I knew it! That proves how much he cares about you.’ Nick leaned forward. ‘Uncle Alex shapeshifts when it’s the full moon, which is what the rest of us do, but he also does it when his emotions are high. Very high. He was scared for you, and maybe angry, too. That’s why his wolf took over.’
‘That part might be true,’ Mallory said gently. ‘But the rest isn’t. It can’t be.’
‘It has to be.’ Nick glanced at Samantha.
‘There are lots of problems during the full moon when werewolves are in love but they’ve not yet staked an official claim on their partners.
Right, Sam? Didn’t that McTavish beta almost kill the Bradley kid because he thought that he was threatening that female werewolf?
And isn’t he now officially mated to her?
Even when I was kidnapped Uncle Alex didn’t go full wolf – usually only part of him goes furry when he’s upset.
But he’s gone full wolf for Mallory and that can only mean he wants her as First Mate.
’ He whistled. ‘Want is probably the wrong word. He needs her as First Mate.’
Mallory expected Samantha to tell Nick that he’d got it all wrong, but she didn’t. She simply exhaled loudly. ‘He was planning to tell you at your flat today,’ she said to Mallory.
Boris, who’d been silent until now, chuckled. ‘I knew it!’
‘In fact he was supposed to tell you before today,’ Samantha continued.
‘There were lots of times when he was supposed to tell you.’ She exchanged glances with the other MacTire werewolves and they all nodded encouragingly.
‘Until you came along, I’d have confidently said that the only person Alex has ever been afraid of was his father, but he’s much more afraid of you than he was of that old bastard. ’
‘I’m a squib,’ Mallory whispered.
‘A squib who he’s in love with but who he doesn’t believe feels the same way. And a squib who regularly puts herself in harm’s way.’
‘I’m very careful!’
‘I’m sure you are, but that doesn’t stop Alexander being terrified that something might happen to you.’
Boris nudged Mallory. ‘It won’t be so bad once you’re his actual mate. You’ll have the protection of his name so clients like Longchamps will be more respectful. And Alexander will be more relaxed. So will his inner wolf.’
Mallory stared at him. ‘Wh-what?’
Boris grinned at the werewolves. ‘She’s in love with your guy but she can’t admit it because she’s supposed to be helping him find a mate. She thinks it would be unprofessional to nominate herself for that position. And she doesn’t think he really wants her.’
‘Of course he wants her,’ Nick said. ‘I should have seen it before now.’
‘None of this would have happened if the two of you had spoken more honestly to each other,’ Samantha muttered.
Hannah intervened. ‘You’ve never been in love, Samantha. You’ve never felt the fear that you’ll be rejected by the only person in the world who makes everything right.’
Mallory’s mouth was wide open as her gaze travelled from face to face. ‘This is all my fault,’ she said, horrified. ‘It’s my fault he’s here and suffering so much.’
Samantha frowned. ‘Whoa. No, that’s not—’ She was interrupted by the door opening to reveal the doctor who’d been working on Alex.
Mallory started to tremble. She stumbled to her feet, as did everyone else. When the doctor smiled and said, ‘He’s okay,’ her knees buckled and she sat down, gulping in air. Oh thank God. Thank everything and everyone.
‘It’s going to be a long road to recovery,’ the doctor warned. ‘He’s not completely out of the woods yet. He’ll be weak for a long time, and silver is still poisoning his blood. He’ll need several transfusions and he’s going to experience a lot of pain. But he will be okay.’
‘As long as he’s not attacked by any revenge-seeking vampires in the near future,’ Boris said as a casual aside.
Mallory stiffened then nodded at him. She would fix this; she had to.
‘Can we see him?’ Nick asked.
‘Yes. He’s still sedated but you can pop in for a few moments,’ the doctor said. ‘One at a time, though, and only a few of you.’
Nicholas went first, followed by Samantha. When the beta werewolf returned she looked emotional but there was also relief in her face. ‘You should go in, Mallory,’ she said.
‘Yep,’ Nick said. ‘Definitely.’
Mallory got shakily to her feet and followed the doctor to Alex’s room. ‘Only a minute or two,’ he warned. ‘And keep your voice low and calm. Although he appears unconscious, he may be able to hear you.’
She swallowed hard then walked into the room.
The bed was in the centre with Alex laying prone on top of it, no longer in wolf form.
He was covered to his shoulders with a white sheet that was almost as pale as his skin, but his chest was rising and falling regularly.
She closed her eyes with relief then went to his bedside and took his limp hand.
His skin was hot, which was probably one of the many side effects of the silver poisoning. She rubbed the base of her thumb against his palm and smoothed back his hair from his forehead with her other hand.
‘You stupid bastard,’ she whispered. ‘You almost got yourself killed. If you wanted me to experience the same fear that you were feeling, then congratulations. Because now I’m bloody terrified that something will happen to you.’
Alexander didn’t so much as twitch but she continued regardless. ‘You’re going to be fine. You have to be fine so I can come back and kick your arse for putting me through this. You have to be fine so that I can tell you that I love you. I love you, Alexander MacTire, with every part of my being.’
Her mouth curved into a sad smile. ‘You’re handsome, charming and definitely sex on legs, and I want you to be mine. Forever.’ She dropped her head and kissed him briefly on the lips.
‘I’m going to deal with Chester Longchamps and make sure he doesn’t come after you. I’m going away for a while to find him a bellarmine jug but I’ll be back. I promise you that. I’m just a squib – but if you want me, I’m all yours. Always.’
Mallory’s feet felt leaden with exhaustion as she plodded upstairs with Boris on her tail. She passed the map detailing all her current clients and knew she ought to update it to reflect current circumstances, but she couldn’t muster up the energy. Instead she headed into the small flat.
Her gaze fell on the screwed-up piece of paper on her living room floor and she picked it up and smoothed it out.
It was Chester Longchamps’ note, the note that had sent Alexander storming off to rescue her.
She tore it into tiny pieces then dropped them in the wastepaper basket and sat down heavily on the sofa.
What a gigantic cock-up – but Alexander was still alive and he would be okay. That was all that really mattered. She thought about Nick’s revelation and hugged herself. Did Alexander really feel that way about her?
‘Now what?’ Boris asked, sitting beside her and twisting his fingers together.
For probably the first time since she’d known him, the spriggan appeared tense and worried.
He knew what was at stake. Chester Longchamps was suddenly a very real threat; after all, Alexander had forced his way into the vampire’s home and such an invasion couldn’t be ignored.
Mallory had to find a replacement bellarmine jug to appease him before he went after Alex again.
‘You moved hell and high water to get that bellarmine jug the first time around,’ Boris went on. ‘How on earth will you find another one and keep that silly werewolf safe?’
Mallory rubbed her forehead. ‘Vanessa Pitcairn mentioned that some of the renegade covens that don’t live in Coldstream might have spare jugs, and so did Salty Miller, for that matter. I’ll leave the city and try to contact them. I might get lucky.’
He pulled a face. ‘Those covens are crazy. They keep themselves to themselves and they don’t like anyone from Coldstream.
If I tried to talk to them, they’d probably kill me before I finished saying hello.
And they think anyone who’s not magical but who chooses to live here has a screw loose.
It’ll be a miracle if they even agree to talk to you. ’
Mallory shrugged helplessly. ‘I have to try. What else is there? I’ll pack a bag and leave tonight.’
‘Tonight?’
‘Longchamps has given me another six weeks. It sounds like a long time but if I can’t find a bellarmine jug quickly it’ll seem like no time at all. You’ll have to stay here and keep everything ticking over.’
‘Thank goodness!’ Boris shuddered. ‘I hate travelling anywhere non-magical. It’s all so cold and mechanical and… Ugh.’ Unfortunately she knew what he meant. ‘Are you sure about this, Mallory?’ he asked.
‘What else can I do?’
He sucked on his bottom lip and nodded. ‘You’re going to have to be the one to play hero now.’
Mallory thought about Alexander lying frozen in that hospital bed. ‘There’s no playing about it.’