His eyelids weren’t taped down so he stared straight out at nothing. Once he actually looked at her, yet she knew he wasn’t there. Not really.
She finally understood the saying, ‘hanging on by a thread’.
When she’d donated all she could, a shifter female came forward to take her place. Wolf blood would be almost as healing as Maeve’s. For whatever reason, her witchy life force held power for the wolf.
She watched the new line get hooked up.
Then something unexpected happened. Her nose wrinkled and her lips pulled back. She felt a growl form in her throat. She didn’t like that another woman was helping him.
What the hell?
These were wolf behaviors.
At almost the exact same moment, the monitor showed a slowing heartrate.
One of the techs called out, “We’re losing him.”
Alfonso spoke in a tense voice. “I’m almost done. Just a few more stitches. Hang on, Braden.”
Without giving it a thought, Maeve hurried to the opposite side of the table. She dipped down beneath Alfonso’s quick-working elbows and grabbed Braden’s free hand. Her heart raced. She felt panicky. He needed the connection to her, not to the female wolf. To her.
To her.
She gripped his hand hard and planted her free hand on his forehead. She turned his face toward her. His eyes flitted back and forth.Look at me.
Slowly, his eyes focused and settled on hers.Stay with me, Braden. Dammit, you gave me such a hard time in my candle shop, but I’ve gotten used to having you around. I need you to stay. I can’t explain why, but you’re needed here.
His eyes had an otherworldly glow.
She waited.
Talk to me, Braden, from this dark place you’ve gone to. Talk to me. Come back to me. We need you in Five Bridges. You’re one of the honorable few. I know that. I’ve always known it. Lives will be lost because you’re not battling for all of us as you’ve done for the ten years you’ve served on the Border Patrol.
His heart-rate stopped plummeting but it didn’t rise either. It was still too slow. Any good nurse would tell her he was in heart failure.
She stayed with it and reminded him of their shared histories. I know you lost everything when Laura died. I know what that’s like. Veyda killed my Frank the day he was to leave me here forever. We’d said our good-byes. He’d be starting a new life without me. He was moving to Atlanta, on the other side of the country though he promised to visit me once a year.
Veyda killed him, Braden. He was my joy, my life. I know what it is to lose so much and I don’t want to lose you as well. You’re my good friend. You’re important to me.
So, get your ass back here, do you hear me?
For a moment, his eyes grew clear and she felt the faintest pressure as he squeezed her hand.
“Blood pressure’s going up.” The tech called out again.
Maeve choked on a sob. His eyes closed and his body fell limp once more.
“Is he okay?” she asked.
She looked from the tech to Alfonso. Each nodded.
She’d pulled him back.
“What did you do?” Alfonso asked, setting the final stitch.
“I talked to him. Telepathy, I mean.”
“You did good.”
