David carefully roused Seb from deep sleep and began checking his vitals and asking him a few questions. Seb answered, his voice thick with sleep. When David moved to one side, Seb’s gaze landed on Tim and he smiled.
Tim’s heart stuttered. He hadn’t realised just how close he’d come to losing him until that moment. Squeezing Seb’s fingers, he smiled back. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Seb swallowed and licked his lips, his eyes already dropping closed. He blinked them open and took a second to focus again.
“You should go back to sleep,” Tim said. “You’ve had a rough afternoon.” He rubbed his thumb across the back of Seb’s hand, carefully avoiding the cannula taped there.
“Time’s it?” Seb glanced lazily down his body, frowning at his arm and the way his ankle was raised off the bed. The morphine must be doing its job, because his back wasn’t giving him any pain.
“Just after 10.00 p.m.”
When Seb focused back on Tim, his eyes seemed far more alert. “Where’s Kelly?”
Shit.Tim sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. “They haven’t found her yet?”
Seb tried to sit up, but Tim darted forward, placing a hand on his chest. “Don’t—your back.”
“Oh.” Seb frowned and let his head fall back onto the pillow. “I can’t really feel much, although it’s tight across my shoulders.”
“It’s bad. So be careful, please.” Tim hadn’t seen the damage for himself, but he was well acquainted with what a shifter’s claws could do to skin and flesh. “I spoke to Alec, briefly. They’re doing everything they can to find your sister.”
Seb yawned, his eyes fluttering shut, then snapping open again. He looked exhausted. “Anyone call the police?”
Tim hesitated, and Seb was alert enough to notice.
“Jesus Christ, why the hell not? She’s human. They should be—”
“Sebastian.” Tim squeezed his fingers, shushing him. “Her scent was all over the shifters who were at your house. We’ll have a much better chance of finding her without getting the police involved.”
Seb grunted, not looking at all convinced, but then his eyes closed; they stayed closed this time. “Tired,” he mumbled, barely audible.
Tim smiled and reached out to push a stray lock of blond hair away from Seb’s forehead. His gaze travelled down Seb’s body, slowly cataloguing his injuries, matching them to what David had told him earlier. The low-level anger he’d been carrying around all day flared hot and insistent, and for just a second, Tim let it consume him.
Releasing Seb’s hand, he stumbled backwards, claws and teeth sliding into place at an alarming rate, and before he realised what was happening, he’d already half shifted. A low growl reverberated around the room, and oh God, it felt so good to let his wolf out. He wanted to get his hands on those who’d hurt Seb, wanted to rip them apart and burn whatever was left.
“For fuck’s sake.”
Tim whirled around, teeth bared, to see David pressed up against the door, hands up in front of him. Tim let out another growl before he could stop himself. The instinct to protect Seb overrode everything else.
“Calm yourself down. I’m not going to hurt him.”
Tim closed his eyes, willing his wolf to fade back to lie just under the surface, but he couldn’t do it.Shit.
He sighed and focused on David’s scent instead, the warm feeling offamilyslowly allowing him to relax. “Sorry.”
He opened his eyes to see David nodding over at the bed. Tim turned to find a sleepy but surprisingly alert Seb watching him, mouth open.
Seb stared at him, gaze flicking from his eyes, to his mouth, down to his hands. “Tim?”
Fuck.Tim couldn’t tell whether Seb sounded frightened or disappointed, but he’d never wanted him to see him like this. Shame flooded through him, and his half-shift fell away easily.
“I want you to bite me,” Seb whispered, not taking his eyes off Tim.
“What?” Tim took a step closer to the bed.Did I hear that correctly?
Desire flared in his chest, hot and encompassing, and his gaze automatically slid to Seb’s neck.
David, still glued to the door, cleared his throat. “I’ll just give you two a minute.”
