“Thank you.” Alec put his arm on Tim’s shoulder and ushered him forward.
The feeling of unease blossomed, and Tim wondered what the hell Alec needed privacy for—Is it Kelly? Is she dead? Oh God, Seb will be—
“It’s not what you’re thinking.” They reached the bathroom and Alec opened the door, inclining his head for Tim to go in first. “Still no news on Kelly, although we have some promising leads.”
“How did you know I was thinking about that?” Tim leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. Thank God it was a fair-sized bathroom, or things would be a lot more awkward.
Alec rolled his eyes. “It’s written all over your face, Tim. You’re in deep with this one.” Alec wasn’t asking a question, so there was no point in even trying to deny it. “Why did you refuse to bite him, then?”
“What?” Tim’s gaze snapped to Alec’s. “How do you know about that? He only asked me last night.”
The sigh Alec let out wasn’t a sound you’d normally hear from him. “What time did you leave here last night?”
“Just after ten, why?”
“Because Mr Calloway has been a busy boy since then.”
Tim shook his head. “He was half-asleep when I left. What could he possibly have done overnight?”
Even as he said the words, Tim got that sinking feeling in his belly, and he just knew. The full moon was tonight. “He asked for the bite, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck.” Tim covered his face with his hands and let his head fall back against the wall. He thought it had been the drugs talking, that Seb would have forgotten about it all. But no. And why the fuck hadn’t David told him? “How?”
He looked around uselessly for a clock. Visiting hours in this section of the hospital started at ten thirty, but alphas, and betas to some extent, could come and go as necessary.
Has Cam been in to see him already?“It’s been less than twelve hours since I saw him. How the fuck has it all happened so fast?” There were applications to be filled out, permission to be granted, unless—“Is it an illegal bite? Surely there’s been no time to—”
Alec shook his head, stopping Tim’s outpouring. “Cam called in a couple of favours. And anyway, there’s special dispensation for cases like this.”
“That’s if the injuries arelife-threatening. Last time I checked, that wasn’t the case.” Tim spoke through gritted teeth, trying not to lose his temper. It’d only piss Alec off, and that would help no one. With his hands curled into fists, he forced himself not to snap or shout. “Why has Cam agreed to this so quickly? Seb is under the influence of painkillers. Who knows what state of mind he’s in right now?”
Alec had an answer for everything. “They took him off the good stuff late last night. His mind is clear, and Cam spent the last three hours in there talking with him. He wants this, Tim.”
Aware that his mouth was hanging open, but unable to do anything about it, Tim stood there, shocked. How had everything snowballed so quickly? He hadn’t expected Seb to take him at his word when he suggested asking Cam to do it.
Fucking hell.
“So let me ask you again.” Alec looked him in the eye, searching for an answer. “Considering the state of your relationship, why aren’t you the one biting him?”
Tim groaned. Alec’s words set off the flare of want and possessiveness he’d tried so hard to tamp down. “Because I love him.And I want to be bonded to someone who loves me back, not someone who likes me well enough, but really just wants to heal quickly. Call me old-fashioned, but….”
Alec snorted, and the sound pulled a reluctant half-smile from Tim. “What a fucking mess.”
Tim couldn’t agree more.
The walk back to Seb’s room felt like a funeral march. Even if Tim wasn’t biting him, he should still be thrilled that Seb might become a fully fledged shifter by this time tomorrow. But all he could picture was someone else sinking their teeth into the base of Seb’s throat, and it made him want to hit something.
Jared’s voice drifted out of the room as they got nearer. “It’s not too late to change your mind, you know.”
“I know,” Seb replied. “I want this.”
“But you were so anti-shifter, and now you want to be one?”
A heavy sigh, as if they’d already discussed that several times. “Look at me, J. I’m useless like this.”
“You’ll heal. It’s not irreparable.”
