Tim shook his head. “It’s not that.”
“What is it, then?”
He waved his hand at the sterile surroundings. “There’s no scent of pack, of safety, ofus. I can’t have you going through the full moon here.” Just the thought of it made Tim’s shoulders twitch, his wolf unsettled this close to the full moon. “I need to take you home.”
Seb eyed him warily. “Would that be my home or your home?”
Ours.He swallowed down the word. Something told him they weren’t ready to have that discussion quite yet, so he said, “I want to take you back to my flat. It’s in Alec’s building. It’s safe.”
For a moment he thought Seb might argue, but he just sighed and then muttered “Fine, whatever.”
His eyes fluttered closed and Tim cursed himself for not getting everything organised before biting him. He rushed over to the door, nodded to Gareth and Daryl—Alec’s replacement—and said, “It’s done. I need to get him discharged.”
“Leave it with me.” Gareth headed over to the nurses’ station while Tim leaned against the door frame.
It didn’t surprise him when David came around the corner. What did surprise him was the look on David’s face—“pissed off” were the first words that came to mind. David marched down the corridor towards Seb’s room, anger rolling off him.
“What’s your problem?” Tim asked as David came to a stop in front of him. “I thought you’d be pleased for me.”
“Myproblem,” David gritted out between clenched teeth, “is that you should’ve fucking sorted all this before you went ahead and bit him. You’re a doctor, Tim. You know better than most how rough this is going to be. And that’s without taking into account all his fucking injuries and the fact you bit him on the day of the full moon. For fuck’s sake, Tim!”
Guilt hit him like a sledgehammer. “I should have prepared better. I know, okay.”
“Do you?” David poked him hard in the chest. “This close to the full moon, it’ll have started as soon as you bit him. He needs to stay here.”
“No.” Tim bared his teeth and let out a low warning growl. “He’s coming home with me.”
David didn’t flinch. “What if something happens? What if his body can’t cope with the strain and stress it’s about to be put through?” He sighed, and Tim watched him struggle to rein in his temper. “He’s still human. A lot of things could go wrong.”
The euphoria of biting Seb still clouded Tim’s mind, and the nearness of the full moon wasn’t helping. He wanted to argue, to say it wouldn’t come to that, but David was right.Fuck it all. Closing his eyes, Tim breathed in and out. Seb’s scent clung to him and he let it calm him enough to think clearly. Yes, he wanted nothing more than to take Seb out of here and back to his flat; everything in him needed to be surrounded by pack. But Seb was already injured, his body battered and bruised as he recovered from the shifter attack, and the next few hours would be intense.
Instinct warred with common sense, but finally Tim opened his eyes, decision made. “Fine. We’ll stay.”
David let out a sigh of relief and clapped him on the shoulder. “I know this isn’t what you wanted, how hard it’s going to be for both of you, but it’s the right choice. I’ll do everything I can to make it as comfortable as possible.”
Gareth walked back to them, clearly having heard everything. He glanced at Daryl, who up to this point had been studiously ignoring them. “We’d already arranged for a suite in the ward that deals with the newly bitten. When Cam was going to….” Thankfully he didn’t finish that sentence. “Anyway, the soundproofing’s better, and only one other room is occupied.” Tim nodded his thanks. “I’ve spoken to Cam, and Daryl and I are free to stay until the change is complete.”
Tim glanced between the two of them. “What about the run?” The last thing he wanted to do was shift and run with his pack, but none of them could avoid breaking the law. All shifters were required to run for at least two hours, supposedly to use up excess energy and prevent accidents. They were probably already on thin ice with Seb’s documents—usually they took days, sometimes weeks to procure, not hours. All their favours were used up.
David spoke up. “There’s a small wooded area at the rear of the hospital. It’s not huge, but it’s what we use.”
Tim vaguely remembered seeing the signs warning about its usage during full moons. The general public tended to avoid wooded areas on those nights, but there were always some who needed reminding.
“Thanks, that’ll be fine.” Gareth gestured behind Tim. “Let’s get Seb moved to your suite and settled in.”
“Okay, that’s everything.” David attached the last monitor pad to Seb’s chest and stepped back. “He’s all connected up. We’ll keep an eye on him from outside, but if you need anything or you think something’s wrong, press this call button. Got it?”
Tim nodded, anxious for him to leave. “I know how a hospital works, David.”
“I know you do. I’m just doing my job.”
“Sorry.” With only four hours until it got dark, Tim was on edge; his skin felt too tight and his senses were far too acute with all the foreign scents around them. Technically the moon wouldn’t reach its full phase until the early hours of tomorrow morning, but as soon as the sun set, Tim and all the other shifters would feel it more than they were already.
David was no exception, but he seemed to be handling Tim’s attitude remarkably well. As though reading Tim’s mind, he nodded over at the bed where Seb was asleep—he’d been asleep for the past hour. A sheen of sweat covered Seb’s forehead and his skin shone pale under the harsh hospital lighting. “It’s worse for you this time because you bit him. You do realise that?”
“What?” Tim couldn’t tear his gaze away, intent on watching the slow rise and fall of Seb’s chest.
“Wow, doctors really are the worst patients. The full moon is affecting you more this time because you bit Seb and your bond is already starting to form.”
