Kendra opened her eyes to find Declan gazing down at her. His face was covered in so many scrapes and cuts that she could barely recognize him. But it was him. It was her bear shifter.
And his face wasn’t the only part that was slashed up. There were similar cuts and gashes all over his arms, chest, and legs. There didn’t seem to be an inch of him that wasn’t injured. After seeing the way he’d survived the horrible gashes to his chest not so long ago, Kendra knew in her heart that he would heal from these wounds as well. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to be there to wipe away the blood and pain anyway. The need to just put her hands on him and convince herself that he was okay was overwhelming.
She didn’t wait for him to help her up, but instead of welcoming her with open arms, Declan took a step back. Then another. Kendra stopped, too. Fear flashed in his eyes and was quickly replaced by regret, and then sadness.
“Declan, what’s—?” she began, but the words ended on a gasp as Ivy, Landon, and Angelo came charging through the hole in the side of the building.
There was silence as they all stared at her and Declan, then Ivy hugged her and mumbled something over and over that sounded like, “Thank God,” but Kendra couldn’t be sure. Her ears were still ringing a little from Declan’s roar. She wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her back just as fiercely.
Someone patted her back, and Kendra pulled away from Ivy to see Landon grinning down at her. Behind him, Angelo was smiling, too. She stared in amazement as Clayne climbed through the opening in the wall. He was followed by Tate, Brent, and Gavin. Where the heck had they all come from?
Ivy pulled her in for another hug. “God, I’m so happy to see you.”
“I’m happy to see you, too,” Kendra said. “All of you.”
She turned to see where Declan was, figuring that Tate, Gavin, and Brent would probably be hovering around him, but someone else put their arms around her, pulling her in for a hug and blocking her view. She hugged the person even though she didn’t know who it was—he had risked his life to rescue her and Declan, after all. But when she stepped back, whoever it was cupped her cheek and kissed her hard on the lips. And it wasn’t Declan. She jerked away.
Whatthehell?
Derek was smiling at her and saying something about being so happy that she was safe. She didn’t quite hear exactly what he said, because she was busy trying to figure out why he’d just kissed her. Sure, they’d danced a few times at Ivy and Landon’s wedding, but then again, she’d danced with a lot of people that night, including Angelo, and he hadn’t kissed her.
Derek must have picked up on her vibe, because he quickly dropped his arms from around her and stepped back, running his hand through his hair. “Sorry about that. I, um, I’m just happy to see you safe.”
She didn’t know which of them felt more awkward. “No problem. Thanks. For coming to the rescue, I mean.”
He nodded and probably would have said more, but Tate, Brent, and Gavin showed up to save both of them from further embarrassment.
“Good to see you in one piece,” he said.
Her lips curved. “Thanks to Declan.”
Kendra scanned the room, looking for him. But her big bear shifter was nowhere to be seen. Her stomach clenched. Maybe his wounds were worse than she’d feared.
“Where’s Declan?” she asked.
“He’s out with Clayne, tracking down the hybrids who got away,” Tate answered.
She understood that. Nobody liked the idea of a couple hybrids roaming around loose in the jungle. While chasing down rogue shifters—or hybrids—was technically part of Declan’s job description, it still hurt that he’d left without talking to her first.
“Oh,” she said.
Landon called out to Ivy from across the room. “Hey, Ivy! Angelo and I are going to check out the rest of the camp.”
Kendra jerked her head up.Crap.Harry and the other doctors. She almost forgot. “Landon,” she called. “The hybrids were keeping some doctors locked up in one of the small buildings on the other side of the camp. They were pretty beat up.”
“We’re on it,” he said.
Ivy frowned at her. “You okay?”
Kendra gave herself a shake. “What? Yeah.”
Her friend didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? Maybe Derek should take a look at you.”
Kendra cringed. She’d rather not. “I’m fine, really. It’s just…”
“Just what?” Ivy prompted.
Kendra didn’t answer. She’d always confided in Ivy about everything. So why was she having such a hard time now? “Declan and I…well, we got really close out here. He got pretty beat up in the fight with the hybrid running the place and…”
