Javi,finallycoming out of the bathroom, rushed forward, grabbing Hugh from behind. Reece appeared in the doorway and seized Nico, hauling him backward. It took Javi and Reece working together to keep the two betas separated.
Nico had blood streaming from his nose. Hugh’s left eye was already swelling, the skin around it turning purple.
"You don't go outside," Hugh said, breathing hard. "You don't goanywherewithout supervision. You got that?"
Elise's throat hurt where he'd grabbed her, and she rubbed at it. "I was just getting some fresh air. Did you think I was going to jump off the balcony?"
"Everyone out," Nico said. His voice was rough and dangerous. "Now."
"Nico—" Javi started.
"Get. Out."
Javi shot Elise an apologetic look before ushering Hugh toward the door. Reece followed, pulling it shut behind them with a soft click. The room was too quiet for how violent it had just been.
Elise pressed herself back against the wall, her heart hammering. She was bracing for Nico to yell at her, to demand answers, to?—
He stepped closer.
But he was careful. Likeshewas the scared animal.
His hand came up and his knuckles brushed against her cheek, so gentle it made her breath catch. Then his fingers traced down, following the line of her jaw to her throat, touching so lightly over the place where Hugh had grabbed her.
It hurt. Not badly, she didn't think it would bruise, but her skin was tender.
"Are you okay?" His voice was softer than she thought it could be.
Nico's eyes were dark and intense. She was caught in his gaze. The heat of his touch seared her, and she could feel her body respond, feel her own heat begin to pull deep inside her. She felt an almost magnetic pull towards him.
No.
She shoved the feeling aside and grabbed onto the one thing that could give her back some control.
"Sit down," she said firmly.
Nico blinked. "What?"
"Sit down and let me deal with your face." He was still bleeding, and there was some puffiness under his eyes as they swelled.
He warded her off. "It'll be fine. I heal fast." That was true. He was a werewolf. But she wasn't supposed to know that.
Elise crossed her arms. "Sit your ass down before I make you sit down."
His mouth twitched. An actual smile, small but real. "Do you normally talk to your patients that way?"
"Only the difficult ones." She pointed at the chair. "Sit."
He sat.
Elise grabbed some of the pilfered supplies that were set up on the other side of the room, grateful for the moment to collect herself. Her hands were shaking. She dug her fingertips into her palms to try and get some semblance of control.
She couldn't think of the intensity in Nico's gaze.
She refused to acknowledge the way her body got all warm and tingly when he was defending her.
She wet a clean cloth and returned to where Nico sat. His nose had stopped bleeding, but blood was smeared across his face and dried on his upper lip.
She stepped between his knees. It was the only way to get close enough to clean his face properly. She tried not to think about the intimacy of the position.
