“Take thirty,” Sera replies. “You’ve earned it. We can handle things here.”
I want to argue. There’s always work to do, always another patient who needs something. But my body is screaming for rest, and my mind is a tangled mess of worry and exhaustion and feelings I don’t know how to name.
Connor is still standing guard out front, so I head toward the back of the building, where a small door opens onto a courtyard bordered by tall hedges. During the day, it’s a peaceful spot where staff members take their lunch breaks. Benches line the walkways, and someone planted roses along the eastern wall that bloom every summer. At this hour, it’s quiet and dark and empty.
Exactly what I need.
I step outside and let the door close behind me, and I wrap my arms around myself as I walk to the center of the courtyard. Above me, stars scatter across the sky, and I tip my head back to search for the constellations my mother taught me when I was young.
My mind wanders to just hours ago, when Bryan held me in his arms. I needed to feel something that was mine,something I chose, even if I couldn’t separate it from the magic pulling us together. When he touched me, when he looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered, I wanted it to be real. I wanted to believe that what existed between us was more than ancient magic forcing two people together.
I still don’t know if it is.
Maybe that’s why I couldn’t say the words back. Loving someone means trusting them with the softest parts of yourself, the parts that bleed easiest. Bryan already broke me once. He walked away without explanation and left me standing alone in the dark, wondering what I’d done wrong. I’ve spent ten years rebuilding myself from that moment, brick by careful brick.
Saying “I love you” means handing him the power to break me again.
I’m not ready. I might never be ready. And I hate myself for that almost as much as I hate him for making me this way.
A footstep sounds behind me, interrupting my thoughts.
I start to turn, but a hand clamps over my mouth before I can make a sound. Something covers my nose… A cloth, I realize, and it’s damp with something chemical, something sweet. My lungs fill with it before I even think to hold my breath.
No. No, no, no.
I claw at the arm holding me, but my limbs have turned heavy and slow. The world tilts sideways. My knees buckle, and the only reason I don’t hit the ground is because someone has a hold of me.
I need to fight. I need to call for help. Connor is just on the other side of the building. Sera and Fern are right through that door.
But my mouth won’t work. My legs won’t work. Nothing works.
The last thing I think before the darkness swallows me whole is his name.
Bryan.
Chapter 17 - Bryan
Every muscle in my body begs for rest, but I keep moving toward the medical center anyway.
I need to see Skylar. The thought has been pounding through my skull since the moment the alarm pulled me from her bed, and it’s the only thing keeping me upright now. She’s safe at the medical center with Connor guarding the door and Dylan’s wolves stationed at every entrance. I know she’s safe.
But I need to see her anyway.
The medical center comes into view, and I quicken my pace despite the exhaustion dragging at my limbs. A gash on my forearm is still oozing blood through the makeshift bandage I wrapped around it an hour ago, and my ribs ache where a Cheslem wolf caught me with a lucky swipe. None of it matters. I’ll let Skylar fuss over me, let her clean my wounds and lecture me about being more careful, and I’ll soak up every second of her attention like the lovesick fool I’ve apparently become.
Ten years of Black Ops work, and this is what I’ve been reduced to. A man who can’t go a few hours without needing to see his mate’s face.
I don’t even mind.
Connor spots me as I approach the front entrance, still blocking most of the doorway. He looks exhausted, too, though he’s hiding it well. Fern is inside, which means he won’t leave his post until someone physically drags him away.
He nods in greeting. “You look like hell, Bryan.”
“Feel like it too.” I glance past him into the medical center as I search for familiar copper hair among the patients and staff. “Where’s Skylar?”
“Inside somewhere. She’s been working nonstop since the first wounded came in.” Connor steps aside to let me pass. “Fern said she was going to take a break about twenty minutes ago.”
“She actually took a break?”
