He heard someone speaking but couldn’t decipher the voice. He refused to look away from Vale, fearing the second he did, something would go wrong. Once they had Vale on the stretcher and carried him out of the woods, Fox pulled away from whoever had a hold on him and ran after the paramedics.
“I can’t leave his side. I have to be there when he wakes up.”
A couple of hours later,Fox sat in the chair by Vale’s bedside listening to the hospital heart monitor’s beeping. He held Genesis in his arms with one hand and the other his and Vale’s fingers were entwined. Sitting across from him were Synder and Kayne Vale, who had been in town for the celebration.
Fox had been surprised his family had shown up with the rest of the Vales soon after they had gotten to the hospital. It seemed Dilen had been the officer on the scene and the one who’d tried to get his attention. He’d called Aria and Barret, explaining Fox wasn’t hurt but was on his way to the hospital and might need some family support.
Fox had a hard time convincing his family to go home without him and promised to call if anything happened. Fox knew Barret and Zev couldn’t understand why he wanted to stay by Alistaire Vale’s side when they weren’t friends, but one look at Aria told her everything. Fox wasn’t ashamed to admit when Aria hugged him goodbye, he had difficulty holding on to his emotions.
“He’s going to be okay,” Aria whispered in his ear. “Stay as long as you need, and I’ll keep your father and Zev away for as long as I can.”
“Thanks, mom.” Fox no longer felt guilty calling the Hannigans his family. In the days since reading Crevan Hannigan’s secret journal, he’d come to accept the changes in his life just as the other man had accepted his death.
“I’m going to kill him,” Kayne growled. “I’m going to kill that fucking bastard.” He clenched his fist, showing his canines. “I’m going to rip his head off with my bare hands.”
“Get in line.” Fox didn’t realize he’d said that out loud until Synder spoke.
“I’d rather you both stay out of this. As much as I hate to say it, this is Alistaire’s matter, and he has to be the one to kill Euan Gillies.”
After they’d gotten to the hospital, Sirius, who was working, had taken over the case. He ran a few tests and found out Vale was poisoned, putting him in an instant coma. Fox looked at Vale and marveled at all things he’d learned about the man in one night.
An immortal.Fox sighed, thinking of the irony. He died, and his soul took over another person’s body, and the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with could not be killed easily.
“Why are we here? He’s an immortal and should have healed by now,” Synder Vale snapped at Sirius.
“I know that! Do you think I’ve been sitting here twiddling my damn thumbs? I just got the report back. There’s some kind of poison in his system.”
“Poisoned? Immortal?” Fox looked at the Vale family, completely confused about what they were talking about. He knew Synder was a vampire and Kayne was a werewolf, and even though they were hard to kill, they were not immortals.
Synder rushed over to Vale and licked his wound, then immediately gagged and ran to the bathroom, returning a couple of seconds later.
“Sorry for snapping at you. I was just pushing my worry and frustration on you. Please forgive me, son.”
“I understand, dad Syn. I’m worried about him, too.” Synder extended his arms, and Sirius moved into them happily.
Fox wasn’t against the touching scene, but he needed to know what the hell they were talking about.
“Would someone please tell me what the fuck you’re talking about!” he yelled, getting their attention.
“Who are you again?” Alphonso asked. “And what do you have to do with my brother?”
“I’m his mate, but he doesn’t know it yet,” Fox glared at him, daring the other man to refute his words.
“Alistaire is an immortal,” Kayne responded after a long, drawn-out, and uncomfortable silence. “Meaning he can get hurt, and depending on the severity of the injuries, it usually takes him seconds or minutes to heal. Only another of his kind can kill him.” He ran his finger across his throat, which explained everything. “The man who stabbed him today is called Euan Gillies.”
Fox dropped down in the chair, absorbing the information. He thought back to the time he and Vale had worked together, remembering the scrapes they’d been in. The times Fox was sure Vale had gotten hurt only to brush it off, and later he couldn’t find the wounds, thinking he’d seen things. Then he thought back to the weird conversations they’d had about people who were hard to kill and many other far-fetched ideas. During those times, Fox thought Vale had lost his mind.
“Gods, I’m an idiot. All that time, he tried to tell me. But I was so closed-minded I didn’t listen.” Fox moved over to Vale’s bedside and grabbed his hand, bringing it to his lips. “I’m so sorry I didn’t listen. I promise I’ll listen to anything you say from now on.”
For a few seconds, Fox stared at Vale, promising not to hide his feelings from the other man when he woke up. His eyes widened when a thought came to him.
“He’s an immortal!”
“That’s what we just told you,” Kayne said.
“Not Vale, the man who stabbed him.”
“You were there?” Synder asked.
