This was the real deal. Any doubt I had was gone. No wonder the mystery woman was protecting it with her life. It also explained the number of people after her. It wasn’t just the group of humans who found her earlier. There were several wolf shifters on her tail, and I’d detected some magic too. Wizards—they were the ones I worried about the most.
I took several pictures of the egg and sent them to Desmon.
The water in the other room turned off with a groan of the pipes. I turned to the door, waiting to finally confront her.
Chapter 5
Meera
Steamstillclungtothe bathroom mirror as I stepped out of the shower, my hand throbbing like it had its own heartbeat. The jerk who’d grabbed me earlier had left my wrist bruised and aching, but that wasn’t even the worst of it. I’d gone and fucked it up even more while trying to clean up the car window glass. I’d barely managed to get the cuts to stop bleeding, and they still stung every time I moved.
At least I was clean now that I’d had a shower. I carefully dried my hands, and with the rest of me still dripping wet, I went in search of a first aid kit. I found it in the cabinet under the sink. The thing was a total joke.
Everything inside was expired, crusty, or useless. The only bandage left was teeny tiny. Fantastic. Because what I really needed at this moment was a Band-Aid for ants. I let out a frustrated sigh and tossed it back into the box.
With nothing else to work with, I wrapped the too-small towel around myself, tucking the ends in tight, and pushed open the bathroom door.
I stopped in my tracks and nearly dropped the towel.
Becausehewas sitting on the edge of the bed.
When I’d left him, it had been eight versus one. Clearly, he’d won. He looked even bigger in the cramped motel room, shoulders squared, hands resting on his knees like he’d been waiting for me to come out.
Shock hit first. Then outrage surged up hot and fast.
“What are you doing in here?” I demanded with all the rage of an injured and cornered animal, because, well, that was kind of how I felt right now. “You stalker!”
He had no right to be here, and definitely not while I was wearing a towel that could double as a napkin. He didn’t flinch when I snapped at him; instead, his gaze went straight to the injured hand that I was trying very hard to ignore.
“I’m not going to hurt you, woman. Now why don’t you calm down so I can help you?”
Calm down? Calm down! He wanted me to calm down when I spent the last few hours running for my fucking life. Oh hell, no!
“Calm down? You broke into my room!”
“I’m trying to help you. I’m Graham, and I’m a good guy. Desmon sent me.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Good guys usually don’t need to preface that they are the good guys.”
“Here.” He brought out his phone and pulled up a video. “See. That’s you, right?”
On the screen was the video I’d sent after that poser hung up on me.
“How do I know you didn’t take that from the phone I ditched?”
“You don’t. But if I just wanted to steal the egg, I could’ve done that while you were showering. And if I wanted to get rid of you, I could’ve done that too. All without you even knowing. I’m here to help.”
Okay, so he had a point. I forced myself to relax. “Fine. You can help by passing me my bag. The one with my clothes.”
He did, and when I reached over to take it from him the towel slipped a little. I yanked it tighter.
“Nice towel.” He didn’t even pretend to look away.
I ignored him and dug into my bag instead.
“Don’t worry, woman, you’re not my type.”
I rolled my eyes, not sure if I should feel reassured or offended. “Neither are you.” I forgot for a second how sore my wrist and hand were. I hissed and swore before switching hands.
