Meanwhile, Alyssa focused back on her. “I would have had a massive meltdown if I were you.” Then she flashed Cecilia a conspiratorial smile. “I was you, only in reverse. I shot him, then kidnapped him.”
“What is it with all the kidnapping?” Cecilia abruptly blurted out. “I mean, you could have just sat me down in a conference room or something.”
“No, we couldn’t.” That came from both men in almost identical rhythms.
“Great,” Alyssa snorted. “Shifter stereo.” Then she turned back to Cecilia. “You’re dead on your feet. Do you think you can sleep? The adrenaline is about to drain right out of you, if it hasn’t already.”
It was going fast and at Alyssa’s words, Cecilia felt her body begin to ache with weariness. Like the words had made her aware of something that had been there for a while now.
“Um…”
“Right.” Alyssa’s hand shot out on one side, Hank’s on the other. They both guided her to sit on the bed. “There’s two beds here. Okay if he sleeps on the other?” She shot Hank a dark look. “You can sleep, right? And not crawl all over her.”
Hank straightened up as if insulted. “I can rest but—”
Simon interrupted with clipped tones. “Then it’s an order. Sleep.” That was for Hank. Then he turned to her. “Dr. Lu, we’re expecting a lot from you as soon as possible. So get your rack time now.”
She wanted to argue, but Alyssa was right. The adrenaline was fading fast and now she was crashing. She didn’t even have the energy for the shakes. And though her mind was hopping like a rabbit on caffeine, there was no cohesion to her thoughts. Which meant there was no way she could work.
“Cecilia,” Alyssa repeated. “Do you have a problem with Hank sleeping in the second bed?”
“I’ll feel safer with him here,” she said. Then a split second later, she wondered how that could be. She’d only just met Hank. They barely knew each other, and yet the feeling of safety persisted while she sank into the mattress.
“Then it’s settled,” Alyssa said. “You two sleep. Simon and I will cover things here. Any science-y stuff you want us to handle while you rest?”
Cecilia’s head hit the pillow. The world was starting to spin, and she needed to be lying down while that happened. But even so, she managed to answer the question. “Record the decomposition. I’ve got baseline pictures on Hank’s phone. But a comparison—”
“Got it.” The woman snapped off the light and Cecilia heard footsteps traveling away.
“—is important to establish where the breakdowns occur and why. I have an idea…” Her words faltered. She had an idea, but it skittered away from her. She needed to study the cellular structure at the seams. That would provide the biggest clues. There were areas on the hybrids where human clearly changed to animal. The cells at the seam could help her understand the transition process.
Her thoughts continued to spin. She let them drift because she had no strength to control them. Meanwhile, she heard Hank move. She waited to hear the creak of the mattress of the bed next to hers, but she didn’t. Instead, there were muted thumps and sounds on the wrong side. The side next to the door.
She cracked her eyes open. “What—?”
“I’m going to sleep between you and the door,” Hank said. “You’ll be safer that way.”
She lifted her head and stared down at the pillow he’d tossed near the open bedroom door. “Don’t you trust Simon?”
“He’s my alpha and he’s sworn himself to protect his people.”
She frowned as he stretched out beside her. “So why are you on the floor?”
“Because even powerful alphas can be overpowered.” Then he reached up a hand to connect with hers. She was still deciding if she wanted to make such a friendly gesture with him when her fingers entwined with his. Apparently her body wanted to hold on to Hank.
Huh.
She was still wondering how she felt about that when sleep claimed her.
***
“Cecilia. Cecilia, wake up.”
Cecilia did not want to wake up. The thick fog was comforting, the steadiness of a low rumbling breath nearby marked time in a really soothing way. Though now that she thought about it, she couldn’t hear it right now. Still, she remembered it and settled back into its gentle rhythm.
“The wolves are coming.”
Her eyes shot open as her legs shoved out from under the blanket. She used their weight to pull her body upright, but she was unsteady and dizzy. Thankfully, large hands caught her. She leaned into their strength and eventually found her balance. And then she blinked as she tried to focus on the sight in front of her.
