Page 22 of Loving the Lion

CHAPTER SIX

BACHAR PACED IN the hospital’s waiting room, his lion berating him for allowing their mate to be hurt. It was no worse than how he was condemning himself. How could he have been so foolish as to have left her alone, knowing that the humans were in the area?

It was one more reason why he wasn’t fit to have a mate. And certainly not one as precious and brave as his. He stopped at the windows, clenching his fists. A flood of emotions washed through him. Fear that Sally’s injuries were far more serious than he knew. Anger at the fact that Tarek had not allowed him to tear apart the man who had shot his mate, limb by limb. Disgust that he, and his lion, had allowed her to put herself in such a position. The safety of a shifter’s mate was more important than anything in the world. The life of a shifter or even the well-being of a pack or pride.

A mate was fate’s ultimate gift to a shifter. One not to be squandered and taken for granted.

“She will be fine.” He knew the heavy hand on his shoulder was meant to relieve some of the feelings of failure flashing through him. Keair had been by his side from the moment he’d lifted Sally in his arms, arranging for a helicopter to airlift her to the hospital. Tarek had stayed behind to take care of business. Rationally, he knew the wolf would deliver swift and irrevocable justice, but that didn’t mean his lion didn’t want to do it himself. It was rare that Bachar killed as a lion, but not unheard of. It was not something he nor his animal enjoyed, but in this case, it was his duty. His responsibility. Damn it, his right.

Bachar gazed out of the window without actually seeing anything beyond the snowflakes swirling in the fading evening night. Another storm was on its way, and he wished the day had never happened. That he hadn’t pushed his instincts aside this morning. That he’d stayed in bed with his mate. They’d be there now, making love in front of the fire as the snow fell outside, isolating them from the demands of the outside world.

“She will be fine,” Keair repeated his statement without answering.

The doors to the waiting room opened, and Bachar spun around. “Fuck,” he growled when he saw Tarek had entered instead of the doctor.

“You know, a person could get a complex from the warm greetings you’ve given everyone lately, Alpha.” Keair’s lips lifted into a half-smile, but Bachar didn’t respond.

“He is waiting for news from the doctor.”

Tarek frowned at the tiger and Keair sighed. When had his two friends become some joyless beasts?

“I know, man. Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Lighten the mood? Would you be so quick to crack a joke, if it were your mate lying on a table, under the knife of a surgeon?” Tarek growled the words and Keair eyes widened in surprise. Passion was usually the last emotion the lone wolf exhibited.

“Not. Helping.” Bachar bit out the words.

The doors opened again, and this time it was the doctor who entered, dressed in surgical scrubs. Before Tarek or Keair could stop him, Bachar moved across the room, backing the doctor up against the wall, his hot breath fanning the man’s face. “Tell me.”

Keair let out a sigh of relief as he moved closer and realized the doctor was a shifter. A human would have already pissed his pants at the look on the alpha’s face. This doctor merely blinked before telling Bachar what he wanted to know. “She’s fine. The bullet went in and out. There was a lot of blood—”

Keair stepped forward, tugging at Bachar’s shoulder until the other man stepped away. “Thank you, doctor. When can he see her?”

The doctor smiled. “She’s being moved to recovery as we speak. Once out of there, she’ll be moved to a room. He can see her there.”

Keair gave a rueful shake of his head. “I don’t think that’s going to work, doc. I suggest you have her moved directly to a private room with a private nurse. ASAP. You’ve got about ten minutes.”

The doctor looked at him, then at Bachar and finally at Tarek. They made a formidable team. One that would not take no for an answer. “Okay, then. Ten minutes.” He eased away, walking quickly back out the doors.

“You should have said five,” Tarek said.

“You shouldn’t have given him any fucking time,” Bachar growled his words as he leaned against the wall, his gaze firmly fixed on the clock on the other side of the waiting room. Keair knew the second those ten minutes were up Bachar would be striding down the hall and heaven help anyone who tried to stop him.

The three men stood in silence as they waited, each lost in their own thoughts. All would have been surprised that they shared the same thoughts. Thoughts about mates. Bachar knowing that he would gladly give his life for the safety of his. Tarek, reaffirming the fact that he would never be worthy because of his past transgressions and Keair knowing that it would take a very special woman to relieve him of his playboy ways. He did not believe in fated mates.

Bachar mentally held his lion by the throat as they waited to go see their mate. The animal had been clawing desperately to get out, to go to his wounded mate. As the minutes ticked slowly away, he made plans. Big plans. His first order of business would be to wipe out The Group. Never again would a shifter have to worry about the safety of their mate. Or a cub. His body shuddered thinking of planting his seed inside Sally. And marking her. His mouth watered at the thought of tasting her, her blood spilling down his throat as they made a cub together. He pushed himself away from the wall. It was time. As he passed Tarek, he extended his arm and clasped the man on the shoulder. He did the same with Keair. “Thank you, my friends.”

Tarek nodded his head. “Anytime. Now go claim your mate so there will no doubt in any one’s mind that she belongs to you.”

“And I belong to her.”

Not surprising, a grin lit Keair’s face. “You will be breaking many hearts tonight, but the reward will be well worth it.”

“No doubt, no doubt.” For the first time that night he felt like smiling and returned his friend’s grin before hurrying out the door and down the hall. He hurried towards his mate.

Not surprisingly, no one stopped him or even bothered to give him directions to Sally’s room. Not that he needed them. Not even the harsh smell of the chemicals used to keep the hospital clean could cover her scent. He hesitated just outside the door, gathering his control once again. His cock, awoken by the thoughts of claiming her, impregnating her, had grown thicker and heavier and now pulled with each movement, paining him greatly. It took careful skill to walk that thin line between instincts, craving, and the need to protect. She was his mate, and as such, he needed to protect her from anything that might harm her—even her own mate.

He heard no stirrings from inside and wondered if Sally had already succumbed to sleep. She’d had a harrowing day, and he knew she needed her rest. But, heaven help him, he needed to be with her, if only to watch her sleep.