Page 151 of UNAwere

Jude draws back and takes my face between his palms. He kisses me softly and then smiles, eyes creasing at the sides.

‘C’mon, honey.’

‘Did I do okay? I didn’t know what to do, but I didn’t want Warner. I thought about what everyone’s been telling me, and I just did what I thought was best for me, and I’m sorry if it wasn’t the right choice. I’m sorry it got him killed.’

Jude smooths a thumb across my cheek. ‘Sybbie, you did everything right, simply because you did the best thing for you. And I’m so fucking proud of you.’ He presses his forehead against mine. ‘You’re my light, sweetheart.’

‘Come on, sweetie,’ Hannah says, helping me out of Jude’s lap.

I wrap my arms around her, and she draws me close.

‘Thank you for saving me,’ I tell her quietly.

‘Sybbie, you saved yourself.’ She pulls away to meet my gaze, smiling.

Jude takes my arm, and I let him support my weight. When he turns me around, I see a car has pulled up in the grove and Bernie’s waiting in the driver’s seat, window wound down, sunglasses on.

‘What’s the verdict?’ she asks when we climb into the back.

Jude holds onto me, keeping me firmly pressed against his side as I begin to shake violently under the blanket.

‘Hannah did it,’ he says. ‘She’s alpha.’

Bernie clicks her tongue, driving the car back onto the track through the trees. ‘God, she’s good.’

‘What about me?’ Jude asks.

Bernie lifts a hand, tilting it side to side. ‘Ehhhh…’

Jude scoffs, and I let out a small laugh, but I’m too weak and shivery to be paying much attention.

‘Shit, Ma, can you step on it? Sybbie’s not looking so good.’

‘You got it.’

I lose consciousness to the sound of the SUV’s engine revving.

Iwake on a hard bed, with the sound of a heart monitor beeping beside me.

I frown. It’s been a long time since I was in hospital. The last time wasn’t even for me: Maeve had broken her arm falling over during one of Nolan’s drills.

Opening my eyes, I see a fluorescent light bar quietly buzzing on the ceiling above me, and I sit up. My head whooshes, and I grunt.

‘Easy,’ someone says. ‘Be slow.’

My shoulder is throbbing, and the beeping sound is annoying me. I look around, seeing the owner of the voice standing in the corner of the room. They’re peeling an orange, watching me.

‘You never had much room for sympathy,’ I murmur to Nolan.

‘Not really,’ he agrees.

I rest back against the bed, the smell of citrus tingling my nose. ‘Where am I?’

‘This mansion, as big as it is, has an infirmary.’

‘Oh.’ I make an impressed face. ‘I guess Primrose like things fancy.’

‘Too many Weres coming back injured from Karver attacks,’ Nolan says, sucking a wedge of orange into his mouth. He mumbles something, and I think he’s complimenting the sweet taste. ‘I guess we’ll have somewhere to take care of the injured when we inevitably go out and finish this war.’