shoulders,
and tried to soothe him. “Daria isn’t feeling any pain right
now. She’s in good hands, and she’s going to get better
fast, thanks to your bonding.”
“She’s not hurting now , but she will be when she wakes
up,” he rasped. “And I’ll have to tell her what I did to
save her life.”
“One step at a time. You don’t have to get into that right
away.”
“Yes, I do. If I let it slide, even just until she’s better,
it’ll be the same as lying. What if she hates me for it?” The
possibility had him breaking out into a cold sweat. His
wolf would go insane, taking the man right along with him.
Taking his hand, Rowan pulled him over to sit in a chair
and took a seat beside him. “She might be scared or upset,
at first. Don’t let that eat at you. There’s nothing you
could’ve done differently under the circumstances except
allow her to die, and then you would have been next. Once
she understands that, everything will be fine.”
“I hope you’re right.” If she rejected him, the
consequences he’d suffer didn’t bear thinking about
further.
A couple of hours passed. His Pack brothers came and
went, checking on him and asking for word about his mate.
At the moment he was alone. Tired from his constant
pacing, he slumped into a chair again and stared out the
window, contemplating this turn of events.
Why did he care so much about Daria? On both a primal
and intellectual level, he knew what she was to him.
Unlike Jax and Aric when they’d met their mates, right
from the start there had been no question in his mind, or
his wolf’s, that Daria was his mate. His wolf’s reaction,
the beast’s attraction to her, was like a blow upside the
head with a tire iron. His beast wanted to claim her, mark
her with his scent. And much more. But the man cared
more than one would for a stranger. It both excited him
and scared the shit out of him.
Odd that he’d met her twice already—just not in person.
On both occasions she’d reached out to him across miles.
Had she somehow sensed their bond, causing her to act?
“Ryon?”
Pushing to his feet, he saw Melina Mallory coming
toward him. The doctor’s short cap of dark hair was
growing out, almost touching her collar, and framed her
elfin face in a flattering way. It softened her features, made
her more approachable. The rare warm smile hovering on
her lips boded well, and he just about fell over in relief
before she could speak. In typical fashion, the no-nonsense
doc got right to the point.
“Daria is lucky to be alive. She sustained a broken arm,
a broken rib, various cuts and bruises, and serious internal
bleeding, which is what almost killed her. That said, she’s
doing well.”
He gave a humorless laugh. “Doesn’t sound so good to
me.”
“I’ll be honest. If it hadn’t been for the mating bite, her
story would’ve ended in that ravine. But you reached her
in time, did what had to be done, and that’s what matters.
She has no serious head injury and her other wounds are
healing faster than I’ve ever seen on a human,” she mused.
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s quite extraordinary.” Melina gazed at Ryon
thoughtfully. “I’ve seen shifters heal rapidly plenty of
times. It’s just part of your abilities. However, this is the
first time we’ve been able to observe the same healing
property at work in a newly mated human. I would love to
know whether the bite is only capable of mending one’s
fated mate, or if it would work on any human.”
“Well, it’s not like we can go around chomping down
on random injured humans in order to find out.” A thought
struck him. “When our SEAL team was attacked in
Afghanistan six years ago by those rogue wolf shifters, we
were human. Those of us who survived healed fast, and
became shifters. Our Psy gifts were enhanced by the
change, too. But none of those ugly bastards were our
mates.”
“Good point. So it would seem
and tried to soothe him. “Daria isn’t feeling any pain right
now. She’s in good hands, and she’s going to get better
fast, thanks to your bonding.”
“She’s not hurting now , but she will be when she wakes
up,” he rasped. “And I’ll have to tell her what I did to
save her life.”
“One step at a time. You don’t have to get into that right
away.”
“Yes, I do. If I let it slide, even just until she’s better,
it’ll be the same as lying. What if she hates me for it?” The
possibility had him breaking out into a cold sweat. His
wolf would go insane, taking the man right along with him.
Taking his hand, Rowan pulled him over to sit in a chair
and took a seat beside him. “She might be scared or upset,
at first. Don’t let that eat at you. There’s nothing you
could’ve done differently under the circumstances except
allow her to die, and then you would have been next. Once
she understands that, everything will be fine.”
“I hope you’re right.” If she rejected him, the
consequences he’d suffer didn’t bear thinking about
further.
A couple of hours passed. His Pack brothers came and
went, checking on him and asking for word about his mate.
At the moment he was alone. Tired from his constant
pacing, he slumped into a chair again and stared out the
window, contemplating this turn of events.
Why did he care so much about Daria? On both a primal
and intellectual level, he knew what she was to him.
Unlike Jax and Aric when they’d met their mates, right
from the start there had been no question in his mind, or
his wolf’s, that Daria was his mate. His wolf’s reaction,
the beast’s attraction to her, was like a blow upside the
head with a tire iron. His beast wanted to claim her, mark
her with his scent. And much more. But the man cared
more than one would for a stranger. It both excited him
and scared the shit out of him.
Odd that he’d met her twice already—just not in person.
On both occasions she’d reached out to him across miles.
Had she somehow sensed their bond, causing her to act?
“Ryon?”
Pushing to his feet, he saw Melina Mallory coming
toward him. The doctor’s short cap of dark hair was
growing out, almost touching her collar, and framed her
elfin face in a flattering way. It softened her features, made
her more approachable. The rare warm smile hovering on
her lips boded well, and he just about fell over in relief
before she could speak. In typical fashion, the no-nonsense
doc got right to the point.
“Daria is lucky to be alive. She sustained a broken arm,
a broken rib, various cuts and bruises, and serious internal
bleeding, which is what almost killed her. That said, she’s
doing well.”
He gave a humorless laugh. “Doesn’t sound so good to
me.”
“I’ll be honest. If it hadn’t been for the mating bite, her
story would’ve ended in that ravine. But you reached her
in time, did what had to be done, and that’s what matters.
She has no serious head injury and her other wounds are
healing faster than I’ve ever seen on a human,” she mused.
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s quite extraordinary.” Melina gazed at Ryon
thoughtfully. “I’ve seen shifters heal rapidly plenty of
times. It’s just part of your abilities. However, this is the
first time we’ve been able to observe the same healing
property at work in a newly mated human. I would love to
know whether the bite is only capable of mending one’s
fated mate, or if it would work on any human.”
“Well, it’s not like we can go around chomping down
on random injured humans in order to find out.” A thought
struck him. “When our SEAL team was attacked in
Afghanistan six years ago by those rogue wolf shifters, we
were human. Those of us who survived healed fast, and
became shifters. Our Psy gifts were enhanced by the
change, too. But none of those ugly bastards were our
mates.”
“Good point. So it would seem
Similar Books
