To Live and To Love (Black Wolf Agency Book 1) by Jessica Swan Page B

lover in bed and watched him sleep for a while. It hurt her to see him like this, tossing and turning and cringing in his sleep. He mumbled something a few times, and she could’ve sworn she heard him say, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Kate.”
    Kate knew he would never intentionally hurt her. She knew last night was just an accident. He was being too hard on himself. He had no control over what was happening to him, but she knew even if he hurt her by accident, he would never be able to get over it.
    In all her years of existence, Kate had only encountered werewolves three times, and once was when one of her human friends was bitten by one, simply because she got between Kate and the werewolf. Luckily, Kate was able to get all the toxins out of her blood. How come she couldn’t do that for James, the man she loved? It was because, with her friend, she didn’t hold back, and she had nearly killed her in the process. Kate didn’t want to take that chance with James. Only one thing was going through her mind during that moment when she was trying to help him; he’d be better off as a werewolf than dead.
    James: a werewolf. It was almost unbearable to think that James was becoming one of them, a sole predator of vampires. No other species in existence had the speed or strength to hunt vampires, except for these creatures. They were thought to be rare, because, contrary to human legends, their goal was to never attack humans, or bite them against their will. They also blended in so well with the public because they had a human appearance normally and could shape-shift into wolf form at will.
    ‘ But they do live forever, ’ she thought.
    Her thoughts were interrupted when James began to stir from his sleep. When he looked up at her, she noticed he was pale, clammy, and was still shivering. She reached to the foot of the bed and pulled the comforter over him.
    “Hello, beautiful,” he said, smiling, despite his discomfort.
    “Are you feeling any better?” she asked, even though she knew what his answer would be. She reached out and softly brushed her fingers through his short, dark hair, feeling that he still had a high fever.
    “No, but thanks for asking,” he said, closing his eyes and leaning his head toward her hand. “Do you have any idea how long this will last?”
    “No, I’m afraid not.”
    “I feel like I’m dying. Am I?” he asked, even though he was thinking, ‘ Shit, maybe death would be better than what I’m going through; my body’s burning up, but I can feel my teeth chattering, and my head feels like it could explode any minute. ’
    “No, sweetheart.”
    “Then why are you crying?” he asked her. She wasn’t even aware of the tears that were falling from her eyes. “It’ll be alright.”
    “I hope so, mon cher. I hope so.” She was so worried about losing him; she hadn’t even realized she was crying.
    She looked at the clock. It was 5am, about time for her to call Yvonne and let her know that James wouldn’t be making it to work that day.
    “It’s time for me to call Yvonne. I’ll be right back.”
    “Thank you, honey,” he said, trying to smile again, but his eyelids were so heavy. He was asleep before he knew it.
    ‘ Good, hopefully the more sleep he gets, the quicker his fever will go away, ’ she thought.
    Kate picked up the phone and dialed Yvonne’s office at the Black Wolf Agency . She picked up on the third ring.
    “Good morning, Yvonne,” she said, trying to keep her tone cheerful, but failing miserably.
    “I’d recognize that beautiful accent anytime,” she said cheerfully, a little too cheerfully for Kate’s current mood. “Good morning, Kate. Is everything alright?”
    “No, actually, James is really sick and won’t be able to make it to work today.” If only the woman knew the reason. “He has a high fever and chills. I don’t know if he’s even capable of standing up right now.” Hell, even if he could; he wouldn’t be able to walk. She felt so