Total pages in book: 203
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
She’s covered so I don’t see her body, and though her face is uninjured, the scent of her is wrong. She smells like death.
Cat continues. “We’re meeting with Jared and Cicely this morning out at the storage bunker. I’m having Amie Quinn come in and watch over Sherry for the short time we’re gone. Amie is a trauma nurse, very capable, and she’ll have access to me by phone for those couple of hours. We’ll administer the first round of Dr. Blakely’s recommended meds and that first shift should heal her enough that we can feel confident stepping away for a couple hours. Of course I’ll check her vitals as well as run a blood test and ultrasound to check on her pregnancy before we go. And if Amie needs me, I can be back here in fifteen minutes or less. Does that all sound okay?”
“I trust your judgement. I know my parents do, too. Do what you think needs to be done.”
She squeezes my arm and I step into the waiting room and sit beside Joel.
“You okay?” I ask him.
He runs his hand through his hair. “I’m okay.”
“Not your fault, Joel.”
“Wish I’d gotten her down before I turned down that pass she made at me. Might’ve changed the outcome.”
“Don’t do that,” I tell him. “It’s not your fault.”
He huffs out a frustrated sigh and turns to look me over. “What about you? What happened with that lunar event last night?”
He smells Bailey on me, but of course it isn’t my mating scent that’s flooding the village.
“I held off. Bailey was moon drunk.”
“I think the moon affected your sister the same way. She was talking about how the moon didn’t seem to know her mate was dead. I’m sure it didn’t help her mindset.”
“She wasn’t in a good state of mind yesterday, that’s for sure,” I say.
We’re quiet for a minute and I know he’s feeling guilt.
“It’s not your fault, Joel. I know you did whatever you could do.”
He exhales hard, leaning his elbows on his thighs.
I grip his shoulder meaningfully. “Thanks for getting her here. Go home and get some sleep.”
“In a while. Wanna see how she’s doing after that first shift. At least last night’s moon did good things for Jared and Cicely, though. His wolf recognizes Sis now. Isn’t trying to attack.”
“That’s something good, at least,” I say. “And Brody…”
“Yeah. Brody’ll be good now. Hope you and Bailey are good soon, too, brother.”
“Me, too,” I say. “Well, better go tell my folks,” I add.
It’s still early, I’ll wake them up, but they need to know.
“Anything you need, say the word,” Joel says.
43
BAILEY
By nine o’clock, I can’t take any more pacing without answers, so I go to the clinic. I’ve already changed my clothes, done my face and hair, and answered a text from Mom, who wrote:
I don’t smell Jase yet. But fingers crossed everything is going well. Love you.
I wrote back.
Love you too. TTYL.
I guess word isn’t traveling yet about Sherry as I haven’t gotten any queries from the usual suspects.
When I step into the clinic, Jase is in the waiting room with his parents and I also see Amie in the procedure room. She’s in Minnie Mouse scrubs and pink Crocs, waving while taking Sherry’s blood pressure. Sherry is on a hospital bed, covered and unconscious, hooked up to an IV.
“Morning,” I greet to the three sets of Creed eyes that are on me.
“Mornin’,” Robert greets.
“Hi Bailey,” Valerie says.
She’s been crying. I feel terrible for her.
“How is she?” I ask.
“Stable,” Jase replies. “She’s sedated for now and is being given an experimental medication that’ll force healing shifts every few hours. They’re goin’ slow because of the pregnancy, but they’ve done one round of forced shifting and it’s already improved her condition some.”
“And the baby?”
“All good. The coven put a protective spell over the pregnancy yesterday. If they hadn’t, there’s a good chance my sister would be dead.”
“What happened?”
He blows out a ragged exhale. “She jumped from up top at the falls, jumped the rocks instead of into the lake. Joel tried to talk her down but couldn’t.”
“You’re kidding.”
He shakes his head. “Wish I was. Might not be the best idea to let her wake up and try it all over again. She’ll be sedated until she gives birth.”
“But is that fair?”
He frowns.
I add, “Maybe this will be a turning point, realizing she’s got a second chance. You know?”
Jase’s expression hardens a little. So does his father’s. Valerie has tears in her eyes.
“I’m not trying to be combative. I’m just trying to think of it from her perspective.”
“She wanted to kill herself and take that baby along, so not looking like she’s capable of making decisions right now,” Jase mutters. “She needs to give birth and then someone else will raise that pup while we assess her state of mind. Rye checked it out and the mate bond can’t be severed while she’s pregnant, so the safest bet for Sherry and her son is probably to keep her sedated. Decisions will be made about the rest later, after we see how she does with the treatment the healers have set up for today.”