Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
My heart stopped when the familiar gables of the house came into view.
“He needs a hospital,” I argued, glaring at Erik, who kept pace beside me. “What the hell are you doing?”
“No human doctor would know what to do with Beau,” Mordecai replied from my other side. “It’s good we’re here.”
“Someone should—”
My words cut off as Mattie raced onto the porch, Helen and a woman I didn’t recognize following her out. The new woman was covered from head to toe with scrub gear, similar to what I wore at work.
“How the hell did Aunt Alice get here so fast?” Danny called over his shoulder as we got closer to the house.
“They were in town already,” Erik replied.
“Uncle Sven’s here, too?”
“Well, he wouldn’t let me have all this fun myself,” the woman in the scrubs called out, striding down the steps.
Helen wrapped her arms around Mattie, holding her in place.
Danny and Chance slowed as Alice met them in the gravel, but we all kept moving around the side of the house as she looked Beau over.
“Aw, Bjorn,” she murmured. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
A door on the back of the house was open, and they disappeared inside. The few seconds before I crossed the threshold was agony, and I grit my teeth as I raced after them.
“You must be Beau’s mate,” Alice greeted as Chance and Danny lifted Beau onto a narrow bed in the center of the room.
My mouth dropped open as I reached Beau’s side. It looked like a hospital room. There was a bright light shining down on my mate, illuminating his blood-soaked clothes and slack face. Cabinets lined every wall, some of them open with medical supplies stacked neatly inside. A stainless-steel sink stood in the corner.
“Reese, right?” Alice said brusquely, snagging my attention again. “I’m Alice. I want you up here at the head of the table, all right?”
She waved me toward a stool near Beau’s head.
“Are you squeamish?”
I shook my head and then nodded as the room moved quickly around me. Erik scrubbed his arms at the sink. Ambrose stood impatiently behind him, waiting his turn.
Danny stood the stretcher on end against the wall.
Chance was doing something by the door I couldn’t see.
Mordecai had disappeared.
“I need you there,” Alice reminded me, pointing at the stool. “If you’re squeamish, keep your eyes closed.”
Slowly, I moved around the table to the stool and carefully sat down. My hands shook as I brushed Beau’s hair back from his face. He was so still. He’d thrashed a little in the helicopter, but since we’d landed, he hadn’t moved at all.
“Erik?” Alice asked, her gloved hands in loosely held fists by her chest. “You’re up.”
Freshly gowned and gloved, Erik stepped in next to the table and quickly started cutting Beau’s clothes off with a pair of scissors.
My stomach twisted, and I slammed my eyes shut as pale bloody skin came into view.
“One, two, three, four,” Alice said, her voice almost monotone.
“And one in the thigh,” Erik added.
My head grew light, and I swayed in place, refusing to open my eyes.
“Head down,” Danny ordered somewhere near my shoulder.
Bracing my hands on the end of the bed, I leaned forward.
“That’s right,” he said gently. “Put your head right next to Beau’s.”
I shuddered as the smell of my mate’s skin permeated the nightmare. Turning my head, I pressed my lips to the spot above his ear.
“That’s good,” Alice said. “Talk to him, Reese.”
They spoke in quiet voices as I sat there, hunched over Beau with my lips pressed against his face. Tuning them out the best I could, I listened to his breathing. It was steady. In and out. In and out.
“I’m going to kill you,” I whispered. “You fucking idiot.”
The sheet beneath us grew wet, but I didn’t open my eyes even once as the tears slid down my face. I couldn’t see his wounds. I was too afraid to look.
“He’s doing well, Reese,” Danny said at some point.
Time had no meaning. We could’ve been there for hours or minutes. I had no idea. My only focus was Beau’s little puffs of breath.
In and out. I synced my breaths with his.
“They’ve exchanged blood?” Alice asked someone.
“The bond’s complete.”
“Reese,” she called. “We’re all finished, sweetheart.”
I was afraid to raise my head. I was monitoring his breathing, and I couldn’t do that if I moved away. If someone wasn’t making sure he was breathing, then all of this was for nothing. Someone had to make sure he was still breathing.
“Reese,” Danny said. Air moved by me like he’d started to put his hand on my shoulder but stopped himself. “Reese, they’re done.”
“I need you to lean up for me,” Alice ordered, not unkindly.
“What’s wrong with her?” Chance asked.
“Shock,” Erik replied quietly.
“Beau needs blood, Reese,” Alice continued. “I need you to lean up for me.”