Chapter 82
Chapter 82
The world was empty and white. Tessa blinked, and the whiteness resolved into a grid of speckled squares. It took her a few seconds to understand that she was looking up at a drop tile ceiling. She shifted her gaze downward. She was laying in a hospital bed, still in the clothes she’d been wearing at the Ranger Station. They smelled of smoke and blood and body odor. She wrinkled her nose.
Next to her, she heard a low growl.
She turned and found Declan, sprawled in an ugly armchair, head angled awkwardly, sound asleep. Not growling–snoring. Behind him, bright morning light streamed through the window. Tessa shifted, trying to sit up, and found an IV plugged into her hand and taped to her wrist. A drip bag hung from the pole next to her bed, filled with clear fluid. There was another bed in the room–Daniel
Gray lay in that one, eyes closed. A russet–colored wolf was curled up in the chair next to his bed, and she stared back at Tessa with eyes that gleamed a familiar gold. Instinctively, Tessa recognized pack. She was looking at Daniel’s mother–and Declan’s sister.
Tessa stared at Daniel for a long moment, until she was satisfied that she could see his chest rising and falling with his breaths. He was
alive. He was safe.
And Alex?
Tessa gripped the bedrails, trying to sit up. Pain flared in her neck and she let out a little hiss, pressing her hand there. Her palm landed against a thick bandage taped to her skin.
“Tessa?” Declan asked groggily. A split–second later he woke to full alertness, leaping out of his chair and leaning over her in the bed. “Tessa,” he breathed, his eyes burning with emotion. There was a faint tremor in his hand as he reached out to touch her cheek.
Chapter 82
“I’m okay. I think,” she said, laying her hand over his and pressing her cheek into his palm.
“God, Tessa,” he said hoarsely. “I don’t–I don’t know what to say.
‘I’m sorry‘ isn’t enough. If I had just listened to you–if I had just taken you with me…” He closed his eyes, his face a rigid mask of
shame.
She didn’t need or want apologies. “You were trying to save your
nephew,” she said, and that was the end of the conversation as far
as she was concerned. “But… Alex? Is he p>
Declan opened his eyes. They gleamed with feral rage. “H
now. You finished him.” He leaned down, resting his foreh
against hers. “He won’t bother you ever again p>
“Good”
They stayed like that for a moment, until the sound of a throat
clearing in the doorway caught their attention. Teekkonlit Valley’s
doctor Anna Daaldinh, a tall, thin woman with steel–gray hair and a
lightly–lined face stood in the doorway.
“How are you feeling, Tessa?” she asked, stepping into the room. Declan retreated back to the chair, giving Anna space to examine
Tessa.
“ Alright. My neck hurts p>
“I would expect so,” Anna said, pressing a stethoscope to Tessa’s chest. She checked Tessa’s breathing and her pulse and her blood
pressure. She checked her eyes and ears and nose. At last, she
removed the IV and declared Tessa fit to leave. “You’ve had quite a
few transfusions of wolf blood. Don’t be alarmed if your injuries
heal much faster than you’re used to p>
Tessa touched her neck, wondering.
Anna seemed to read her thoughts. She smiled, her eyes crinkling. “I
Chapter 82
doubt you’ll be able to shift–but do let me know if it happens.
Interesting medical implications, that.” She seemed to consider it for
a moment. “Anyways, take it easy for a few days. No strenuous activity.” She raised her eyebrows, looking at both Declan and Tessa
significantly.
It took Tessa a moment to catch on. When she did, she felt her face
heat. “Right. Got it p>
Anna chuckled at her embarrassment.
“What about Daniel?” Tessa asked. “Is he going to be okay?
“He’ll be fine. I expect he’ll be on his feet by dinner tonight…
lunch p>
Declan helped Tessa out of bed and bent down to put her boots on for her. “I’m fine, Declan,” she said with a smile.
Declan simply growled and laced the boots.
Anna smiled at them both and turned to look out the window. She
let out a happy sigh. “The days are going to get longer now,” she said thoughtfully. “Today’s the first day of Spring p>
(5)
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