10. Dirge

TEN

Dirge

T he room fell quiet, nothing but the soft sounds of Shay's deep, even breaths to keep us company, and the occasional tap from Leigh—the mouthy blonde female who was as close as my mate's shadow—doing something on her phone.

When Shay released a relaxed sigh and rolled onto her stomach—fully asleep now—Leigh dropped the phone along with the air of disinterest she'd been wearing.

Her eyes snapped up, the regular blue fading away behind the bright, golden glow of her wolf pressing forward. It wasn't lack of control, though; far from it. It was intentional , a display of force.

I met her gaze, never one to back down from a predator.

"Listen up, Fluffy," she said in a low, threatening tone. "I'm tolerating you because Shay thinks you're her mate. But I want to get one thing very, very clear."

She paused, waiting to make sure I comprehended her, so I dipped my muzzle down to nod without breaking eye contact.

"If you hurt her, I will slit your throat and bury you out back before she knows you're gone. And I won't feel a single second's guilt, you can believe that. This girl right here?" She pointed at Shay's sleeping form. "She's not my friend. She's not my pack mate. She is my sister . And I won't let anybody hurt her ever again . And until you've got full control of yourself? I don't trust a hair on your stinking, shaggy head."

I whuffed, a wolfish laugh I couldn't restrain even in this form. But inside, a happy warmth filled me. She could threaten me until she was blue in the face, because I would never hurt Shay. But it made me happy to know that my she-wolf had such fierce, loyal friends on her side. I would keep an eye on this one too. She was unmated and surrounded by aggressive males. But if she was my mate's sister, she was mine to protect as well.

I would do that for Shay. I laid my head oh, so carefully over her arm, where I could still keep an eye on the door, but not wake her. Just feel her closeness. Revel in her soft, sweet floral smell and the warmth of her skin.

So long… I'd waited so long for her, I didn't want to miss a second.

Leigh was still staring me down when the door cracked quietly open again, and our attention snapped to the intruder.

"Well, you two are tense. Everything okay in here?" Brielle whispered as she stepped quietly through, waving the male healer in behind her. I sat up, my hackles rising as he followed her.

"Easy, Dirge," the alpha's mate crooned, as if I were a cuddly puppy and not a three-hundred-pound feral killer.

Oddly, though… the hair on the back of my ruff lowered of its own accord, and my eyes drifted away from the male and back to the woman. She had shining, dark curls and a pleasant scent, even if it couldn't hold a candle to my Shay's. It hung heavily in the air around her, over the strong scent of food she carried in a stack of small boxes.

Brielle's scent wasn't attractive. It was… calming. Like a pool of still water surrounded by sweet grasses. The kind my wolf would love to sleep beside .

I shook my head, confused about why I'd risen in the first place, until the healer moved at her elbow. My eyes snapped to his, but he quickly and respectfully ducked his head, averting his gaze.

"John Henry isn't going to approach Shay, so you can stay calm for me. Right?" She smiled easily at me before passing the food to Leigh, who set all but one box on the small table next to Shay's bed.

Ducking my muzzle in acknowledgment, I still didn't look away from the other male.

"Excellent. I'm here to check her bandage and discuss anything else we may be able to give her to support a more normal healing pace. Wolfsbane is some nasty stuff, and it's unfortunate she was dosed with it at all, but especially such a strong dose." Brielle gave me a gentle smile before stepping closer, unafraid. "I'll need access to her bandage." She pointed to the side of the bed, the order clear.

I huffed but obeyed, shifting so I was out of the way a few inches from Shay's back.

"Thank you, Dirge. I'll try not to wake her, but the bandage change might do it anyway." Her soft murmur was soothing as she worked, all while I monitored the healer at his position just inside the door. I saw the vivid red blood on the bandage as she removed it, causing Shay to whimper and shift in her sleep. I pressed a bit closer to her back, unable to stop myself from offering whatever comfort I could. It was pure reflex, and I couldn't have done anything else when my mate was hurting.

"Shh, shh." Brielle made little soothing nonsense sounds as she worked, and Shay calmed under her touch much as I had under her voice, not waking even as Brielle applied a thick, stinking unguent and another padded bandage. It was uncanny, and if it weren't so damn soothing, I might have found it peculiar.

When she finished, she carefully settled Shay's blankets back over her and removed the gloves I hadn't noticed her putting on to begin with.

"Okay, she's settled for now. The only question I have is how can we help her heal faster? Do you think a turmeric tincture might help? Or I could prepare it in a tea," Brielle said, looking to the male healer for confirmation.

"That could work. We could also get some sage candles in here, so long as we get her into a room that's not hooked to the oxygen." He jutted his chin toward the wall, where a little tap extended out for oxygen tubing to be connected.

"Oh, yes. Sage for sure. Anything to clear that nastiness out of her system. We can transfer her to a lower-level room."

"I'll speak to Emory about it, then." His hand was on the doorknob, and then he was in the hallway without a glance back.

I relaxed as the door clicked shut, inching over so more of my body pressed against Shay's where she lay quietly.

"Okay, then. I'll get out of your hair until I've got some tea leaves ready. Leigh, do you want to trade off with me for the night? I don't want her to be alone, and you need to rest too."

"Nope," she answered, popping the p. "Rover and I have come to an understanding, right, poochie?" She blew me a sarcastic kiss, daring me to argue. In this form, I'd just bite her.

I rumbled my annoyance at her teasing, but nodded instead of using my fangs. She might have been a mouthy bitch, but she was a likable bitch. And under my protection, even if she didn't know it.

Brielle rolled her eyes at the two of us. "I'll be back in an hour or so, after I get the tea leaves prepared. Call me if she wakes up sooner, though. I'd like to talk to her and make sure she doesn't need anything extra for the pain."

"Deal," Leigh answered, shoving in a mouthful of noodles and giving the Alpha's mate a thumbs-up.

Brielle chuckled as she left, shutting the door softly on her soothing scent. The absence of it made a part of me deep down feel bereft, and I didn't like it. But as I settled in next to my mate, her soothing floral scent settled me once more. It had just a hint of sharp, tart fruit to it that made my mouth water. The man would know, I thought as my eyelids drifted shut.

Sometime in the middle of the night, the sickroom door slammed open. I was on my feet, standing over Shay in a heartbeat. The big, dominant male in the doorway radiated fury, and I snarled, baring my fangs at his audacity, coming in here and waking my sick mate.

She shifted beneath me, startled awake and grabbing her side with a gasp. But it was Leigh who spoke first.

"Hey, asshole, we were sleeping in here. Do you mind?"

"You're supposed to be in your room sleeping. But when my patrol checks, you're not in your bed. Instead, I find you in here with a feral alpha who could rip you limb from limb! Get up, now. We're going."

I growled again, the sound low and deadly in my throat. I didn't like how he spoke to her, not one little bit. If he moved a muscle into this room, I would tear him a new asshole. I'd already sized him up, and he was plenty dominant, but I could take him.

"One, you don't get to tell me what to do. Two, it's not my fault Reed didn't tell you I came in while he was watching the door. Three, the only one getting ripped apart is going to be you if you don't cool your jets. He's protective of Shay if there are other males in the room, and you coming in all alpha-hole isn't helping." She thrust a hand in my direction for emphasis, not moving from her spot curled up in the chair by Shay's bedside .

"This is not negotiable. If you won't walk out of here, I'll carry you out."

"Try me, Gael. I'm not leaving her bedside." Leigh stood then, both hands on hips and chin lifted in defiance. I could smell the anger rolling off her, her arms shaking a little with the repressed urge to shift.

"Guys, I'm okay. Can we all just settle down? Dirge is still working on his control," Shay said. She'd managed to sit up in the bed, moving her legs from underneath mine at what must have been great personal expense. "Since you're guarding him, Leigh's fine, right?"

"And he can practice his control again once I get Leigh out of danger and back where she's supposed to be."

"Oh my Goddess , do you even hear yourself? I'm not a toddler! Get out of here. You stood up for him and now you're going to act like he's some slavering monster unsafe to be in the same room with me?" Leigh's eyes began to glow gold as her wolf pressed the issue.

Gael lunged toward her, and I leapt for his throat.