Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
I opened my mouth to reply, but the words were stuck in my throat.
I’d failed. I’d had one job, and I failed.
“It’s bad,” Seamus rasped.
“Ian,” Uncle Dalton called over his shoulder. He looked back at Seamus as he pressed on the wound with one hand and pulled something out of his utility pocket with the other. “It’s not so bad, bud.”
He was a convincing liar.
Seamus nodded, letting out a small breath of relief.
“It’s going to hurt like hell when I lift you, though.”
“Hurts like hell already,” Seamus replied, his lips pulling up a little on one side.
Ian looked me over briefly to make sure I was okay, his eyes widening, then watched as Uncle Dalton lifted his little brother into his arms like a baby. Seamus lost consciousness.
“Take him to Alice,” Erik ordered. “She’s at our place.”
I staggered to my feet as the Cavendish family took off through the woods, Ian leading the way and Grant following at the rear, their rifles at the ready.
The world seemed to be swaying around me.
“Rosemary,” Chance called from somewhere behind me. “I need you to stay right where you are.”
I spun toward the voice, but before I’d made an entire turn, I saw my mate. He was less than three feet from me, his feet planted, completely motionless.
“Danny,” I gasped, stumbling toward him.
Everything would be okay now. He would make everything okay.
“Don’t—”
“Stop!”
“Rosemary!”
The voices came from everywhere, all around us, but I ignored them.
It wasn’t until I’d wrapped my good arm around his waist and looked up into his face that I realized why they’d tried to stop me.
Daniel’s eyes were different. Wrong somehow. The pupils were huge, and the ring around them was light, not the usual dark brown that I’d fallen in love with. His expression was completely blank.
Breath left me in a whoosh as his arms wrapped around me, holding me so tight that I could barely move.
A growl left his throat.
“Danny?” I called softly.
“You’re okay,” Erik called quietly.
Daniel’s lips pulled back from his teeth in a snarl.
“What’s going on?” I asked, pushing on his chest.
His arms tightened.
It was as if he couldn’t even hear me. His eyes jerked from side to side as he watched the woods around us. His face and beard were covered in blood.
In the distance, the whir of a helicopter’s blades broke the silence.
“Ambrose?” Lucy called from somewhere.
“Stay where you are,” Ambrose called back. “Don’t move.”
Then there was silence again.
My eyes were growing a little hazy. I didn’t understand what was happening, and I was losing patience and blood. I pinched Daniel’s side. He didn’t even flinch.
“She’s hurt, Arne,” Erik said soothingly from somewhere behind me. “She needs help.”
Daniel took a step back, dragging me with him.
“I know,” Erik said, his voice choked. “But you need to push through it. Look at your mate. She’s hurt. Look at her.”
“Daniel,” I whispered, clutching at his shirt as my head grew heavy. “What’s wrong?”
I slumped against him, letting him take the full weight of my body. I was so tired, and the heat symptoms that had been riding me since the moment he’d left were finally easing.
Thunder’s heavy breathing came from somewhere at our feet.
Daniel started to tremble as he moved slowly backward. His heart was pounding.
“Stay here,” Beau called out calmly. “You have to stay where we can help her.”
“I’m fine,” I replied, blinking. I laid my head on Daniel’s shoulder. I let the blood in my mouth drain out of my lips, too tired to spit.
“She’s losing consciousness,” Chance spat. “We’ve been standing here for fifteen minutes already.”
Had it been fifteen minutes? That didn’t seem right.
“What do we do?”
“Stand ready,” Erik replied quietly. He raised his voice. “Arne, you need to put her down.”
“If he doesn’t snap out of it, we’ll have to take her,” Beau said.
Daniel took another step back, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
“Fight it, son,” Erik ordered, his voice deepening.
My mate began to shake.
I slid my hand under his shirt, pressing my palm against the warm skin of his back. Yes, that’s what I needed. The feeling of his skin against mine. Everything inside me seemed to settle.
It was the opposite for Daniel. As soon as our skin met, he jolted like he’d been shocked and began lowering me to the forest floor.
“Rosie,” he called as he gently pushed my hair out of my face.
“You made it,” I whispered, watching as his eyes slowly lost the blank look.
“Where are you hit?” he asked, his voice vibrating with terror.
“Hip,” I replied, his face going in and out of focus. “Shoulder.”
“Daniel?” Erik called.
“Help her,” Daniel choked out.
Then there were Bouchers all around me. The pain was constant, excruciating, but I held Daniel’s gaze with my own as they pressed against my wounds.
“I’m going to have a scar,” I informed him.
“You’re going to have a few.”