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Liv darted out of the room while Jade pulled up a chair close to Noah’s bedside and reached for his hand.She hesitated for a split second, before she reached for it.Jade had no idea if he would let her close to him after this.

As if in a daze, she heard Liv moving around her, putting the IV drip into Noah’s arm, which made Jade flinch at the thought of him being in more pain, although it was for a moment.The cooler had been placed near her, filled with ice packs and near the end of the bed, towels.

Jade watched Noah for any changes and about an hour after her bite, she noted that a sweat broke out on his forehead.She moved to stand and get a washcloth and basin with water, but Reaper’s hand on her shoulder stopped her.He placed those exact items on the bedside table next to her.

“Thank you.”

Reaper took her by surprise and hugged her from behind.“Stay strong.And remember, he’s in pain, so whatever he might say, he doesn’t mean.”

Jade felt her body shiver in fear, but when Noah moaned on the bed, she nodded at Reaper before reaching for the washcloth and dipping it in water.She mopped the sweat off his forehead before she placed a cool, fresh one, hoping to help his fever.

The next few hours passed without a word from Noah.She could tell he had a fever; his face and chest was flushed, but the morphine seemed to be doing its job.He hadn’t moved or moaned in pain since an hour after the IV was put in, and while that gave her some comfort, Jade found herself checking his pulse every few minutes to make sure his heart could handle the transition.

And she knew this wasn’t the worst part of the transition.That would be day two when the venom would strengthen his bones and muscles, making him ache in ways that were indescribable.Soon after, the venom would make everything hurt as it transformed him from human to shifter.

She would take his place in a heartbeat.Now she understood why Kane was hesitant to put his wife through this.Watching someone you love cry out in pain was soul destroying.And there was no way of knowing if Noah would be accepting of her when he’d gone through his transition.

If he rejected her…

Jade shook her head and concentrated on Noah.

***

She had no idea how much time had passed.She’d guessed it was early morning on Sunday.But as she watched, Noah’s skin steadily turned darker as he practically glowed with a fever.The morphine wasn’t enough to hold the pain at bay, so Jade made quick work of laying cold towels, along with strategically placed ice packs, around his body.When the towels touched his skin, he let out a sound halfway between a groan of pleasure and a gasp of pain that brought tears to her eyes.

“We can turn up the morphine now.I purposely started low so by the time the worst of the pain struck, he wouldn’t overdose.”Liv pressed the arrow twice, the readout changing, before she turned to Jade.“How are you holding up?”

“I want to take it away from him.I would gladly go through it if he didn’t have to.I feel so helpless.”

“We all did.”Xander pulled Frost close.

“And watching Noah, we wish we could take the pain away too.I have no idea why it’s so painful, but the worst part is watching your mate hurt.”Aubrey moved closer and hugged Jade.

“The pain, to be honest, you can’t remember once it’s done.”Ara bent down and kissed Jade on the forehead before she wrapped her in another hug.“He’ll be fine.He’ll be strong, but right now, you have to be strong for him.”

When Axel walked in the room, he lifted Jade into a crushing hug and Jade froze when she heard Noah growl, low and unlike anything she’d heard from another shifter.

“He’s even possessive in his sleep.”Ax sounded bemused.

“Was that a tiger growl?”Liv asked.

Jade reached for Noah’s hand, and although he was still hot, he squeezed slightly, letting her know he was still there.

***

Jade had removed the last of the ice packs, completely melted and felt to be around room temperature, when she heard the sweetest sound.

“Jade?Baby?”

She rushed to Noah’s side and when he blinked open his beautiful dark-blue eyes, she smiled a watery smile at him.

“Hey, love.How are you feeling?Do you need anything?”

Instead of answering her, he pulled her into bed and squeezed her close.“Are…you…okay?”His voice sounded raw and scratched.

“I’m okay.But I wasn’t fast enough to prevent him from biting you.The only way I could save you was to push my venom into your bloodstream.”

Noah blinked his eyes closed and was slow to open them, but when he did, Jade spotted something she hoped she never would from Noah.Anger and betrayal.