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“It’ll be okay,” Carter promised.

“His aura is weak but not dying," Gio said.

She looked back at him. “You can see that?”

Gio nodded. “He has the aura of someone very ill, but not actively dying. His soul isn’t at risk of escaping right now.”

Relief made Mila sag against him. They sat like that until the ambulance arrived. The serene, competent paramedics helped calm Barb and load her and James into the specialty vehicle.

“I can drive all of you to the hospital," Mikey offered. “This way.” He led them out of the hangar into the dark.

“You’re going to the hospital too,” Danzig said to Bec as they followed behind her.

“Of course I am,” Bec said looking confused. “I can’t leave Mila yet.”

“And you’ll get examined," Danzig said.

It was strangely comforting to listen to Danzig and Bec argue the entire way to the hospital.

Carter

Mila had fallen asleep on his lap, her face nuzzled against his chest, and her head tucked under his chin. Except for her trip to the bathroom, he’d refused to let go of her since the fight at the hangar.

Gio sat next to him on a chair, one hand resting on Mila’s thigh and the other scrolling through messages on his phone.

All the shifters, vampires, and other miscellaneous creatures that showed up to help them rescue the humans were all in a giant group text that was so busy, Gio had muted it to keep from disturbing everyone with constant chimes.

“They’re almost finished sanitizing the hangar,” Gio commented in a low whisper. “One of the chimeras took some rounds, but apparently that’s not the first time, and his brother used a pair of pliers to pull them out.”

Carter hissed out a breath. “Pliers?”

Gio shrugged. “Chimeras.”

“I know who to never pick a fight with,” Carter said with a grin. “Did anyone else get hurt?”

“One of the wolves got grazed, but that’s it,” Gio said. “Marduk caught a redeye. He’s flying back from DC now. I heard Danzig talking to him on the phone. Poor Bec, she doesn’t have a chance.”

“I don’t know,” Carter said, picturing the petite woman punching the man who’d grabbed her when she and Mila had made that first bid for freedom.

Everyone was still getting set up and waiting for Briar to finish hacking into the power grid to knock out the lights.

They hadn’t been prepared for Bec and Mila to try something, otherwise, they would’ve taken advantage of the distraction the two women caused.

Instead, they had to go with the original plan of getting Danzig to the women so they were protected while the fighting raged around them.

The world serpent had done his job perfectly. He’d protected Mila and Bec despite all the thousands of rounds that were fired that night.

“We owe Danzig so much,” Carter commented. “Mila could’ve easily been killed by a stray bullet.”

Gio gave Carter a wry smile. “I think Danzig is calling it even. We helped him meet Bec. I asked Mikey, and he said world serpents are like vampires, and they can spend thousands of years looking for their mates. It’s especially hard with twins like Danzig and Marduk.

They shared an egg. According to legend, that means they share a soul.

There is only one mate out there for both of them. ”

This was all news to Carter. “They shared an egg? I always thought they were born from the same clutch of eggs.”

“That would make them siblings, not twins,” Gio explained. “World serpents are rare, and these two are even more rare.”

“I guess it’s a good thing they get along,” Carter mused. “They’re going to have a challenge with Bec.”

“Hello?” Shelly, the nurse assigned to them for the night, walked in. As soon as she saw Mila, she lowered her voice to a whisper. “You asked for an update on Bec?”

Since they were taking James to the hospital, Gio insisted that all the humans were checked in and given a full examination.

Bec had taken a nasty blow to her head. She said it wasn’t a bad concussion, but the doctor ordered a CT scan anyway.

When she’d tried to fight being treated, Mila simply gave her those big, scared eyes and Bec crumbled.

Carter was pretty sure Mila didn’t even realize she was doing it. The woman was just so sincerely concerned, you couldn’t help but do anything to reassure her.

“Yes?” Gio said, giving the nurse his full attention. They were in a small hospital in Chula Vista that specialized in caring for human mates. It was the only place Gio trusted to care for Mila and her family. Although by the time they’d arrived, Mila only had some red patches on her face.

No one believed that she’d been black and blue only a few hours earlier. Her rate of healing was chimera-speed and unheard of for a human. They’d run tests on her anyway, but everything came up clear.

“We’re still waiting for the radiologist to read the CT, but I asked the tech, and he didn’t see anything bad,” Shelly said, then gave them a little grin. “But don’t tell the doctor I told you that! Now don’t forget that Mila promised me boxes of her cheesecake cookies.”

Was there anyone Mila couldn’t bribe with her sweets?

Probably not. Even Gio was susceptible to her “sweet nectar.”

That thought made Carter snort.

“Thank you, Shelly,” Gio said, ignoring Carter.

Shelly glanced at the bed where James was sleeping. Barb had fallen asleep in a chair next to the bed, her hand intertwined with her husband’s. It was nice to know that Barb truly did care about her family, even if she’d been blind where Mila was concerned.

“Dr. Michaels will be in soon, but I read that he expects that everyone will be discharged tomorrow night,” Shelly continued, then stifled a laugh. “Bec finally stopped arguing with Danzig long enough to fall asleep.”

Carter gave the woman a big grin. “Amazing!”

Shelly nodded. “I’ve never heard someone talk so fast and use so many big words without taking a breath as that woman.” She pointed at Mila in Carter’s arms. “I can have a cot brought in for Mila.”

Carter shook his head at the same time Gio spoke up. “Mila’s fine where she is, unless that cot is big enough for three.”

“Afraid not, although we should invest in something like that,’ Shelly said as she checked a few things on the machines monitoring James. “Everything looks good. Hit the remote if you need me. This room and Bec next door are my only assignments tonight.”

Carter leaned his head back against the wall behind him as the door closed softly when Shelly left. He was tired but was afraid to fall asleep and relax. What if Mila disappeared while he slept?

“It’s going to be a long time before we let Mila even go to the bathroom alone,” Gio observed.

Carter grunted in agreement. Mila wasn’t going to be happy about it, but maybe Carter would be able to relax again in a few decades.

Maybe.