Page 107

HARLEY

“ A whole week was a little excessive,” Steph grumbled.

“Nah, I don’t really think it was,” Hawk said. “Remember all that talking the doctor did about your alpha physiology? Your body trying to heal around the bullet over and over again really fucked you up. You’re honestly lucky you didn’t have to stay in the hospital even longer.”

I nodded and wrapped my arm around Steph’s waist. He didn’t really need my support to walk, but it made me feel better to be close to him. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

It was mid-morning, and Steph was finally being discharged. Hawk carried Steph’s things—phone charger, clean clothes, a couple beat-up, old mystery paperbacks —and I wrangled the man himself.

“Take care, Mr. Cole,” the nurse said from behind her station as we walked out. “I better not see you back here anytime soon.”

“You won’t, I promise,” Steph said.

“Damn right,” another nurse said. “Don’t overexert yourself, either. You’ve still got a lot of healing to do.”

“I’ll be sure he doesn’t,” I said through a laugh. “Thank you for everything.”

The nurses shooed us out of the hospital. Out front, Hawk hurried through the parking lot to pull the truck up to the front doors. Steph leaned against me with a happy sigh and kissed the top of my head.

“They seemed pretty eager to get you out of there,” I teased. “How bad of a patient were you?”

“I wasn’t bad,” Steph said. “Just, um, frustrated.”

“Frustrating, I bet.”

“Probably.” He shrugged. “What can I say? A dragon isn’t supposed to be cooped up like that.”

I rubbed my hand gently over his chest. Under his T-shirt, the wound was still bandaged. In my back pocket, I had the instructions for how often to clean and change the dressing. It was something I was more than happy to do. “You still need to take it easy.”

“I know, I know. I will. I’m not going to get hurt again, Harley.” He kissed my forehead. “I swear.”

Hawk pulled the truck up to the curb. He hopped out of the driver’s side and hurried over to open both the passenger side door and the back door. “Your chariot awaits,” he said with a flourish, making Steph roll his eyes.

“Wait!” A high-pitched, shaky voice cut through the air.

Blakely stood at the entrance of the parking garage.

My heart dropped to my stomach, and I blinked hard, certain I was hallucinating.

But the image didn’t go away. It was really her, standing there, trembling like a leaf in a strong wind.

No one had seen her since the night Sean was killed, despite the enforcers’ continuous search.

It was like she’d melted into nothingness.

I’d assumed she’d crossed the border or fled to Forrest. Turns out that was wishful thinking.

She looked bad. Worse than I’d ever seen her, really. Her eyes were bloodshot and almost crazed. She was shaking, pale, and covered in dirt. Her clothes were ripped and stained with sweat. Had she been sleeping outside?

“Ace!” Blakely cried out. “I knew you’d be okay. I knew I had to come back for you!”

Something in her mind had finally cracked. Blakely had finally gone beyond delusional. She was dangerous . I glanced around the parking lot and at the doors of the hospital, but no one had noticed the commotion.

Steph and Hawk straightened up. They stood on either side of me, almost in front of me. Hawk rumbled a low growl, and I knew Steph had bared his fangs.

I shoved my way through them, putting myself between Blakely and them, and crossed my arms over my chest. “Careful, Blakely. One wrong move and I’ll put you in one of those hospital beds upstairs. Like I should’ve done weeks ago.”

Her face transformed. She went from looking shocked and relieved to see Steph, to looking like a rage-filled wild animal. Her eyes burned with anger, her mouth twisted, and her trembling suddenly stopped. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

She still didn’t see me as Steph’s mate. She still saw me as an interloper, an outsider—the person keeping her from what she rightfully deserved. And now, her need for revenge had completely cracked her sanity. Just like Sean’s mind had been broken, too.

“We’re calling the police,” I said coolly. “You need help, Blakely. Something’s obviously really wrong with you.”

“Yo!” Hawk shouted toward the hospital front doors. “Get out here!”

“Wrong with me ?” Blakely screeched. “You’re wrong! This is all wrong!” She cast her gaze frantically between me and Steph. “You’re supposed to be with me , Ace!”

“Blakely,” Steph growled. “That’s enough.”

“No!” Blakely reached for her waistband.

Time seemed to slow down. I knew what she was doing, and why she had really come here.

She didn’t care about Steph. She cared about finishing what she had tried to start.

She couldn’t make herself shoot me that night in the woods, but maybe now, after a week to stew in her hatred, she was ready to do it.

Behind me, Steph roared.

I immediately whirled to face him. He couldn’t shift, not now, not when he was still healing—all the work the surgeons had done would be for nothing if the transformation ripped that wound open again.

The parking lot exploded into chaos.

Hawk launched himself forward. He crashed into Blakely, and she screamed as she hit the pavement.

The doors to the hospital flung open and security rushed out, the nurses right behind them.

Four armed security guards raced to Blakely and Hawk.

One peeled Hawk away from her, another pinned Blakely face-down on the pavement, and a third grabbed the small pistol that had skittered out of her grip and across the sidewalk.

“No!” Blakely screamed as she thrashed in the guard’s hold. “Let me go! That bitch ruined my life. She ruined my entire life! I need to kill her! I need to!”

“Jesus,” I whispered. I’d never had such hatred and vitriol directed at me. And for what?

For daring to love my mate?

Steph wrapped his arms around me from behind. He kissed my temple. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “It’s over. She’ll get the help she needs.”

“Honestly, I feel like I don’t want her to get help,” I admitted. “I just want her gone.”

Steph nodded. “Me too. I’ll make sure that happens.”

Moments later, a police car arrived, and the Lakeview police helped the security guards.

Then it was a different kind of chaos: cops talking to security, nurses with a stretcher, and Blakely screaming until they sedated her.

All I could do was watch as she was dealt with and Hawk spoke to the police.

Finally, an officer came over to me and Steph. “Miss Founty?” the officer said.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I hear you were the one this woman was threatening with the gun?”

Steph’s arms tightened around me. I nodded. “Yes.”

“If you’re pressing charges, we’ll need to take a statement,” the officer said.

“Right. Yes. I’ll be pressing charges.”

“Good,” Steph said.

“Wait here,” the officer said. “I’ll be back shortly to take your statement.”

A weight lifted off my heart, and it felt like I could finally breathe again. The officers handcuffed Blakely to the stretcher and wheeled her into the hospital.

I turned around in Steph’s arms and wound my arms around his neck. There was a small frown on his face, and gold specks gleaming in his eyes. “What?” I asked. “Don’t look so upset.”

“Blakely just tried to kill you,” he growled. “Again. Of course I’m upset.”

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him gently until I felt his frown melt away.

“And now it’s over. It’s finally, truly over. She’s gone, Steph.”

He exhaled heavily and buried his face in the crook of my neck. I loved it when he did this—when he held onto me like I was something precious, like I was the only thing that could keep him grounded. I scratched my nails over his nape fondly and felt him shiver against me.

“We can move on with our lives,” I whispered.

“Finally,” Steph sighed. “Thank you, Harley.”

“For what?”

He pulled back and held my gaze. “For waiting.”

“I’d wait forever,” I said. “Now, please, take me home.”

The days passed slowly and comfortably. All we did was rest—doctor’s orders.

I didn’t have to cook since all the clan members kept coming through with meals to keep us stocked.

There were no big celebrations—not yet, at least. It seemed like everyone in the clan needed to recover from what had happened with Sean.

Dylan spent a lot of time on the couch with Steph, excitedly talking him through all his new video games, and I’d never seen Steph look so relaxed and happy.

Twice a day, I changed the dressing on his wound.

His body was back to its fast-healing self, and it didn’t take long for the stitches to dissolve.

After a week, he didn’t need more than a single bandage on the healing injury.

By the second week, there was no need for a bandage at all.

Next to his heart, between his pectoral muscle and his armpit, there was a jagged, circular pink scar, marking where the bullet had dug into his flesh.

No matter how well he healed, that scar would always be there.

It was like something from a dream. I didn’t think I could feel this happy. This relaxed.

But parts of it were difficult, too. Like the part where I wasn’t supposed to have sex with my mate until he was fully healed.

After two weeks, he received a clean bill of health from the surgeon.

“So,” Cassidy asked from where she was lounging on the couch, “he’s all good to go?”

I nodded as heat rose to my cheeks. My gaze fell to the mating bite on Cassidy’s skin, peeking out from the neckline of her T-shirt.

She smirked, knowing exactly what I was looking at. “Honestly, Harley, I’m impressed you lasted this long.”

I returned her expression, even though I knew my cheeks and ears were flushed with embarrassment. “I had to. Can you imagine if he claimed me and the stitches ripped in the middle of it? Not exactly the romantic vibe I’m going for.”

Cassidy burst out laughing. “Okay, fair point. But… Tonight? You think?”

“I don’t think,” I said. “I know.”