FOUR
Miles
Jensen and I rattle off stats as soon as the ambulance bay doors open. The nurses and doctors help us wheel the stretchers in, and I split off from Jensen and his patient to stay with my mate.
“Single-vehicle accident. The patient is female with head trauma, cuts, and abrasions,” I tell the doctors.
The medical team moves Mabel from the stretcher to a hospital bed. I step to the side of the room and watch as they pull glass shards from her shoulder.
“She needs a full body CT scan,” the doctor instructs.
I trail after them as she’s wheeled her down the hall, pacing once I get to the door labeled staff only. My wolf growls at me. He hates not having our mate in our sights.
She’ll be okay, I tell him, trying to assure both of us.
It seems to take forever for her to come back out.
I pounce on the doctor as soon as I see him. “So?”
“She has a concussion, and she’s pretty banged up, but she’ll be okay.”
Relief slams into me, and I sag against the wall. A concussion and some bruises. Thank God that’s the extent of her injuries.
I hurry to catch up as they wheel her away.
“We gave her some pain medicine. She needs to stay awake,” the doctor adds as the nurses move Mabel to a bed.
“I’ll talk to her. Keep her occupied,” I assure him.
My wolf growls inside me. He’s on edge, which only increases my unease.
Mabel is groggy, but her eyes are open. She flinches as she shifts in the hospital bed.
I move closer to her side. “What hurts?”
“Everything,” she rasps.
The shoulder of her loose shirt slips to the side, and I wince when I see the thick line of bruises already forming across her chest and neck. It must be from the seatbelt. She’ll be black and blue for a while.
We could bite her and heal her faster, my wolf points out.
I grit my teeth. She’s human. If we bite her, she’ll freak out.
But she’s hurting, and we can help her.
Not yet! I snap before he can tempt me to do just that.
He growls and continues to pace inside me.
“The pain medicine will kick in soon,” I reassure her.
She nods and grimaces, her hand flying to her head. They’ve bandaged her cut, but I’m sure it’ll be tender for a few days.
Or we could bite her now, and she could skip all that, my wolf growls.
I ignore him.
“Where’s Dillon? Is she okay?” Mabel asks.
I swallow hard. “I’m not sure. They took her somewhere else. She probably needed a scan,” I say, trying to comfort her.
Her eyes widen in fear, telling me I’m not doing a very good job.
“Was she awake?”
“I’m not sure.”
Mabel tries to sit up.
“Take it easy,” I warn, placing a gentle hand on her uninjured shoulder to stop her.
“I need to know that she’s okay. She’s family,” she says, her eyes filling with tears.
“I’ll find out, okay? I’ll ask about her.”
“Okay.” She nods, looking relieved.
I squeeze her hand before turning to leave the room in search of Dillon and Jensen.
The door opens before I reach it, and Jenson wheels Dillon into the room. She’s still unconscious, and she’s been bandaged up. But what catches my attention is the bite mark on her neck.
My eyes fly to Jensen’s, but he looks away, his gaze on his mate as the nurses get Dillon settled. I pull back the curtain in the middle of the room so my mate can see her friend.
As soon as we’re alone, I turn to Jensen and raise an eyebrow.
“She was dying,” he whispers. “I bit her to save her. I didn’t have a choice.”
My wolf snarls, jealous that our friend has claimed his mate.
“They’re humans,” I point out. “You’ll have to explain the bite mark to her. And everything else.”
“I know. I will. I just… I couldn’t lose her.”
I get it. I would’ve done the same thing in his position.
So do it, my wolf snarls.
It’s not the same. Our mate will be okay without our healing powers.
But is she going to stay with us and believe that we’re fated mates
I tense. I hope so. Even though Jensen bit Dillon, he has no guarantee she’ll stay with him.
He snorts but doesn’t argue. I look back at my mate. She’s staring at Dillon worriedly as I move back to her side.
I need to keep her awake.
And somehow, I need to figure out how to make our mate see that we’re meant to be.