“You’re bleeding again,” Heath said.

I shrugged and cast a disinterested look down at the dark stain spreading through my hospital-issued Proteus College T-shirt. “Good.”

I deserved it. My mate had almost bled out in the middle of the moondamned forest because of us. A little dribble of my blood on the infirmary’s sterile floor was fucking nothing.

It’d taken almost an hour for Avery’s beast to heal her wounds enough to shift back to her human form. Aiden had done his best to channel the New Moon’s trickle of magic into one of the basic healing spells he knew, but he didn’t have a healing affinity, and we didn’t dare risk our wildcat’s secret to call anyone else. Once the tiger had given us back our girl—pale, passed out, wounds still gaping—I’d snatched her out from under the basilisk, cradled her in my arms like the treasure she was and sprinted damn near a mile in the fucking nude to the infirmary.

The guys had led the way in their beast forms, and even Elijah had managed to shift back without issues so that he could pass through the infirmary doors behind me.

It was excruciating, letting the doctors take her from me and not following.

Then Ian had arrived to once again act as the world’s most infuriating cockblock. After they moved Avery to recovery, we had an altercation in the hallway, and he ran his blade through my side. I let him because his blood had saved my mate’s life.

Heath sighed the put-upon sigh of a quad leader. “You’re no good to us or her injured, Wyatt.”

“I’ll fucking heal when I feel like it.” I’d refused Dr. Lee’s offer of magical intervention, and then I’d scared off the student medic who’d come out here with a suture kit. It’d only taken one glare and an inhuman snarl from my beast.

My bear wanted his mate. He was furious that she was being kept from us, but he was disinclined to maim her brother or fathers for standing in our way. I wasn’t sure how long that would last.

Better to bleed so he had something else to focus on.

Heath and I were sitting next to each other in two of the small waiting room’s uncomfortable chairs. Elijah had abandoned his chair hours ago to sit on the floor across from us, his back against the wall and his long legs splayed in front of him. The black scrub pants the infirmary had given him were too short, barely reaching his ankles.

He’d spoken maybe two words since he’d transformed from beast to man, and his yellow stare hadn’t moved from the doors to the recovery wing where Avery was being kept since he’d taken up that post.

At least George had managed to get back there. Elijah’s weird psychic connection to that snake had summoned him here a few minutes ago, and so far, he hadn’t been tossed back out. If we were lucky, Elijah could glean a report on our mate from him.

Aiden had abandoned his chair and stood near the doors, attempting to reason with Avery’s dad, Kaito, cat-to-cat.

It wasn’t working. Kaito was a cougar of ordinary power, but he also might be an actual ninja. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was the one that taught my wildcat and her brother everything they knew, so I wasn’t going anywhere near his blade.

Kaito was not at all intimidated by Aiden, who was radiating extreme feline agitation. No, Avery’s dad seemed mildly amused by our existence in general and was the picture of tranquility, but the creases in his face and the hard look in his eyes betrayed his worry for his daughter.

“We won’t disturb her,” Aiden was saying, faking patience. “If even just one of us could lay eyes on her to see that she’s okay, it would go a long way toward calming our beasts.”

“I understand,” Kai replied. “Truly I do, but we’d prefer to ask her what she wants when she wakes up.” His face softened with the tiniest hint of sympathy. “And she will wake up. I promise.”

“I know Dr. Lee said she was stable, but⁠—”

Aiden was interrupted when the doors banged open, and Avery’s Alpha father strode out.

Heath was on his feet instantly. His read on Rand Baxter was that he was an impressive fucking wolf, damn near Heath’s own power level. It made Heath’s wolf wary and deferential, which was fortunate for the situation we’d found ourselves in.

My bear didn’t desire to fuck with him, either, but he was growing impatient.

“She’s awake,” Rand announced.

I shot out of my chair. “Fuck,” I mumbled as my stab wound tore further open. Blood seeped into my already-soaked shirt and dripped down my side.

Heath squared up to Rand, projecting every ounce of strength and authority he possessed. But the night had been long, and the exhaustion was heavy on his face. “We’d like to see her,” he said.

“I understand that,” Rand replied. “But Avery has stated in very clear terms that she does not wish to see you.” He cast an almost-sympathetic look around at the rest of us glum bastards. “Any of you. It sounds like you boys have screwed things up pretty badly.”

I’d expected that punch in the gut, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

Heath’s shoulders sagged. “We did. I can’t deny that, but if we just had a chance to explain everything to her⁠—”

Rand held up a hand. “Not today. I suggest you give her some space.”

“How long will they keep her here?” Aiden asked.

“Twenty-four hours for observation. Then we will be taking her home with us.” He eyed Heath, sizing him up once again. “We—all of us, including Ian—appreciate that you boys did everything you could to both save Avery’s life and keep her secret. We’re indebted to you. I also understand, more than you know, the power of the beast’s pull to his mate, especially when that mate is herself a powerful animal. But it doesn’t entitle you to Avery’s time or attention. She’s hurt, and she needs to heal. You will respect her boundaries.”

A growl ripped from my chest.

Rand arched a brow at me over Heath’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” I said, blinking away the red headlights. “The bear is on edge.”

Kaito frowned at me. “You’re bleeding all over the floor, son.”

“I know.”

Rand sighed. Bet he knew a lost cause when he saw one. “We’ll take good care of her. Your beasts will chafe at the separation, but they should tolerate their mate being cared for by her family members. You have a month to get your shit together, and then I expect you to watch my daughter’s back at camp, no matter how hard she makes it for you. Am I clear?”

That was a tiny and unexpected kernel of approval, and it perked me right up. “Crystal, sir,” I said.

“There was never a question,” Aiden agreed.

“We’ll kill anything that touches her,” Heath added.

Elijah said nothing. He’d watched this entire exchange from his spot on the floor, his expression calculating.

“Good.” Rand waved a hand at us. “Go home and get some rest. You all look dead on your feet. We’ve got her.”

My bear snarled, but this time I managed to keep it inside.

Gold sparked in Heath’s eyes, but he shut them and took a deep breath. “Okay. Thank you for taking care of her.” He jerked his head toward the exit, gesturing for the rest of us to follow.

Aiden’s face was as hard as I’d ever seen it. He managed to shake Kaito’s hand before falling in behind his brother.

Elijah peeled himself off the floor in a single graceful movement. He nodded to Rand, gave Kaito a quick smile, then strode off after the others.

I sank the full force of my bear into healing my wound because it was starting to hurt like a bitch. “Until next time,” I said with one last pointed look at Avery’s fathers. It was a promise—she was my mate, and this would be the last moondamned time I left her.

“Looking forward to it,” Rand replied with a chuckle.

“Good luck,” Kaito added, and then he muttered under his breath, “You boys are going to need it.”

That was the fucking truth. I’d said and done things to my girl that made me sick to my fucking stomach, and I’d let her stab me fifty times for it if it meant I’d have the force of those electric blue eyes on me once more.

You can’t fight divine will, Wildcat. I’m coming for you.

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