In the Beginning... (21 page)

Green eyes opened, for only
a moment.
I…hurt. What? Did you…

No!
Cormac dropped his head to rest against her brow as Barlaam
started cleaning the worst of the wounds. He would clean it and
stitch it together as quickly as he could. Otherwise she could
bleed to death so easily.
Wolves. Sick,
heartless beasts, baby. I killed them. They will never hurt you
again!

Free? I was with Free…and Em
was there! Is Em ok? Where is she?
She
tried to pull out of his arms. Was she honestly trying to go to her
cousin? Goddess, she had a will of pure strength. Iron. He held her
in place as Barlaam began the first row of stitches.

Only he heard her pleas for
them to stop.
Hush, my love. We
must.

“Can’t you give her something?” A female
voice demanded from behind Barlaam.

It was her cousin, the redhead that belonged
to Aodhan.

Barlaam shook his head, though he did not
look up from his work. “There are none of your people’s drugs that
will work on our people. Or your cousin now. We need to stop the
bleeding and watch for blood infections. Barring bleeding to death
or infection, she will survive.”

“Take her to a hospital or something!”

Cormac briefly considered it, but the
rational part of him knew that would be the worst thing he could do
for her. They could not help her, and would waist valuable time
trying. “We cannot. They will surely kill her just trying to save
her. Barlaam, and Kindara. They are the best.”

His sister was there, guiding the redhead
out of the room. Cormac missed what she said to the girl. She
returned and pushed him aside. “Brother. Let me help Barlaam. With
two of us, the stitching will go much quicker. You must be ready to
give her blood when I tell you to.”

His sister was gentle with Josey, despite the
fact that Kindara had to know who Josey’s grandfather was.
Kindara’s hands were steady as she replaced Barlaam, stitching the
area just under Josey’s left breast. The work was long and
painstaking. And his woman was awake for it all.

I promise you, you will never feel this pain
again. I will protect you every day for the rest of our lives. And
I will make today’s failure up to you!

Josey focused on the man
above her, seeing nothing and no one but him. He became her entire
world as the doctors continued to work on her. She was so tired. So
cold. She barely felt the pain anymore. Did that
mean…
Will I die?

No!

She hadn’t realized she thought it, hadn’t
realized he was still in her head. He was always there. Always with
her. She wasn’t alone now.

I’m bleeding. I know I am.
If I die, I want to be buried by my Aunt Elisabeth. Emily’s mother.
Promise me!
She could barely see him above
her, dark haze sneaking in her vision.
If I
die, take me home!

You will not die!

Josey closed her eyes, too tired to keep them
open any longer. She just wanted to sleep…

Her eyes closed and Cormac fought the urge to
scream at her to open them again.

“Cormac, give her blood now!” Kindara gave
the order and Cormac obeyed instantly. He bit into his wrist and
held it against her mouth. She did nothing.

“She isn’t feeding!”

“Keep trying while Bronwen sets up the
IV."

It took several long minutes
but they got the gashes sewn together and kept transfusing blood
into his
Rajni
. She
never woke, never stirred. That terrified him more than
anything—she was so far gone she felt no pain? She should have been
screaming uncontrollably. What did her silence mean?

He held her for several hours, ignoring the
pain in his shredded hands. He hadn't even realized he'd injured
himself killing the Lupoiux bastards. It didn't matter, couldn't
compare to the pain she had endured.

Once she recovered, he'd find every last
whelp and dog in that Lupoiux pack and part them from their skins.
He'd not even let them have the dignity of dying first.

Then he'd use their damned pelts as a rug for
her to walk on.

You are still here?

Cormac jerked his head up
from where he'd rested it upon her hair.
Yes. I will not leave you.

What...were those things in
the garden?
She tried to shift her arm but
the IV Kindara had inserted kept her arm immobile.

Lupoiux werewolves. Evil, soulless
animals.

So vampire attack and
werewolf attack? Lucky me.
Green eyes
blinked at him from a pale face. A beautiful face.

My fault.

Was Emily ok? I thought I heard her here
earlier.

Barely bruised. Her Rajni
was hurt, but he will survive.
Another sin
to heap on Cormac's head. He had been given the orders to protect
the
Dahr
and the
new
Rajnis
. And he
had failed. He would always remember that.

My dog? Where's Free? Did
she...suffer much?
Tears began to leak; she
tried to wipe at them but couldn't reach her face through the IV
tubing.

Cormac brushed the tears
aside.
She's with Theo's sister Bronwen.
She is gifted with animals as well as people.

Her body relaxed and hope
entered her eyes.
She's alive? I remember
them...things...attacking her!

They only attacked her to get to you. She
will be fine, although...

She tensed again.
Although?

They had to give her a bit of blood. They
used Dardaptoan blood.

And? What does that mean?

She'll live for a very long
time.
Should he tell her how long? It would
be an unnatural life for the canine.

How long?

At least a thousand years, if not more. Our
blood...can increase longevity of some creatures. Dogs are one of
them. Tajic, Aodhan's wolf, is close to two hundred years old. And
nearly sentient.

Oh. I want to see her. She's
probably frightened.
She tried again to
move; Cormac held her down gently. Her bond with the dog was so
obviously strong; he was glad the animal would recover. And be able
to be at her side for a very long time. At least she would have the
dog.

In the morning. Tonight you need to sleep.
Get strong again.

So what’s the damage?
She patted her stomach with the non-IVed
hand.
What was done to me?

You were…bleeding. Kindara
sewed the injuries closed, and began the blood transfusions. You
will need to keep that IV constant for the next few days. Kinney
said a constant supply of blood is needed to help the stitches stay
in place.
They had stopped the bleeding,
but infection was a very real threat. Dardaptoan women had no
defense against infection. Dardaptoan men were slightly better off,
fighting infection simply because of their strength and size, but
the women…He would not lose her. No matter what he had to
do.

He’d made the decision while he watched her
rest—she was going nowhere. He would dedicate the rest of his days
to protecting this woman, no matter what the cost to himself—or
anyone else.

No coagulants? I think I
read that.
She felt around the bandaged
areas of her chest, pure curiosity easy for him to see on her
face.

Sit still. You will damage
the stitches and will have to go through it all again.
And he would not survive watching the needle
piercing her flesh a second time. Sweat beaded on his forehead at
the mere thought. His hands were insistent when he moved hers away
from the bandages.

I need to see.
Assess the damage for myself. How many stitches?
What gauge thread? Not staples? Will it scar? How many lacerations?
It feels like quite a few.

Slow down. And do not move. You will hurt
yourself again.

More than I am hurting now?
Can I really not have anything for the pain? Although, the pain
does not seem any worse than when I broke my arm when I was ten. I
kind of feel numb. I shouldn’t. I should be having burning, and
itching. And aching. I don’t. I need to see! There may be nerve
damage. I need to see!
She shifted,
determination in her movements. Her free hand grasped the bandage
before Cormac could stop her. The peal of the tape from her skin
echoed through the room.
Help me
up!

He slipped an arm beneath her shoulders and
lifted her at a slight angle. He didn’t want to raise her too far
or the pressure would become unbearable on her injuries.

Easy. I am just lifting you so you can look
down. Careful.

I am a doctor, you know.

I know. Just do as you are
told. What exactly are you expecting to see?
Cormac flipped on the lamp beside the bed; the small desk lamp
burning across the room from where the bed was located was too dim
for studying the wounds closely. His woman looked even worse than
he had thought. Her skin was so pale, attesting to the large volume
of blood she had lost. Her near platinum hair was braided in two
long braids, soft and clean of the blood that had saturated it
earlier. Its paleness was eclipsed only by her skin. Her eyes were
dull, but he rejoiced that she had opened them again. When he had
held her so still earlier he had held little hope that she ever
would glare at him again.

Stitches are even, very
precise
.
Expertly
done. How deep were the lacerations?
Her
clinical tone had his brows rising. She sounded so detached from it
all. A way for her to cope with what had to be a very frightening
experience, or was she—as a physician— simply able to turn off the
personal aspect of it all?
You’ll have to
ask Kindara. She is responsible for your care.

She is your sister, isn’t
she? If I’m supposed to be your ‘mate’ why haven’t you introduced
me to her yet? I’ve met Jierra; why not her mother?
Green eyes narrowed as she looked at him for a
long moment. Her eyes widened and a small smile stretched her lips.
A smirk, the expression one he had seen on her face many times
before. And always directed at him.
You’re
afraid to introduce me! You, big bad vampire, are afraid!
Why?

We will not discuss it
now.
He would not burden her with her
grandfather’s sins again; especially while she lay injured in his
bed.
And I am not afraid.

When?

When you are well. Now, do you want to study
your injuries, or not?

She did want to see, take stock of her
condition for herself. Why did she not hurt as much as she should
have? According to what she had read in the medical books of the
Dardaptoan race, she should be in excruciating pain.

Five lacerations ran across
her abdomen, but none showed signs of infection. In fact, they
looked too good. As if they had happened two or three days
ago.
Am I supposed to heal this quickly? It
was just a few hours ago that those
things
attacked me, right?

Twenty-one hours ago. And
what do you mean, healing this quickly?
He
tugged her hand away from the largest of the lacerations.
Let me see.

It’s already clotted over. I thought your
books said that wasn’t possible?

It’s not. Our people do not clot blood. The
skin heals over wounds by growing over the stitches.

Not like this. Do not move, I am calling for
the healers.

Is this something to be
concerned about? Is it possible I am still human?
Josey was afraid to let that hope sink in. But, if
she was still human…what would it mean for her?
You are no longer human, but this…is unheard of.
Unless…
His gold eyes narrowed as he looked
at her.

Unless what? Tell me. You’re thinking
something, I know you are!

Did one of those bastards bite you?
Anywhere?

Josey’s breath caught as she
thought back to the attack. She forced herself to control her
breathing, using the techniques she was taught in medical school.
She gave his question serious consideration.
No. No, they didn’t. Why?

She didn’t miss the way he
relaxed.
When a Lupoiux bites a creature of
another Kind, the victim may change, convert, to Lupoiux. Lupoiux
heal three times as fast as Dardaptoans. But you are certain none
bit you?

I don’t think so. Help me
look.
She couldn’t be a werewolf, too.
Would converting to a werewolf hurt as much as changing to a
vampire?
I do not want to be one of those
things!

Hurry.

She waited while he tugged
the soft blanket back.
Hurry!

Shh. I do not see
anything.
His hands were gentle as he ran
them over her back and down both of her legs.
They did not bite you. They did not want you turning, if you
survived.

What
did
they want with me? Why were they
in your garden?

I do not know, but I
promise
you this, I will
find out why and will kill anyone else responsible!