Bitten By Mistake (30 page)

“I don’t understand.”

Gareth took hold of Jared’s elbow and pulled him to one side. “You might not be a full shifter, but you have enough of Nathan’s shifter enzymes working inside you to make your bond a strong one. He needs that right now, needs your strength to keep him going long enough for his body to heal itself.”

“How?”

Gareth glanced over at where Tim and Luke had carefully rolled Nathan over, and were busily tending to the nasty wound on his shoulder. Jared caught a flash of white and quickly averted his gaze. “When Tim’s finished with him, we’ll get this bed cleaned up and you can lie with him. It’ll be instinctive. The connection between the two of you should be enough for the bond to do what it’s supposed to do.”

Jared frowned as irritation threatened to make him lash out. “Are you being intentionally vague? Because now really isn’t the time.”

Gareth rubbed at his forehead. His hands and arms—well, most of him—were covered in what was probably Nathan’s blood. “I’ve never experienced it myself, so I don’t know how best to describe it.”

Gareth looked tired, worn out to the point of exhaustion, and Jared wondered if he had been involved in the fight at the warehouse. As a beta and team leader, he must have been, but how did he come to have Nathan with him and why didn’t the rogue shifters finish Nathan off when they took the van?

Jared’s head spun with unanswered questions, but one look at Gareth told him now was not the time for that either.

Gareth sighed and leaned back on the wall, his gaze fixed on Tim. “From what I’ve heard and read, it’s not the most pleasant of experiences, but not unbearable.”

“I don’t care.” Jared struggled to hold in the emotion tumbling around inside him. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

With a grim smile, Gareth reached out and grasped Jared’s shoulder. “Good.”

Over an hour later, Nathan was clean, stitched up, bandaged and shot full of morphine. Tim stretched and cracked his neck before packing the last of his equipment away. “The morphine should help a little, but his body will burn through it quickly. I also gave him a shot of antibiotics to—”

“I thought shifters didn’t catch diseases?” Jared perched on the edge of the bed—also now clean—with a hand on Nathan’s ankle.

“They don’t normally, but he’s in such a bad state, I thought it couldn’t hurt.”

Jared didn’t argue with that logic.

Tim turned to Gareth. “I’ll be back in the morning to check on them both. Are you staying?”

Gareth nodded. “Yeah. Luke and I will take turns through the night.”

“Good, if Nathan deteriorates or—” He glanced quickly at Jared, then away again. “Just call me, okay?”

“Okay.”

Jared looked between the three of them, certain he’d missed something. “I know you’re all worried about Nathan, but I can call if his condition changes.”

Gareth grimaced, and Tim shook his head with a wry smile. “Once it starts, you won’t be leaving that bed until Nathan’s either recovered or dead.”

Speechless, Jared watched Gareth escort the doctor to the door.

Luke came to stand beside him. “You’ll be okay. The bond between you and Nathan….” A soft smiled curled the corners of his mouth. “It’ll be enough.”

“I fucking hope so.” The alternative wasn’t something he could cope with.

Jared left Gareth and Luke in the living room and returned to Nathan’s bedside. As he undressed, he watched his mate, still unconscious but at least not covered in blood or with any bone on show. Jared shuddered every time he thought of that; it was likely burned into his memory for a long time to come.

Pulling back the quilt, he climbed in bed with a mixture of trepidation and excitement—not exactly frightened of what might happen next, but the unknown always made him wary.

Nathan lay naked next to him, and being careful not to touch any of his injuries, Jared scooted as close as he dared. He felt the warmth from Nathan’s body, though only their feet touched until he reached out to take Nathan’s hand in his.

Cuts and grazes littered the skin around Nathan’s knuckles—his body was working too hard healing everything else to get to those yet—so Jared linked their fingers loosely. Even that small amount of contact felt good after everything that had happened. The bond flared between them, and Jared sighed as though the weight of the world had lifted from his shoulders. Then he closed his eyes.

For the first few minutes, it felt like it always did between them: that weird mix of possessive protectiveness combined with the security of knowing Nathan would always be there for him. Slowly, as though someone was dragging Jared into the mattress, he began to feel heavy. An ache crept into his muscles, not exactly painful, but not pleasant either. Tiredness made his mind drift, he wasn’t asleep, but close to it, as though whatever state he was in right then, sleep was just around the corner yet out of reach. The ache moved into his bones, and all at once he felt a stab of pain in his shoulder, thigh, and stomach, and his eyes jerked open for a second until it passed. The intensity rose and fell in waves, and Jared’s consciousness ebbed and flowed along with it.

He had no concept of time; the assault on his body dulled his mind. Now and again he heard voices or sensed movement close by, but the only things that mattered, the things he clung to through it all, were the feel of Nathan’s fingers in his and the constant reassuring pull of their bond.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“Fucking finally.”

Nathan opened one eye to see Luke peering over at him from the doorway. He tried to speak, but his mouth was so dry he almost gagged.

“Shit, hang on.” Luke rushed forward and picked up a glass of water from the bedside table. He pushed the straw against Nathan’s lips. “That’s enough for now,” he said after a few sips, and set the glass back down.

Nathan would have protested, but the effort to sit up and drink had taken most of his strength. Everything hurt. He didn’t think there was one part of his body that didn’t feel as though it a bull had trampled him.

Jared moaned in his sleep and Nathan turned to look at him. His face was pale in the dim light of the bedroom; a sheen of sweat coated his forehead.

Nathan’s heart stuttered. He quickly glanced up at Luke. “Is he sick?”

Luke shook his head. “Just tired and drained from helping you heal.”

“The bond?”

“Yeah. You were in a pretty bad way when we found you.” He reached out and gently nudged Nathan’s arm. “Needed a little help to avoid dying.”

Nathan huffed out a laugh, then winced as his shoulder twinged. He closed his eyes, trying to sort out the last thing he remembered.
The van… claws, teeth… footsteps….
“They took the van. I remember that.”

Luke eyed him curiously. “What else do you remember?”

“There were two of them. We fought. I managed to get away, but one of them was closing fast. I was certain he was going to catch me. I think I felt him grab hold of my arm, but after that… nothing.”

He met Luke’s gaze. “How did you find me?” Then everything else came back to him in a rush. “
Oh shit
. The rogue pack—are they dead?” He managed to push himself up onto one elbow. What happened?”

“They took the van straight back to the warehouse and opened up the doors to let us in. As I understand it, it wasn’t pretty, but it was fast.”

“Fuck. Did we lose anyone?”

Luke sighed. “Three people from our pack, and two from Primrose Hill. But the rogue pack are gone.”

Nathan almost didn’t want to ask who they’d lost. Even though he could think of a few in the Primrose Hill pack he’d rather never lay eyes on again, he wouldn’t wish them dead. “Who?”

Luke listed off the names. Nathan felt a sliver of guilt when relief swept through him. None of them were from his own unit.

“Injuries?”

Luke grimaced. “Lots. Although you were by far the worst. For a minute there, I thought we’d lost you.” He reached out and grabbed Nathan’s hand.

They sat like that for a few moments.

Nathan gave Luke’s fingers a squeeze. “You never answered my question. How did you find me? And what did you mean by ‘as you understand.’ Weren’t you there?”

“Not exactly, no.” Luke sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “You didn’t think Gareth was going to leave you to die, did you? Not if there was a chance he could save you.” He shook his head and glanced down at the floor. “We watched the tracker on your van, so we knew where you were. Gareth had to be ready to attack the warehouse, but as soon as you radioed in, he had me and Kara go and wait on opposite ends of your road, just out of scent range, in the hope that you’d be able to make a break for it. I could hear the fight, though. If Gareth hadn’t forbidden us from going to help you, I’d have been right there.” He swallowed and wouldn’t meet Nathan’s gaze. “I’m so sorry, but he ordered us, and I couldn’t—”

“I know. You couldn’t disobey a direct command from him. And I imagine Gareth had something similar from Cam. It’s okay Luke, I understand.” He smiled when Luke eventually raised his head. “You did save me, and I’m so fucking thankful.”

Luke grinned. “It wiped the smile of that wanker’s face who was chasing you. That hug this morning must have left enough of my scent on you that he didn’t realise I was there. He rounded that corner after you, so convinced he was about to kill you, and met me instead.”

Nathan remembered the hand on his arm. “Was that you who grabbed me?”

“Yeah. You were about to hit the pavement.”

“Thank you.” Nathan relaxed back onto the pillows with a groan. “I still feel like shit, though.”

“You still look like shit.” Luke gestured at Jared’s sleeping form. “If it weren’t for him, you’d be feeling a hell of a lot worse.”

“I know.” Nathan brushed back a lock of blond hair from Jared’s forehead. The dark roots were more obvious now, and he played with a few strands between his fingers. “I felt him. Well, I felt something pull me up out of the darkness, and I knew it was him.”

“Have you…?” Luke stopped, fidgeted in his seat, and then started again. “Have you considered what might happen after the full moon if he doesn’t change, or if the bond…you know?”

“Honestly? I’ve been trying not to think about it.” Nathan stroked his finger down the soft skin of Jared’s cheek. “I never wanted a bond, at least not yet, anyway. And never with a human. But now that I’ve got it—” Closing his eyes didn’t stop the tears from leaking out behind his lashes. “—I can’t lose him, Luke. I just can’t.”

Luke didn’t say anything. He put his hand on Nathan’s and gave it a squeeze. “I’m going to go tell Gareth and the doc that you’re awake. They’ll want to check you both over when Jared wakes up. And he needs to get some food inside him. You know how rough it’s going to be for him in a few days’ time.” He stood and stretched, the cracking of his back made Nathan think he’d been there a while. “Be back in a bit.”

“Okay.” Nathan watched Luke leave, and closed his eyes. No point being awake if Jared wasn’t.

Soft fingers running through his hair woke Nathan sometime later. He opened his eyes and turned to the side to find Jared staring back at him. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Jared trailed his hand down to cup Nathan’s cheek. “How’re you feeling?” He traced what Nathan assumed must be faded bruises on the edge on his jaw and cheek, then leaned in for a kiss.

Nathan hummed into it, but his attempts to deepen it were thwarted by Jared pulling back. “Not too bad, but I could be feeling a lot better.” He gave Jared what he hoped was a suggestive look and figured he’d succeeded when Jared grinned at him and leaned in to kiss him again.

“Tempting, but I think it’ll be a while before you’re up for anything like that.” Jared’s smile faded as his gaze dropped to the bandages on Nathan’s shoulder and stomach. “Jesus, Nathan. I’ve never seen so much blood.” With tentative fingers, he traced the edges of the white padding. “I could see down to the bone, for fuck’s sake.” He closed his eyes for a second and bit his lip.

Nathan let him compose himself before reaching out with his thumb to tug Jared’s bottom lip from between his teeth. “I’m going to be okay, though. Thanks to you.”

Jared scoffed. “I think you’ll find it was Gareth and Luke who dragged you back here, and then Dr Walters who put you back together. All I did was lie down next to you and fall asleep.”

Something wasn’t right. Jared wouldn’t look at him, and Nathan couldn’t handle him pulling away after everything they’d been through. “Jared, please listen to me.” He waited until Jared nodded. “I was lost in a world of darkness until I felt our connection tugging in my chest. If it weren’t for that pull, tethering me to you, I don’t think we’d be lying here having this conversation. I’m not saying the others didn’t save me too, but without you, their efforts would have been in vain.”

Jared’s breath hitched, and he reached under the covers to rest his hand where Nathan’s heart beat soundly. “The full moon’s almost here, Nathan. I’m scared.”

Jared looked up, and the desperation in his eyes made Nathan wish he’d never bitten him, never put him in this position. Even if that meant losing this. “I know, and I’m so sorry. The last thing you want is to be a shifter, but—”

Jared shook his head sharply. “No, I don’t care about that.”

“Then what?” Nathan frowned, hope blooming in his chest.

“I’m scared that I’ll wake up and there’ll be this big empty space here—” He pressed gently against Nathan’s chest. “—where I should be.”

Fuck.

Nathan put his hand over Jared’s and kissed him again. “I’m scared of that too.”

Gareth, Luke, and Tim came by later that day to check on them, and despite being dehydrated and weak, they were as well as could be expected. Nathan and Jared’s only jobs for the next few days were to rest, eat, and drink plenty of fluids—and that was all. Nothing strenuous for the next few days.

Nathan, eyeing Jared as he spoke, said, “What about…?”

Tim looked nonplussed, and then “Yes, Nathan, ‘nothing strenuous’ means no sex, of any kind.”