Swallowing His Pride (23 page)

“But he’s dangerous,” the doctor argued, stepping forward again, only to stop when Jag crouched. “See? He’s ready to attack me already, and I’m a shifter. I can’t leave a human alone with him in this condition. He could kill you!”

Lynn knew this. She wasn’t stupid though, and it was obvious he was more interested in protecting her than attacking. “I’ll be fine,” she replied, looking to Liam and hoping he saw the plea in her eyes.

“We won’t go far,” Liam promised. “You call out, and we’ll be here in a heartbeat.”

“Thank you.”

Both men backed from the room, clearly not wanting to give Jag an opening to spring on them. The door closed, and they were alone. She edged forward slowly so as not to spook him in any way. To her surprise, he allowed it, and even followed by her side when she came to the empty examining table. He kept his attention divided between her and the shifter on the gurney, but the other cat appeared to be out cold at the moment.

“Jag?” He looked up at her then, no hint of aggression present in his expression. She was relieved. “Can you please change back? You’re hurt, and I want to help you, but I don’t think I can do that with you as a cat.”

She watched as he looked around the room again, his eyes lingering on the unconscious feline for a moment before he shook his head. The next thing she knew he was on the ground, the sound of bones snapping overly loud in the otherwise quiet room. Within moments, he was back in human form, and Lynn got her first look at the level of damage he’d sustained.

“Oh, damn,” she gasped.

Long angry gashes crossed his stomach where it appeared the other shifter had tried to gut him. More slashes marred his back, and there were deep punctures to his left leg where he’d been bitten.

She’d seen how quickly these guys could heal, so she could only imagine what these wounds must have looked like hours ago. The thought was chilling.

He lay there with his eyes closed, his breathing heavy and fists clenched. She was sure he was awake but gave him a minute to compose himself, knowing the level of pain he was experiencing was something she never wanted to feel herself.

When his eyes opened, he looked her over before struggling to his feet using the gurney for support. He faced her again. “Please tell me I didn’t hurt you.”

Confused, Lynn looked down. “This is your blood. You kept rubbing up against me when I first came in,” she explained. His eyes widened, and she hurried to fill him in, since it looked as though he didn’t really remember much. “You were freaking out when Dr. Lewis tried to give you a shot to calm you down.”

“The last I remember, I was holding the rogue down while the doc sedated him,” he explained, nodding toward the feline across the room. “The doc came toward me with another syringe, and the jaguar took over from there.” Jag shook his head as if he was trying to clear it. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t know what to expect coming in here. Liam just told me you were hurt and in trouble. I ran straight over here to help.” She gestured to the side table. “Can I get you cleaned up and bandaged now? I’d hate for you to scar because they weren’t properly closed.”

When he shrugged and hopped up onto the table, she took that as a “yes”. The doctor had left out some sutures, butterfly strips and enough gauze to wrap Jag like a mummy. Seeing the syringe he’d also left on the counter, Lynn slipped it into her pocket, lest Jag see it and panic on her. She had no intention of sedating him, ever.

“Let me get some Lidocaine to numb around the worst of these so I can stitch them up. I think he keeps it in the cabinet over there.”

She’d only gone halfway when she heard Jag snarl behind her. Spinning to see what was the matter, she came face-to-face with the massive cat that had somehow come to and managed to launch itself at her.

Lynn hit the floor with a painful thwack. Her head bouncing off the linoleum floor, as stars burst behind her lids. An immense pressure on her chest had her forcing her eyes open only to find the bloody feline had her pinned down with his giant paw.

Jag was still in his human form, a scalpel in his hand as he growled. The shifter above her began to change, his paw shrinking down to a hand that slid up to grip her throat, even as his gaze stayed on the weapon held by the man that was her only hope at surviving.

“You don’t want to be doing that,
Jag
,” the man sneered. “It would be a pity if I were to accidentally snap the neck of your weak human mate.”

“She’s not my mate.”

“Please, she’s covered in your scent.”

“She was tending to my wounds, you idiot. That’s my blood all over her.”

“Sorry, I’m not buying it. I think this little lady is about to be my ticket out of here,” he said, jerking her up and onto her shaky legs.

The sudden movement had her vision blurring and the throbbing in her head doubled. Her hand bumped her side, and Lynn felt the syringe. It was a long shot, but a chance she was willing to take to avoid being kidnapped by this psychopath.

He now had his hand wrapped around the upper part of her left arm, leaving her right free.
I guess he’s not worried about the little human hurting him
, she thought.
Well, let’s see what he thinks about this
.

Flicking the cap of with her thumb, Lynn spun forward, putting her body right in front of his as she plunged the needle into his chest, depressing the plunger with one sharp thrust of her thumb.

Enraged, the man screamed as he grabbed both her arms and threw her into the wall. The impact drove the air from her lungs, and Lynn sank to the floor in a heap, her vision dimming. Just before the lights went out, she saw Jag approach the now unconscious shifter and snap his neck before coming over to her.

“Lynn?” He cradled her to him, and she couldn’t remember ever feeling so safe in all her life. It was the only reason she went willingly into the darkness that offered a reprieve from the pain.

About the Author

Hello everyone! As some of you may know, I am a mother of two who is married to her high school sweetheart. I work full-time as a medical secretary in a local hospital, and my dream is to be able to be a full-time writer, so that I can get more of these stories out of my head and onto your kindles. Trust me, it’s crazy in there!

I’m currently writing paranormal romance, but hope to venture into contemporary soon. The paranormal element allows me to give reality a new depth by integrating these fascinating creatures into my everyday world. I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t want a little excitement added into their everyday life?

I’m still new to the writing world, and who knows where it will all take me? But I’m having fun nevertheless, and if people enjoy reading my work, then it’s all been worth it.

HAPPY READING!!

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