Page 6 of Faerie Hunted

When I initially used my mental manipulation on the direwolf, Bronwen and Melia were the first people I told.

She reached out for my hand, and it took an inordinate amount of effort to lift my arm even just to touch my fingertips to hers.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I said.

“Where else would I be? I heard about you fainting and I came right away. Like I’d let you stay in this place without someone to keep an eye on you. Well, two someones. Noren does an amazing job.” She stood and placed her hand on my forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel like shit. Actually, I haven’t been right for a couple of days. It’s like the flu on steroids.”

I dropped back down against the pillows, blinking away the sudden burning in my eyes.

And my arm, too. It was bandaged at my side and the skin beneath the wrapping felt like I’d held it over a fire and watched my skin crackle and split.

“What’s going on?” I asked Bronwen.

Her brows knitted together and she stared at me. Then realization clicked in.

“You mean your arm? It’s an infected wound. I’ve been here long enough to watch them clean and rewrap it three times now. Which the nurse assures me they’ve been doing for days.”

“What do you mean,for days?” I bolted upright and jostled Noren in the process.

His expression barely changed—he was a wolf, after all—but I swore he frowned at me for the imposition.

“You’ve been unconscious for, like, four days now, dude. The hospital staff aren’t really sure what’s going on or why.” Bronwen gnawed on the inside of her cheek. “They also don’t have a clue why your shifter abilities aren’t healing you the way they should.”

Well, that was troubling.

My shifter healing abilities had gotten me out of way too many scrapes in the past for me to be able to operate without them now.

And where the hell had they gone in the first place?

Ice crystalized in my veins and at the same time the palms of both hands were hot and clammy.

Was something wrong with my wolf?

“The infected wound is from where zombie Madam Muerte bit me,” I admitted softly.

The grave expression looked out of place on Bronwen’s face, and for a moment her eyes darkened and I wondered what the hell she was hiding.

Then she smiled at me and any trace of what I’d seen disappeared.

She settled back down in her chair. “If anyone can figure out what’s going on, it’s the doctors here. The Claw & Fang aren’t fucking around. They know their stuff. Oh, and I told Melia what’s going on.”

A small measure of relief stole over me.

“Thanks.”

“Mike’s been in and out to check on you, too. He really is a hunk, and a caring one as well. It’s a rare combination.” The observation was her attempt to diffuse the tension thickening the air between us. “I know I had some issues with him at first but I think I may actually like him now.”

A rush of panic overtook me. “I had another training session with Coral. If I’ve been here for days, then I must have missed it. Did you tell Coral?”

Bronwen rolled her eyes.

“You have to tell her.”

“Ugh. Fine. Okay?Fine. I’ll go call her now, but you’ll owe me.”

I owed her so much more than even Bronwen knew.

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