Page 78 of Savage Torment

“No, it was, uhh…” Instead of trying to explain, I tilt my wrist for him to see the tiny scratch mark that remains.

Asher’s gaze narrows for a split second as he assesses me before offering one curt nod.

Silence descends over the room again as Lincoln continues to tap away on his cell phone, and a thought comes to mind.

“Where’s Minnie? Is she okay? I couldn’t find Bryony anywhere. One minute she was there, the next she was gone.That asshole, Foster, too,” I add with a grumble, and a slight grimace washes over Tatum’s face as I peer at him.

“Bryony is back at the medical center. Minnie is with her.”

“What? Why? Is she hurt?”

“I don’t know,” he admits, eyeing Asher for a second before returning his gaze back to me. “Same thing as last time, I think.”

“They have to find out what’s wrong with her,” I insist, worry tightening my chest, and Asher sighs.

“I think we all know what’s wrong with her.”

My eyebrows furrow as I gape at him. “Speak for yourself.”

He cocks a brow at me. “She’s struggling with being light-headed, feeling faint, and an unbearable pain in her head,” he rattles off as though that will make sense to me, but I’m drawing a blank. When it’s clear I don’t get it, he rises to his feet and leans slightly so we’re eye to eye. “I think she’s a center, just like you.”

My feet achewith every step I take as I rush through the medical center doors and barrel into the waiting room like a crazy woman, but I don’t care. My friend is…is she? I don’t know. All I know is that she needs me.

Tatum looks for someone to speak to, and I head straight for the next set of doors that lead to the medical rooms, but I barely make it two steps over the threshold before Foster is in my face. Rage consumes his features as his hands ball into fists at his sides.

“You’re not welcome here,” he snarls, but before I can say a word in response, I feel Wylder press against my back.

“Step the fuck back.Now.Before I do it for you,” he warns, and Foster gulps, taking a single step back as he folds his arms over his chest.

“There. Now, fuck off,” he grunts, unwavering on the matter, and a nurse rounds the corner a moment later. “Can we escort them out? They’re not part of the coven,” he states. She turns to look at me apologetically, and I quickly realize it’s the same nurse that helped me.

“Polaris, you’re looking much better,” she starts politely, but the way her mouth sits in a thin line confirms she’s about to agree with Foster. “Unfortunately, I can’t let you in here to see Bryony without consent from her coven. I have a wolf in there, but as I said, coven approved,” she states, nodding toward Foster, and I shake my head in disbelief, even though I knew it was coming. Dammit. “Unless you have proof of any relationship that may be able to aid you, bound or otherwise, then I will have to ask you to get comfortable in the waiting room.”

My shoulders sag with disappointment and I turn for the exit, but I can’t move because Wylder doesn’t get the hint. He remains exactly where he is, only now we’re chest to chest.

“I think we can clear this up, ma’am,” he states, glancing over my shoulder before turning his attention to me. “You have a bound contact, Little Witch,” he states, raising an eyebrow at me, and it takes far longer than I care to admit to put two and two together.

“Oh.”

Pulling my cell phone from my pocket, I search for the name Blaze said he stored his information under; Tuum. Weird, but it’s Blaze. I’m sure there’s a meaning there, but that’s for another time.

Clicking on his name, I type out a message.

Polaris: Hey, my friend is in the medical center, and her coven is refusing to let me see her. I think the nurse is hinting that you can help me out… can you?

Three dots immediately flash at the bottom of the screen, confirming an instant response.

Tuum: Done.

I blink at the message, surprised, and a split second later, the sound of a telephone ringing echoes around the room. I peer over my shoulder at the nurse who tries to hide a smile from her face as she hurries over to the telephone secured on the wall farther down the hallway.

I can’t hear what she says, but she only speaks for a brief moment before she replaces the handset and makes her way back toward us.

“I apologize for the delay, Miss Beauchamp. Access has been granted,” she states, and Foster gasps.

“What the fuck? She can’t overrule a coven,” he snaps, and the nurse shrugs.

“Unfortunately for you, she can,” she retorts, giving him a pointed look before turning her attention back to me. “Please, follow me.”