Page 30 of Smoke and Mirrors
“He’s not in any pain right now,” the doctor assured me. “I’ll authorize a morphine drip for tomorrow when he wakes up.”
“Thank you again,” I looked up at him with heartfelt gratitude.
He nodded curtly. “I’ll give you two a moment alone.”
Except for the beeping machines and Connor’s breathing, silence filled the room when he left.
“Hey babe,” I whispered, approaching the hospital bed. “You’re gonna lose your shit when you wake up in here.”
A giggle escaped me as I took his hand. I was exhausted and still worried, but that didn’t make the mental image of Connor flipping out at being in the hospital any less funny.
“I don’t care if we get stuck with some huge hospital bill,” I told his sleeping form. “No price is too high to have you come back to me.” My hand drifted up to his handsome face and stroked his cheek. “But you’vegotto take your ex fiancee off your emergency contact form.”
15
RAZVAN
Mel came out and updated us on Connor’s condition a half hour later. She wanted to spend the night at the hospital but Hunter and I convinced her to come back to the carnival campgrounds.
“You need to sleep, steluta,” I told her. “And shower and change clothes.”
“But I…” Her lower lip wobbled and she sucked in a breath. My heart ached for her but my dragon flared with jealousy. She cared about him so much. I had to remind the beast inside me that she had every reason to.
“I don’t want to be alone,” she admitted.
“You won’t be.” I pulled her into my arms. “We’ll get your things from Connor’s and then you’re staying with me.”
She stiffened a little, but I sensed it was more out of surprise than anything else. Then I felt her head nod against my chest. Good. I made a point of telling her and not asking.
“I’m staying with you, too!” Hunter’s young son, a spitting image of the tall pale wolf, wrapped his arm around Mel’s leg and hugged tightly. His daughter soon followed suit on Mel’s other leg.
“Guys.” Hunter kneeled beside his children to speak to them. “We’re going home for the night and then tomorrow—”
“No, it’s fine, Hunter,” I told him. “You’re all welcome to stay. I have a tent they can use.”
He looked up at me, eyes sharp. “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re not imposing. Mel needs us right now. All of us.”
His lip curled into the barest hint of a snarl as he stared me down. We couldn’t work it out here in a human hospital, but I knew what he was doing. I returned his gaze, my own stare unflinching. Although we were completely different species, his wolf and my dragon understood each other.
Bringing his children into my territory, a foreign place without him sniffing out first, was a risk. He was letting me know what he would do if I ever compromised their safety. And I let him know that while they would be just as safe as Mel, it wasmyterritory and I was the alpha there, no matter who else came in.
Hunter put his teeth away and lowered his eyes, accepting my offer and my position over him while we were there. It would be the exact opposite if I were to stay in his space.
With that settled, we all dragged our feet out of the hospital.
“The carnival is getting torn down tomorrow,” Nigel told us when we reached the parking lot. “But I’ll work it out with the county that y’all can stay until Connor is fit to be discharged. I know someone who’ll give me wiggle room on the permits.”
“Thank you, Nigel, for everything,” Mel released me and went to hug our manager. He reeled back, startled, then awkwardly patted her back.
“Ah, come here you old slave driver.” I pulled him into another unwanted hug as soon as Mel released him. Although he worked behind the scenes, Nigel was a hero to improving work conditions for carnival performers. Unbeknownst to him, he was an ally to shifters as well.
He literally pulled me out of a wooden crate at one of the most vile carnivals in the country. As far as he knew, he was rescuing exploited immigrant workers. He even taught me English. Little did he know how much more he was doing. At least five other shifters had been with me, but all were too proud to accept help from a human. They went their separate ways and I often wondered if they remained free like I was. Especially Arjun, that damn tiger shifter. A powerful beast but too strong willed for his own good.
“I’ll count up your paychecks tonight,” Nigel said when he finally wrangled himself away from me. A grim look crossed over his face. “I’ll give y’all as much as I can, but I gotta be honest. The closing show going down like this isn’t gonna be good.”
“I’m fine with that,” Mel said quickly. “We’ll figure it out.”
