Page 85 of Witch Untold
Oh, thank God.
“That’s the spirit!” Mel patted Sloane’s hand. “I’ll run some final tests and arrange for blood to be delivered to Grimswood on a monthly basis. We can provide a cold storage unit too…”
Sloane pushed off the sheet covering her. “Yeah…whatever. I just…I want to go home.”
Her voice cracked slightly, and my heart went out to her.
Mel nodded. “Your clothes were ruined, but there are some fresh clothes that should fit you on the chair. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.”
She left the room.
Sloane got out of bed and headed for the chair. They’d stripped her to her underwear of femme boxers and sports bra. Her body was all lean muscle as she dressed in angry, jerky movements, her back to me.
Yeah, she was so not okay with this.
I set Wren on the bed. “One moment, buddy.”
He tore his gaze from Sloane and raised huge, sad eyes to mine. “Sloane not happy at all,” he whispered.
No, she wasn’t, and there was nothing I could say that would help. But I had to try. Her body tensed as I approached.
“I’m fine, Cora,” she said tightly.
“What? No Cupcake?” I injected a teasing tone into my voice.
Her shoulders slumped. “You should stay away from me.”
“Kinda hard considering we work together.”
“Work is fine, but other than that, I don’t want you around.”
Her words stabbed me in the chest. “Why would you say that? We’re more than work colleagues. We’re friends.”
She exhaled heavily. “You won’t be safe with me. Not any longer.”
“What the heck?”
She fisted her hands. “Mel said the bloodlust would be stronger when fueled by emotions like rage and desire.” She turned to face me, electric blues so dark they were almost indigo. “Do I have to fucking spell it out for you?”
My heart stuttered and then my pulse did the fandango. No, I didn’t need her to spell it out for me, because it was written all over her face.
“Sloane…” Words tangled on my tongue and a cocktail of emotions churned in my chest.
I cared about this woman, desired her, and she desired me…cared about me, and—
“Don’t.” She turned her head away. “It can’t happen, so don’t. Let’s just go home.” She shrugged on her jacket, the only item of clothing that wasn’t ruined. “When the Sons of Adam find the bastard that did this to me, I want to watch them put him down.”
And I intended to be by her side when that happened. Not just to watch Razor Smile get taken down, but to make sure the Sons of Adam kept their fangs out of her.
They wanted her dead, and I wasn’t entirely sure removing the original strain of infection from her system was going to be enough for them.
But I’d make damn sure I found out.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“How is she?” Tor asked down the phone.
“As fine as can be expected. She’s all mission control now.”
