Page 53 of His Temporary Alpha Mate
I felt lower than low for doing this to him. It was a stupid risk for me to take, especially so close to his heat.
“Will I be okay for his heat? I don’t want to let him down.”
“Like I care about my heat!” Dalton raged as he crossed the room to stand next to my bed again. “This,” he waved at my face, “makes me sick to my stomach! I hate the thought of you in pain!” His tears were flowing freely down his cheeks onto his rumpled shirt. “You must have been so scared!”
Unable to stand the distance between us anymore, I reached for him. The tubes and wires tugged at my skin, but the flash of pain they caused was nothing compared to what I felt through our bond.
My injuries terrified Dalton. If I had any doubt about how he felt about me, it vanished then. Maybe hewasn’t ready to say it, to even admit it to himself. He loved me. I knew it for certain.
“Come here,” I whispered, grasping his arms and trying to pull him onto the bed with me.
“Wait! I’ll do it.” Dalton climbed up beside me, snuggling his head on my chest. “I could shift, then I’d fit better.”
“No, I want you to stay like this.”
“Be back soon. No more moving, Larken. Okay?”
I nodded at my nurse. James left us alone to get Aldrin.
“You should be able to come home tonight. They’ve healed the worst of your injuries, the rest are superficial.” Dalton’s voice was hollow against my throat.
“What happened? I blacked out.”
“There was an explosion. The aviary shifters were hurt but managed to shift and fly away. They left you and the others with you in the truck. It—it caught fire. Luckily, the elves were there. They used magic to put the fire out. Ricky and Rudi helped them get you through the portal.”
“So the load—“
“Lark, I swear to the goddess, if you ask me about that, I’ll scream!”
“Again.”
“Yes, again! You’re infuriating. None of us give a shit about the load.” Goddess, I was struggling so hard not to laugh. He was too damn cute. “Which is fine, by the way. Ugh! You make me so mad!”
“I’m sorry. It shouldn’t…” I trailed off. That wasn’t what I wanted to say. I wasn’t about to make excuses for how things went. Not when I didn’t have to offer to go. “I shouldn’t have gone,” I said softly into his hair.
“Damn right you shouldn’t.”
“The pack needs that order.”
“Someone else could have done it.” Dalton stiffened with anger. I had this mental image of him bristling like a cat that I tried not to share down our mating bond. My lizard found it amusing. Dalton would not.
“We were tight on time. So I offered,” I admitted.
“There has to be a better way of doing things. I’ll find a way.” Even without looking at him, I knew his jaw was set with determination as his tears dried.
“Knock, knock,” Chase called from the open doorway. “Can I come in?”
“Chase, tell him he’s not going on anymore of these missions,” Dalton ordered.
“Larken, you are officially grounded. Dally-Do is right. I told you that you shouldn’t be leaving the compound. Your overconfidence nearly got you and three other enforcers killed.”
Fuck. My stomach fell to my feet.
“Hey!” Dalton bolted upright and was in Chase’s face in the blink of an eye. “You’re not putting this on him! Was he in charge of planning the routes? Did he have all the necessary information? The system is flawed.”
Chase held up his hands. “Chill!” He laughed. “I was told you were screaming and I didn’t believe it. Not my Dalton, he would never cause a scene!”
Dalton looked on the verge of murder, but ignored his boss teasing him. “Chase, you better not be blaming Lark for this shit show!”
