Page 9 of Hart's Redemption

The last door.

I held up the card to the reader, and it beeped softly. My hand trembled as I pushed open the only thing separating me from Josh. The door shut with a near-silent kiss of air. Not silent enough, though.

Josh’s gaze immediately swung to me. The growl that rolled out of him was a clear warning to keep my distance.

I held my hands low in a placating gesture and took a tentative step forward. “It’s me, Josh. You don’t want to hurt me, remember? You made me a promise.”

A ripple passed over him, and the growl faded. He took a hesitant step forward, nose outstretched, seeking my scent.

“That’s it, moonbeam.”

Josh let out a yelp as he crumpled to the ground.

Rather than rush towards him, I hit the privacy filter. No doubt there were still cameras that could witness what was happening, but I wouldn’t make it easy for them.

A whimper assaulted my ears, but I still ignored it, this time reaching for the lights. I held down the control until a false night submerged the room.

It took only a few blinks to adjust my vision to the new dark. Several meters away, Josh’s form heaved off the ground and twisted into unnatural contortions. His black fur, which blended so well with the darkness, melted away to reveal bones moving beneath pale flesh.

Time stretched as I watched and waited for Josh to finish the arduous process of shifting back into a man. At last, a much more human gasp emerged from the huddled mass of limbs.

I eased the lights up to allow for some visibility and to reassure the doctors on the other side that both of us were alive. I took a few steps to grab the blanket left for him to sleep on. Then, I cautiously approached.

Josh pushed himself up on arms that shook, his chest still heaving from exertion. Sweat coated his body; the outline of his ribs clearly visible beneath the fresh layer of skin.

For the first time, I realized just how much weight he’d lost while here. I knew they’d had trouble getting him to eat, but didn’t know how bad it had gotten. My jaw tightened with determination. I took another slow step towards him, then another and another, until I was practically on top of him. Without a word, I sat down and waited, the blanket spread on my lap.

His green eyes were still a bit dazed as he tilted his head to look at me. “Elijah?”

“Hey, moonbeam.”

Chapter 4

Josh

Once,Dr.Florence’scold,calculated approach would have impressed me. Now, it was just pissing me off. I’d had all of three seconds to register waking up in Elijah’s arms before I’d been whisked off, blanket and all. The next few hours consisted of being forced to eat virtually twice my body weight in vitamin-enriched protein, scrubbed within an inch of my life, and hooked up to every monitor known to man. That had been a week ago.

I didn’t even wince as Dr. Florence dug a needle in my arm for yet another sample of blood. Though what she could deduce from this one that she hadn’t from the first thirty-seven was beyond me. It was a miracle I had any blood left to give. As ifall the poking and prodding wasn’t bad enough, I’d yet to see hide nor hair of Elijah, though I didn’t believe he’d left. The occasional whiff of his scent or glimpse of his passing stymied my confidence that he continued to lurk around the ward. He was one of the few things that didn’t smell of disinfectant or harsh sterilizing agents.

The memory of his unique smell fogged my mind. Asleep, I’d been convinced I was lying in a sun-warmed field after a summer rain. The thick richness of it had seeped into every pore, spreading warmth and comfort everywhere it settled. I hadn’t even been surprised when I blinked my eyes open to find Elijah’s warm cognac ones looking down at me, relief clearly written in his gaze.

I shook my head to dispel the image.

“Hold still.”

I just barely didn’t curl my lip at the doctor, though she spared me an annoyed look that suggested she was fully aware of my increasing dislike. I suspected the feeling was mutual.

She finished removing the needle, not even bothering to wipe away the drop of blood that bubbled in its wake. While it was entirely possible she didn’t bother to do so simply because of the advanced healing that all lycans had, I suspected that wasn’t the case. Dr. Florence toed the line of professionalism with her obvious distaste for her patient’s biology. She tapped the vial, forcing the red liquid to bubble and turned to her microscope without a word.

“Has anyone ever told you your bedside manner is seriously wanting?”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I have not had any complaints.” The flat statement practically dared me to file one.

“So, all of your patients are perfectly okay with your complete disregard?”

Anger flashed in her eyes. “I’m not here to be your friend. I’m here to be your doctor. A task, I might add, that would be significantly easier if you didn’t insist on questioning every test or procedure I order.”

A low warning vibrated through me. No one had ever had the audacity to speak to me in such a manner. I was a respected government agent, decorated, revered, feared, and with enough personal wealth at my disposal to buy the whole fucking hospital and ensure that she never found work again.