Page 4 of Bad Medicine

I sprang at him, the beatinghe’d given me forgotten. The only thing that mattered to me was ending hislife.

“Kait, no,” Nicole screamed.

And for one second, I was soconfused by her scream that I faltered. But I recovered quickly. I drove theblade into his hateful black heart. Then I rode him to the floor and put mylips against his ear. “Some free advice in case you live through this,” Imurmured, as I locked in on his stare. “You don’t want to fuck with a wolf, andyou don’t want to turn your back on a pissed-off woman. Especially not one youjust beat the hell out of.”

He surprised me by grabbing myhand, the hand that held the blade in his heart. “You are mistaken,” he said,his voice soft but hoarse. “The hell is still inside you, Kait Silver.”

Then he disappeared.

Just…disappeared.

I lay on the floor, clasping mygory, smoking blade. Only the weeping Nicole remained in the room, her sobshurting me as badly as any asskicking Lucas the not-so-angelic angel could havegiven me.

Chapter Three

I got to my feet slowly, dazed,injured, and more than a little bewildered. Residual rage drifted inside me,then disappeared into my wolf. Nicole’s voice drilled into my brain, making mea little crazy. Finally, I put my blade into my nightstand drawer and strode toher. “Nicole. Your voice is too much for my mind to handle.”

She hushed at once, taking ashuddery breath, then another, and finally, she composed herself enough tospeak. “I apologize. I forget that you can hear me.” Her voice was weak andalmost devoid of emotion, but it didn’t make me forget her pain.

“Why is he after you?” I asked,looking around my ruined room with despair. “Andwhywould you showyourself to him?”

“Because he was hurting you,”she said, but reluctantly. “I could not allow it. You are my charge, and youmust not be hurt because of me. It is unthinkable.”

I stared at the spirit, who I’donly recently met. “I seriously have a guardian angel?”

“I’ve always been with you,Kait. But until my…my fall, I could not have shown myself to you. Now, I amunable to leave.” She gave a sob, but it was quick and quiet.

“If you’re here because of me,”I said, “I give you permission to go back to…wherever it is you come from. I toldyou I don’t need a guardian angel.”

She stared at me, frowning. “Ofcourse you need me. Who else would take your soul upon your death?”

“That’s what you do? Follow mearound from birth just so you can wait for me to die?”

She lifted her chin, a littlespark of outrage in her eyes. “I have been with you through every battle youever fought.”

Something streaked through methen, some emotion, but more than that, a realization. A knowing. “You’re whyI’m strong,” I whispered, and much as she had done earlier, I broke intoheartbroken sobs. Every battle, every pain, and every sorrow I’d ever gonethrough rose up to overwhelm me, just as painful and vicious as it had been atthe moment it had occurred. That was what was in her tears. No wonder it was sohard for me to hear. She took the overflow from me. She gentled the pain withtime. She made me forget the awfulness. It wasn’t time that softened the horrorand agony and utter heartbreak of life. It was the angel.

My angel.

She draped herself over me,wrapped her arms around me, and murmured. “Let it go, Kait. Give it to me.”

And I would, because my mindwould break otherwise. Theknowingwas overwhelmingly savage. Why thefuck did we live? What was the point? We were going to die. Nothing we could doabout that. What was the point of eating, loving, caring? “Don’t you get it?” Icried. “We’re all dead anyway.”

She took my face between herpalms, squeezing hard enough to hurt, and pierced deep inside me with herperfect eyes. “Give it to me.”

So I did. I did.

But I wouldn’t forget, notreally.

It wasn’t the alpha who bargedinto my smashed-up bedroom, full of rage and protection—it was the detective.He couldn’t see Nicole. All he saw was a destroyed bedroom and me, huddled onthe floor full of tears and pain, bloody and bruised from a fight with aterrible angel.

He shoved his gun back into itsholster and knelt in front of me. He didn’t say anything, just began ratherclinically to go over my body—which I only realized was bare at that moment—butphysically, I’d be okay. Even without shifting, I’d heal. Slower, true, but thewounds were not mortal wounds.

If he’d wanted to, Lucas couldhave ended my life with a simple slap. He’d only roughed me up to mess withNicole. “Nicole?” I asked, but she was gone. I guess she figured I was safewith Rick.

“Look at me, Kait,” Rick said.His voice was calm and gentle, and he talked to me like I was a three-year-oldbaby. “Can I see your eyes?”

I looked at him. “I’m okay,Rick.”