Page 79 of Bad Medicine

“Bastien,” I yelled, andfinally, he walked to the car.

He bent forward and peered in.“If you have one of mine, why didn’t you just—”

Then his eyes widened and someof the life came back into his cold, hard stare. “Farrow?” He reached out ahand but then took it back, as though afraid she might disappear if he touchedher. He was afraid she wasn’t real. And there was heart wrenching despair and tentativehope in his eyes. “They didn’t kill her,” he whispered.

I softened, of course I did.“They were torturing her. They were…” I swallowed at the memory, then shook myhead, unable to continue. “Get her home, Bastien, and don’t ever let thosebastards take her again. Don’t let them take any of your people.”

“Farrow,” he murmured. “Farrow.God. What did I do?” Tears leaked from his eyes, and they were tinged with red.“What did I do?”

It was as though she couldn’thear him. Couldn’t feel him. She never once looked away from me. When I triedto loosen her grip, she fought me, crying and moaning, and her voice sounded sothick and odd that I finally realized she couldn’t hear. Whatever damage they’ddone to her would heal, eventually. At least physically.

I’d never seen Bastien sotentative. He touched her shoulder but made no move to force her from me. Hewas blaming himself for what she’d gone through, and he was reluctant to takeher.

But then Jared arrived, and hedidn’t know the meaning of the word tentative. He understood what was happeningat once, and he shoved Bastien out of the way, took hold of Farrow, and pulledher away from me.

And she only fought him untilhe shoved her into Bastien’s arms. And finally, Bastien became the master. Hewrapped her up in his arms, opened a vein with a sharp thumbnail, and held herto his neck. She would feed, and she would survive.

“I am your servant,” he toldme. “I owe you everything, and I will give you my life, should you need it.”

Jared growled, then plucked mefrom the back seat and strode with me to his car. “You drive,” he told one ofhis men, then looked at another. “Get her belongings out of that car.” Then hegot into the back seat, never once releasing his hold on my battered body.

Finally, on our way home, he loweredhis stare to mine and tightened his arms around me. “I’ve got you,” he said.

And I was no longer alone,because he wouldalwayshave me.

ChapterThirty-Six

I ran through the woods in wolfform, not only healing the injuries that lingered but healing my mind, as well.Jared loped beside me, keeping out a watchful eye for danger, his eyes fiercein his stern wolf’s face.

I hadn’t wanted to come to thewoods when we’d first returned. I’d wanted to lie in a hot bath for hours, eata ton of food, and sleep. Jared had taken me to the woods, though, afterhanding over our various personal items to a wolf and telling him to put themin his bedroom. And when he’d shifted, my wolf had responded immediately.

I was glad. I’d needed theshift more than I’d realized. I’d needed to clear my mind, heal, and wallow inthe simple, worry-free wolf’s life. It was sort of like a mega meditationsession, and I would always be better for it.

I would always be better besidethe alpha.

And finally, I wanted somethingelse, as well, and I leaped into the air and shifted, coming down as my human,laughing with delight at the smooth quickness of that shift, and I beckonedJared to me.

His wolf gathered its muscularlegs beneath it and sprang at me, and when he reached me, he’d shifted, aswell.

“I’ll be okay,” I whispered, ashe stretched out on top of me.

He dipped his head and ran hislips across mine. “You will never let anyone destroy you, Kait.”

“No matter how hard they try,”I said.

“No matter,” he agreed. “And Iwill always be here when you need me. You won’t ever be alone again. I need youto remember that.”

“Alpha.” I caressed hisfamiliar face, then slid my tongue across his lips, needing to taste him. “Ineed to remember that, as well.” The forest floor was hard beneath my back,with dry twigs and debris scratching at the bare skin of my back, but it didn’tmatter. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.

He grew hard against me andgrowled softly before he moved his mouth against mine in a long kiss that mademe forget everything else that might have been in my head. There was only thatmoment, and that man, and that heat, and I could have stayed there in his armsforever.

The bond was undeniable.

He turned to his back, takingme with him, running his fingers over my skin and removing whatever debrisremained. The warmth of his body between my thighs became a fire that roaredover me, igniting the lust that was always just beneath the surface.

I sat up and stretched, movingmy hips almost lazily, rubbing the most sensitive part of me over his hardheat. His breath hissed out of him as his grip tightened and he watched me, hisstare almost savage. It was the stare of a mate, a true mate, when he looked atthe one meant for him.

“I knew you were going to betrouble the first time I saw you,” he said, moving his hands to my breasts.