“What happened?” he shouted at me.
“It was Richard,” was all I could mumble as I kept my eyes fixed on Keri’s beautiful face, watching for any slight movement that would tell me that she was going to be okay.
She had to be okay, there was no other option.
“Goddammit!” Curtis said, the longer it took without a response from her.
“Don’t you dare give up,” I barked at him. I wasn’t ready to give up on her. I wasn’t sure I ever would be.
“It isn’t looking good,” he whispered and I saw for the first time how much he cared for her.
Curtis was different. I could tell that he only cared for her in a platonic way so it didn’t set me off with jealousy. Kyle was a different story.
Finally when I began to feel like we were actually going to lose her, Curtis pressed his fingers to her throat.
“She has a pulse,” he whispered through the emotion that glistened in his eyes.
“Let’s get her back to the medical center,” he insisted, and he was about to pick her up.
“No,” I said to him. She was my mate and her welfare was my responsibility. I picked her up in my arms like she was the most precious cargo on the earth, and to me she was. There would never be someone as important as she was to me.
It was only when we got back to the medical center and Curtis and the nurses took over that I got a chance to breathe. The emotions that I’d managed to keep control over when I’d come so close to losing her overwhelmed me like a tidal wave, making it difficult to breathe.
When the nurse asked me to leave so they could see to her, I glared at the poor girl and refused.
“It’s okay,” Curtis assured the nurse.
They worked on her and got her linked up to everything she needed. Once the nurses left, Curtis stopped in front of me.
“Thank you for saving her,” he said, and I gave him a brief nod. “She should wake up in a couple of hours.”
I got a chair and put it beside the bed. I rubbed my hands over my face. It was hard seeing her hurt. She was so strong, and seeing her in the fragile state was enough to make my heart ache.
My hand found hers and I held it.
I had no idea how she would respond when she’d found out I’d touched her, but there was no going back now.
I don’t know what I’d been thinking but now that we’d touched and formed a connection, there was no way I would ever leave her. Whether she wanted me or not, I was hers forever.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Keri
My throat throbbed with pain as I opened my eyes. My sight was blurry at first but as I focused I looked straight into a pair of green eyes I recognized as Blake’s.
"Hi," he said as he leaned a little closer. He smiled at me and the way he looked at me was different.
I winced when I tried to swallow. My fingers reached to touch my throat.
"Curtis said you'll be as good as new in a day or two," he added with concern when he saw my obvious discomfort.
I studied him for a few moments. Something felt different. I'd always been attracted to him but what stirred inside of me now was something deeper and stronger. He watched me quietly while I analyzed my new feelings.
I thought back to what I remembered before blacking out. Richard had tried to kill me again. My heart sped up as the memories came back. I don't know how he'd made it past the patrolling guards. My mind shoved that question to the back of my mind to deal with later.
Blake looked at me as if he was waiting for some sort of reaction from me and then I realized why I felt so different.
"You touched me," I whispered. It was more of a statement than a question.
