She smiled.
“Your Spark was the one who figured out there was something wrong.His sneaking down the hall woke everyone and we fanned out to check the house.Unfortunately, Striker was already inside by then and he managed to take us out one at a time.If Spark hadn’t mouthed off about protecting his mate, then Striker probably would have just knocked him out like he did the rest of us.”
“But he wanted Spark dead, so I wouldn’t have a mate any longer.”
Shadow nodded.
“Once he knew I was pregnant, surely he understood there was no way for him to win,” Mina said.
“Unless he got rid of the baby.I’m just sorry I didn’t realize sooner how power hungry he’d become.If I had known months ago that Striker was sick and twisted, then I could have saved us all some pain.Instead of banning him from the club, I should have taken him out completely.”
“You did what you thought was best, Daddy.Don’t beat yourself up over it.What’s done is done, and Striker won’t be hurting any of us anymore.Now…can wepleasego see my mate?”
Shadow smiled.“Now we can go see your mate.You might want to grab him a change of clothes, even though they may keep him overnight.Something tells me he isn’t one to stay down for long, regardless of what the doctors say.”
They took the SUV so there would be plenty of room for Spark.It didn’t take long to reach the hospital and Mina dashed inside.She could hear Spark yelling so barreled past the stunned nurse at the front desk and went in search of her mate.Mina found him standing beside an ER hospital bed with a fresh set of stitches in his side.
“I’m not putting on that ridiculous gown because I’m not staying,” Spark shouted.“Move the hell out of my way!”
Mina couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her lips.If he was feeling well enough to stand up and argue with the doctor and nurses, then he was going to be just fine.Maybe his wound had looked worse than it really was.She approached and knew the moment he’d spotted her.He gave her that slow, sexy smile of his that made her knees weak and she reached for his hand, too fearful of hugging him in case she caused him pain.
“You aren’t supposed to argue with the medical staff,” Mina said.“They only want to help you.”
“I want to go home, where I can sleep with you in my arms.They can’t force me to stay here.”
Mina held up the bag of his clothes.“You might want to change then.You look like you escaped a horror movie.You might want a waterproof bandage too, so you can shower when we get home.I doubt you want to go to bed like that.”
He looked down at the smeared blood on his body and winced.“You’re right.”
A nurse took a hesitant step forward.“I can put a waterproof bandage on it.If you’ll let me.”
“Make it quick,” Spark growled.“I want to go home.”
Mina wondered if he even realized he was calling her father’s residence his home.Or maybe he just figured wherever Mina would be sleeping was considered home.She wouldn’t argue, either way.As long as she had Spark sleeping beside her tonight, she would be happy.They could figure out their future later.
She watched as he was freshly bandaged, then waited for him to change his clothes.When he was ready, she led him out to the waiting room where her father was sitting, and then they went home.The police had never been called, but the pack security had finally cleared out.She assumed the she-wolves had taken her brothers under their wings, nursing them back to health for the night, which meant it was just Shadow, Spark, and her in the house for the night.
Mina led Spark upstairs, ushering him into her room, and then fetched his clothing from the spare room while he showered.No way was she going to let him sleep in another room, not after everything they’d been through tonight.Never again would they ever sleep apart from one another, not if she had anything to say about it.
Epilogue
Sparkachedwherehe’dbeen stabbed and sliced, and his head throbbed from being bashed with one of the metal deck chairs.Striker had sure as hell not played fair, but from what Shadow had told him on the way home, he no longer had to worry about the insane wolf…and it was all due to his feisty mate.She’d saved all of them by taking out the rabid wolf on her own.He wasn’t sure if he was proud of her, or furious that she’d put herself in harm’s way.
He finished showering then dried off and pulled on his boxer briefs.If they stayed at Shadow’s house often, he’d have to invest in some pajama pants.It was bad enough he’d spent most of yesterday fucking the man’s daughter, but he didn’t have to flaunt the fact.Right now he ached too much and was way too weary to even think of doing much more than holding his mate.
When he stepped into the bedroom, Mina was already propped up in bed with the lamp on.He crawled under the covers next to her, waiting for her to switch off the light, before gathering her in his arms.She sighed and snuggled closer.
“You promise he didn’t hurt you?”Spark asked.
“I told you.He hit me once, but I’m fine.My cheek is a little sore, but it didn’t even bruise.”
“You should have let them check you out at the hospital, make sure the baby is okay.What if you miscarry because of what you went through tonight?It’s a lot of stress and strain for your body.”
He felt her smile against him.
“I’m fine, Spark.If you want to talk, let’s discuss something else.”
“Like what?”
