Bones pulled a bag from a drawer in his makeshift medical room and laid it beside my mate. “In here are cleansing wipes and clean clothes. Clean her up the best you can and dress her. I know you will not let me do such a thing.”
Damn straight, he won’t touch her. That’s my job.
Bones rubbed the sweat away from his forehead. “I must rest. I will come back and change her fluid bag soon. By then, we will be close to home.”
I opened the bag inside, seeing a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt along with clean underwear one of the females back home prepared for her.
Moon Goddess, give me strength.
“And Bear,” Bones said from the doorway. “You being with her now is what is keeping her alive. Let the bond do its work.”
With a heavy heart, I realized this journey would not be easy, but I was willing to do whatever it took to make my mate whole again.
Chapter Seven
Nadia
“It’sbeenaweek.”The deep, fuzzy voice came from the darkness. My eyelids were heavy, but I still didn’t open them. My body, though heavy as well, I didn’t try to move either.
I knew I wasn’t dreaming. I could feel crisp, clean sheets between my fingers, a cool liquid going up my arm, and that same wall of heat radiating into my face.
“Bear, give her time,” another voice said.
Bear was holding me.
And strangely enough, I didn’t hate it.
“It is going to take time. I told you this.” The other voice was tired, exasperated, as I noticed my surroundings. There was a thump beside me, and he cleared his throat. “Please, Bear, go shower. That way, when she wakes up, you will be ready to tend to her. Trust me, her seeing you like this won’t do you any favors. You haven’t shaved; you look like death. At least look presentable.”
Bear sighed deeply. He again sounded like a loud engine motor going off in his chest. I did my best not to sigh deeply into it. The sound was deep enough it didn’t hurt my ears in the slightest. Instead, it was lulling me back to sleep.
“Fine, but you come get me if she stirs.” Bear held me tight to his chest, his thumb rubbing up against my cheek.
The other male scoffed, which I assumed was Bones. I heard typing while I was gently laid back on a slightly raised bed with blankets strewn across me. Bear’s large hand was placed on my forehead. It lingered there and a strange feeling warmed my chest.
Why in the world was this guy so taken with me? Had he laid some sort of claim on me? Was I some sort of product to him?
The mansion ran drugs and weapons—not humans. That was the one thing that was good about working there, at least when I was a housekeeper. I didn’t know what it was like there now.
Bear holding me, and who knows for how long—why? Why would he do that?
I knew one thing: I felt better. My mind was not foggy, my mentality was better, my thinking was clearer, and best of all… my stomach wasn’t eating itself. I wasn’t starving, which was strange since I had been sleeping.
“I mean it, Bones,” Bear growled from across the room. “I’m trusting you with her care if one hair—”
“I got it, oh possessive one,” Bones scoffed. “Now go, you smell like a bear just out of hibernation that needs a good dip in the river, and take that bag on the table with you.”
Bear made a grunting noise and shut the door.
A few moments passed while I tried to weigh my options of what I should do, but luckily, Bones answered my questions.
“Nadia, I know you are awake. Your heart rate spiked on the monitor the moment you woke up.”
I fluttered my eyes open and saw him sitting on a stool next to a computer. He wasn’t wearing a typical white doctor’s coat; instead, he had on a black button-down dress shirt and jeans with a stethoscope around his neck.
“You are at my clinic right now, at the Iron Fang. It’s a motorcycle club on the west coast of the country. You are far away from the Cunningham estate and will never have to worry about them again.”
I fisted the surrounding blankets. They were thicker than the typical hospital blankets. They were flannel, smelled of pine, a winding river, and—Bear.
