“True,” Copeland sighed. “But with Charlee awake, they need to do a thorough examination.”
“Linc?” I tried to call his name, but it was little more than a rasp.
Linc must have heard me, because he stopped growling long enough to whine in my direction. I strained, trying to hear if he was coming to me, but heard nothing.
“Take me over to him. I need to see him,” I pled. “Please?”
“I don’t know.” Copeland glanced at the IV lines going into my arm. “You should stay in bed until the doctors have checked you.”
“If you don’t take them out, I will,” I threatened.
“You woke up feisty.” Copeland smiled. “But I’m bigger than you, and I think you need to stay in bed.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t make me get my knife.”
“You should probably listen to her, bro.” Fletcher yawned and nuzzled the back of my neck. “Charlee’s stubborn, and she doesn’t make idle threats.”
Copeland sighed in defeat. Reluctantly, he pushed himself into a sitting position and began gently unhooking the various wires and tubes.
When he removed the heart monitor, the machine began to blare, making enough racket to wake the dead… which was what the doctors and nurses on the other side of the door must have thought I was because they began pounding harder on the door. One incredibly brave, or stupid, person went so far as to wiggle the door handle.
Linc’s already riled-up wolf viewed this as an attack and went into an absolute frenzy. His low warning growls turned to vicious snarls. His jaws snapped angrily as he threw himself at the door.
“She’s fine, Linc!” Copeland shouted over the chaos. When the wolf ignored him, he called out to the staff in the hall. “Back away from the door and give us a chance to get the situation under control in here.”
The wood of the door creaked and groaned, threatening to give way with each blow from Linc’s body. Rather than simply guarding my room, Linc had decided he was going to go to war with anyone he deemed a threat to my safety. It was adorable, especially since I was probably the biggest threat to my safety thanks to my ability to tumble from one mess into another.
Footsteps moved away from the door and back down the hall. Good. Maybe we could get Linc to listen to me with the threat gone.
“I’m going to take you to him, but you better not call him a good boy,” Copeland muttered, scooping me out of the bed and into his arms.
“I’ve heard positive reinforcement training works really well, though!” Fletcher laughed and stretched out on the bed.
“Shut it,” Copeland huffed, carrying me toward my frantic wolf mate.
“Just sit me on the floor.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Copeland retorted.
I was about to protest, needing to be eye level with Linc’s wolf, but stopped as Copeland lowered himself to sit on the floor instead. He settled me on his lap so that I faced the wolf who was anxiously pacing in front of the door.
“Thank you.” I pressed a kiss to his cheek.
His lap was much comfier than the cold linoleum floor of the hospital. And I wasn’t about to complain when my body felt as if I’d spent the last few days doing cartwheels to earn a Guinness World Record or something equally ridiculous.
I tried again. “Linc?”
His ears flicked in my direction, but he kept snarling at the door. With his paranormal abilities, he could probably hear every person in the hospital. The wolf’s sides heaved, and the fur running from his neck down his spine stood on end.
My heart ached seeing his obvious distress. “Linc, you kept me safe. But I’m awake now, so you don’t have to protect me anymore.”
The giant wolf turned his head in my direction.
“Come here, love,” I said in the universal voice everyone uses when trying to befriend a cute pup.
He whined, but stood his ground, unwilling to leave his post.
I switched tactics, trying to offer him a different job. “Linc, I don’t need a protector now. I need you to comfort me.”
