Chapter Thirty
It felt like Lily hadn’t slept in days. Not during the ride to the hospital to follow Christian who had been airlifted out. Not during the hours and hours of surgery while pack members encouraged her to rest. And not while she sat at his bedside holding his hand as she listened to the beeping of the machines, dreading the moment when his heartbeat would flat line and he’d be lost to her forever. She was sure that if she just stayed awake, he’d stay with her. Despite the doctors having assured her that he would make a full recovery,shewas sure that the moment she succumbed to exhaustion would be the moment he’d succumb to death, and it would all be her fault.
A mocha frappe topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings was shoved in front of her nose and Lily jerked to attention. Seeing her sister’s worried frown behind the caffeinated treat, she relaxed slightly and accepted the offering. Taking a sip of the cold sweet, she groaned. “Thank you. When did you get into town?”
Daisy raised a brow, her frown deepening. “Yesterday. Remember? We had a whole conversation right here in this very room.”
Lily shook her head. “Sorry, of course. Yes, of course, I remember.”
Her sister sighed and dropped into the other guest chair near the window. “No you don’t.” Her eyes moved over Lily and she grimaced. “You need to sleep. This isn’t healthy.”
Lily set the drink down on the table near the bed and moved her hand to smooth back the tumble of dark locks that had fallen over Christian’s forehead. A small sad smile tilting her lips as she remembered him telling her that he colored his hair. He may think gray would make him look old, but she was willing to bet he’d still be sexy to her. “When he’s awake, I’ll sleep.”
“You know, bears have an excellent sense of smell.” Daisy remarked.
Lily smiled fondly cupping Christian’s cheek. “Yes, he does.”
“So maybe you might want to shower before he wakes up.” Her sister deadpanned. “Or are you hoping your BO will rouse him like smelling salts?”
Lily hissed and Daisy chuckled. “Fine,” she said holding up her hands in surrender. “Maybe he likes that funky smell.”
“You’re not funny.”
“Hmm…” Daisy shot her a speculative glance. “Do you know what else isn’t funny? You. Dropping from exhaustion and having to be admitted for treatment right alongside him.” With that said, she raised her arm and motioned for someone to enter. Snapping her head around, Lily spotted her sister’s mate Alek as well as the hulking build of Samuel as they maneuvered a cot into the room.
Daisy stood so that the males could rearrange things. “I promise,” she said earnestly, “I will stay here by his side and watch over him.”
“But,” Lily began, panic riding her hard, but Daisy forestalled her with a raised hand.
“I also promise that if he as much as twitches, I will immediately wake you.”
Defeat weighed heavy on her shoulders, only making her exhaustion more pronounced. Licking her lips, she looked from Christian, her love, her true mate, to her sister, a female she trusted absolutely, and nodded.
Lily awoke disoriented, her mouth sticky, the beeping noise grating on her nerves. Sudden recall had her shooting up from the cot into a sitting position, almost knocking Daisy, who had been attempting to wake her, to the floor.
Her eyes shot to the bed and her heart nearly stopped. Christian was still there. Still had wires and tubes connecting him to all sorts of machines, but his eyes were open, dark and intense as they moved over her. “You love me?”
His voice sounded weak and gravelly, but it was music to her ears. Lunging out of the bed, she was at his side in a heartbeat, her palms cupping his cheeks as she peppered kisses over that beloved face. “I love you so much,” she breathed.
The feel of his arms coming around her was like heaven and she sunk into his embrace. Christian held her for several minutes, his nose nuzzling in her hair and Lily’s joy was pierced as she remembered Daisy’s earlier words about a shower. God, she probably reeked, but when she attempted to pull back, those arms tightened, locking her to him. Giving in without much protest, she mentally shrugged. She’d rather be in his arms anyway, even if she was a little ripe and possibly making his eyes water.
Christian let out a gruff little chuckle. “I should have known it would take something spectacular like getting shot to get you to fall in love with me.”
Lily nuzzled into his neck, too happy to be annoyed by the inappropriate attempt at levity. “I fell in love with you long before that. I just couldn’t admit it.”
“Oh? Tell me more. When did it happen?” Lily could hear the grin in his words and she smiled against the hot skin of his neck. “It was the standing up sex in the woods, wasn’t it? I have to say, the maneuverwaspretty impressive.” He finished smugly.
“I so don’t need to hear this.” Daisy chimed in. “I’ll go see what’s keeping the doctor.”
Both Christian and Lily laughed, but as soon as Daisy was out the door, Lily scooted carefully onto the edge of the bed at Christian’s side and cuddled close. “I don’t know if I could definitely pin-point one particular thing.” She said thoughtfully, resting her head against his shoulder, her fingers drawing absent patterns on his chest. “But it was the daffodils that set the ball moving.”
“Really?” Christian asked with some confusion. “But, I was hardly even trying – they just reminded me of you.”
Lily lifted her chin to look into his eyes. “Exactly. You weren’t trying, and yet you gave me a glimpse of how you saw me – strong, coming back beautiful year after year – that’s what you said. I think that day, you stole a little piece of my heart, and the rest just followed the leader.
Christian kissed the top of her head as she laid it back on his chest, his arm squeezing her a bit tighter. “I love you so much, Lily. I promise, that one day, I’ll be worthy of this gift you’re giving me.”
Lily felt tears gather in her eyes. “You already are.”
