“Do you want me to call a doctor for her?” Diana asked. She sounded so sweet and helpful, and Aiden was eating it up.
“You don’t need to do anything for me,” I snapped, still struggling to sit up. My body just wasn’t cooperating.
“Relax, babe.” Aiden stroked my forehead with a cold wet towel. “It’ll be okay. Just lie back and breathe.”
“Diana. Anyone but her. Not Diana.”
“Maybe I should go. I don’t want to upset your girlfriend.” She sounded sincere, but I didn’t believe it.
“Stay close, in case I need you. She’s just feeling a little vulnerable, I think.” Aiden turned his attention back to me. “What’s wrong, babe? Diana is part of the pack. You remember, right?”
“Pack. Werewolves, right? I’m not one.” I couldn’t form a coherent sentence to save my life.
I tried to sit up again, but my muscles didn’t want to respond, and the effort it took to speak drained me of what little reserves I had left. I needed to close my eyes and sleep. Just for a moment. That’s all I needed.
“Babe, wake up.” Aiden’s voice was accompanied by icy liquid being poured on the top of my head. Rather than soothe, this time it intensified the pain and angered me.
“I need to sleep,” I moaned.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Aiden countered. “Diana, can you get Fallon some coffee?”
“Poison.” It was all I could think to say. Diana was bad. She did this to me. She couldn’t be trusted. She was going to kill me or keep me from turning. “Turning. Wolf. No Diana.”
“You’re not making any sense, babe. Just relax.”
Sleep called out to me. I closed my eyes again for the briefest of moments and teetered on the edge of consciousness. There, I could make sense of it all. But when I opened my eyes again it all went away.
“Here. Drink this.” Aiden held a cup to my mouth.
“Poison.” I was sure of it. “No!” I fought to turn my head. “It’s bad.”
“She’s really delusional.” The woman Diana spoke again. “I hope she snaps out of this soon. Poor thing won’t be ready for the transition if her brain is broken.”
“She’s a fighter. She’ll recover.” Aiden took a sip from the cup then held it to my lips again. “See? It’s okay, babe. It’s just coffee. You need to stay awake and alert to shake off the concussion.”
That’s exactly what she wanted. I’d figured it out. She didn’t want me to be a wolf. And she wouldn’t poison me outright. Not with Aiden standing right there. She’d wait till I was alone and weak. I needed to make a full recovery—fast. I gulped at the coffee Aiden offered. It burned my throat, which, while painful, also helped to waken me more.
“Atta girl.” I heard the smile in Aiden’s voice.
Once I’d gulped the last drop in the cup I looked up. My vision hadn’t cleared, but it was getting better. Diana stood behind Aiden, just to his left. She scowled and her eyes shot daggers at me.
I couldn’t believe that Aiden wasn’t seeing or sensing with his super wolf-abilities how full of shit she was. He actually appeared to be eating up her lies. Maybe he was just too overwhelmed with concern? No matter the reason, Diana getting away with this set my teeth on edge. I needed to find a way to remedy this problem.
I turned to Aiden and smiled. “I’m feeling a little better, baby. Thanks.”
“You had us all scared to death. Do you remember what happened?”
I shook my head. “Not really. One minute I was picking up my clothes and the next … nothing.”
“I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?” He pulled me into his lap.
“Nope. You can’t, but she can.” I pointed to Diana, who still lingered annoyingly close.
“I can take the hint.” She smirked at me. “Hope you feel better. Would hate for you to have any further accidents.” I’m not sure if Aiden heard it, but I certainly caught the threat in her voice.
Aiden turned to Diana. “Stay close in case we need your help again.”
“Of course. Boss. If you need anything at all, you just let me know.” Diana smiled brightly at him.
It made my blood boil.
I watched her saunter away, relieved to see the tail end of her. I’d had my fill of that woman for a long while. All that sugary sweet “Anything for you, Boss” crap. I hoped my man was too smart to fall for it; but then again, he didn’t seem to be seeing through the bullshit. It would be up to me to stop her.
I turned back to my Aiden. “Now let’s talk about making me a wolf.”
“One step at a time, babe. Let’s get you back on your feet.” He attempted to lift me, but my legs weren’t quite ready to support my weight.
“Just give me a little bit here,” I said, trying to hide the pain in my voice. Hurt or not, I needed to turn quickly so I would be ready for Diana’s next attack.
“Do you remember what happened at all?”
“Diana happened.” There was no smoothing out the hatred in my voice.
He scrunched up his face. “What?”