It took hours for him to fall asleep, and one dream occupied his mind all night—claiming Lucy. His exhaustion so deep from hardly any sleep, not even the sun streaming through the windows woke him the next morning. No, that honor was reserved for children squealing with delight as they ran up and down the hallways.
Mason cracked open one eye and groaned as he squinted into the brightness of the room. He’d forgotten to close the blinds the night before and while the sun seared his eye, the brightness at least gave him a good view of Lucy. They’d shifted around in their sleep until she now lay on her side within reach. A fact he’d somehow taken advantage of during the night. He’d slung his arm protectively around her waist. Her skin glowed—flushed pink in a way that reminded him of passionate nights tangled in the sheets and he went hard in an instant. Only for a soft groan to bring him back to earth and bathe him in shame for lusting after her while she fought for her life.
Mason snuggled closer, careful to keep his cock away from her tempting, heart-shaped ass. Lucy stiffened in his arms, body ramrod straight and tense. He brushed his lips across her temple and she relaxed into his embrace with a soft sigh.
“Good morning,” he whispered in her ear, enjoying the way her body shivered in response. “How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”
Her voice was scratchy with sleep. “No, but I think you might need to be committed.”
His laugh rumbled up from someplace soft and deep within him. He barely knew Lucy, but he could tell that his heart was already half hers. Maybe more than half. The simple fact they were fated mates didn’t always equate to insta-love. That developed slowly like any relationship, and Mason was thrilled he already sensed its effect on him. He couldn’t ask for more in a mate—she was beautiful, good and strong, and had a wicked sense of humor.
Pulling her closer, he enjoyed the way her body fit into his, even though she felt far too hot to the touch. His wolf even settled down, reveling in the closeness of their mate, even though the beast in him was desperate to claim her. Not yet. She was too ill.
“How did you sleep?” he asked, breathing in her scent like she was a batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
“Weirdly.” A little furrow formed between her eyebrows. “Pretty sure there was more howling, fur growing, and chasing of rabbits than usual.” Yeah, he was falling for her all right. Had already fallen. “It must have been one of the eight thousand shots Drew gave me last night.”
“Do you have any questions about what you dreamed? Such as how mates—”
“You can stop right there,” she interrupted, pulling away from him a little. “This mate stuff is just a little too….” She paused for a beat and shook her head. “I need some space to think, which is hard to do with you pressing your dick against my business.”
Mason hadn’t even been aware he’d moved. He shifted his hips backward and buried his face in the spray of her hair. “I’m sorry. I can give you space, but I’m not letting you out of my sight. You should know that up front.”
Lucy sighed dramatically. “Do I need to hit you with one of the forty-seven pillows on this bed?”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“If I had more energy, you’d see what I was capable of. I’m lethal in a pillow fight.”
Mason grinned at her sass. “Challenge accepted. As soon as you’re feeling better, that is.”
He let her deflect away from the subject of mates… for now. They had much more to discuss, including the fact that while he would happily give her “space” on the matter, he wasn’t about to let her out of his sight. Not only was she potentially deathly ill from a non-mate wolf bite, but Frank Riverson was out there, just looking for a way to hurt Mason.
Mason wrapped her in his arms, and erection or not, pulled her so close their bodies almost melded into one. She sighed and relaxed in his embrace, and they lay there for a long, luxurious moment, just breathing in each other’s scents. He was a split second away from spinning her around so he could stare at her full, luscious lips when someone knocked loudly on their door.
“Probably Drew,” Mason groaned, as he hauled his ass out of bed.
Mason dragged on his jeans, struggling to stuff his cock into the uncomfortable constraints of denim. Then a fresh scent hit him—from Lucy. It wasn’t her illness, or even the panic he’d smelled on her far too many times since their first meeting. This was sweet and pungent, full of passion. It was the smell of his mate’s desire for him. He hesitated, torn between fulfilling her desperate need and giving her space as she’d requested. The persistent knock on the door made up his mind for him.
Mating would have to wait.
Still, he couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face at the knowledge that Lucy wanted him as much as he wanted her. The smile fell away, though, when he opened the door and came face to face with his brothers and Drew.
“What—” he started to ask, when Charlie Tipton shoved between the men’s legs, dragging little Danny Spade behind him.
“Miss Lucy!” Charlie cried as he pushed past Mason and ran for Lucy.
Mason sighed in defeat. Clearly his alone time with his mate had come to a screeching halt. No point in barring the men from entering the room, so he threw it open and moved quickly to intercept Charlie and Danny before they could dog pile on top of Lucy. Grabbing them both by their waists, he plopped them into the chair he’d used the night before and scooted it toward the foot of the bed.
“There,” he told them, “now you two can talk to the alpha mate without getting in the way of the healer.”
Lucy gave him a sharp glance at the mention of alpha mate, but he just grinned at her. She could deny it all she wanted. He knew the truth and wasn’t about to dismiss their connection.
Without a word, Drew set to work checking on his patient while Charlie talked a mile a minute, carefully holding a squirmy Danny in his lap.
“I saw Ghost Kitty again today,” he reported to Lucy, and to her credit, she gave him all her attention. Probably better than looking at the needles Drew shoved in her veins.
“I thought she was under my porch,” Lucy said.
“Me too! She must like you. I saw her crawl under the porch of the pack house this morning.”
“Really?”
He nodded profoundly. “Yes. And she was so fat!”
Lucy chuckled, pointedly ignoring Drew’s activities. “No wonder she’s hiding from you. No lady likes to be called fat.”
Charlie’s eyes grew wide and concerned, and his bottom lip wobbled as if he might burst into tears. “Do you think I hurt her feelings?”
Lucy’s sweet smile nearly burst Mason’s heart. “I don’t think it’s anything an apology couldn’t fix.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Charlie slid off the chair and helped his little buddy down before scuttling from the room, calling for Ghost Kitty. “You’re not fat! You’re so pretty, Ghost Kitty! Please come out and play!”
The sound of little feet pattering down the hall finally faded, and Mason turned to Drew. “How is she?”
Drew said nothing, but Mason caught the way he pursed his lips and the troubled expression in his eyes. The healer didn’t need to use words for Mason to know what he was thinking.
Not good. Not good at all.
“It’s time, Mason,” Drew said quietly.
Lucy’s alarmed gaze bounced between them. “Time? Time for what?”
“Are you sure?” Gavin asked Drew, who shrugged in response.
“No. I’ve never dealt with a situation like this before. My best guess is that she has a better chance of surviving this if Mason claims her sooner, rather than later.”
All eyes turned on Lucy. She panicked and scooted away from them under the covers.
“Um, you know what? I’m suddenly feeling so much better. I think all I really needed was a good night’s sleep.”
“Lucy,” Mason spoke softly, trying to calm her before she freaked out.
“No!” She glared at them in turn.
Drew, Kade and Gavin all looked nervously at Mason. For the past few months, he’d been unpredictable with a constant edge of violence. He understood their concern but now that he’d found Lucy, any trace of that feral beast that had once plagued him had vanished. His only concern, from now until death, was Lucy.