Nix shook himself, mortified that he was keeping them from helping his mate. Standing, he let Aric assist him in placing Noah on the gurney. Then he could do nothing but watch helplessly as Melina and several other staff members wheeled him swiftly from the room. In a daze, he followed them into the hallway and watched until they disappeared around the corner.
“He’ll be all right,” Jax Law said, clamping a hand on his shoulder. “He’s got the best possible care around.”
When had Jax arrived? The big, goateed grey wolf shifter was the Pack’s RetroCog and Timebender—he could touch an object belonging to a person and “see” a past event connected with it. He could also bend time backwards by a matter of moments, and had done so once with almost catastrophic results for Aric.
Nix wished Jax would go back and keep Noah from being attacked. But he couldn’t ask, no matter how much his heart begged him to. Not after how the last time turned out.
“Did you see him? That motherfucker laid him open! He’s human, Jax! He won’t heal like us.” Suddenly something occurred to Nix and he grabbed Jax’s arm. “Where’s Zan?”
“He’s on the way,” his friend reassured him. “He was headed back from town when this happened.”
“How long?”
“Any minute.”
Zander Cole was the Pack’s Healer, and his skills were damned good. He’d saved their asses on many an occasion, and this time would be no different.
Any minute, however, turned out to be almost ten while Nix paced the floor outside the OR. The need to get in there and see his mate, check for himself that he was alive and would recover, was quite literally a living thing with his wolf snarling and clawing at his guts. He had a sinking suspicion, however, that it wasn’t just the wolf’s feelings at play.
Zan hurried through OR doors without stopping to speak to anyone, and a hand on Nix’s arm restrained him from going after the Healer.
Several of Nix’s Pack brothers were lounging around while they waited on news about Noah, and Nix appreciated the show of support. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his friends, and he knew the sentiment was returned. Plus, they all cared about Noah. The bubbly nurse had been hired going on two years ago, while Nix was being held in captivity and thought to be dead, and had quickly wormed his way into the hearts of everyone at the compound.
For him to be attacked was unthinkable.
More than three hours later, Melina finally came through the doors of the surgery, followed by Zan. They both smiled at Nix and the team in general, and Nix’s knees nearly went out from underneath him, his relief was so great.
“Noah’s going to be fine,” Melina said. “Zan closed the worst of the gashes on his arm, torso, and thigh, and assisted with some muscle repair. Otherwise Noah would’ve been looking at months of physical therapy. As it stands, he just needs a few days of rest before he comes back to work.”
“I’ll make sure he gets it,” Nix assured her. He heard a snicker, and scowled at his friends.
“Good. I’ll let you know when he’s settled in a room. If all goes well, I’ll release him to his quarters tomorrow to finish recovering.”
Nix had trouble finding his voice. “Melina, thank you.”
Her expression softened. “No need to thank me. We all love Noah.” Pausing, she pinned Nix with a pensive look. “Can I speak to you privately for a second?”
“Sure.” Worried, he followed as she led him around the corner and out of earshot of the others. “Is something else wrong with Noah? Something you didn’t want to say in front of anyone else?”
“No, nothing like that. I wanted to ask when you plan on telling Noah that you’re participating in the trial for the drug that suppresses the mating sickness.”
“How do you know I haven’t?”
Her brows shot up. “Are you joking? I know because he hasn’t shown up in my office ready to rip off my head for allowing you to do it. And you know good and damned well had you told me when you met your mate that it was our Noah, I never would’ve approved your participation. I should pull you now, before he gets hurt even worse than he already will.”
Nix felt sick to his stomach. “Please, Melina. I need a couple more weeks to get my head on straight, and this drug is allowing me that time. Then maybe I won’t need to tell him at all.”
“That’s a cop-out.” Angry disapproval flattened her mouth.
“Shit.” Blowing out a breath, he shook his head. “You’re right. I’ll tell him, but not just yet. I need to figure out how to deal with this Bondmate thing, and then I will.”
“Do it, because the truth has a way of coming out. If it does, I can promise you it’ll blow up in both of our faces.”
With that, she turned and left to tend to her patients.
For a moment, Nix stared after her, stunned. She was right—if Noah found out before Nix said anything, he’d be devastated. Nix didn’t want him to get hurt. Nobody did.
We all love Noah.
Love. Did he love Noah? Somehow, in all the months of resisting his sweet mate’s lure, had he actually fallen without wanting to?
He was awfully afraid he knew the answer to that question.
God, I’m so fucked.
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