“And it didn’t work,” he gritted out over his shoulder as he disappeared inside.
“Wha—?” Nicole followed him in and closed the door gently behind her.
Link stood at the sink washing his face, but even from here, she could hear the constant growl in his throat. The unbalanced sound tore at her heart. He was in pain because she’d pushed him. He was worse now than she’d ever seen him.
“What do you mean it didn’t work?”
Link locked his arms against the counter, staring out the window with his back to her. His voice was hoarse and exhausted when he said, “She had a friend on the island where she used to live. She was banished there to try and fix the problem shifters, and one of them was a McCall. Eustice. My cousin. He tried to be good, like me. Vera can suppress animals, but with McCalls, it’s not just an animal problem.” Link turned and leaned his hip on the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s a problem with the human side, too.”
“So putting Wolf to sleep like she did with the Silvers’ bears won’t fix you?”
Link shook his head, those blindingly white eyes steady on her. “Vera tried to suppress Eustice’s wolf, but with us, it’s different. One bad, unbalanced wolf in a pack can affect the entire dynamic. He can make an entire pack rotten. When she suppressed Eustice’s wolf, the poisonous side of his human half went unchecked, and he got head-sick faster.”
“What happened to him?” she asked in horror.
“He hanged himself.”
Nicole sank down into a chair by the table. It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. It felt as if an avalanche had settled over her, pinned her body so tightly she couldn’t move to dig herself out. “Oh, Link. I don’t want you to take that medicine anymore. Not at this cost.”
Link pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table and sat down hard. As he removed his winter hat, she stared in sympathy at his shaking hands.
“Vera is adjusting the serum as we go. She’s trying something different on me. She calls this one the McCall Reset. The idea isn’t to put Wolf to sleep, because I need him. The plan is to curb some of the traits the McCalls get in the final stages of madness, and to repair my fucked up DNA. She needs time to fix me though.” Link worried at a loose string on his discarded gloves and dipped his gaze. “Vera thinks you can save me.”
“How?”
“By being my anchor while go through the cycle of meds. Eustice didn’t have anything to live for. He gave up when it got too hard.” He inhaled deeply and locked eyes with her. “Vera wants to meet you.” Link slammed his hand on the table and snarled, “The fox hurts. You make us feel better.”
Vera stood and padded around the table, then slid over his lap, straddling him. Cupping his cheeks, she lifted Link’s terrifying gaze to hers. “Wolf. I love you.”
The snarl died in Link’s throat, and his eyes went round.
“I don’t want you hurting, but I don’t want you to go mad either. I don’t want Ian to put you down. You’re mine, do you hear me? I don’t think we can do this alone, though. If Link thinks Vera can help, then we have to do this as a team. We’ll do this one day at a time. Don’t look back, don’t look to the future. Just keep your eyes on me.”
Link nodded slowly, then eased forward and kissed her so hard her lips throbbed. Rough mate, but she couldn’t blame him. He was in pain, and she settled something in him. She understood his desperation to hurt less for a little while. Nicole yanked off her gloves and jacket, and Link pushed her sweater over her head as soon as he was able. His lips, hands, and teeth were everywhere, gripping, nibbling, caressing her skin until she was on fire. Link stood and took her with him. A long riiiip sounded, and before she could react to him destroying her jeans, he had them shoved down her hips and was spinning her. She gasped as her stomach dipped, and suddenly, she was staring at the woodgrain pattern on the table and feeling the chill of the cold surface against her stomach. The rustle of fabric sounded behind her, and Link gripped her waist. She arched her back and moaned as he slid into her from behind. He wasn’t slow or easy like he usually was, and she loved it. Loved the way he was teetering on the edge of control. Loved the way he couldn’t help himself around her. And that fucking sexy growl in his throat put her closer to orgasm with every slam into her. Gripping gently, his hand was in her hair, arching her back by another inch as she screamed his name and was consumed by an explosive orgasm.
Link’s warm chest brushed her back now as her hips jerked with each stroke. Damn, she was so sensitive to his touch now. As his body tensed and relaxed over her, his teeth grazed her shoulder blade, and she knew what he wanted, what he needed.