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“Why can’t he shift?” I asked. I was the only other person in the room with Felix, but my brothers were all waiting in the hallway. Jack and Cal were picking at each other, and Julius kept telling them to knock it off. Quin was probably in his study.
“The small blood sample I took shows an antitransmutative in his system. It’s hard to know what they dosed him with, and it would take a medical lab days to isolate the compound. By that time, my guess is he’ll be able to shift again. Until then, ice the area to keep the swelling down and treat his pain with over-the-counter meds. If he needs something stronger, let me know, and if he still can’t shift in three days, call me immediately. We may need to bring him in. For now, rest is the best medicine.”
It didn’t sit well with me that there was nothing I could do to make my mate feel better. I needed him whole, and seeing him broken had shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces. The only thing that could put it back together again was Felix waking up and letting me claim him.
But he wouldn’t be strong enough for that until he could shift, which meant we were back to my least favorite thing…
Waiting.
I nodded at Dr. Madison. “I’ll be in touch if anything gets worse or if he can’t shift.”
“Good, good.” The doctor put a gentle hand on my shoulder. “He’s lucky to have you and your family. I know he’s in good hands.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I just nodded again instead of trying to speak around it.
“I’ll show myself out.” He opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
I’d dragged a chair next to the bed where Felix was resting, and I sat down, staring at my injured mate. Rage still burned in my gut, even though the men who had done this to him had been expertly handled. Until he was wholly mine, I didn’t think I’d be able to quench the fire.
Felix’s hand rested on the mattress next to his body, and I covered his hand with mine. He stirred a little, and his good eye cracked open a sliver. “Nero?”
“I’m right here, Lucky. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Oh, good.” He turned his head on the pillow, facing me as much as he could. “Love you.”
The damn lump was back in my throat again, but I managed to choke out, “Love you too,” around it.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
NERO
For three days,I stayed by Felix’s side, icing his face, making sure he ate and drank water, and keeping his pain under control with medicine. He’d made no move to shift into his otter form yet, and I was beginning to worry.
If he couldn’t shift today, Dr. Madison was getting a call.
Loaded down with a breakfast tray, I pushed into our room. Felix was already sitting up in bed. Sweat beaded at his brow, and his face was pinched in pain, but it was the first time he’d sat up without help since we’d brought him home.
“You’re up. That’s great, but I would’ve helped you.” I set the tray on the bedside table and pressed a kiss to my mate’s forehead. The swelling around his face hadn’t decreased much, and the whole side of his face was a mess of mottled, deep purple bruises. Matching bruises covered his chest. The cuts on his wrists from where the zip ties had cut in had scabbed over, but the skin around the wounds was the same painful purple. But all that aside, the fact that Felix felt well enough to sit up on his own was a good sign.
He drew in a shaky breath. “I feel better today.”
“That’s excellent.” I picked up a glass of orange juice from the tray and held it out to him. His hand still shook a little when hetook it, but his grip seemed stronger than it had the past couple of days.
“And what about your otter? Do you think you can shift?”
Felix shrugged, then winced when the small motion pulled at all his healing parts. “I don’t know, but I’d like to try. I can feel my otter form again like that part of my brain is finally unlocked.” Felix held the glass of juice to his lips and drained it in several long gulps.
My heart soared in my chest. The sooner Felix could access his animal form, the sooner he would heal.
Then, we had important things that needed to be taken care of.
“That’s wonderful.”
“Can I ask you something?”
I took his now empty glass and returned it to the tray. “Of course. Anything. Anytime.”
