by Piper Fox
Why should I? I have no intention of giving Gage or the S.E.A. any more of my time.
And then I see her.
The other man, someone I don’t know, has a woman in his arms.
A woman with a very dangerous weapon sticking out of her shoulder.
“What the fuck is this, Gage? Who is that?”
“Please, Brandis. Just let us in. You’re the only one in a thousand miles with any hope of helping her.” Gage’s eyes are full of pleading, and I’m pretty sure that if I pushed him right now, he’d submit.
Not to me. For her.
Grudgingly, I pull open the door wide and gesture for them to come in. “The operating room’s in the back. Lay her on the table and get out. Don’t touch the arrow. Not unless you want to end up as bad as she is.”
I let them get her situated before I pull on dragonhide gloves and push them out of the way.
Clearly, neither one wants to obey my order to get out.
Fine. I’ll put them to work.
“Gage, go to the cabinet on the wall, and grab three vials. Do not let them touch.” I describe each one and their place on the shelves.
“New guy, hold her down. This isn’t going to be pretty.” I grip the shaft of the arrow with both hands and yank it out.
The wound’s already tried to close, and she groans, fighting against me, as I create new damage to her soft, smooth skin.
Her body jerks up, barely held down by the new guy’s strong grip. He’s got to be a shifter too, to have strength like that.
“Anyone want to tell me how you got your hands on a wounded demigoddess?”
The new guy’s head jerks up from the woman’s face. “A what?”
I just shake my head. “Gage, who is this guy? He’s not S.E.A., that’s pretty damn obvious.”
“His name’s Tyler. He’s a wolf shifter, and best friends with the woman on your table. So, I wouldn’t fuck with him. Do your damn job.” He sets the vials down carefully, careful to set them down away from each other without shifting the contents much.
I’m not going to tell him I said that just to fuck with him. I manage to keep my smirk to myself. “Okay, so who is she? I didn’t think the gods suffered demigods to live anymore.” I grab a couple of spreaders and use them to hold her wound open. It’s the only way I’m going to be able to get the potions where they need to go.
But damn if her skin doesn’t try to reseal around them right away.
This is going to have to go fast, and it’s going to be painful.
“Her name’s Ryanne. She’s my mate, so if you let her die, I’m going to personally see to it that your throat ends up shredded across the floor.” Gage growls and his eyes glow green.
Ryanne groans again, looking up at me with panic in her eyes.
Tyler’s hand cups her cheek and redirects her. “Just lay still, Ry. He’s a friend, he’s helping.”
The way he looks at her, I’m not so sure I believe Gage’s claim on her.
She closes her eyes again, and her teeth grit together as I pour the first vial into the open wound.
This one’s the most gentle. It’s only going to get worse from here.
“Gage, Tyler, you’re both going to have to hold her down now, unless you want me to get the straps out.” I look down at the brunette sweating on my table, and I want to tell her that the worst is over, that it’ll all be better soon, but the lie sticks in my throat. Instead, I say, “Just breathe, Ryanne.”
As soon as Tyler’s grip is back in place on her shoulders, and Gage has her shins, I pop open the second vial.
The first stopped the poisons from spreading. This one will draw them back to the wound.
She screams through her teeth as I pour it in. Her body arches against their hold, but she doesn’t get very far. Her fingers clawing at the table, searching for leverage against the pain. Tears stream down her cheeks. Her makeup’s long since ruined. Her whimpers and whines fill the room when her cries aren’t deafening the space.
I want to apologize. But more than that, I want to find the man who did this to her. “Tell me the one who shot her is dead, Gage.”
“She put a bullet in his brain. He was human. He’s not getting up again.”
Good.
I wait for her body to go limp on the table again before I grab the third vial. “This one’s the worst.” With my free hand, I reach down and take hers, squeezing it to let her know I’m there, that she can squeeze back.
Then, I pour in the final potion.
This one sizzles and smokes as it comes in contact with the poisons in her system, burning them out. The operating room quickly becomes nearly unbearable, and the wolf and the panther start coughing as the wound continues to bubble.
It’s enough to make anyone want to retch.
But it’s worse for me. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to rid strong poisons from someone’s body, and most of the time, even if I get them treated quickly, it’s not enough.
I flick on an exhaust fan, sucking the putrid smell out of the room, and close my eyes against the sting.
Ryanne’s hand still grips my own, but she’s not squeezing as hard as she was when the potion first hit her wound. I look down at her, making sure she’s still breathing. Making sure she’s going to make it through the treatment.
If she really is mated to one of the men in the room, I don’t want to be the reason she doesn’t get to go back to his arms. To his bed.
Finally, she relaxes. Or maybe just exhausts herself. Although she’s breathing heavily and her body’s soaked with sweat, she’s alert. She’s strong.
She just might make it through this.
“Someone tell me exactly what happened. Now.” I gently work the spreaders out of her wound, watching as she cringes and grits her teeth again. Leaning in close, I whisper, “I’m sorry. I’m almost done.”
I hate hurting her, and I hate that even with two shifters—one an S.E.A. enforcer—she still got this hurt.
“Three guys came into Molly’s. They all had nasty weapons, all tainted with magic.” Gage’s voice is low, and I can practically smell the rage on him. “Another disarmed two of them, but the third fired the arrow before he could be stopped.”
“Three mortal men, and you couldn’t take them down?”
“Don’t blame them. There was an incubus. Everyone was a little off their game.” Ryanne speaks for the first time, and I’m struck at how husky, how melodic her tone is. Like an old torch lounge singer. “I’m glad they didn’t start fighting before they did. It could’ve ended up worse for everyone, if they’d attacked.”
“An incubus? Gage, when the S.E.A. hears about this…”
“They’re not going to. You’re going to patch her up, she’ll heal, and when the cleaners come, the witch who owns the bar will have already taken care of the mortals still standing. No one needs to know that I didn’t follow protocol. No one needs to know that I let the demon go. He saved her ass, Brand. There was something off about them. The way they were talking, the way they were acting. If they weren’t all dead, I’d say they’d spoken to an oracle.” Gage moves to Ryanne’s other side, and I watch as she turns her face toward him.
The soft smile that she gives him is one of adoration. Maybe she is his mate. But then, why do I get the feeling the wolf has a claim too?
“You two need to clean up, put on some damn clothes, and we probably all need something to eat. Ryanne, I’m going to give you a mild sedative, something to help you sleep and heal.”
“No. No more potions or meds or whatever. I want to know what’s going on. I want to know why you said I was a demigoddess.”
“That arrow? It would’ve killed most supernaturals outright.” I hold up the dragonscale gloves, showing her where the poison from the shaft ate through the near-indestructible hide. “There’s only one set of arrows I know of capable of doing that kind of damage. Was the bow silver?”
“No. It was a normal wooden bow. What are you talking about?” Sh
e tries to sit up, groaning as her body protests it.
Grudgingly, I nod at Tyler and Gage to help her, and I reposition the table into more of a chair. My “operating table” is more like a tattoo chair, but it comes in handy, especially when my patient is being obstinate.
“That’s something then. If they only had an arrow of Orion, maybe this is the only one. But if there’s more out there… If a mortal finds his bow, we could all be in grave danger. Especially you, Ryanne.”
“Orion? Like the constellation?”
“He was a hunter first. A killer of beasts. His weapons were the bane of all shifters.” I look at Gage. “What were the other weapons?”
“A club, and a longsword.”
Shit. “Who has them?”
“Molly, the witch.” Gage tilts his head at me. “Why?”
“Someone out there is arming mortals with weapons that can hurt a demigoddess. That can kill shifters. We need to find them, stop them. Even if it means I have to go back to working with the S.E.A.” Just like my parents always wanted.
With a sigh, I walk around the room to one of the cabinets lining the wall and I pull out a vial. “If you don’t want a sedative, can I at least convince you to take this?”
“What is it?” She looks at it warily.
“The supernatural equivalent of aspirin. It should ease any residual pain you feel, until your own natural healing fully restores you.”
Ryanne chuckles lightly. “Okay. I think I can handle that much. But I’d like to clean up too. I doubt you have anything that I can wear, though.”
“I’m sure we can all be gentlemanly and not stare too much at your legs, if you want to get away with just wearing one of my shirts.”
She looks me over, as if she’s trying to decide if my shirt would fit her.
I admit, it’ll probably be tight, especially over her exceptional hips, ass, and boobs, but I’m not going to be the one to ask her not to wear it.
“I’ll try it.”
“For now, just rest here. Tyler, Gage, you two can go first.”
It’s not until they’re walking out, their naked bodies completely exposed, that I smell the faintest scent of her arousal.
And fuck if it doesn’t make my bear want to growl out that she’s mine.
Hungry for more of Ryanne’s romance? Book 2, Courted, is available for pre-order here!
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Also by Piper Fox
Midnight Huntress Series: Paranormal Reverse Harem
Alien Warriors of New Dilaria Series: Sci-Fi Reverse Harem
The Ironhaven Pack Series: Wolf Shifter Romances
The Dragon Space Order Bride Series: Sci-Fi Romance
Bears of Crooked Creek: A Bear Shifter Romance Series
Seven Brides For Seven Demons: A Demon Romance Series
Last Warriors of Dilaria: A Sci-Fi Romance Series
The Immortal Blood Series: Vampire Romance
About the Author
Piper Fox writes steamy paranormal romances for sassy, strong-willed women and the sexy, alpha men who love them.
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Copyright © 2021 by Piper Fox
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