“Yeah, okay, but I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
Delevan smiled and kissed Blair again, this time on the lips. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be right back, don’t worry.”
He waved at Ira, who was sitting at the counter, a glass in his hand, and followed Bradley outside. Bradley didn’t stop walking until they reached the pond, and Delevan was even more curious and perplexed than he’d been until then.
When Bradley paused at the far end of the pond, the furthest away from the house, Delevan finally had to ask, “So? What’s wrong? Is this about the bruises?”
“Bruises?”
Delevan waved at Bradley’s torso. “I know some people saw them.”
He hadn’t expected Bradley to smile at that. “I know they did. I made sure of it.”
“Who did it to you? We can help you.”
Bradley shook his head. “You can’t.”
“At least tell me who.” Delevan could always tell his dad about it. Bradley might not like it, but Delevan wouldn’t mind making him angry if it helped him.
“You really want to know?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Bradley looked at Delevan. “Fine. It was Jericho. My second in command.”
Delevan frowned. “Second in command?”
“Of the hunters.”
Dread washed over Delevan. He had a hard time believing what Bradley was saying, but looking at the man was enough to tell Delevan he was very serious. “You’re the leader of the hunters?”
“Yes.”
Delevan took a step backward. “What do you want from me?”
“I’m about to be found out, so I can’t stay, and you’re coming with me.”
Delevan snorted, the sound escaping him before he could stop it. “I don’t think so.”
“Why do you think I wanted to talk to you here? Everyone is too far away to help you, and I know you’re not mated yet, so Blair won’t know something is up until he realizes we’re not coming back.” He reached back and took out a knife from the back of his jeans. “Let’s go.”
“No.” Delevan could probably have fought against Bradley if they’d both been weaponless, although now that he knew who Bradley was, Delevan wasn’t a hundred percent sure of that. But Bradley had a knife, and Delevan knew it wouldn’t end well. He’d been stupid to follow the man out there without wondering what was up, but he’d really thought Bradley was harmless, and that he probably wanted to confess a crush or finally tell someone who was hurting him.
Bradley didn’t look dangerous. He didn’t look like a spy, nor like someone who would hurt the many shifters who’d paid with their lives when the hunters had attacked them. Besides, Bradley was a shifter, and the hunters were trying to rid the world of those. Delevan didn’t have an explanation for why Bradley was leading a group of people who were supposed to exterminate his kind, but he wasn’t about to ask.
Bradley raised his knife. “I’m not giving you the option to say no.” He tilted his head toward the woods. “Start walking.”
Delevan could guess why Bradley wanted him. He was his father’s son, and his father was both a strong pride alpha and the head of the council, albeit unofficially. Capturing Delevan would give Bradley a lot of leverage, because Delevan had no doubts his father would do whatever it took to get him back, including giving up the council and the pride. He couldn’t allow that. Not even if death was the only other option.
“No.”
Bradley reached for Delevan, and Delevan jerked back. He started to run toward the house, but Bradley had known what he was doing when he’d brought Delevan there. Delevan tripped on a root, but he managed to keep upright. The hesitation was enough for Bradley to grab him.
He pulled on Delevan’s wrist, but instead of following meekly, Delevan bunched his hand in a fist and aimed for Bradley’s face. His fist connected with Bradley’s cheek and Bradley swore.
Bradley didn’t go down, and he reached for Delevan again, but Delevan moved away. He turned to run again, but a searing pain in his stomach stopped him. He stumbled and went down. His side hit the ground, and the breath punched out of his lungs.
Bradley crouched next to him and pushed at his side until he was on his back. He looked down and wasn’t surprised to see Bradley’s knife stuck in his stomach.
“We could have solved this without pain, you know?” Bradley said. “But it’s too late for that.” He took out another knife.
* * * *
Blair hurried after Adan. He didn’t know what was going on, but it couldn’t be good. He should have known something was wrong when Bradley had wanted to talk to Delevan in private. As far as Blair knew, Delevan and Bradley had never even talked to each other, so why would Bradley want something like that?
They burst into the clearing where the pond was, and Blair’s gaze went to Bradley. He was standing on the other side of the pond, a knife in his hand, and at his feet... Delevan was on his back, a knife stuck in his stomach, blood pooling around him. Blair could see it even from where he was, and he screamed.
His mate was hurt. His mate was dying, and he was so far away that he couldn’t do anything. He started to run toward Delevan, but before he could take more than a few steps, Bradley said, “Stop.”
Blair didn’t care what Bradley wanted. He didn’t care about the knife, so he moved again, but Ira blocked him, hugging him from behind, keeping him in place. Blair growled, at who he wasn’t sure. He wanted to hit Ira for keeping him away, but the more rational part of his mind knew Ira was just trying to help. They didn’t know how Bradley would react if they attacked. He could hurt Delevan even more, and Blair couldn’t allow that. “What the fuck have you done to him?” he yelled, trying to distract Bradley from Delevan.
“I stabbed him.”
Blair growled at him, and Ira tightened his hold.
“Why did you do it?” Adan asked softly.
Bradley looked at him. “I was going to take him with me, but he decided to be stupid.” Blair growled and fought Ira, but Ira didn’t let go.
Bradley looked straight at Blair, smirked, and kneeled next to Delevan. He stabbed him again, and Blair went wild. Ira’s hold on him loosened, and Ira didn’t try to stop him when he launched himself toward Delevan.
Blair didn’t even look at Bradley. He didn’t care about him, not right now. He needed to get to Delevan. Blair kneeled next to his mate and hovered his hand over Delevan’s stomach. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to hurt Delevan even more, but he couldn’t stand not doing anything to help him.
He vaguely heard voices around him, but he didn’t pay attention to anything but Delevan, not until other hands appeared in his field of vision. He looked up to see Noem kneeling on Delevan’s other side. “Save him,” he croaked, not recognizing his own voice.
“I’ll do my best,” Noem answered. “We need to get the knife out.”
“Where’s Jared?”
“Hospital. He won’t get back in time. I need you to help me.”
“Whatever you need me to do.”
Noem nodded. “Put your hands around the knife. When I tell you to take it out, do it and move away. You don’t have to be too far, but I need the space.”
Blair wrapped trembling hands around the knife handle and tightened his hold on it as hard as he could. He waited, holding his breath until Noem nodded and said, “Now.”
Blair pulled on the knife. At first it didn’t move, but slowly, he started to slide it out of Delevan’s wound. It was a horrible feeling, as if Delevan’s body was holding on to it, as if it didn’t want Blair to take it away.
As soon as the blade was out, Blair leaned backward and let it fall on the ground. Noem extended his hands over Delevan’s stomach. They started glowing, feebly at first, then more strongly. Blair took one of Delevan’s hands in his and held it while Noem worked.
He could still hear people talking around them, but he kept his attention on Delevan. Question
s could wait. Anything that wasn’t Delevan could wait.
Noem was growing paler as the minutes ticked by. It was obvious that whatever he was doing was taxing, but he didn’t stop until Blair saw Delevan’s wounds close in front of his eyes. He swallowed thickly and raised his free hand, but he stopped before touching his mate.
Noem let his hands fall and slumped on himself. He blinked at Blair, and Blair reached for him instead, keeping him upright until someone—Ira—grabbed him under his armpits and hauled him up.
“Is he all right?” Blair asked.
Noem nodded. “Yes. He’ll need rest because he lost a lot of blood, and I can’t do anything to help that, but his wound is closed.”
“Can we move him?”
“Yes. Take him to his room, wash him up, and put him in bed. When he wakes up, give him something to drink and let me or Jared know. We’ll come check him.”
“Are you all right?”
Noem smiled. “I will be. It’s always tiring to heal, especially wounds this big and deep, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Ira helped Noem walk away and Blair finally looked around. Adan and Dominic were speaking close by, but when Dominic saw him looking, he strode toward them. He kneeled on Delevan’s other side and looked at his wound. “How is he?”
“Noem says he’ll be fine. We can take him to his room.”
“Are you up to carrying him, or do you want me to do it?”
Blair got up. His legs shook, but he didn’t think it’d be a problem. He needed to be the one taking care of Delevan. His dragon was pushing him to do it, to whisk Delevan away and lock him up so he’d never be hurt again. Blair knew the dragon would settle once the moment had passed and once Delevan woke up, but right now, he didn’t want to risk going against its instincts. “I’ll do it.”
Dominic didn’t protest. He got up and stayed close as Blair crouched and slipped his arms under his mate. He didn’t have too much of a problem pulling Delevan up, and Dominic led the way back to the house.
Blair looked at the blood on Delevan’s clothes and skin, and he couldn’t wait to wash it away. “Do you know why Bradley did this?” he asked to keep his mind off it.
“He was a mole.”
“A mole?”
“For the hunters.”
Blair frowned. “But... he’s a shifter. Why would he work for them?”
Dominic shook his head. “I have no idea. I hope he talked to Delevan so that we can find out a bit more about the cluster fuck this situation has become.”
“Later.”
Dominic turned to look at Blair. “Of course. He needs time to rest.”
“How... how are you holding up?” It was weird to ask Dominic that. He was the alpha, always strong for the pride, always first in line, and Blair couldn’t help but notice the worry lines on his forehead, or the way he kept glancing at Delevan.
“I almost lost my son today. I found him only a year ago, and I almost lost him.” He sighed and closed his eyes.
Blair wasn’t sure what he could do or say to make things better. He didn’t think anything could achieve that, but he wasn’t ready to deal with a crying Dominic, especially not now that he had to take care of Delevan and his own feelings were all over the place.
Luckily for him, Ani was hovering by the kitchen door when they walked in sight of the house, and as soon as he saw them, he ran to them.
“What happened? Shit, Delevan’s hurt? Is he going to be all right?”
Dominic pulled Ani into his arms. “Noem healed him,” Blair heard Dominic say. He passed by them and stepped into the kitchen. It was full of people, some crying, some just pale, and all of them stared at Delevan’s stomach.
“He’s fine,” Blair said. “Noem healed him. He needs to rest.”
The crowd parted in front of him, and he hurried toward the stairs. He could feel someone following him, but he didn’t stop until he was in front of Delevan’s door. He didn’t have enough hands to open it, but Dominic was there, doing it for him.
Blair managed to put Delevan down in his bed after Dominic pulled the comforter down, but his knees buckled before he could go to the bathroom to get a washcloth. Someone squeezed his shoulder and pushed him onto the bed next to Delevan. “Stay with him. Me and Dominic will take care of washing him and of everything else.”
Blair nodded at Ani and hugged Delevan’s arm, as if Delevan was about to disappear.
* * * *
Delevan was thirsty, so he tried to sit up, but something wrapped around his arm didn’t let him. “The fuck?”
“You’re awake.”
Delevan blinked at Blair. “Yeah. Can I have something to drink?”
“I’ll go grab you some water.”
Blair left the bedroom and Delevan took stock of his body. Nothing hurt, not even his stomach, and he hoped it was a good thing. He knew he should be in pain, but Noem had probably fixed him. Still. He grabbed the hem of the T-shirt he was wearing—it wasn’t the one he’d put on after work—and pulled it up.
His stomach was exactly the same as it’d been before. No blood, no wounds, not even a scar. Delevan smoothed a hand down his abs and tightened them. It didn’t hurt.
He pushed his T-shirt down and lay back against his pillow just as Blair walked in again, a glass of water in his hand. Delevan sat up and drank the entire thing in one go, then handed the empty glass back to Blair.
Blair put it on the nightstand and sat next to Delevan’s hip, looking awkward. They hadn’t really made much progress in the few weeks since they’d discovered they were mates. They slept together every night, but Blair often still looked uncomfortable, and Delevan wasn’t sure what to do to make it pass.
“Lie next to me?” he asked. Blair had obviously been clinging to him as he slept, so hopefully he wouldn’t mind doing it again now that Delevan was awake.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t. I’m as good as new.”
“I should go get you something to eat.”
“Blair... did something happen?”
Blair laughed darkly. “Apart from you being stabbed? No. Everyone else is fine.”
“Why are you keeping your distance then? Are you angry at me?”
Blair sighed. “No.”
“Look, I know we’re not... lovey-dovey yet, but I need you.” He really did. He hated to admit it, because Blair looked like he’d rather be anywhere but with him, but he needed to be held. He knew he’d been close to dying, that he would have if Noem hadn’t been there. It made Delevan realize he wanted more than the stilted conversations he and Blair had. He wanted more than falling asleep on their sides of the bed only to spring apart when they woke up and realized their bodies had tangled together on their own during the night.
Blair finally moved, stretching next to Delevan. It was better, but they still weren’t touching. Maybe Delevan should fake sleep, since Blair had been hugging his arm while he was out.
“I need you too.”
The words startled Delevan. They were the last thing he’d expected to hear from Blair. “You certainly don’t act like it.”
Blair narrowed his eyes. “Oh yeah? How about you ask your father how I acted when I found you dying on the forest ground? How about you ask who carried you back home after Noem healed you, and who stayed here for the past two hours waiting for you to wake up?”
Blair started to get up. “I don’t blame you for going with Bradley. No one knew he was working with the hunters, and I saw you walking away with him and didn’t suspect a thing, but can you blame me for being scared? I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget what I saw when I walked into that clearing, Del, and I want to, so much. That was the scariest moment of my entire life. I thought I’d lost you. I thought I’d lost you, after we’ve been keeping our distance for weeks.”
He crossed his legs and leaned back against the headboard. “I’m tired of this. I’ve been walking on eggsh
ells around you because of the Ben thing, and your father, and... I can’t, not anymore. If you’d died, if I’d lost you before we could be together—”
Delevan sat up and pressed his lips against Blair’s. It wasn’t one of the awkward kisses they exchanged in the mornings, or before going to bed. It was like the first time they’d kissed, when Delevan had been overwhelmed by the idea of having found his mate, before Blair had realized it meant Dominic Nash was his father-in-law.
Blair didn’t resist. He sighed against Delevan’s mouth and opened to him. The position was uncomfortable, but Delevan didn’t care. This was the closest he’d felt to his mate since they’d found out what they were to each other.
It wasn’t only from the kiss. Blair had opened up, had finally talked to Delevan and told him what his problem was—well, part of his problem. Delevan wasn’t convinced Blair had kept his distance just for the Benjamin thing, but it didn’t matter right now.
Blair put a hand on Delevan’s chest and gently pushed him away, and Delevan felt ready to break down. “What?” he croaked, trying to get close again.
“I should go get your father. He’s probably going crazy, waiting for you to wake up.”
Delevan slumped. “Yeah, you’re right. I should have thought about it.”
Instead of getting up, though, Blair learned forward and kissed Delevan’s forehead, then his cheek. “We’ll have time to talk things out and kiss later. I promise.”
“Good, because I’ve had enough of the distance between us. I hate it.”
Blair looked like he wanted to say something, but he shook his head. “Later. I’m going to go down to Dominic’s office and tell him you’re up, then run to the kitchen and bring you something to eat. Anything you want in particular?”
Delevan shook his head. “Whatever was for dinner.”
“I’m sure someone will have put a plate in the fridge for you.” Blair kissed Delevan’s cheek again and climbed off the bed.
Delevan waited for his mate to leave the room to slump against his pillow. He might not feel pain or have a wound anymore, but he did feel slightly dizzy and weak. He’d probably lost a lot of blood, and he wasn’t surprised.
Delevan Page 5
