to kill me.
“Micah, no!” she cried, shoving at his chest.
The door crashed open and Micah’s weight suddenly disappeared. The sounds of fierce growling and snapping, furniture being shoved, reached her ears, the unmistakable fury of two canines battling it out. Sitting up, she clutched the back of her head and gaped at a pair of wolves—one brown and one red—fighting for dominance.
They were a blur of speed and motion. The brown wolf rolled, dodged, but the red one advanced, teeth bared, backing him into a corner. The brown wolf was smaller, his coat dull and matted when it should’ve been as full and lustrous as that of his red and cream counterpart. The brown, she guessed, was Micah.
As evidenced when he toppled over and passed out… and then changed back to human form. The red wolf approached his fallen companion, sniffed, and whined softly. Then his fur slowly retracted, limbs reshaped, and became a human male crouching where the wolf had been.
A very naked male. Aric.
Later, she would appreciate the memory of the view. At the moment, she stood on shaky legs as he did the same, scooping her brother into his arms and carrying him to the bed. A woman she hadn’t met before, who by the white coat she presumed was a doctor, and a young male nurse, hurried to help Aric get Micah into another gown and settled once more. The nurse fussed with the IV while the doctor checked his vitals, listened to his heart and lungs.
Aric righted an overturned visitor’s chair and pushed her into it. “Are you okay?” His tone was quiet and concerned, and he brushed away her hand to examine the back of her head. Fingers probed gently at a lump forming there, and she winced. “You’re going to have a bit of a headache, and you were already about to drop. Why don’t you go to your room and lie down for a while?”
Her throat tightened with fear. Misery. “I can’t. He needs me.”
“He needs you to stay well,” Aric countered. “He doesn’t know you’re here right now and a few hours’ sleep will only help you.”
“That wasn’t my brother,” she whispered.
“I know, honey.” His knuckles grazed her cheek.
The small act of caring was nearly her undoing. And suddenly, a man calling her “honey” wasn’t so bad either, coming from this man. Hanging her head, she struggled to hold back the flood of tears that threatened to spill.
“Go ahead and cry if it’ll make you feel better.”
She gave a watery, humorless laugh. “You know, I was shocked and grief-stricken when that asshole told me Micah had been killed. But now I don’t feel a whole lot different, except I might be losing my mind.”
“No way,” he teased gently. “The limit on crazy is one sibling per family.”
This time, her laugh had a bit more heart. But only just. She turned to look at him, kneeling by her chair, handsome face full of nothing but concern. Against her will, her eyes did a quick tour south, but in his position, with the arm of the chair blocking her view, she could see only see his sculpted upper half. His chest was broadwith a nice sprinkling of dark hair and two bronzed male nipples puckered from the air-conditioning.
God, he was beautiful. And it had been too long.
Shaking herself, she looked away and fell back on her cop persona. “Normally I arrest people for walking around like that.”
Ignoring the doctor’s
humph
of agreement, he snickered. “Encounter a lot of streakers, do you?”
“Some. Especially around Halloween.”
“Hey, here it’s Halloween
all
the freakin’ time.” He waggled his brows. “What a bonus.”
Glancing up from her patient, the doc grumbled, “Put on some damned clothes, Savage.”
“You’re just jealous ’cause mine’s bigger than yours,” he shot back. “
Mel
.”
The glare the other woman leveled at him told Rowan how much she appreciated that nickname.
“It’s Melina, dickhead.” To Rowan, in a marginally nicer tone, she said, “Dr. Melina Mallory. I
“Micah, no!” she cried, shoving at his chest.
The door crashed open and Micah’s weight suddenly disappeared. The sounds of fierce growling and snapping, furniture being shoved, reached her ears, the unmistakable fury of two canines battling it out. Sitting up, she clutched the back of her head and gaped at a pair of wolves—one brown and one red—fighting for dominance.
They were a blur of speed and motion. The brown wolf rolled, dodged, but the red one advanced, teeth bared, backing him into a corner. The brown wolf was smaller, his coat dull and matted when it should’ve been as full and lustrous as that of his red and cream counterpart. The brown, she guessed, was Micah.
As evidenced when he toppled over and passed out… and then changed back to human form. The red wolf approached his fallen companion, sniffed, and whined softly. Then his fur slowly retracted, limbs reshaped, and became a human male crouching where the wolf had been.
A very naked male. Aric.
Later, she would appreciate the memory of the view. At the moment, she stood on shaky legs as he did the same, scooping her brother into his arms and carrying him to the bed. A woman she hadn’t met before, who by the white coat she presumed was a doctor, and a young male nurse, hurried to help Aric get Micah into another gown and settled once more. The nurse fussed with the IV while the doctor checked his vitals, listened to his heart and lungs.
Aric righted an overturned visitor’s chair and pushed her into it. “Are you okay?” His tone was quiet and concerned, and he brushed away her hand to examine the back of her head. Fingers probed gently at a lump forming there, and she winced. “You’re going to have a bit of a headache, and you were already about to drop. Why don’t you go to your room and lie down for a while?”
Her throat tightened with fear. Misery. “I can’t. He needs me.”
“He needs you to stay well,” Aric countered. “He doesn’t know you’re here right now and a few hours’ sleep will only help you.”
“That wasn’t my brother,” she whispered.
“I know, honey.” His knuckles grazed her cheek.
The small act of caring was nearly her undoing. And suddenly, a man calling her “honey” wasn’t so bad either, coming from this man. Hanging her head, she struggled to hold back the flood of tears that threatened to spill.
“Go ahead and cry if it’ll make you feel better.”
She gave a watery, humorless laugh. “You know, I was shocked and grief-stricken when that asshole told me Micah had been killed. But now I don’t feel a whole lot different, except I might be losing my mind.”
“No way,” he teased gently. “The limit on crazy is one sibling per family.”
This time, her laugh had a bit more heart. But only just. She turned to look at him, kneeling by her chair, handsome face full of nothing but concern. Against her will, her eyes did a quick tour south, but in his position, with the arm of the chair blocking her view, she could see only see his sculpted upper half. His chest was broadwith a nice sprinkling of dark hair and two bronzed male nipples puckered from the air-conditioning.
God, he was beautiful. And it had been too long.
Shaking herself, she looked away and fell back on her cop persona. “Normally I arrest people for walking around like that.”
Ignoring the doctor’s
humph
of agreement, he snickered. “Encounter a lot of streakers, do you?”
“Some. Especially around Halloween.”
“Hey, here it’s Halloween
all
the freakin’ time.” He waggled his brows. “What a bonus.”
Glancing up from her patient, the doc grumbled, “Put on some damned clothes, Savage.”
“You’re just jealous ’cause mine’s bigger than yours,” he shot back. “
Mel
.”
The glare the other woman leveled at him told Rowan how much she appreciated that nickname.
“It’s Melina, dickhead.” To Rowan, in a marginally nicer tone, she said, “Dr. Melina Mallory. I
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