CHAPTER 26
She was warm. Toasty warm from head to toe. She could feel the warmth wrapped around her, like a brush of flesh, like Del-Rey.
It felt like Del-Rey. It didn’t feel like death. She didn’t feel feverish. She didn’t feel cold and in pain. She didn’t feel weak and lethargic.
Actually, she was damned hungry.
She opened her eyes as a rumbled growl of hunger caused a flush to heat her cheeks. How long had it been since she had eaten?
A warm, broad palm whispered over her stomach. She felt a bandage on her side and the tight sensation of flesh adhesive.
Memory rushed over her then. The meeting, the attack. Ashley and the girls.
Her eyes opened to meet the gentle, black gaze staring down at her.
“About time.”
She stared into his face. There was a rough, rakish growth of beard on his lower face. His lashes were heavy as though he had just awoken himself. Broad shoulders were naked, looming over her side as his fingers lifted to her cheek, his thumb whispered over her lips.
“Don’t move too fast,” he said softly. “The shot missed vital organs but you bled a lot. The doctors want to be careful that you don’t experience more shock.” His expression twisted. “The baby’s safe.”
She blinked back in shock. “Baby?”
“Those doctors you risked your life for—” he cleared his throat—“they knew so much that we didn’t, Anya. So much.” He shook his head. “I’ll let Nikki explain it all later. But you need to be careful at least until our child is born.”
His lips crooked into a grin. “I told you, they knew so much we didn’t. You were right, Coya, we needed them. You were right about so many things and I refused to listen.” He shook his head. “Later. You need food.”
She watched, silent, uncertain where to allow her thoughts to land as he slid from the bed and tucked the blankets carefully around her.
“Ashley,” she whispered. “Jax?”
He swung around as he pulled a pair of cotton pajama bottoms from the chair and dragged them over his powerful thighs.
“Jax is currently sitting out in the hall, his proverbial tail tucked between his legs as he guards our door. Ashley is fine. A bump on the head to match Sharone’s. They were distracted by your illness. They didn’t have time to react to the attack.” He frowned at her lightly. “That’s why I demanded a security force when you left Haven, Mate.”
She stared back at him. “You took my girls,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “The pack leaders made a mistake in that unsigned memo Brim sent out. A mistake that will never happen again. A signed memo went out the second I learned what happened in that kitchen, Anya, reinstating your status and scheduling our ceremony for spring. Unfortunately, you had left and the Feline Breed that betrayed us all was able to get out of the base.” He shook his head. “I should have told you my suspicions, but I didn’t want to worry you.”
“We were betrayed?” She licked her dry lips in confusion. “What the hell happened while I was gone, Del-Rey?”
“Everything went to f**king hell,” he suddenly snarled in male irritation. “My whole f**king base came down around my damned ears. I’m a general, Coya, not a f**king nursemaid. You need to get well to take care of their gripes and complaints before I start knocking their f**king heads together. You’ve slept for two days. I’ve spent that time in that bed.” He pointed to her side. “With a laptop, answering a million damned hysterical emails from Coyote Breeds who can’t seem to make a decision on their damned own.”
Her lips twitched. “All it takes is an occasional kind word, Del-Rey. They’re really very responsive to a little emotional pat now and then.”
He glared at her without heat. A hint of humor lit his eyes.
“Prove it, Coya.”
“Feed me first,” she demanded. “And God, I need to use the bathroom.”
He helped her to the bathroom first. He carried her in despite her protests, waited just outside the door, then carried her back when she was finished.
She had managed to wash her face and brush her teeth. She felt almost human again as he tucked her back beneath the warm blankets.
“The girls are bringing your food.” He sat down beside her gingerly, touched her face again. “I almost lost you.”
“I tried to contact you before the meeting,” she sighed. “I made them leave their links behind though. When Sharone borrowed one from Satin’s enforcer, she heard Satin talking to Wolfe about stopping us. We ran but lost the link in the flight. I couldn’t stop, Del-Rey.” She stared back at him desperately. “I couldn’t stop. We had to have those doctors.”
“Shh. The doctors are here, safe and making lists of equipment needed for Base. They’re our doctors. They know us, Anya,” he said softly. “I never saw so many things. Never suspected that a scientist could be more than a monster. They showed me differently. They showed me what we are, and what we were meant to be as Coyotes. But it wouldn’t have mattered. They saved your life. Nikki couldn’t have done it. She would have killed you trying to save you, and I was too damned arrogant to understand that.”
She shook her head. “Too concerned for your people,” she sighed. “This isn’t a blame game, Del-Rey. We survived, right? Jax, Brim, the girls? Everyone?”
“Several wounded, none of our people are dead, though seven city council members and one traitorous Feline Breed were killed.” He shook his head at that. “Douglas was hand-picked by me. He wasn’t even drugged; he just hated Coyotes. Nothing mattered but that hatred.”
She barely knew who Douglas was. He had stayed out of sight for the most part. Now she knew why.
“You have a lot to explain to me, don’t you?”
“Quite a bit.” He grinned as a soft knock sounded on the door. “Ashley is refusing to let me pay for her nails until she sees you. Sharone is still glaring at me, and Emma is playing with her knives every time she sees me or Jax. I think you should reassure them.”
“That ceremony.” She stopped him. “Why?”
“Because I love you,” he said simply. “You’re my coya, Anya. I won’t deny that any longer. Denying it was killing both of us, and driving a wedge between our people. And I will remind you, I sent out a memo to that effect before you left Base.” He frowned down at her. “Not because you were hurt or because of our child. Because you’re mine, and I no longer deny what is mine.”