Fierce (Devils Point Wolves Book 5)(5)

Another glance down and she realized she was lying in a bed, covered by white blankets with an IV in her arm. Awareness shot through her, causing her to jerk upright.

Hospital.

The fire.

Every painful memory of being trapped in the burning club came rushing back to her. She’d been in her dressing room when an explosion caused everything around her to fall apart and rain down on her.

“Creed,” she croaked, sudden fear clamping down on her in a tight fisted grip.

His eyes popped open and he shot forward. “It’s okay, Dani. You’re safe now.” He grabbed her hand and rubbed her fingers sending a heart wrenching tingle along her arm. “You’re in the hospital, so you’re going to have to take it easy for a while.”

“What happened?” she asked, trying to get her bearing still. Everything had happened so fast it was all still a blur.

“There was an incident at the club. A fire.” His fingers grazed her arm as he spoke. “You were trapped inside.”

“You got me out.” A vague memory of Creed appearing through a wall of flames reached out to her.

He nodded. “Thanks to Sawyer, yes.”

Oh God. Her hands tightened into fists as more memories assaulted her. Screams from the other dancers. Sawyer trying to keep her calm when she couldn’t move.

“Is he—?” She was afraid to finish her question. She didn’t think she could bear it if him helping her had taken his…

“He’s alive.”

Creed’s face pulled into a harsh glare at the two words. Her stomach sank. The two of them were tight. Best friends in fact and nearly inseparable as far as she could tell. “Is he going to be okay?”

His lips compressed and his eyes went dark. “We’re strong. And we heal fast. Although his injuries were extreme, as soon as he is able to shift again, everything will be fine.

Dani swallowed. For the first time since learning the true nature of the Devils Point islanders she felt relief. If being a shapeshifter meant he would be okay then she was glad he had that on his side.

“He did everything he could to try and save me,” she whispered. “I’m glad he’ll be okay.”

Creed still wasn’t smiling at her. “Aren’t you going to ask about the baby?”

Dani winced at his anger laced words. Her unreasonable hope that he knew nothing about it died instantly. Instead fear took its place. The raw emotion etched into Creed’s face as he spoke did not bode well.

“I—I—” She couldn’t voice the words. Instead her hands wrapped around her stomach protectively, and she turned away from him. If he was going to tell her the bad news, she wasn’t going to watch. Suddenly the fire still burning in her throat seemed pale in comparison to this.

“She’s fine. Doctor says you’re lucky considering all the smoke you breathed in. They’ve been monitoring her since you were brought in and so far so good.”

“She? It’s a girl? They can tell already? I thought I had another month or so before that was possible.” Her heart nearly exploded. She would have been happy either way, but she’d been secretly hoping for a girl.

Creed shook his head, his shoulders sagging. “Yes. A girl. They had to do a series of tests last night to check on her and I guess they could tell already. Shifters don't do slow you know.”

Despite the need to roll her eyes at him, relief sagged through her, making her head fall back against the pillow. “Thank God.”

“Yes, thank God,” he agreed. “Although the doctor says you aren’t eating enough and need to gain a little weight to keep her healthy.”

She spun toward him. “Is he crazy? I am most certainly not underweight.”

Creed ignored her and continued. “You also aren’t getting enough rest. Probably from working too much.”

“I’m not a child. I know how much my own body can take.”

He frowned. “Apparently not. Dancing seven days a week is too much. Although that’s not going to be a problem anymore with the club burned to the ground.”

She shifted in the bed groaning. “I can’t believe this happened. No one is going to hire me now. I’ve probably only got a few more weeks before I won’t be able to hide it anymore.”

Creed’s face turned dark red a moment after what she realized she’d said. For a second she forgot who she was talking to and the fact she needed to be more careful about what she said.

“That’s your plan?” he spat. “Hide it? Why on earth would you want to hide such a thing?” His face changed as an obvious idea struck him. “Are you ashamed because it’s mine?”