The king bent closer to inspect the wounds and Mitch heard the angry growl in the back of his throat. Thankfully, his displeasure wasn’t aimed at Mitch, but rather at the coward who would betray his own kind so that another could poison him.
“Whoever did this wants us warring among ourselves,” Gina’s father said in a low, angry voice. “If you had died of the poison, not many of us would look beyond the claw marks for a reason for your departure from this realm. We would have blamed another shifter.”
“I believe so, sire,” Mitch agreed, thankful that he was feeling well enough to converse with the Goddess-blessed leader of his people, even if this king didn’t want the job anymore. “I also believe that whatever was in the syringe was meant to kill me. Only your daughter’s blood saved me and allows me to continue.” Mitch turned to Gina, daring to reach out for her hand. “I want you to know, while I am still clear-headed enough to tell you…I won’t blame you if I don’t survive this. It won’t be your fault. You’ve done more than anyone could have done for me. For that I thank you. Allowing me the time to help our people—to let them know it wasn’t a shifter that killed me—is a true gift. Whatever happens, I want you to know that. Thank you, princess.”
Mitch cursed inwardly. The woman had tears in her eyes. If not for her father sitting next to him—glowering at him now—Mitch would have taken her into his arms and kissed those tears away. As it was, all he could do was squeeze her hand and hold her watery gaze, hoping she could read the truth of his words in his eyes.
“I promise to do my best for you,” Gina whispered.
Anything more she would have said was cut off by her father. “Can you save him, kitten?”
She lifted her gaze to her father and nodded, her lips pressed tightly together as if to hold in her emotions. “I think so,” she finally answered. “He stays lucid for longer each time and the convulsions weren’t as severe last night as they were the first time. Each subsequent treatment seems to negate a bit more of whatever it was they injected him with. Giving him the nectar was a mistake. It made things worse and it’s taken a lot of my blood to bring him back from it.” She bit her lip before continuing in a more timid manner. “There’s just one thing that worries me. When he convulses, parts of him shift. His hands and feet. And the last time…there was white fur amid the gold.”
Mitch was shocked. He’d always been a golden tiger.
“Is it some kind of side effect from the blood you’ve given me?” he asked, truly puzzled and feeling more than a little spooked.
White fur was the province of the king and his family alone. Mitch was tigre d’or—a golden tiger—as were all other tiger shifters in the world. Only a rare few were tigre blanche—the sacred white tigers.
“Are you certain, kitten? You saw white fur?” Gina’s father asked in grave tones.
Gina nodded. “I’ve dosed people with my blood before—including other goldens—but I’ve never seen this kind of response. Of course, I’ve never given anyone as much as I’ve given Mitch. I’ve shot him up three times, each time with a higher dose.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Well, it could be a side effect of your treatment, but then again…” Gina’s father stood abruptly. “I have to think about this. I also have to check the perimeter and talk with the Guard. No one will trespass to interfere with your recovery, Mitch.” The exiled king nodded at him and Mitch felt the impact of that decisive gesture. “Heal him as best you can, kitten,” the elder said to his daughter. “He might be more important than you know.”
And with those disturbing words and a final hug for his daughter, the powerful man left the cabin in a whirl of snow as he opened the heavy door. Apparently, sometime during their talk, a storm had rolled in, blanketing what Mitch could see of the sky in a dark, uniform gray.
“Looks like we’ll be snowed in here for a bit,” Gina said, barring the door behind her father. “How are you feeling?” She leaned back against the wooden door, her gaze roving over him with a critical eye.
It was the look of a doctor evaluating her patient, but there was an added component…a component of attraction of female to male—and vice versa. Mitch had been attracted to the beautiful doctor from almost the first moment he’d laid eyes on her. Certainly from the first moment he’d laid coherent eyes on her. Gina was a beauty with Goddess-given regal lines and a reticence that seemed at odds with her competent manner.