"No, not my baby." She screamed as he leaned close. "Not my baby."
"Sweetheart," Sebastian said.
"Not my baby." She thrashed. "Please, God, not my baby."
"Sweetheart, wake up." Sebastian shook her.
Emmy's eyes flew open as she gasped. She was breathing heavy as she looked around. Where was she? The lights were bright, and it was too damn cold. Already, a chill had begun to seep into her core, making her shiver.
"Are you okay?" Sebastian cupped her cheek. "You were crying in your sleep."
Finally, she came back to reality. She was in the hospital waiting room. No wonder she was so cold. Hospitals were always chilly. She breathed a sigh of relief and pressed her hand against her chest. Thank God. Her baby was going to be okay, and so was she. Still, she had to worry about Mary Lou. Because she'd passed out, she had no idea what was going on.
"Is there any news about Mary Lou?" She went rigid in her seat. "Did I miss something? Is she okay?"
Sebastian soothed her by rubbing her back. "I would have woken you up if someone came. There isn't any news yet."
"Damn it all." Her shoulders slumped. "I wish I knew what was going on."
"I know." Sebastian nodded. "But Mary Lou will be all right. Remember that the doctor said so."
Emmy chewed her bottom lip and nodded.
"Were you dreaming about Jake?" When Sebastian mentioned the other man's name, he squeezed her shoulder.
The fact she'd had a nightmare filled her with shame. "Yeah."
"Don't worry. He's gone," Sebastian said. "My brother already burned his carcass."
"Your brother?" Emmy craned her neck, half wondering if she'd see him sitting somewhere.
"He's been texting me the news," he said.
"Did he know I was kidnapped?" She wondered why he didn't come help during the situation with Jake.
"Yeah, he knew. In fact, my brother was the reason I didn't come pick you up on time." Sebastian's balled his fists. "Jake tied up my brother and then called me. I thought I was finally going to kill him and be done with it. Little did I know it was a diversion. I showed up, but there was nobody there but Zeb. He wanted to help—boy, was he pissed about getting trapped twice—but I wasn't sure I could risk bringing him along. After all, Jake told me to come alone. He could have hurt you if I disobeyed him."
"Jake could smell your brother." She nodded, remembering the way that Jake had sniffed. "He would have known if he was around."
"Exactly." Sebastian looked pleased. "You're getting used to this."
"Hey, I'm a werewolf's mate, what can I say?" She laughed, but it sounded high-pitched and hysterical.
Once again, heavy silence fell. Emmy wasn't sure how long the two of them remained quiet, but soon, a blonde woman in scrubs entered the waiting room. She met the woman's blue eyes. Please have news, please have news, she chanted inside of her head. Luckily, the woman smiled at her. Smiling was good, right? Emmy reasoned. A person wouldn't normally smile when delivering bad news. Well, unless that person was a twisted narcissist like, say, Jake. And really, how many twisted narcissists in the world could there be?
As she debated her theory, the woman walked over.
"Are you waiting for the results of Ms. Parkinson's surgery?" the woman asked.
No, she was just sitting around in the hospital for kicks…Of course she was waiting for the results of her friend's surgery.
"Yeah," she said.
The woman's grin widened. Okay, that was a very good sign.
"Her surgery went well," the woman said. "She's a real trooper."
Sebastian beamed. "I told you so."
"Oh, thank you God." And thank you, doctors and nurses. Hell, thank you janitor for being so damn sanitary.
"Right now, she's still recovering from surgery," the woman said. "But if you come back tomorrow during visiting hours, you'll be able to talk to her."
Happy butterflies exploded in her stomach. Mary Lou was going to be okay, Jake was dead, and Sebastian was at her side again. Unable to contain herself, she gave Sebastian a massive kiss.
"I'm glad I made somebody happy today." The woman beamed, then turned to leave.
Emmy stared after her. "Everything is fine."
"See." Sebastian nodded. "I knew she would be okay."
For a long time, Emmy swam in a sea of happiness. Unfortunately, after being chased down by a killer werewolf, exhaustion won out over her joy. Her shoulders slumped, and even her excitement wasn't enough to keep her energized. Like usual, Sebastian noticed.
"You know what, why don't we go home?" Sebastian stood up and offered her his hand.