Shadow of the Wolf(38)

The authority in his hushed voice was reassuring. She felt her lips curl  up at the thought of her mate being his usual bossy self.

"I don't know what you're smiling about, sweetheart. The minute  Annabelle gives you a clean bill of health I'm spanking your ass so hard  you won't sit down for a week." He stroked her hair away from her face.  She thought it trembled. "I still can't believe you and Zach did that."

She couldn't really speak, couldn't move without wanting to scream, so  she did the only thing she could. She pursed her lips and blew him a  kiss.                       
       
           



       

His breath caught. "Fuck it." She felt the bed dip. "Annabelle can kiss my ass."

If she had the strength, she would have giggled.

"I know it hurts, so I'm not going to try and hold you." His hand came to rest against her stomach.

"But I can sure as hell touch you."

She licked her lips. "'Kay." It did hurt a little, but there was no way she'd tell him that.

She felt his lips press against her arm. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I'll be here when you wake."

"Mm." She drifted off, trusting him to keep his word.



*

Christopher stared down at the woman sleeping in his bed. She hadn't  opened her eyes once, barely spoke, and he'd never been more relieved in  his life. She'd been out for two hellish days, days in which his baby  brother had been whisked out of the house to face possible punishment  for going against the wishes of Annabelle Evans, casting spells when  she'd expressly forbidden it. He had the feeling the punishment would be  more severe considering the cost to her granddaughter.

He yawned, weary beyond belief. He'd barely slept since they carried  Lana into his bedroom, too afraid she'd wake up and he wouldn't be  there.

Lana looked horrible. Her eyes were sunken, her skin sallow, her hair  limp. If he didn't know better, he'd swear she suffered from a  life-threatening illness. Her palm was bandaged, hiding the damage the  protection amulet had done to her. He'd wanted to see the damage but  Annabelle had told him to leave the bandages in place. The only good  thing he could see was that her hand wasn't swathed the same way Zach's  had been.

And she'd done this for him. He still couldn't quite get over that.

He'd have to make sure certain things were clear to her from now on.  First off, he was never letting her out of his sight again. Second, she  was to stay away from his insane brother. She and Zachary were a deadly  combination. Third, he'd have to make sure she understood exactly what  she meant to him.

In the meantime, he'd wait. When she woke, he'd be there. There was no where else he'd rather be.

"How is she?"

He turned his head slightly, careful not to jar his mate. "Sleeping again."

Annabelle frowned and studied Lana through narrowed eyes. "Let's take a look at her." She waved a hand at him. "Off the bed."

"No."

She glared at him. He glared right back, making sure his hand stayed  relaxed against Lana's stomach. "I told you not to jar her at all. We're  still not certain of the full effects of the spell Zach used."

"I was careful." He kept his voice low, but couldn't keep the warning  out of his voice. His wolf was still howling in grief at the damage done  to their mate. "We need to be here."

She cocked her hip, reminding him forcibly of the woman lying beside him. "Oh? We?"

He had no intention of getting into how the Beckett family curse worked  with her. Annabelle Evans might be a powerful witch, but he was a wolf  with an injured mate. There was no way in hell he was getting off that  bed. "Do your examination."

She bristled at his commanding tone before huffing out a breath.  "Wizards. Always have to have things your way." She bent over her  granddaughter and began her careful examination.

Christopher watched, keeping a close eye on Annabelle. Her expression slowly eased, and so did the clamp around his heart.

When Annabelle smiled at him, he sighed in relief. Lana was going to be  all right. "You look exhausted. As long as you don't jar her too much it  should be safe for you to sleep there." She smoothed his hair back from  his forehead, much like his own grandmother had done when he was a  child.

"Annabelle?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."



She nodded. "You're welcome."

The door shut quietly behind her, and Chris followed her advice. For the  first time in two days he allowed himself to fall asleep.



* * * *

Something woke him later in the day. "Chris?"

"Mm."

"Chris."

He opened his eyes to darkness. "Still sleepin'."

A soft sigh blew across his hair. "Chris."

"What?"

"I'm thirsty."

He stifled a yawn. "M'kay." He turned on the bedside lamp and stumbled  to the bathroom. Grabbing a cup he filled it with water and headed back  to the bed. "Here."

She blinked up at him. "Help me?"

"Mm." He took her into his arms and held the cup to her lips, her gasp  of pain bringing him full awake. "Oh crap. I'm sorry, little witch."                       
       
           



       

She took a sip of the water and settled in against him. "It's okay." She shuddered, her face pale and drawn. "Everything hurts."

"I have some ibuprofen Annabelle left for you in case you woke up, but she said you need to take it with food."

She grinned up weakly at him. "I'll wait while you fetch something."

One brow rose. "Fetch?"

"Go, boy! Go!"

He shook his head at her. "How can you be making jokes right now?"

"We won." Her bandaged caressed his cheek. "We're here, and Cole isn't."

"But his family got away." In the scramble to save Chris, the rest of the Godwins had gotten away.

He wasn't certain what punishments the other family would receive but  one thing was certain. The Godwins were out of the running as far as the  court of the wizard king was concerned. The fact that it had slipped  everyone's attention that Cole and his father were actually warlocks had  several of their sages scratching their heads. The entries into the  Registry were clear, yet no one had thought to check until Gareth had  started wondering exactly who Cole was working with. Once he'd pointed  the entry out to Daniel, it was as if a veil was lifted from their eyes.

There were rumors that the Godwins would suffer no consequences other  than formal expulsion from the wizard's court for all of their warlock  family members. What Davis Godwin would do from there, Christopher  didn't know, but he had the feeling that this wasn't over. With Cole's  death, the war between the Becketts and the Godwins had reached a new  level.

"So you think it isn't over?" She snuggled against him with a wince.

"No. I don't. I'm sorry, little witch. I never meant to drag you into something like this."

She shot him a disgusted look. "Yup, you just grabbed hold of my arm and  pasted a sign on my ass that said ‘Warlocks Eat Free'." He growled. She  giggled, then gasped. "Oh, remind me not to laugh."

"I'll go grab a snack for both of us. You settle back down and try to  rest." He placed a kiss on her forehead before heading for the kitchen.

A light was already on. "Hey, Gareth."

"Chris. How's Lana?"

Chris frowned when Gareth adjusted his sling. His older brother was in  pain but ever since the fight with the Godwins he'd refused to take any  of his medications. He said he didn't want his brain fuzzed if he had to  "wolf out". "She's hungry and wants some ibuprofen. She's in a lot of  pain, but at least she's talking to me now and her eyes are open." He  reached into the fridge and pulled out some cheese and grapes, hoping  they'd be easy on her stomach.

"It's good that she's awake." Gareth spooned up some chocolate ice cream  and reached for the chocolate syrup on the counter. "We're looking  further into how the Godwins managed to tamper with their entry into the  Registry."

"We?"

Gareth started to shrug but stopped. "Daniel and I." Gareth stirred his  ice cream and chocolate syrup together, making a sort of milkshake in  his bowl. He'd been doing it since he was a child. "I think Daniel's  going to want the ring soon."

Chris blinked. "Why?"

"Have you noticed how remote he's become?"

"He's always been a little aloof." He thought back to Daniel's recent  behavior, the way he seemed to have closed himself off. "He's been  worse?"

"He's holed up in his office or his house all the time now. He doesn't leave except for family stuff like this."

That sounded very familiar to Chris. He'd done the same thing before  going to his father and begging him for the ring. "I'll talk to him, let  him know that the ring will be ready for him." It gave him ideas on  what sort of engagement ring he'd buy for Lana; perhaps he'd replace the  family emerald with another one. He liked the look of Venus's stone on  her hand. Besides, now that she wore his mark, she no longer needed the  ring. It would pass on to the next Beckett who was ready to find his  mate.