“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.
“Chris?”
“Yeah?”
“He told me earlier he’s thinking about transferring to Philadelphia.”
Chris finished loading the tray with two glasses of milk. “Really?”
He picked up the tray and turned to find Gareth studying him closely. “You don’t sound surprised.”
Chris laughed wearily. “First off, I think I’ve used up all my surprise for the next month or so. Second…” Chris shook his head and headed out of the kitchen. “I don’t know. Something tells me it would be the right move.”
Gareth followed him up the stairs. “Isn’t it Lana’s job to go on instinct?”
Chris snorted. “Open the door for me.”
Gareth opened the bedroom door, but stopped Chris with a hand on his arm. “Hey.”
“What?” At this point Chris just wanted to crawl into bed with his mate.
“They did the right thing.”
“Who?”
“Lana and Zach.”
Chris growled.
“You don’t know what it did to Zach, Chris.”
He stopped growling. “You do?”
Gareth grimaced. “Let’s just say I don’t think he’ll ever be the same.” The sorrow on Gareth’s face had Chris rethinking a few things. “Just don’t be too hard on him the next time you see him.”
Chris nodded and, satisfied, Gareth let him go. “Good night, Chris.”
“Night, Gareth.” He entered the bedroom and pushed the door closed with his foot.
Lana was watching him with a frown. “What?”
“Did you give Zach a hard time?”
He sighed and walked to the bed, putting the tray down on the bedside table. “Don’t start, Lana.”
“You did, didn’t you?” She tugged on his arm, the movement casing her to hiss in pain. “You don’t understand.”
He placed his hand over hers, the bandage rough under his palm. “I understand that you didn’t have to go through this.”
“Oh yes I did!” She was becoming agitated, her legs moving restlessly under the covers.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to calm her down. “Do you think this was worth it?”
“Yes!”
He gave her an ibuprofen, holding the milk for her while she swallowed it down.
“No. Seeing you in pain isn’t worth it.”
Her brow furrowed, her lips thinned, and her eyes flashed up at him. “I would rather go through this, knowing I’ll heal, than have you dead, you stubborn son of a bitch.”
“Hey. Mom doesn’t like to be called that.”
It worked; her eyes rolled, but her body relaxed. “You know what I mean, wolfman.
No way could I live with you dead.” She grabbed hold of him again, ignoring her own pain. “I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t.”
“You were bleeding so much.” She was beginning to cry.
“Shh.” The hell with Annabelle. Chris carefully pulled Lana into his arms. “I’m here.
Cole’s gone. You’re safe now.”
He was surprised when she punched him in the arm. “Idiot.”
“What?”
“Get it through your thick skull! You. Almost. Died!”
“Ow.” She’d pinched him, hard. “Okay, okay. I get that. But why you?”
“You think men are the only ones who can ride to the rescue?”
He decided not to answer on the grounds that he might be incinerated.
Lana glared up at him impatiently. “I thought so. If I had been the one on the ground and Zach reached for you, what would you have done?”
He didn’t even hesitate. “Whatever was necessary.”
“Because…?”
Because I love you. He blinked. A slow smile spread across his face. He’d never felt so happy in his entire fucking life, not even when his mark had appeared on her skin.
“You love me.”
“Duh.”
“Duh? The best you can say is duh?” He held back the urge to tickle her, to force her to say what he already knew.
She held her hand to his cheek. “We both do.”
He gulped. “We?” His hand immediately went to her stomach.
“Huh?” Her eyes went wide. “No! Not that. Zach!”
“Oh.” He was more disappointed than he’d expected. “I guess we’ll have to try harder, then.”
It was her turn to gulp. “Harder?”
“Mm-hmm.” He held a grape to her lips, teasing her with it. “Much harder.”
“Oh boy.”
He chuckled and slipped the grape between her lips. “Say it for me.”
She swallowed the grape. “You first.”
Not a problem. He wanted to shout it from the highest rooftop, post it to his Facebook, hell, he’d put it on the front page of Black Wolf Designs if he could. “I love you, little witch.”
“I love you too, wolfman.”
When he kissed her, she tasted of grapes and the sweetness that was his witch.
Lana picked at the bandage on her hand. She’d been bedridden for two weeks now, and finally Grammy was going to let her get up. She was still in some pain, but between her grandmother’s nursing and Chris’s attentiveness, she was mostly healed.
Davis Godwin was now officially listed as a warlock in the Registry, along with two other members of the Godwin family, including his second son, Paul, and his daughter Genevieve. The only odd thing was Genevieve had called Chris to personally apologize for the actions of her family members, and to offer reparation for their injuries. Neither of them had been willing to accept her offer, and she’d left it at that.
Lana had no idea what the younger woman was up to, but there’d been something…