Bennett - Milly Taiden Page 0,35

on. She slowly eased her way onto the bed and into Ben’s side.

As if he had sensed her presence, he turned onto his side and took her in his arms. He nuzzled her hair, placing his nose on the crook her neck. She fell asleep, hoping his sleepy embrace was one she would always have.

Chapter Eighteen

Bennett

It was the sun streaming through the blinds that woke Bennett in the morning. He was surprised to find his limbs all tangled up with Dakota’s. He had the vague recollection that she had joined him sometime during the night, but he had thought it was a mirage. Nothing more than a trick of his mind.

He was pleased that it had been real.

With great care, he slid his arms and legs free from Dakota. He took his time, not knowing the level of his strength yet. But he was impressed that he could move with such ease without feeling like a clambering oaf. He made his way down the hall, but he was stopped by the sound of medical equipment.

In the room that had previously been his, Vance was lying on the bed, plugged up to a heart rate monitor and an IV. Stuart waved for him to be quiet, and the two men made their way into the kitchen. Once they were there and settled at the counter, Corey joined them, and his two friends explained just how Vance had been injected with the serum.

Corey and Stuart were clearly distraught by their night’s less than restful activities.

“He could have waited for the EpiPen,” Stuart said, “but there was no way of knowing if the ambulance would have arrived on time. Even with all of the medical supplies we have here, we didn’t want to be responsible for his death. It was too late anyway.”

Bennett ran a hand over his face, and he was taken aback by the way it felt so different than it had before. It was an odd sensation to be in the same body, but one that was so changed.

“Vance would be the kind of man to pull this trick,” Ben pointed out.

“Well, sure,” Corey agreed. “But not when things were still touch-and-go with you. He must really have believed he was in serious danger to do that.”

Bennett took a deep breath. He listened to the others explain Dakota’s reaction and how they had managed to keep Vance stable. It also explained why he had been moved from one room to the next during the night. He didn’t even wonder why Dakota hadn’t told him. She hadn’t wanted to tax him with panic for his friend, preferring that he keep his energy to heal from the serum.

“How is he this morning?” Bennett inquired.

“He’s going to be fine. For whatever reason, the serum worked much quicker on him than it did on you.” Stuart shook his head.

“Right,” Corey added. “We think that the level of your injuries was much more severe than what Vance was fighting against. Your organs had to fight to reconstruct themselves while your body was going through the physiological change of becoming a shifter. His antibodies simply had to fight against the peanut. Though don’t tell Vance we made it sound like it was nothing. Peanut allergies are no joke, and they really should be taken more seriously by the population at large.”

Bennett nodded, but his mind was already elsewhere. “So now we have three shifters. That won’t piss Gray off at all.”

Stuart smiled. “He’ll be so disappointed that he isn’t the only one who has gone all manly and GQ worthy. No longer the only Chad.”

Bennett pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare inject yourself with the serum just to look like a cover model. This is dangerous stuff, and there’s no telling if you would survive it or not.”

“Fuck, Ben,” Stuart shook his head. “Do you really think I would do that?”

“Yes,” Corey’s answer was loud. “I’ll keep an eye on him, Ben. Now, Stuart, don’t you have to figure out how to break into the US Army database?”

Stuart turned three shades of red. “Yeah, but the black OPS portal is down. I have to bridge through.” He turned his attention toward Ben. “While you were sleeping and turning into Superman, we did some research. We learned that the men who attacked the house are part of a black OPS group that works for the Army. They were recently disbanded, only to be banded up again under a new name and new management. Margaret Winchester