Hunting Ember (Pride of Alphas #1) - Milly Taiden Page 0,41
sure Dr. Carr speaks with you as soon as your mate is stable.”
He nodded and began pacing the length of the hallway. Through the thick doors, he could barely hear what was going on. There was no way to tell which of the heart monitors he was hearing belonged to his mate. He hated himself for it. He would have been happy to be able to tell which one was hers, which one his own heart beat for.
Guilt ripped through him because he couldn’t tell which was hers.
It wasn’t the only remorse he felt. He knew that he was partially responsible for this. The stalker had most of the blame, but some was his. He knew someone was after his mate, and he hadn’t put his foot down. He had let Ember go into the studio to film the day’s challenge because their relationship was still new. He hadn’t wanted to push Ember away completely, and now he could lose her because of it.
Kai wanted to punch the hospital wall, but it wouldn’t do him any good. He had to pace and wait to hear for some news.
He was doing his millionth rep when a tall, thin woman with her blond hair pulled into a tight bun exited the door. She took one look at him and gave him a sad smile.
“You must be the mate,” the panther shifter said. Kai had falsely assumed that the panther doctor was a man. Not that it mattered. He rushed toward the doctor, running his hands through his hair. “I’m Doctor Carr.”
“And? Is she going to be okay?”
The doctor nodded. “She ingested poison. A small dose, but something that was highly lethal. Until we get the test results, we won’t know for sure what she was given.”
“Is she going to be all right?”
“Yes, of course. She just needs rest and fluids. The oxygen and IV drip we have her on will help her recover. It’s an antitoxin that should clear it up soon enough. You got her here just in time.”
He shook his head. “Whatever it was, she didn’t ingest too much of it. Just a couple of tastes.”
“She will be fine. I wouldn’t let a fellow shifter’s mate die. You can go into see her before you wear a hole through the floor. We’re moving her out of the ICU and into a room on seventh.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. That was a good sign. He made his way to Ember’s hospital room on the seventh floor, calling Lee as he did. Kai was torn between staying by Ember’s side, which he really needed to do. Not just for her, but for himself. Just thinking about leaving her alone and defenseless made his stomach roll painfully. But he also needed to get to the studio to grab everything from Ember’s workstation to see what had been contaminated. He couldn’t do both. Marius was there with the cops, but Kai needed assurances that everything was being done to catch the poisoner. Marius needed backup.
He grabbed his phone and dialed his brother’s number. He hated to tax him with a large task, especially since Carmen was about ready to pop. But he didn’t have a choice. He didn’t trust anyone else — even Marius.
“I’m sorry to lay this at your feet,” he said to Lee, after explaining the current circumstances.
“No, don’t you dare apologize. I get it. If it was Carmen or the kids, I wouldn’t want to leave their side either. You take care of your mate. I’ll take Dad, and we will go shut down the soundstage. I’ll make sure everyone gets interviewed. Not just the crew and other bakers, but all of the people who had access to the lot today.”
“Go as far back as yesterday. Whatever was given to her could have been messed with yesterday after shooting was over.”
Kai clicked off the phone without saying goodbye. He knew his brother would understand the stress he was under. Kai walked into the hospital room, and his heart fell to the ground, beaten and still. Ember was lying in bed, looking pale and frail. There were all kinds of tubes sticking out of her, but at least her heartbeat was steady. He dragged the chair to the bedside and settled in, taking her hand in his. He would never let go.
He was not going to let her out of his sight. He would buy her that damn bakery himself. She would just have to deal with it, period!
That is right,