Mending the Beast (Awakening Pride #10) - Lacey Thorn Page 0,20

first thing that came to Daniel’s mind as he awoke.

Movement caught his attention, and Daniel watched Tah rise from the chair in the corner and move toward him, phone in hand.

“I let the professor and Tony know you’re awake. You scared us. Again.”

“What happened?” Daniel asked though he vaguely remembered.

“You had a seizure,” Tah replied, sliding his phone into his pocket. “Took three of us to hold you down. Fuck, I was afraid you were going to snap your neck.”

That explained why he was sore as hell. “What caused it?”

“We don’t know yet. Both Tony and the professor are running tests. What do you remember?”

“Ariel.”

Tah nodded. “She called before it happened.”

“She left,” Daniel stated. “Alone. I’m going after her.”

Tah stopped him from getting out of bed. “Hold up. You can’t go anywhere until we know what’s going on with you. What if you have another seizure while behind the wheel?”

“Where’s Murphy? He’ll watch over me.”

“He’s not here. He texts every few days to say he’s okay, but Finn can’t get him to answer when he calls. He thinks something’s off. If Laura wasn’t pregnant, I don’t think I’d be able to keep him here.”

It spoke volumes that Finn thought something was off with his brother. The two of them shared a special bond, one that allowed them to sense each other.

“When did Murphy leave, and who’s with him?” Daniel asked.

“He never came back here from Illinois,” Tah replied. “He’s on his own.”

Illinois, where Daniel had walked them into hell and taunted it would be a nice day to die. Fuck! “There were hunters everywhere, Tah. Ask him something only Murph would know.”

“I did. No response yet.”

Daniel glanced around, and something clicked in his head. “Where’s my brother? And Gideon?” One or the other had been in the room with him since he’d woken up.

Tah heaved a sigh, rubbing his hand over his face with obvious frustration. “They went to help Ariel.”

“Son of a bitch!” Daniel exploded. “I won’t be kept here while someone else goes to help my mate.”

“She’s not your mate,” Tah said softly.

“The fuck she isn’t!”

“You heard what she said as well as I did,” Tah countered.

“She said she can’t be what I need. That’s bullshit, and you know it. She’s all I need. She’s everything. No more tiptoeing around when I’m home. Hiding before I slink away again without seeing her. She’s been in my house. In my bed. Her scent surrounds me every time I’m here, and it’s all I crave when I’m gone. I won’t give up on her. Not now. Not ever. But I’m done running. I need her, and I know she needs me, too. And if she’s going to my home, then she has to know that on some level.”

Tah gave him a long look as if weighing Daniel’s words before nodding in agreement. “It’s about time.”

“About time?” What the hell did that mean? Daniel had been told to give her space. To give her time.

“We found it,” Tony said as he moved quickly into the room with Professor Mueller on his heels.

“It was under my nose the whole time,” the professor muttered.

“What?” Daniel and Tah asked at the same time.

“It appears he was hit with something similar to what was used on Kenzie by Nix,” the professor informed them.

Daniel and Tah both growled at the reminder of the shifter who’d shown up then tried to betray them by kidnapping Kenzie, the mate of Daniel’s brother, and wound up killing Daniel’s father. Not that Isaac Erikson was a great man whose loss had cut deep. Daniel’s father had been an asshole. One who’d wreaked his own form of havoc on everyone around him, including his two sons.

“Except stronger,” Tony added as he glanced at the tablet in his hand. “I’d like to try something to see if we can counter what they gave you. Think of it as a jump start for your lion.”

“Do it,” Daniel said immediately. He needed his lion back. The quicker the better. He needed to get to his mate.

“Now, wait a minute,” Tah began. “What are you thinking of giving him? How do we know whatever it is won’t make it worse?”

“We ran the tests,” Tony answered while the professor passed Tah the device he was looking at. “Several times. They all came back with the same results.”

“This could potentially help Kenzie, as well,” the professor added. “She still hasn’t been able to draw out her lioness again. If this works the way the tests indicate, it’s