Wild Hunt - Kali Argent Page 0,25

you’d want to know that they’re back.”

As much as he wanted to follow after her, to see Abby with his own eyes, it wasn’t that simple anymore. He couldn’t just think about himself and what he wanted. Mackenna needed him, and he couldn’t bear the thought of her waking up alone and afraid.

“Thanks, Roux.” He pushed the door open a little wider, cursing the bright lights in the corridor. “I’ll catch up in a little bit.”

“Is everything okay?” Mackenna asked when he slipped back into the room.

Damn it.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. Watch your eyes.” Closing the door, he slid his hand along the wall until he found the light switch. Fluorescent light flooded the small area, making them both blink a few times. “That was Roux. She was telling me that the team just got back.”

“You should go.”

“I will in a little bit.”

Sitting up in the bed, she shoved her tangled hair back from her face and sighed. “I’m okay, Cade. Really. You should go be with your friends.”

There was that word again. He didn’t know why he had such an aversion to it, especially when it was so accurate. Maybe it was just habit.

As for her being “okay,” he didn’t buy it. He’d never heard someone cry like that, like their very soul was being torn apart. He hadn’t known one person could hold that much pain, and there had been fuck all he could do about it. There had been no monster to fight, no dragon to slay. Never in his entire life had he felt so completely useless.

“Are you hungry?”

Mackenna stared at him for a long time, her gaze narrowed and probing. “I could eat.” Tossing the blanket off, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and was on her feet before he could stop her. “Let me just go to the bathroom first.”

“Mack, get back in bed.”

“I have to pee.”

Well, she had him there. “Fine. Hurry up.”

“Will you stop barking orders at me?”

Yes. Maybe. When she stopped scaring the shit out of him. “You need to rest.”

“I rested. I’m almost completely healed.”

“You cried.” He really hadn’t meant for that to come out as accusatory as it had. Oops.

“I did. It was a good cry, long overdue, and I’m fine now.” When he just arched an eyebrow at her, she sighed and shook her head. “Okay, maybe I’m not fine, but I do feel better. I can’t hide in this room forever.”

“It’s been a day.”

“And what’s going to change tomorrow? Or the day after that? I can do this. I need to do this.”

While his instincts said she needed more time to heal, both physically and emotionally, she wasn’t a child. She wasn’t a prisoner anymore, either. If she wanted to leave her room, it wasn’t his place to stop her or try to talk her out of it. As much as he wanted to be, he wasn’t the hero of her story. That honor belonged solely to her. He was just the supporting cast.

So, he’d be supportive. “If you change your mind, or if it’s too much, we can come right back. No one will judge you.”

The first truly genuine smile he’d seen from her lit up her entire being. “Thank you. I just need to…” She trailed off and jerked her thumb toward the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”

Even letting her out of his sight for that long made him uneasy, despite the fact she hadn’t even technically left the room. Surely, that had to be the mating bond. It had to be some weird, magical connection that was turning him into a raving lunatic. Sure, he cared about people’s suffering, and he helped where he could, but he barely knew her. He certainly shouldn’t feel as protective of her as he did.

While his brain supplied this reasonable explanation, his heart scoffed. So what, it said. So what if it was the mating bond? So what if he had only known her for a short time? Neither one of those excuses changed a damn thing. They didn’t change how he felt. They didn’t negate how intensely he felt it.

When Mackenna exited the bathroom, she had a little more color in her cheeks, and that bright, beautiful smile was still in place. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Underweight, dressed in an ugly, blue hospital gown with her hair falling in messy, tangled waves down her back, she was still absolutely stunning. Her amber eyes dominated her face, giving her a pixie-like appearance that