that we’re not crazy.”
The sedative was ready in her hand, but the man was so out of it he did exactly as Liam instructed, listening as her mate explained how they’d found him and where they were going. Then he asked him about his favorite TV show and what it was about.
Zoe had to admit he was a natural at this kind of stuff.
But this was completely different to what she vaguely remembered of when he’d found her in the forest. Liam had been terrified for her. He’d carried her and held her. Every day he was at her side until she’d woken up.
Maybe he hadn’t been giving her special treatment after she woke up, but Liam had been desperate for his mate to survive before he even knew her. Zoe followed and looked up at the moon in the sky, wondering how he could have such strong feelings for someone he had never met.
Had it just been the chance to get to know her?
“Keep up, Zoe.” Liam’s silver eyes flashed at her and she came up on the other side of the newly bitten wolf.
Did it really matter why he’d wanted her to survive? She’d only known him for a day and Zoe already felt like her entire world revolved around Liam.
Not that she had any plans to tell him that yet.
12
Zoe
“Are you hungry?” Liam asked, studying her with a worried look in his eyes.
Zoe stared down at Chris and shook her head, wondering what the science was behind why some people healed instantly, and why some didn’t. Why did some die? And then some healed, but didn’t wake up?
It wasn’t really her field of expertise. Zoe was a trauma nurse, not a scientist or a diagnostic specialist.
“There’s nothing you can do,” Liam told her, wrapping an arm around her waist. He pulled her closer until her back was flush against his front and it was oddly comforting. “There’s too much magic involved. It’s not about their body, but about who they are and whether or not they can handle the wolf once they’ve survived.”
Zoe considered Chris. “Is it different when the bite is done through a claiming?”
She felt him nod, his nose buried in her hair as he bent down closer. “The wolf becomes a gift instead of a curse. It’s given with love and the person receiving the bite is ready to accept. It makes all the difference.”
Suddenly it all clicked in her head. Trauma was the same way. It broke people. Some were able to put themselves back together, not in the same way, but they were functional and maybe even stronger. Others couldn’t recover and were dragged down by it, and some succumbed to the pain.
Chris was the kind of guy who’d never been broken before. Life hadn’t exactly been easy for him, but he’d never had to rebuild himself from nothing like Zoe had – like Liam had.
That was probably another reason they never clicked romantically. Zoe couldn’t relate to him at all. Compared to her life, Chris’s had been a cakewalk.
“Snap out of it, you idiot.” Zoe leaned over and flicked Chris’s forehead the same way she did when he was freaking out during a shift. “I’m sure some pretty wolf is waiting for you to wake up.”
“The way you love bites,” Liam whispered, his lips brushing against her neck. “I like it.”
Zoe shivered as that strange tingle went down her spine again.
Touching him felt right even though she wasn’t usually one for lots of physical contact. Everywhere their skin touched was warm and Zoe felt hyperaware of it. She normally wouldn’t let anyone hold her the way Liam was.
But for some reason this wasn’t just nice, it felt perfect.
Not once did she feel like he was trying to stake his claim or control her. Liam just wanted to be as close to her as possible, like an overeager puppy. He wanted to touch and taste and smell to make sure she was real, that she was alive and well.
Zoe was surprised to find how much she liked it. Someone in the world cared about her, even in the smallest of ways.
Would he up and leave her one day though, like everyone else?
“Why are you suddenly tense?” Liam murmured, running his nose along her neck.
At first, she’d thought he’d done that as some kind of strange little cuddle he liked to do, but it had a separate purpose as well. He was scenting her to figure out all the nuances of her emotions