Cynful

Chapter Thirteen

“So, how did it go last night?”

Cyn propped her chin on her hand and sighed dreamily. “He makes the best waffles.”

“So…you guys made waffles last night?” Glory tilted her head, her expression turning sweetly innocent. “Did he get butter in all the nooks and crannies? Did he heat your syrup just right? Did you order some sausage on the side?”

Tabby began to giggle. “Do you think he toasted her muffin before he ate it?”

“I hate you guys.” But even their stupid banter couldn’t wipe the stupid smile from her face. Julian had been everything she’d ever hoped for and more, but no way was she sharing that with these morons.

Glory squealed and clapped her hands. “He did! He did toast her muffin.” She leaned across the counter until she was nose to nose with Cyn and gave a wide, toothy grin. “Deets, please!”

Cyn snorted and pushed Glory’s face away. “Get your own Bear. Oh, wait…”

“Aw, come on. Just one little tidbit of information? Please?” Glory batted her baby blues, but Cyn was immune to her ways.

“Fine. He has a really…”

“Uh-huh…”

“Big…”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh!” Glory’s eyes had gone so wide Cyn thought they might pop out of her head.

“Toaster.”

Glory blinked, trying to make something dirty out of that in her head, no doubt.

Cyn held her hands about a foot apart. “Seriously, he’s got one of those big industrial suckers that can do, like, six bagels at a time.”

Tabby’s giggles turned into outright laughter as Glory growled at Cyn.

“You should see his kitchen. It’s like Martha Stewart’s wet dream. Emeril would walk in and say ‘Dayum’.”

Glory glared at her, but Cyn could tell she wasn’t really angry. The corners of her lips kept twitching upward, a sure sign she was holding back a laugh. “Did you do it on the counter?”

“No.” Although that was something she wouldn’t mind testing out at some point. Did Julian like the thought of sex in the kitchen? She’d have to ask him when she saw him later. Some of those counter-height stools would be perfect for—

“Then why do you think I care about his kitchen?”

“You guys are the ones that brought up muffins.” Cyn shrugged and yawned. She was still tired after her ordeal in the spirit world and the incredible sex she’d had. Maybe she should’ve listened to Julian and just stayed home today, but she’d been too worried about leaving the girls alone. What if whoever was trying to hurt them came back and Cyn wasn’t there? She had to be there to protect them whether they liked it or not.

The door to the shop opened, the bell tinkling merrily. Cyn stood up straight and grinned at their customer. She recognized him as the college kid who’d come into the shop to get a tattoo of a wolf a few months before. Little had he known that it had been a picture of Gary, Tabby’s stalker, in his Wolf form. Tabby had talked Tim into getting a different tattoo, and they’d formed a friendship that day. This was his third trip into the shop, probably to get the tattoo touched up again. “Hey, Tim. Come back for some color on that dragon of yours?”

Tim grinned and shrugged, his cheeks flushing bright red. Really, he was just too adorable. “No, I like it just in black. I think it’s perfect. But I was thinking of getting something on my other arm.” He was staring at Tabby with something akin to hero worship.

Tabby smiled gently and took Tim by the arm, leading him over to the flash books. “Why don’t we take a look and see what you’d like?” She settled him on one of the chairs by the window. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Can I have some water, please?” Tim shot her a bashful grin, and Cyn prayed Alex didn’t come back too soon with lunch. If he got even a whiff that someone else was sniffing after his mate he’d go ballistic on the poor boy.

Tabby headed into the back room to get Tim’s water. Glory wandered over to see what tattoo Tim was thinking of getting. She started to bend over the book, her long blue hair obscuring her face. Suddenly there was the sound of shattering glass and she was thrown back. Tim hunched over the book and fell to his knees, his arms covering his head.

Cyn smelled blood.

Without even having to think she raced over to Glory and threw herself on top of her. She glanced over at Tim to find him looking back at her, his face filled with horror and glass glittering in his hair. The window behind him was shattered.

“I think she’s hit.”

She looked down at Glory and saw that she’d passed out. Blood poured from a wound in her chest, soaking the bright paisley of her shirt.

“Holy shit.” Tabby crawled over to them, her face pale. “Tell me somebody didn’t just shoot one of us.”

“Call an ambulance.” Tim crawled over to them and pulled off his T-shirt. He pulled up Glory’s paisley shirt and mopped up some of the blood. “I’m pre-med. I have to do something.”

“Call Julian.” Tabby, hands shaking, drew out her cell phone.

Cyn couldn’t speak. She could barely breathe. Someone had tried to kill Glory right in front of her and she hadn’t been able to stop him. She hadn’t been able to protect her friend.

“Cyn!” Tabby’s sharp voice almost cut through the haze of rage surrounding her.

“Holy fuck, what are you?” Tim was staring at her, his eyes wide and filled with fear, but the T-shirt remained right where it was.

“Stop it, Cyn, for Glory’s sake. She needs you calm and in control.”

Cyn managed to pull her gaze from Glory’s wound and met Tabby’s. Golden Wolf eyes stared back at her. There was a spot of blood on Tabby’s cheek, and her eyes were filled with tears.

Tabby smiled weakly. “You’re claws are showing.”

She looked down to find six-inch black claws sprouting from where her nails should be. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, but all that did was intensify the scent of blood until it filled her head.

“I’m calling an ambulance. You have to calm down, Cyn.”

“Yeah. Please calm down, you’re scaring the straights.” Tim’s voice shook, but once again, his focus seemed to be on Glory’s wound and not Cyn’s freakiness.

Cyn tried to will her claws away, but something fought her, something that desperately wanted to come out, find the being that had hurt her friend, and beat it to death with its own arms. It wanted to roar out her rage and her grief until the very building shook.

She heard Tabby speaking on the phone. The ambulance was on its way, but the information didn’t help. She had to do something.

She reached up and placed her hand on the bloody T-shirt, almost crying out at how soaked it already was. Blood was bubbling from Glory’s lips as she breathed. That couldn’t be a good thing. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm herself down. If she was going to try this, she couldn’t be in a killing rage.

If her Bear was already with her enough to sprout claws, then he was with her enough to help her heal.

Cyn closed her eyes and mentally reached for the presence she could feel in the back of her mind. It wrapped itself around her like a furry, loving blanket, a living hug inside her head. She’d never be alone again, would always have someone who believed in her. Her Bear understood her in ways no one else did or ever would, not even her mate. It loved and accepted her anyway, and Cyn could do no less. She opened her heart to her Bear, joining them together forever.

Once her Bear understood what it was she wanted, it eagerly showed her the spiraling, healing path she’d need to take. It wanted to save Glory too, and lent her its strength. The power trickled forth from her palms and into Glory’s wound.

It wouldn’t be enough to heal Glory. But she didn’t need to. All she had to do was keep Glory alive long enough for either Julian or the ambulance to arrive. She wasn’t certain why she didn’t have Super Bear’s healing powers, but she couldn’t take the time to question it now. She could feel her strength waning almost immediately and prayed they’d arrive quickly.

The world around her was quickly graying, her vision darkening at the edges. When the paramedics finally arrived they pushed her out of the way, quickly assessing the damage to Glory’s chest. IVs went in and bandages were wrapped around the wound. Cyn knew something was wrong with Glory’s lung, and it scared her. Alex arrived just as they strapped her onto the gurney and wheeled her out to the ambulance.

“What the fuck happened?” His hazel eyes had gone dark brown. He rushed to Tabby’s side, checking her over for wounds.

Cyn scooted back, uncaring that she was in broken glass. Her hands and arms were covered in Glory’s blood and she was so dizzy she was afraid she would pass out at any moment. She’d never been so tired in her life. “Someone took a shot at us and hit Glory.”

“No offense, but I think I’ll skip the tattoo today.” Tim was pale. He watched Alex check Tabby over with a pained expression. The poor kid had it bad.

She tilted her head and tried to smile at Tim. “You okay?”

His answering laugh was shaky. “Oh yeah. I’m peachy. What the hell is with the claws, by the way?”

“He saw your claws?” Alex muttered under his breath. “And I thought I had control problems.”

She flipped him the bird. “Do you really want to know the answer to that, Tim?”

He nodded slowly. “I think I do.”

She looked up to make sure that they were alone in the shop. “Okay, but don’t ever say I didn’t warn you.”

He blew out a shaky breath. “Just tell me.”

“Fine.”

“Cyn.” Alex shot her a warning glance, but what was she supposed to do? Tim had seen her claws, and she doubted he’d buy a bad manicure story.

“Do you believe in werewolves? I mean, I’m not one of them, but do you believe in them?”

“Shit.” Alex sighed and hugged Tabby close. “I hope you know what you’ve just done.”

“Werewolves, huh?” Tim stared at Alex and bit his lip, pondering God only knew what. He then looked down at Cyn’s hands, his expression distracted. “I do now.”

Julian raced to the hospital corridors, his only thought to see his mate. Was she all right? Had she been hit?

Someone had shot at Cyn.

He could have lost her.

Those two thoughts kept cycling around in his head. She could have died. As it was, Glory was in critical condition, the bullet having pierced one of her lungs. Ryan had raced ahead of him, desperate to get to his mate. If Glory died, Ryan would follow her. Despite the fact that they hadn’t shared mating marks, Ryan had somehow already linked their life forces. Julian had never seen anything like it. Ryan had known even before the phone call came in that Glory was badly hurt. He’d been pounding on Julian’s door, frantic, as Julian’s cell phone rang. When Cyn told him what had happened he’d been equally worried.

Ryan had come for him rather than going straight for the hospital. He’d made it clear that he hoped Julian would be able to save Glory when the doctors might not be able to. Julian was more than willing to try. As frustrating as it was to watch her yank Ryan’s chain, Julian would do anything to save his mate’s best friend. Ryan had taken off in a cloud of burning rubber when Julian had taken too long to get dressed. Julian, watching the Grizzly peel away, had actually been glad he wasn’t in the car with him. He didn’t have a death wish.

He skidded around the corner into the ICU nurse’s station. “I’m looking for Glory Walsh.”

“Are you family?” Julian shook his head no. “I’m sorry, sir, no one’s allowed in unless they’re family. You’ll have to go to the waiting room.”

He ground his teeth together. “Is Ryan Williams here?”

The woman gulped. “I’m afraid we had to have him escorted out. He was far too disruptive.”

Oh, shit. They had no idea what they’d done. They were lucky they didn’t have a rampaging Grizzly in the parking lot.

“You understand you just kicked out her fiancé. He had every right to be here.”

The two nurses exchanged a worried glance. “He didn’t tell us he was her fiancé.”

“I’ll go find him and bring him back. I’ll do my best to keep him calm, but I’m sure you can understand why he was upset.” If he didn’t get to Ryan soon he had no idea what the Grizzly would do.

He’d also have to figure out a way to get into Glory’s room. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Jamie Howard’s personal number. He sniffed the air as discreetly as he could, hoping to catch Ryan’s scent. He followed it to the elevator and stepped in just as Jamie picked up.

“Hey, Julian. How’s Glory?”

“They won’t let me in to see her.” He’d called Jamie on the way to the hospital to inform him of what had happened and that he wouldn’t be in the office for a day or two. Jamie had told him to stay at the hospital until Glory was out of the woods. “Worse, they kicked Ryan out for being disruptive.”

“Shit. Let me make a few phone calls. I’ll get you in to see Glory, you keep Ryan calm.”

“I’m tracking him down now. I haven’t seen Tabby or Alex yet, and I haven’t found Cyn.” He ran his fingers through his hair. There were just so many things to worry about; it was starting to give him a headache. “I wonder if anyone has called Glory’s parents.”

“You concentrate on Ryan and Glory. Let Alex protect Cyn and Tabby.”

He stepped out of the elevator and followed Ryan’s scent out of the hospital. “Not good enough. I need to find out if Cyn is hurt.”

“She would’ve called and told you if you she was.”

Julian stopped and pulled the ear from his phone, staring at it in disbelief. “You don’t know her very well, do you?” He put the phone back to his ear in time to hear Jamie chuckle. “Her fucking jaw was broken and she didn’t call me because she didn’t want me to be bothered about it.”

“Point taken.”

Julian sniffed again and began walking toward the parking lot. He wasn’t catching a lot of rage in Ryan’s scent. It could simply be the hospital smells of worry, despair and sickness, but what he was catching off of Ryan was a strange calmness. That concerned him more than any amount of rage would have. “I think we have a problem.”

“What?”

He watched as Ryan drove sedately out of the parking lot. Even at distances he could see the five-inch claws wrapped around the steering wheel. “I think Ryan’s hunting.”

“I’ll call Gabe, so don’t worry about that. You get back in and see what you can do about Glory. They should let you in now.”

“Thanks, Jamie.”

“I’m curious about one thing, though.”

Julian stepped back into the hospital. “What’s that?”

“Is your life ever boring?”

Julian sighed. “Not since I came to Halle.” Hell, it had been downright somnolent before he came to Halle. He hung up the phone and stepped into the elevator, heading once more to ICU. This time, when he requested access to Glory’s room, it was granted right away.

The sound of life support machines disturbed him more than he was willing to admit. Glory had tubes down her throat helping her breathe. Another tube stuck out of her chest, indicating a collapsed lung. She was pale, and almost as blue as her hair. They were giving her blood to replace what she’d lost. The sounds coming from the heartbeat monitor were far too slow for his liking.

He could tell she was stable, but barely. A nurse was prepping her for surgery. How long had it taken them to get her stable enough for it? It wasn’t that far from Living Art to the hospital, but it had taken him an hour to get there. He could feel his Bear reaching for her, anxious to heal her. To see such a vibrant woman so wounded troubled him.

“Julian.”

Just one whispered, tear-laden word eased his heart. Cyn’s face was swollen from crying, her eyes red and damp. She reached for him, and he pulled her into his arms. He stroked her hair as she collapsed in his arms, all her strength deserting her. She sobbed against him like a broken child, and Julian understood why Ryan had gone hunting. He never wanted his mate to hurt like this again, and he would do anything to make sure it never happened a second time. “I’ll fix this, I swear.”

She stiffened and lifted her head. “Can you leave us for a minute?”

The nurse nodded briefly and left the room.

Cyn took his face in her hands and glared up at him. “I won’t lose either one of you. Do you understand me? You only heal her to the point where she’ll survive with surgery, and let the doctors take it from there. You don’t risk yourself. ¿Entendido?”

“I understand.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, healing the swelling from the crying and the headache that was beginning to build behind her eyes.

Already he could feel his Bear pulling him back toward the bed. Glory needed him. Ryan and Cyn were counting on him. He sat on the edge of the bed and took hold of Glory’s hands. With a deep breath he focused on the healing path, his instincts and his understanding of anatomy blending together as he began to repair the damage done to Glory’s body. The harm to her lung was severe, and by far the most traumatizing injury. He began the slow process of knitting together the wounded flesh, the torn blood vessels. The bullet had glanced off her ribs and entered her lung, deflating it like an overblown balloon. He was surprised she wasn’t in surgery already. Things must’ve been truly bad if the doctors said it would be better to wait. As it was, odds were good she’d lose the lower lobe of her lung and require months of therapy. Even if Ryan bit her now, the change wouldn’t repair the damage done.

Julian did what he could to stabilize her condition and improve her chances in surgery, but unless he wanted to tip his hand or risk his own life, there wasn’t much more he’d be able to do. So he made sure she had the best odds possible before he pulled back from the healing path. He sighed as he pushed bone white hair out of his eyes. “She’ll live.”

Cyn smiled and popped a baseball hat on his head, hiding the thick white streak in his hair. “Good job, Super Bear.”

He allowed her to pull him to his feet just as the nurse walked back in. He smiled wearily at the poor woman. “Thank you.”

The nurse’s answering smile was sympathetic. “You’re welcome.”

Hours had gone by, and still there was no word on Glory’s condition. Cyn looked ready to tear her hair out in frustration. Gabe had called and told him he couldn’t find any sign of Ryan, which could be a good thing or bad thing. Good, because Gabe’s Hunter instincts hadn’t kicked in, meaning Ryan had not yet gone rogue. Bad, because nobody had a clue where Ryan was or what he was up to. Tabby and Alex had remained behind to close up the shop and get some plywood taped over the shattered window. A few policemen had come by to talk to Cyn and some kid named Tim about what had happened, but there wasn’t much she could tell them. None of them had caught sight of the shooter.

“I thought you could use some caffeine.” Tim, the young man who’d been in the shop when Glory got shot, handed Julian the cup of coffee. Julian took a sip and grimaced at the bitter taste. Tim leaned closer, his expression somewhere between curious and concerned. “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.” He could guess what the boy wanted to ask him.

“Why doesn’t one of you bite her and change her? Wouldn’t that heal all of her wounds?”

Julian rolled his eyes. “Why does everyone think it works that way? Stupid Hollywood movies.” He leaned on the arm of a hard plastic chair and kept his voice low. He didn’t want any of the humans to hear him. “Look. Whatever injuries, diseases or other problems, physical or mental, that you had as a human will still be there when you get changed. If you have cancer as a human, you’ll have cancer as a Bear. If you have scars, they’ll still be there.” He took another sip of the really bad coffee and wondered if he could sneak out to Starbucks. “It’s nice to think that something as simple as a bite can cure everything, but this is the real world. Problems just don’t magically go away because you get bitten by a shifter.”

“Oh.” Tim grimaced in sympathy. “That sucks.”

“On top of that, it takes days for the change to fully manifest itself. Most people can’t change into their new animal form until about a week after getting bitten. I’ve heard of cases where it goes faster, but those people are incredibly strong-willed.”

“So Cyn got bit almost a week ago?”

Julian froze, coffee cup halfway to his mouth. “She got bit last night.”

“Then how come she had claws?”

Julian’s gaze darted over to where Cyn was resting. She was half asleep, her head resting on Alex’s broad shoulder. His mate was exceptional in all respects, and he couldn’t be more proud of her. “Because she’s Cyn.”