Page 5 of Shadow Spirit

“No; I’m fine. Just the aftereffects of a bad dream. I was going to breakfast, but I think I may go lie down instead.”

“I could help you to your room…”

“No. No; I’m fine, really, but thank you.”

She had to admit Colby’s clan was far more welcoming and kind than Eoghan’s pack had ever been. Being his mate had been a nightmare. Hunted and chased for sport as well as having to endure being pawed not just by Eoghan, but by his ranking pack members as well. The warriors here at St. Piran’s were not inclined to force a female to do anything. They might have those same urges, though—hadn’t Decker threatened to spank her? And why had that made the butterflies in her lower belly burst into flight to rival the bees buzzing in her head? For the most part the people of this clan were respectful. For one thing, Colby ruled with an iron hand. Oh, it might be enclosed in a velvet glove but there was no question as to who was in command. It didn’t hurt that his beta was his fated mate, Brie.

Adriana managed to give the man a smile and duck back into the main keep. Fearful of encountering Decker if she headed back to her room, she began to shuffle down the hall to one of the common rooms, hoping to find a quiet couch where she could collect herself and rest. The dizziness and pain were not abating. In fact, they seemed to be getting worse.

As a powerful wave of anguish washed over her, she stumbled and felt her knees begin to buckle. She was quite certain she would have fallen had it not been for the intervention of strong hands grasping her forearms, keeping her upright.

“Take it easy, Adriana.”

She looked up to see the eyes and sandy hair of the abbey’s new chief medical officer, Greg something or other. She remembered meeting him when they’d rescued her from Abraham Strode’s compound. It seemed to Adriana that ever since she’d had the misfortune to have Eoghan bite her, she kept needing to be rescued from one thing or another. She was tired of it.

“I don’t need to take it easy. I need to be left alone to get stronger,” she said with what she hoped was the right amount of grim determination. She felt herself weave until Greg steadied her.

“I don’t know that I believe that. I know that your coven banished you, and you’ve had a pretty rough go of it since you got turned, but wolf packs and Colby’s rag-tag band of merry shifters don’t operate that way. We take care of each other. When you’re weak, you can depend on others to be strong.”

The nausea and headache were increasing exponentially. “I’m not weak,” she snarled.

Greg chuckled. “We’ll have to agree to disagree about that, but my point was we help and support each other. If someone is not at their best, we step in and support them until they are. And down the line, they do the same for others.

It was getting more difficult to string cohesive thoughts together because of the pressure in her head. The buzzing had lessened a bit after leaving Decker kneeling and cupping his balls, but it was intensifying once again, she was pretty sure she was going to throw up on the doctor, and now her vision was starting to blur.

“I don’t like your color at all,” said Greg as he reached up to touch her forehead.

Adriana batted his hand away. “Don’t.”

Greg emitted a low growl that she could almost feel. “You’re starting to perspire and if I turned loose of you, I’m pretty sure you’d hit the ground. If Colby is anything like my old alpha, Oliver, he wouldn’t think much of his new chief medical officer letting the beta of the Shadow Sisters hit the ground. So how about you do a guy a favor and let me take you down to the medical facility. We’re still getting set up, but I’d really like to take a good look at you.”

“I don’t want…” she started as she began to slide down the wall,

“Okay, at this point what you want isn’t real high on my list.”

He reached down and scooped her up in his arms, cradling her against his chest as he began to make his way to the state-of-the-art medical facility Colby had created. One thing about her new alpha, he hadn’t spared any expense for what his clan needed. Greg shouldered his way into the waiting area and took her directly back to one of the exam rooms, setting her down on her feet. He started to remove her robe and stopped as he realized she was wearing nothing beneath it. He stared for a moment at the swell of her breast with something other than professional interest. He shook his head, refocusing on her as a patient and not as a woman. Adriana was suddenly not sure why that bothered her.

One of the nurses—a medic from Jackson Miller’s special ops units—followed Greg into the room. “Help me get her vitals.”

“I don’t want you to do that,” said Adriana.

“I know you don’t feel well, and I’m making an exception for that, but right now what you want or don’t want isn’t all that important to me. I can feel you burning up, but your skin is cold and clammy. Now behave yourself and let me get your vitals. Let’s get you up on the exam table.”

Greg set her down, but Adriana could see the strain in his muscles.

“Doc? You okay?” asked the medic.

“Yeah, just a little dizzy. I found Adriana outside on my way to the dining hall.”

Both her temperature and blood pressure were a little high. The doctor moved his hands over her in a detached, medical professional way. “Anything hurt?”

“No,” Adriana lied as she winced when he touched her belly, pressing lightly. “Don’t do that.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, but if you won’t tell me what hurts, I can’t help.”

“I have a blinding headache, my eyes really don’t want to work, I’m dizzy as hell, and I really think I’m going to throw up.”

“Let me give you something for the pain and nausea.”

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