Page 34 of The Bull's Head

“No! No! I’m Cooper. I’m… I’m….” He dropped to the ground, his head in his hands. When he peered up, there were tears in his eyes. “Teddy, please. Help me.”

Teddy rushed toward Byk and fell to his knees beside him. He wrapped Byk in his arms and held him close.

“I’m here, Byk. I’m right here. Listen to the sound of my voice, okay? I need you to hear me.”

“I’m so scared,” he whispered. “I hear Cooper’s voice in my head. He’s screaming, demanding to be let go.”

How was that possible? It made no sense.

“Teddy!”

Mal’s voice. “Over here,” he shouted.

A few moments later, Mal and Dr. Hamilton strode into view. Just seeing the First helped calm Teddy. Mal eyed Byk, but then his gaze shifted to Teddy.

“What’s going on?”

Dr. Hamilton came over and knelt beside Byk. She pulled out a needle and pressed it into his arm. “It’s a sedative,” she said softly. “Give him a few minutes to relax before you say anything.”

“Teddy?”

He tightened his hold. “I’m here, Byk.”

“Don’t leave me, okay? Not again. Please?”

Teddy nuzzled his hair. It broke his heart to hear the fear in Byk’s voice. “It’ll never happen. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“Promise?”

It was the easiest thing Teddy had ever done. “You have my word.”

“Okay.”

As he watched, Byk’s eyes fluttered shut and his breathing evened out. Then he slumped into Teddy’s arms, unconscious.

“What the hell?” Mal growled.

“I don’t know,” Teddy said, his voice cracking. “I don’t understand.”

Mal stomped closer. “Let me take him.”

“No!” Teddy snarled. “He’s mine, so you back the fuck off!”

There was silence for a moment. “Teddy, I?—”

Familiar ants burrowed beneath Teddy’s skin. They were itchy, but comfortable “Back off, Mal,” Teddy growled, not taking his eyes off Byk. “I’m close to shifting, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Let him carry Callum, Mal” came Dr. Hamilton’s soft voice.

Teddy stood, Byk in his arms. He felt good there. Right. The four of them headed for the compound, no one saying anything. When they took the ramp down into Wald, Dr. Hamilton led Teddy to her clinic. He lay Byk on the gurney, then turned to Mal.

“I’m sorry, First.”

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Mal assured him. “If someone tried to take Alp, I’d do the same thing.”

But Alp was his mate. Teddy was just a friend.

You go ahead and keep telling yourself that. Remember how you reacted when you caught his scent? How it made you feel? How your stomach squirmed and how you started popping wood?

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