Page 26 of The Bull's Head

“Don’t be. We’re going to take care of you, I promise.”

Mal stepped closer. “Lydia? Do you think Gwyneth might be able to help?”

“I’ll call and talk to her,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

“We’re fine, I think,” Teddy replied. “Thank you. I’m sorry about this.”

“Don’t be. I’m here to help, even if I couldn’t.”

The door opened a few minutes later and Alp came back into the room, a steaming mug in his hand. “I added whip cream.”

“Thank you, little bunny,” Teddy said, his gaze locked on Callum. He was pale and drawn, his eyes haunted. “Here, drink this.”

Callum took the cup in both of his shaky hands and lifted it toward his mouth. The steam curled around his lips as he sipped the hot beverage. When he’d drained the mug, he set it on the nightstand, but that fear hung on, acrid in the air, burning Teddy’s sensitive nose.

“Feel better?”

A quick shake of his head. “I don’t know that I’ll ever feel right again,” he whispered.

Alp stepped up beside them and put a hand on Callum’s shoulder. “I had nightmares too,” he said. “It took a while to get over them, but now I sleep through most nights. Give yourself some time.”

Callum blinked up at him. “Who are you?”

Alp gave a soft smile. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Alp. We met when you were still a bull. Me and this guy,” he said, gesturing toward Mal, “are in charge of Wald pack, and we welcome you.”

Callum’s gaze slid down Alp’s arm, to his missing hand. “What happened?”

Alp gave him a reassuring smile. “Hyde did this. He thought shifters could grow back missing limbs. I proved that son of a bitch wrong.”

The tone was light, almost teasing, but Teddy could feel the pain under the words. He understood. No one got over that kind of trauma without help. He feared the same would be true for Callum.

“Byk? Alp has some people who are helping others with their fears. Do you think you’d want to talk with them?”

He expected Byk to argue, but he shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe?” Callum looked up at Teddy and gave a tremulous smile. “What is Byk?”

This time Teddy’s cheeks heated. “I’m sorry. Byk is bull in Russian. It seemed… right. I don’t have to use it.”

“No! I… like it when you call me Byk. No one’s ever had a nickname for me before.” He gave a soft smile. “It makes me feel like I belong somewhere.”

Teddy grinned. “Then I shall call you Byk!”

“Listen, Teddy. We’ll get out of here. Thank you for letting us know what was going on,” Alp said.

“I’ll check in on you later. Get some rest, Callum. Eat your fill.” She smiled. “If you need me, call. I’ll come right back.” She turned to leave.

“Wait,” Byk called. “Thank you for… taking care of me, Dr. Hamilton. I know I wasn’t a very good patient, and I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

She moved closer and bent to hug Byk. “No, you most certainly did not. I’m so sorry this happened to you, and I wish I could make it all better. Neither you or your brother deserved anything like this.”

Teddy was glad no one else knew the details of what happened with Cooper. Hell, he wished he didn’t know.

“Did you want to try and sleep some more?” he asked Byk.

“The cocoa did make me sleepy, so I think I’ll try, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is. Did you want me to stay with you?”

“Would you?” Byk asked hopefully.