Page 131 of The Beta's Blind Date

She darts between where my dad towers over me and where I lay on the floor, undeterred by the blood or the long, sharp claws my dad wields. Resolve burns through her, and I try to sit up, reaching to shove her out of the way, but she jumps on my dad, swinging around him and wrapping him in a choke hold. He scratches at her arm, drawing blood from her, too, but her brow furrows more, her focus narrowing as she chokes him until he passes out, falling to the floor beneath her.

She stands above him, chest heaving, fire burning in her eyes. She’s every inch the fierce warrior woman I’ve fallen in love with over the last several weeks.

“Fuck,” I groan, rolling onto my back and squeezing my eyes closed, putting pressure on my wound. “That was hot,” I say as she kneels next to me. “If I wasn’t bleeding out right now, I’d totally jump your bones.”

“Are you okay?” she asks, her hands hovering over me as she scans my wounds. “That’s a dumb question. Of course you’re not okay. You’re hurt and bleeding. Although I guess you’re not too hurt since you’re joking about sex.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” she says, her eyes locked on my wounded abdomen. “I need to mindlink Dr. Russo and—”

“Can’t mindlink him,” I grunt. “Have to call him. Hospital policy.”

“Where’s your phone?”

“In your guest suite.”

“Fuck!” she says, her hands trembling and her eyes watering as she covers my hands with hers, applying more pressure with her body weight.

“It’s fine. Just mindlink Wesley and the others,” I say.

She nods and squeezes my hand, her fingers tangling with mine. The tips of them brush against the torn skin, and a soothing warmth spreads through me from her touch. I close my eyes for a second, swallowing, relishing in the light that trickles over my body as she continues to run her fingertips over my wound.

“Reid…” She gasps and yanks her hand away from my body, stealing the warmth and light as she does.

I groan again from the loss of that comforting sensation and open my eyes to find her staring at her hands, where a golden, ethereal glow emanates from her fingers and her palms. Her gaze travels to my abdomen, to her hands again, and then back to my abdomen. Her eyes widen, and she shoves my hands out of the way, covering my wounds with both of hers.

The warm golden light floods through me with the speed of a bullet train and the strength of a raging fire, taking every trace of pain with it and replacing it with peace and love. I gasp from the shock of it, watching as my wounds knit themselves back together beneath Taryn’s fingers.

She bites her lip, her focus on her hands and my body, pure energy pulsing through her and into me. My body relaxes and I let it wash over me, accepting every drop into the depths of my being.

The pain stops, and she removes her hands. The only remaining trace of my injury is the dried blood on my skin, the rips in my shirt, and the pool of blood on the floor. Taryn’s heart races and her breathing is heavier than normal, but she smiles at me, her hands shaking as she moves closer to my face.

“That was a cool trick,” I say, sitting up, examining the no longer injured spot on my abdomen. She throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and I catch her, pulling her into my lap. “Hey, it’s okay.” I cup the back of her head as she cries into my shoulder. “I’m okay.”

Her body trembles in my arms from both the force of her tears and the weight of her relief as the adrenaline leaves her body. She presses rapid pecks to my shoulder and up my neck, planting a deep kiss on my lips when she reaches them, her hands grasping my face, more warmth and light flooding through me again as she pushes more of her healing energy into me.

“I’m fine,” I tell her again as she pulls away, her fingers tracing my face as she searches for any other injuries. “You saved me, and we’re even now.”

She laughs through her tears and kisses me again as Wesley, Nolan, and Sebastian enter the kitchen, all three of them halting in their tracks as they take in the scene—Taryn crying and laughing in my arms between the kisses she gives me, the bloodied floor, and my dad’s crumpled body where he lays passed out on the floor.

“Take him to the hospital,” Wesley says to Nolan and Sebastian, jerking his chin at my dad. “Can you walk?” Wesley asks, looking at me.

“Yeah, I’m fine now,” I say, getting to my feet and bringing Taryn with me, keeping my arms around her.

Her body still shakes—at this point, I’m guessing it’s from the shock of everything—and neither my wolf nor I have any inclination to let her out of our reach.

His eyes flick to my torn shirt stained with blood and the congealing blood on the floor, and he frowns. “Taryn said in her mindlink that you were—”

“I healed him,” she says, her voice weak, and Wesley’s eyebrows shoot up. “I didn’t know—” She clears her throat and takes a deep breath, trying to strengthen her voice. “I didn’t know I—”

“We can talk about that later,” Wesley says, waving her off as Nolan and Seb leave the kitchen, carrying my dad. “Right now, we need to get you both to the hospital, too.”

“I’m fine,” I say again, rolling my eyes.

“That may be, but you still need to be seen by a doctor, or at the very least, a nurse. And the scratches on Taryn’s arm aren’t healing at all,” he adds. “Now let’s go.”

He rushes out of the room, his phone already in his hand as he calls Dr. Russo, not checking to see if we’re following. I scoop Taryn up into my arms, not giving her the choice to walk. But where my girl would usually try to argue with me and tell me she’s fine and doesn’t need me to treat her like a fragile princess, she instead leans her head against me, cradling her injured arm to her chest.

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