Page 99 of The Gamma's Second Chance

There is a rustle of noise as the phone passes from Reid to Taryn. “What’s wrong with Cassandra?” she asks.

“Burns. Second, maybe third-degree. She pushed me out of the way of the flames when I kicked the hotel room door open.”

“And how is she?”

I glance in the rearview mirror at her. Her eyes remain closed, her face stark white, and she’s curled in on herself, arms still hugging her middle and tremors still shaking her body.

“I can feel them healing,” she murmurs, licking her lips and squeezing herself tighter.

“That’s good,” Taryn says before I can repeat Cassandra’s words to her. “Julia, the royal healer who trained me, says burns take longer to heal and can be very painful. Dr. Russo will need to clean them before I can do anything to speed up the process. How fast can you get here?”

I push my foot harder on the gas at her question. “Ninety minutes. Maybe less if I speed.”

“I’ll send an alert out to our contacts in law enforcement,” Reid says. “Tell them not to pull you over.”

“I’m in Ben’s jeep,” I tell him. “It’s white.”

“I’ll let them know.” He’s quiet for a moment, and all I hear is his breathing. “As far as Haven and Wes…” He swallows and clears his throat. “Just focus on getting Cassandra here so Taryn can heal her. We’ll worry about the rest later.”

I reach the packin a little over an hour, driving faster than I should have. I go straight to the hospital, and Dr. Russo greets me at the door, ushering us into a room where Taryn and Reid are already waiting.

“I haven’t said anything to anyone yet,” Reid says.

None of us exchange a word beyond that, but the look on his face says what we’re all feeling.

Shock. Devastation. Disbelief.

Dr. Russo guides me to sit on the bed with Cassandra propped against me. She laces her fingers through mine, gritting her teeth and squeezing my hands with everything she has as he cleans her burns. I take it all, focusing on the pain in my hand instead of the pain in my soul.

Tears stream down her cheeks, and I kiss each one as they fall, wrapping my arms around her. I hum softly in her ear, vocalizing the notes of the song I played on my guitar the day I asked her to be mine, the song I wrote for her. Quiet whimpers sound from behind her pinched together lips, and she clings tighter to me.

“Done,” Dr. Russo says, moving out of the way.

Taryn rushes to take his place, Reid at her back with his arms around her waist so she can use his strength if she needs to. “I’m just going to heal her past the painful point,” she says, catchingmy eye. “Once she’s free of the pain, her body will take care of the rest much faster.”

I nod, and Taryn places her hands on Cassandra’s legs, right above where her burns begin. Cassandra hisses through her teeth, but as soon as Taryn’s hands glow with her golden healing ability, she relaxes against me.

I don’t know how long we stay like that, with Taryn’s hands on Cassandra, her healing light flooding through her. I focus all my love towards Cassandra, even though there’s no bond connecting us for her to feel it. Her faint noises of pain wither away until all that’s left are her inhales and exhales and Reid’s soft whispers of encouragement towards his mate.

When Taryn lifts her hands off Cassandra, I dare a glance at her legs. They are now pink, new skin completely covering where the flames burned it away. Color returns to her cheeks, and the tension releases from her body. I sway her side to side and exhale, resting my damp cheek against her hair, the tension in my muscles easing as well. My wolf howls in my mind—one long, held note of bittersweet sorrow.

Our mate is safe. But at what cost?

Another tear falls from my eye and into Cassandra’s hair, and her shoulders vibrate with a soft sob as well. I cling to her and her to me. Her presence in my arms and the love we have for each other helps with the pain.

Taryn touches my shoulder, and love and healing trickle into me, running through my veins like a small, bubbling stream over rocks in the forest, breaking through the heartache and bringing a little extra peace to my soul. I smile at her and cover her hand with mine. “Thank you.”

She nods and then takes Reid’s hand and heads to the door with him. “We’ll let you two rest.”

“I need to find Sebastian,” Reid says, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. “And Maddie, Harrison, and Emily. Goddess, I’m not—”

The door flies open, cutting off his words, and Wesley and Haven rush into the room, dressed in their clothes from the mating ball. They are exhausted and frazzled, but very much alive.

My head falls back against the pillow of the hospital bed, a relieved sob escaping me as I cover my eyes with my hand. Reid lunges towards Wes, wrapping his arms around him, and Haven rushes into the room, grabbing Cassandra’s hand in hers as she perches on the edge of the bed.

“Dickhead!” Reid says, shoving Wes after releasing him from his hug. “Don’t you ever die again!”

Wes’s lips twitch as he tries not to laugh. “I didn’t die.”

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