Page 48 of Moonlighting with the Werewolf

I didn’t have it in me to refuse and signaled for Sasquatch to let him in.

The door hadn’t even completely swung open when Gideon rushed inside. He skidded a foot from the exam table, a hand flying to cover his mouth as he caught sight of Elias.

I cleared my throat, not that it removed the lump that’d made a home there. “Kerrigan, this is Gideon. One of Elias’s?—”

“I’m his boyfriend.” Gideon snagged Elias’s limp hand and curled it to his chest. Evidently, they’d become official in the past week or so. Happiness flickered for a whole second before a swell of remorse extinguished it. “I’m not sure how he sensed the sigil trap, but he shoved me out of the way seconds before it snapped with him inside. Why’d you do that, babe?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw, his chin quivering as he turned to Kerrigan. “I love him, and he saved my life today, and I really need him to be okay. Please tell me he’s going to be okay.”

Damn. Not only had I let down Elias, Gideon, and several of my soldiers, I’d unintentionally piled more pressure on Kerrigan.

I stepped forward to draw his attention to me right as Kerrigan placed a hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “I promise to do everything in my power to ensure he will be.”

After making the rounds and taking care of a handful of tasks, I rubbed at my tired eyes and headed toward the infirmary.

It’d been days since I’d slept well. My previous plans of taking Kerrigan in my bed had been shot to hell. I didn’t deserve to have sex, anyway—didn’t even deserve our picnic and time in the cave.

The scent of charred flesh clung to my body, an ever-present reminder of the hellish evening, and I desperately needed a shower to wash away the dirt and gore. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t do the same for my guilt.

Sasquatch stood posted outside the door, and I nodded at him before stepping inside the room that smelled like antiseptic. I opened my mouth to ask Kerrigan for a status update, the words dying on my tongue as she came into view. She’d pulled up a chair next to the exam table and had fallen asleep with her head inches from Elias’s, her arm curled protectively around his upper chest.

Gideon was slumped over in the chair at her side, also dozing away, his fingers twined with Elias’s.

Clashing emotions rioted within me. Since my feelings hadn’t sorted themselves out in the past hour, it was unlikely I’d solve anything in my beyond-exhausted state.

Noise alerted me to Sabine’s presence—she sat in a folding chair in the corner, poised and alert.

“Will you be okay if I take Kerrigan to my place for a few hours of sleep?” I asked. “Yes, sir. I can handle everything here.”

“Call me if anything changes.” I bent and scooped Kerrigan into my arms. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she placed a hand on my cheek.

“You have eyebrows again,” she said, and I huffed a laugh. Her eyelids drooped for a fleeting moment before she pried them open again. “Wait, where are we going? I should stay.” “My place. We both need some rest. Sabine will call if anything changes.”

Kerrigan yawned. “’kay. Just for a few hours.”

As we passed by Sasquatch, she waved. “Night, Professor Sasquatch.”

Professor?Did she know something I didn’t? Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d earned a fancy degree and hadn’t thought to tell us.

Cool night air drifted over us as I pushed out of the building. “I could totally walk,” Kerrigan said, even as she snuggled closer. “I’m heavy, and you’re still healing.”

“I’m all healed up, and you’re not even a little bit heavy. Obviously, you have no idea how strong I am. Remind me to give you a demonstration later.”

“Could you roll me up like a dumbbell?”

Somehow, even after one of the worst days I’d ever had, she’d effortlessly lifted my spirits. I did a couple of bicep curls, rolling her up and down.

Kerrigan squeezed the muscles I’d just worked, adding a low hum of appreciation. “Now you don’t have to spend time at the gym maintaining these guns. You’re welcome.”

“Always taking one for the team, aren’t you?” I teased. “For the record, you’re not a dumbbell. You’re a smart bell.”

Kerrigan laughed, but within a few more strides, she’d drifted back to sleep. I had to do some juggling and rearranging but managed to open my front door without waking her. I headed straight for the bedroom, gently placed her on my bed, and tugged the covers up to her chin. “You sleep,” I whispered, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“Mmm. You in the shower. I’m picturing it.”

If it hadn’t been such an awful day, I’d tell her she could join me and get an eyeful of the real thing. But more than anything—even sex—I needed her to rest up, so she’d have the strength to heal Elias.

The blood transfusion hadn’t done for him what it’d done for Justin—at least not yet. The memory of finding him as a teenager, battered to the point he couldn’t heal his injuries or the resulting infection, kept drifting to mind. His old pack had just dumped him in the woods like he was garbage, and I’d vowed to protect him right then and there.

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