Page 35 of Incurably Cupid

I glanced at my dad, but his expression wasn’t giving me any clues. He looked relieved that I was awake, which I took to be a good sign. Then he frowned at me.

“What?”

“Why wouldn’t we come when they called and told us you were in the hospital? You’re our daughter; we love you and wanted to be sure you were okay. Thankfully, we’re still listed in the Paranormal Emergency Contacts Database as your emergency contacts.”

I reached for his hand and squeezed it but frowned. He seemed oddly grumpy—an unusual occurrence, as both my parents were abnormally andperpetuallycheerful. “Mum, why is Dad grouchy?”

The shifter I now identified as Dieter shifted in his seat, fell off it, yelped in surprise and pain, then sighed and picked himself up off the floor to sit in the chair again.

Mum nodded at the shifter. “That is the reason.”

My brain hurt trying to follow this logic, and I didn’t think it was just the concussion. I rubbed my temples while the very good-looking doctor started taking my vitals.

“I’m just going to check to see how you’re doing. Is that okay?” he asked.

I nodded at him, thanking him briefly with a smile. “Thanks for your help. Sorry about the madhouse.” Then I hazily remembered that I’d thrown up on him. I made a face. “I’m so sorry I threw up on you.”

He laughed. “This is nothing compared to a tiger pack. You guys are fine. And no problem. It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last.”

Hmm, he was a tiger shifter. I’d only ever met a few of those. I shook my head, setting aside my embarrassment, and refocused on my mum. “Mum, you’re not making any sense. Please explain.”

Dad crossed his arms over his chest. “They’ve asked for your mum’s help since they broke you.”

The vampire in the corner let out a weary laugh.

“That’s actually a really good idea, Mum,” I said, feeling relieved. “I wasn’t going to be able to stay long to help them—maybe a day or so. But you could stay longer and run them through some skills classes.”

I turned to Dad as the doctor checked the tube running from my arm to a machine beside me. I suspected I was getting an IV that was part saline and part fae potion because my saline was glowing blue, but I remained focused on my parents. “You could both do it if you’re worried about Mum being alone, Dad. You’re both cupids, and you have the unique experience of having been happily married for several hundred years, so they’d also benefit from a few couples’ classes. Would that be okay, Felix?”

I turned to Felix in the corner, and he nodded slowly. “It would be our pleasure to host you and care for you both while you assist us.”

The doctor released my arm just as Mesmer staggered in, carrying Leo, with Mordecai holding onto his wrists, I assumed, to transport him from the ether to here.

Mesmer didn’t even look like a gargoyle at the moment. He was completely ashen white, with no gray on his skin whatsoever.

“Mesmer!”I cried. “Why aren’t you in your wheelchair?” I tried to jump out of bed to help him, but both Felix and the doctor reached him first.

Mesmer swayed, and Felix caught him before the doctor gently lowered him into a chair.

Felix, Dieter, and the shifter carefully transferred Mesmer onto the bed that a nurse and an orderly had rolled in. They placed it next to mine, connecting him to all the same machines I’d been hooked up to—plus a few more.

I turned to Felix as he handed Leo to me. He’d caught my tiny companion at the same time he’d caught Mesmer.

Leo warbled sadly and turned blue. “We couldn’t talk him out of it.”

I exhaled sharply. That sounded about right.

For the first time, I looked at Mordecai. It was sad to say, but he didn’t look much better than Mesmer.

“You okay?”

He sank into a chair he’d pulled up beside me, running a shaky hand through his hair. “My best friend just got kidnapped—what do you think?”

I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “That you’re being melodramatic. Same as always.”

He huffed but didn’t argue, slumping in his seat and pressing his palm to his forehead.

Meanwhile, the doctor and nurse worked on Mesmer. He drifted in and out of consciousness during their examination, then finally, his eyes closed, and he was out completely.

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