Page 65 of Midnight Mate
Healing.
This was a good sign.
But she still wasn’t awake. And she was still human.
Fuck. The stress of waiting was going to kill me before any of these deep, slicing wounds did.
They were bad. Travis had gotten me good. I didn’t bother telling Cat, and I had no idea if she’d noticed that if you looked closely enough at the one on my hip, you could see tissue and bone.
It hurt like a motherfucker.
My wolf didn’t even register the pain, though. Not while I waited for my mate to complete the change.
My mate.
The words gave me chills and filled my heart in all the hollow places. She had to survive this.
Or Delphine would wish she’d never met with me that day on her piece of shit porch. I’d make her pay if she took Cat from me.
Finally . . . finally, Cat’s body began to change.
First, fur sprouted along her arms and legs, and then her limbs morphed. Thesnapof her bones breaking and reforming echoed through the trees.
I stilled, watching and waiting.
And praying to whatever fate had sent us this gift.
At last, the change was finished. Cat as a wolf was fucking glorious. Beautiful and graceful and with fur the color of snow. My wolf was mesmerized.
It wasn’t until she began to wake that I jumped up and realized the movement hadn’t sent shooting pain through my organs.
I looked down and found all my wounds healed and closed—just like hers. Delphine had been telling the truth. Cat’s choice had saved us both.
Then I looked back at Cat, and our eyes locked. The feeling of seeing her awake and whole was one thing. Seeing her as a wolf on top of it all was like nothing I could have imagined. Happiness. Relief. Hope.
It was more than I deserved.Shewas more than I deserved.
I went to her then, my wolf tongue swiping over her furry face until she was pawing at me to get away. My wolf was undeterred, and we rolled over the grass, nipping and licking at each other.
Finally, I’d had enough. I needed to hold her, man and woman.
Shifting back to human form, I coaxed Cat along until she found the reflexes that allowed her to do the same.
When we were both back on two legs again, I scooped her into my arms and lifted her off her feet, kissing her with the force of everything I felt.
“East, I need to breathe.” Cat laughed, finally prying us apart, but I didn’t let her go.
I looked into her eyes, now free from pain and with just a hint of the beast she now had inside her. A wolf. My wolf. My mate.
“How do you feel?” I asked.
“A little weird,” she admitted. “Healed, obviously, but . . .” Her stomach growled. “Hungry as hell.”
I laughed.
She smiled. “And happy to be here with you.”
“You are the most important person in my life, Cat.” I leaned in, pressing my forehead against hers. “I can’t live in a world without you in it.”
