Page 60 of Cursed
Adele leans down to check Nori’s pulse. “Her pulse is strong, Ryland. I think Lyra is right.”
Using his Alpha Influence, Ryland focuses his piercinggaze on Lyra. His commanding tone is harsh. “You will not speak of what has happened here tonight to anyone. Am I clear?”
The Seer quickly draws her hand away from him and steps back. “Yes, Prince Drakemoor. May I go now?”
His face softens as he returns his gaze to his unconscious Mate. “Yes. Fine. Oh, and Lyra? I will not forget the assistance you’ve provided here today. Thank you.”
chapter thirty-six
The first thing Nori notices is Ryland’s delicious scent all over her. Her eyes pop open. She looks around the room and finds that she’s in a hospital bed. She must be in an actual room because there’s a closed door on the opposite wall from her.
Ryland is asleep beside her, sitting in a chair with his head lying on her bed, holding her hand. She reaches over with her free hand and lays it on the top of his head. He immediately jerks awake. Nori smiles and says, “Hey.”
Worry etches his face as he leans over her to pull her into an embrace. “Nori!”
A single breath hitches in his throat. “Two days, Nori! You’ve been out for two days!” He leans back to look at her, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I have been worried sick!”
Nori reaches up and touches his chin. She scoots to the far side of the bed away from him and grabs his shirt. “Come here.”
Ryland climbs into the bed, as Nori turns to face away from him. He wraps both arms and one leg around her, holding as much of her body as possible. Now that she is awake and unharmed, the tension that’s gripped him for the past two days slowly begins to melt away.
Nori holds both of his hands in hers and basks in the warmth of this enormous male, completely enveloping her. “I remember finishing the healing and then, nothing. What happened next? Is Zayne…?”
Squeezing her hands, Ryland replies, “Zayne is completely healed. Both he and Sadie are very grateful, Nori. We all are. You, on the other hand, immediately passed out after the healing, scaring the shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry for worrying you, Ryland. I feel perfectly fine now, though.” Nori’s heart flips over this powerful Alpha, who was so worried about her. Before him, only her parents had ever been concerned about her well-being.
“I haven’t had much time to practice with this healing thing. Adele talked me into practicing on her, but we onlydid minor injuries, like cuts. That is until she jabbed that silver spike through her hand.”
Nori blows out a breath. “I swear, that was the craziest thing I have ever seen. Your sister is nuts.” She laughs nervously. “That’s how I knew healing Zayne was likely to cause him a great deal of pain. Adele screamed several times when I healed the hole in her hand.”
“Since when are you a healer, Nori?”
“Well, ever since, umm, the night when...” She pauses, not knowing how to finish.
Ryland tenses. “The evening when I almost killed the both of us, you mean?”
Nori tugs his arms tighter around her and softens her voice. “Yes. Ever since that night, I’ve been looking for information about shifter powers in your history books. I read all of them, but none of them had any information about powers with a golden light.”
“How did you figure it out?” Ryland asks when she pauses.
“Two of the books mentioned that Seers and Empaths can sense a shifter’s power. Turns out, you have a Seer here. Lyra told me that I am a healer, and she explained the basics of how to use the power. After that, Aylin and I got to work figuring out how to access it.”
“You’ve been very busy, Nori.”
“Did you think I just sat around on the sofa worryingabout when you would return?” She grins, laughing under her breath, and squeezes his hands. “I’m teasing. I was literally counting the days, and I worried the entire time you were gone. When you weren’t back after four days, I seriously thought I was going to lose my mind!”
Ryland eases her hair out of his face and kisses the back of her neck. “I’m sorry I was late. The snowstorm lasted two days, then it took an extra day to find the Rogues. I became a total asshole to everyone the moment I realized I wouldn’t be back when I said I would.”
He lowers his face to her neck, breathing in her scent. “I missed you so very much.”
“Me too, Ryland. I would have been a basket case had Adele not kept me busy with the healing practice. She was excellent company while you were gone.”
“I’m glad you two are getting along.”
Nori chuckles lightly. “Lyra’s weird, though, right? I seriously thought Aylin was going to kill her.”
Ryland laughs softly against her skin. “Yes, she’s extremely weird. We ran a thorough background check on her before allowing her to stay. I owe her for assisting you heal my brother, though.”
