“Shh, it’s okay,” Nox said, leaning forward to comfort her. “They’re fine, only a bit dehydrated. I told them to go see Violet. She must have been missing her mom and dad.”

Something else tickled her mind. Something she wanted to know ... the diseased shifters! Fear shot through her making her forget why she was in a hospital bed. She sprang up, twisting her body on the mattress, and the sting of a rattlesnake shot up her leg

“Fuck!”

Nox leaped forward, grabbing hold of her shoulders as she plummeted back onto the bed.

“Easy there, cowgirl,” he said. “You sprained your left foot and ankle coming down that hill. You’re going to have to take it easy for a while.”

Nox lowered her onto the bed, and the pain dissipated. She sighed, recalling when the tumble had happened and how she was essentially on the brink of death.

“What happened with the sick shifters?” she asked, praying none in the pack had been infected.

Sadness poured from Nox. “Archie had injected something into several of the local shifters and threatened to do the same with all of the pack if they didn’t submit to him. That’s how he gained power over them. Just like he had the police.

“When they charged out of the prison that Archie had been holding them in, they were too far gone to fight. Several of them died before even reaching us to fight. We quickly put down those that did, so they didn’t suffer any longer.”

Her heart cried for those shifters. They didn’t deserve how they were treated. Didn’t deserve how they died. She hoped Archie fried in hell.

With a sigh, she pushed all that from her mind. She had to focus on getting better so she could help the pack heal.

“Did you bring me here?” she asked as he pushed the hair out of her face.

“I did,” he whispered, tracing her face with his fingers.

Kelli was reminded why she had fallen for the exhausted, handsome man leaning over her bedside. Within the depths of her heart, she knew he would do anything for her. She hadn’t felt that way about anyone else in her life.

She lifted a hand to his face and stroked it as he brushed hers. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch like he had finally let go of the weight of the world.

“We should see Violet,” she said gently. “I miss her so much.”

He nodded with his eyes still closed.

“We will, but you need to heal first, babe. This foot needs to be propped up, and this gorgeous specimen needs to be pampered.”

Kelli felt her entire body blush, and despite her own fatigue, she was immensely turned on.

Nox took his beloved to the hotel that he had been staying at while they had been watching the cabin and upgraded to a newlywed suite. There they had a massive tub, a lookout onto the town, and room service on demand.

Kelli certainly felt spoiled as Nox showered her in comfort, affection, and the basic necessities. For nearly three days, she rested her foot while he ran her a bath, brought her food, coffee, wine, and a laptop to run her business, and then would carry her back to bed when she was done. She felt like an Egyptian queen, moving back and forth in the arms of her magnificent suitor.

One night, she was in a lot of pain and had run out of her medication. Nox ran her a bath and, as always, put in bath salts as well as scented rose petals. He placed her in gently and elevated her foot, so she was comfortable. After bringing her dinner, he left to get her more medication for her pain.

“I can wait it out,” she said before he left.

He scoffed at her the way only a partner could.

“I’m not letting my heroic babe sit in agony,” he said, closing the door. “Even if she is looking scrumptious in that tub.”

She bit her bottom lip, and the thought of making love to Nox once more bloomed in her mind. She still hurt, clearly, and they were exhausted from the emotional and physical strain of their mission, but hell, they could make it work.

He went out for the meds along with some chocolate she liked. Kelli was stunned by his initiative and the extra work he put into making sure she was comfortable and satisfied.

He lifted her out of the tub, which was routine by the third day, and she wrapped her arms around him, utterly naked. Their kiss pressing against one another was fragrant and natural, producing goosebumps on every part of her body.

“You smell good,” she purred.

Nox brought a towel to her, starting at her left foot and leg, making sure to remove the bag he’d placed over it so that the cast hadn’t gotten damp.