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“I will.” She squeezed his hand.
“Right here,” he said.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she assured him.
He took a deep breath. “You were right.”
“About what?”
“The council. They … they aren’t…” He slumped down on the pillow.
“Aren’t what?” she asked. He fell unconscious again. “No! Chase, wake up.” She touched his chest. “You need to drink blood. Please.”
He didn’t move. Baxter whined.
Frustrated, she lowered the sheet to check his wound. It didn’t look inflamed, but damn it, now she wondered if she shouldn’t have asked Steve to stay.
What if she missed something? What if he got worse?
A sound—a light thump outside the bedroom window brought her head up. She saw the bird, a black grackle, perched on the outside of the windowsill.
She recalled the bird from earlier. Also a grackle. And black. She took one step. The bird bounced back into the air and, after fluttering its wings and suspending itself in midair, it flew away. Same bird? Or just a coincidence?
Hell, no, Della didn’t believe in coincidences. Who was watching her? And Chase? It had to be one of the shape-shifters here, didn’t it?
She had no time to ponder. Something—or someone—heavy dropped on the cabin porch and the door to the cabin swung open with a whack. Della ran into the living room, her canines already lowering.
* * *
Kylie, obviously in vampire mode, stormed in. “What’s wrong?”
Della breathed in and willed her fight mode to calm.
“It’s Chase,” she said, glad to have Kylie here. “He was hurt.”
She turned and ran into the bedroom. Kylie followed. Della stopped at Chase’s side and pulled the sheet down to show Kylie his wound. Amazingly, it looked even better than it had a few minutes ago.
Baxter still rested on the other side of the bed, wagging his tail at Kylie’s presence.
“It was bad, but he’s healing fast,” Della said. “Steve said there’s still a chance of him getting an infection. We don’t know how much blood he lost, which is probably why he’s still unconscious. Do you think you could help?”
Kylie looked at Chase’s wound. “I don’t know if my healing abilities work on blood loss. I’m willing to try.”
Della watched Kylie sit on the edge of the mattress and gently rest her hand on Chase’s shoulder.
Just then Della’s phone dinged with a text. With it came another chirp from Chase’s jeans. She pulled her cell from her pocket. “It’s Burnett,” she told Kylie as she read the message.
Have problems. Meet me at the office.
“What did he say?” Kylie asked.
“Not much, but it’s after eleven and he’s calling a meeting, so it can’t be good.”
“Crappers.” Kylie stared at the jeans on the dresser that kept dinging. “It might be about Miranda’s feeling as if someone were spying. That’s why I didn’t come earlier: I went with her and forgot my phone.”
“Oh, great!” Della said.
Kylie sighed. “I think you’re going to have to tell him about Chase.”