“I could meet you there if you wanted to. You and Tabby should be safe in the hospital.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Promise me you’ll be careful. It would literally kill me to lose you now.”
She paled. She’d forgotten that. When she asked Tabby about her mating with Alex, Tabby had told her that when two shifters mated their life forces were intertwined. That meant if anything happened to her, Julian would die.
“Cyn?”
She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She could freak out later, maybe with Tabby. Or better yet, Alex. She now understood why Alex reacted the way he did every time his mate was threatened. She’d almost forgotten about Tai’s words, the vision he had of Julian lying in a pool of his own blood. “I’m fine.”
He pushed her hair back behind her ear. “You sure?”
“Yeah.” She’d have to be. She didn’t stand just to lose Tabby and Glory now. She had a whole fuzzy family, the most important of which was the fuzzy sitting next to her. She offered him a smile, cursing to herself when it trembled. “Just a whole lot of shit going on.”
He nodded as if he understood, but she sincerely doubted it. She barely understood it herself. “Let’s go in then.” He waved to someone over her shoulder, and she turned to find Dr. Howard, waving back from his own car. Climbing out of the car with him was Marie, and Cyn smiled to see her. Since the lunch they’d had together Marie had gone out of her way to email Cyn, slowly building a friendship with her. They might never have much in common beyond their men, but Cyn respected the hell out of her. “Good morning!” Marie gave a wave of her own, beaming at Julian and Cyn. “I hear you’ll be spending the day with Jamie.” Jamie and Marie wrapped their arms around each other’s waists, leaning into each other like they’d done it a thousand times before. They probably had.
“We thought it was a good idea. Do you have any problems with it?” She didn’t want Marie to worry about Jamie’s safety. Had anyone told Marie what was going on? Jamie already understood, and was willing to stand by them.
Marie waved her hand dismissively. “Not a one. Just do me a favor and make sure he actually takes those breaks he’s supposed to.” She gazed fondly up at her husband. “I’m off to get my hair done. Have a good day, sweetheart.”
“You too.” The pair kissed good-bye and Marie walked away, a spring in her step. Watching the two of them together gave her ideas on the way she and Julian would be once they settled into their own mating. Marie was her own woman, part owner in several of her father’s businesses, and a major contributor to at least two local charities. She was busy being who she wanted to be, and shared that with Jamie, just as he seemed to share his life with Marie.
Maybe saying those three little words wouldn’t change anything at all. Maybe she could have it all with Jules.
A bright shimmer on the ground caught her attention. She bent down and picked up an earring off the ground. “Pretty. I wonder who it belongs to?”
“Shit. That’s one of Marie’s favorite earrings.” Jamie reached for it.
Cyn was already moving, the earring clutched in her fist. She had something she wanted to ask the other woman, out of hearing of the men. “She’s right over there. Just wait a second before you go in.”
“Cyn, don’t you dare.” Julian strode after her, his expression alarmed.
Cyn rolled her eyes. “I don’t think anything bad can happen to me in the next five feet.” She held out her hand, earring in her palm. “Marie, I think you lost your earring.”
Marie started to turn. “Thanks—” She pitched forward, landing in a sprawled heap on the ground. Barely a second later Cyn heard the reason why.
Gunshot. The crack echoed loudly and seemed to come from everywhere at once.
“Down!” Julian shoved her behind the car before racing back to Jamie. She risked a quick peek and saw the Jamie lay on the ground as well. His skin had taken on a waxy, bluish tinge.
He wasn’t breathing.
She risked crawling to Marie. The shooter could still be out there, but Cyn was compelled to check on the fallen woman. She touched Marie’s wrist.
She was already dead. From the way the back of her head looked she’d been dead before she hit the ground. And if Marie was dead…
She got to her feet and raced toward Julian. Fuck the sniper. Super Bear was going to try and save Jamie, no matter what. If Jamie was too far gone, Julian would be taken with him. He would pour everything he had into keeping the man alive until there was nothing left to save himself with.
Cyn placed her hands on Julian’s shoulders and concentrated, harder than she had when Glory had been shot. She couldn’t allow Julian to go. Love, lust, freaky shifter hormones; it didn’t matter what she wanted to call it. If Julian died here there would be four bodies for the undertakers, three without a mark on them.
His hair was pure white, his eyes closed as he battled death itself. She followed him down the spiral of the healing path, lending her own strength to his, little though it was. She kept him tethered to his body as he somehow pulled a miracle out of his ass and got Jamie breathing again, got his heart to start. He repaired what little damage there was from Jamie’s body being deprived of oxygen. Jamie rewarded them with a whimper, but he didn’t wake up. When Julian slumped over, exhausted and unconscious, Cyn was there to catch him.
She was still sitting there, body bowed protectively over him, when Gabe Anderson pulled up. Lights and sirens blared from all three patrol cars, and in the distance she could hear an ambulance. She caressed Julian’s cheek, uncaring that her claws were out. “Cavalry is here, Jules.”
He didn’t stir. There was not a single strand of black in his wild mane of hair.
Chapter Sixteen
God damn, he hurt. He couldn’t remember ever hurting this badly in his entire fucking life. His eyelids felt like they were weighted down with stones, and he’d swear before the ancestors even his toenails ached. What the hell had he been doing? More importantly, where was Cyn?
He finally managed to wrestle his eyelids open, only to find he was in a hospital room. Hell, it even looked familiar. Maybe he was in the same one he’d been in last time he’d—
Shit. Marie. They’d lost Marie, and nearly lost Jamie.
He hoped he hadn’t been foolish to save Jamie. How was Jamie supposed to survive without his mate? Would he spend the rest of his life pining, tortured by mate dreams that could never be realized? One thing was certain; Jamie would never be the same again.
The squeak of a sneaker on linoleum had him forcing his head to turn. Cyn was pacing back and forth, her sneaker squeaking with every turn she made. She was snarling, the sound inhuman. Her Bear was close to the surface, trying to escape her control.
He tried to whisper her name, but all that came out was a soundless exhalation. She must’ve heard him anyway because she faced him, his name a breathless whisper. He could see the wildness in her, but he was too weak to calm her.
She took a step toward him, reaching for him, when the door behind her opened. Gabe stepped in, followed by his mate Sarah, the Halle Puma Omega. Both looked weary to the bone, their eyes red-rimmed. Julian could make out the scent of recent tears.
Cyn took hold of Julian’s hand and turned to face them. “Gabe. Sarah.”
Sarah ran her hand through her hair. “How are you two?”
Julian couldn’t roll his eyes, but he could think about it.
“Jules just woke up. He’s still weak as a newborn kitten and he can’t speak yet. He…” Cyn gulped, and only then did he realize how close to tears she was. “He almost died.”