Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103719 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103719 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
So yeah, everything was exactly how she’d left it when she’d put her head down on the rolling table for just a moment—except for one small and extraordinary thing.
His eyes were open.
“John,” she choked out as she launched herself up to the head of the bed. “John.”
That blue stare was the kind of thing that she hadn’t realized she’d resigned to never see again. But now it was locked on her, the pupils evenly dilated, the whites only slightly bloodshot.
What about the stroke risk, she thought. That had been a concern, hadn’t it?
Down at his hips, one of his hands flexed, and she clasped his palm. “Hi—hello. Oh, God, I’m so—” As his lips moved, she shook her head. “Don’t force yourself to—”
The squeeze was stronger than she would have thought possible. And then he lifted up his other hand. In slow, halting positions, he spelled out in American Sign Language:
I. L. O. V. E. U.
Maybe she was just dreaming. Maybe this was one of those moments in the middle of a tragedy when you fell asleep and your subconscious performed miracles to make you feel better.
“I love you, too.” She leaned over him and brushed his hair back. “You’re going to be okay.”
She didn’t know if that was true—but assuming this was not a figment of a sleep cycle, an “okay” outcome was a helluva lot more likely now than it had been before she’d passed out on her forearm. Glancing over her shoulder, she met her mahmen’s tear-filled eyes and mouthed, Get Jane. Autumn nodded and left as quickly as she could, the door easing shut as she limped off.
“One squeeze for yes, two squeezes for no,” she said. “Are you in pain?”
Squeeze. Squeeze.
“Are you ready to feed if Doc Jane says it’s okay?”
Squeeeeeeeeeeze—
The door was thrown open, and yeah, wow, it was like they’d won the doctor lottery: Doc Jane, Vishous, Manny, and Ehlena streamed in like they had been pacing just outside the recovery room. Instantly, activity bloomed around John, the staff checking his monitors, his vitals, his pupils, his lungs, like the pit crew at an Indy 500 race—and Xhex stayed right in the middle of it all, even though she was in the way. No one asked her to step back, though.
Not that she would have under any circumstance.
Doc Jane was the one who drew her aside toward the end of the assessment. “He really wants to be here,” V’s mate said with a smile. “He’s doing so well, it’s flat-out miraculous.”
Xhex focused over the female’s shoulder, noting the way John’s eyes followed the activity like he was tracking it all: who was in the room, what they were doing, why it was necessary. Where she was.
“Can you tell me which foot I’m touching?” Manny was asking. “Raise the corresponding hand.”
Left palm went up. Right one went up. Then Manny asked John to point his toes. Lift his legs. Lift his arms.
“Holy shit,” the doctor muttered under his breath. “Amazing.”
“Did he have a stroke?” Xhex whispered. “Or not?”
Doc Jane likewise kept her voice low. “I’d like to put him into the MRI with some contrast to see if there was any infarction in his head. We thought that was what was going on a couple of hours ago, but his pupils are reactive and equal, and he obviously has control over limbs. He’s also very aware.”
“When are we out of the woods?”
“Well, we’ve made the turn, for sure.” Doc Jane shook her head, her forest green eyes narrowing. “And with the way that Brother is looking at you? I’d say the Grim Reaper is going to have to work a lot harder to pull this fighter into a premature grave.”
Xhex wiped her eyes of tears. “Can I feed him?”
“Yes, that would be great.” More loudly, Jane said, “I have a vein ready and waiting over here.”
“Two secs.” Manny put a forefinger up to John’s face. “Follow this without moving your head, okay? Great… yup… that’s right. Excellent.”
Manny sat on the edge of the mattress and stared at his patient. “I don’t suppose you can touch your nose for me—oh, you’re just knocking it out of the park, aren’t you.”
With a clap on John’s leg, the physician got to his feet and jacked up his blue scrubs. “A vein would be awesome.”
As Xhex went to get up close with her mate again, Manny gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Never underestimate a bonded male’s ability to recover.”
Locking eyes with John, Xhex bit into her own wrist and then placed her open vein at his mouth. He latched on immediately, taking great draws, lifting a hand to secure her forearm to his lips—but again, like she was going anywhere?
Xhex looked down her mate’s body and addressed her mahmen. “Tell Tohr to come in? And the Brothers—you have to go report in to the Brotherhood.”