Chapter 39: I want him dead!
To say he was not happy was an understatement, this was the second time someone has attacked her, and this attack came from one of his own pack members. The doctor assured him several times that he did not order that nurse to change her bandages. He was pretty sure she wasn’t even a nurse. They would never use the liquid in the amber bottle at the hospital itself. It was only to be used in the field, when getting to the medical ward wasn’t easily done. Kane ordered a guard at her door and no one other than the small list of people Kane gave him was allowed anywhere near her room. He also made the doctor show him how to treat and dress her injuries, aside from him only the doctor was allowed to touch her, but even then someone had to be present in the room with the doctor. After the attack, a thorough examination needed to be done, to make sure none of her sutures ripped open. They brought her for a chest X-ray to check the ones on her lungs, thankfully all was clear.
When Dax woke up the second time she was lying on her left side and her back felt like it was on fire. Her bed was moved to the far side of the room farthest from the door. Her vision was still hazy; she could see coloured blobs and she assumed that was due to whatever it was they gave her. She could hear bits and pieces of a conversation that was being had in the room, focusing on the voices she tried to listen to what was being said. She could hear Kane’s voice, and Johnny and two other people.
“Was this connected to what happened earlier?” Kane was asking.
“No.” She heard that voice, it sounded familiar but she couldn’t place it.
“The girl was obsessed with you” Johnny was saying.
“We searched her room, and found….some things” that voice belonged to Kenneth, she recognized his accent. He handed something to Kane and judging by his stance it wasn’t something he wanted to see.
“Burn it all,” Kane said, his voice tight and angry.
“Already ahead of you brother, even I felt fucking dirty after being in that room for five minutes” Who is that? she thought. Come on focus! She scolded herself. She’s heard that voice before. Blinking a few times trying to clear her sight, but only one eye was clearing up. She blinked a few more times, but gave up on it when she realized her left eye was not going to clear up. With the room becoming clearer in her right eye she took the opportunity to search for the voices she heard. She wanted to see who the fourth voice belonged to. The four men stood in the middle, Kane had his back to her, she could make out Johnny to his right and Kenneth to his left, whoever the mystery voice is was standing in front of Kane.
Johnny laughed at the dirty comment and replied something about being surprised he even knew the meaning of that word. Even Kane laughed, it was good to hear him laugh even if it was tight. Her eyes felt heavy and she fought to keep them open, but found them closing on their own. Listening to the men talk, their voices drifting in and out, when a name came to her. She did know that voice….
“Squeaky!” It was a hushed whisper and slightly muffled from the oxygen mask, but all four men turned to look at her.
“I did not squeak, that was you and you know it” Damon said grinning at her. The smile only hit the right half of her face but it was genuine.
“Aw Squeaky! She remembers you” Johnny laughed causing another round of laughter.
“Of course she does, I’m a memorable guy,” Damon said smiling.
“Johnny take….Squeaky here and finish burning the rest of this. Kenneth, call your people and make sure everything is set for Saturday” Kane turned and started walking towards her with a smile on his face.
“Keep laughing over there little one, I’ll come up with a better one for you” Damon said laughing as he turned to leave the room.
“Good to see you awake darling, you scared the shit out of us” Johnny said, giving her a big smile.
“Johnny get your ass out here, I ain’t touching the shit by myself I already showered twice and my skin still feels like it’s crawling.” Damon called from the hallway.
“Easy there Squeaky, I outrank you” Johnny fired back but moved towards the door, Kenneth followed behind him laughing, he gave her a wave, he hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to her, but what he witnessed from her left him with nothing but admiration.
“Hey baby!” He kissed her forehead, Dax tried to take the oxygen mask off but he stopped her. “No, this one has to stay on” she looked up at him pleading to take it off. He shook his head “Five minutes, but that’s it” her eyes sparkled at him as he helped her take it off. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Brownies and ice cream!” She mouthed,
“No!” He moved her over in the bed to lay down beside her and gently pulled her onto his chest. Though he was sure she was hungry, he was pretty sure patients who just went through surgery were not allowed to have brownies and ice cream afterwards.
Her breathing was ragged and she started struggling to take proper breaths, he carefully sat them up and put the mask back on. Getting her breathing under control again, they laid back down.
“How’s your back?” It was almost time to change the dressing again, and the doctor gave him some cream to put on it as well as the antibiotic ointment. The liquid from the amber bottle irritated the laceration causing it to swell and the cream was supposed to control that. Until then he said it would probably burn and be quite painful for her. She muffled a fine, but he could see her biting back the pain it was causing her. Brave little mouse! Ky praised her courage.
The question popped into her mind and she had to know the answer. Trying to sit up, pushing through the pain, she needed to know the answer.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, helping her sit, she tried to ask, but it wasn’t coming out clear enough for him to understand. Pulling the mask down and moving her hand to her stomach.
“Pregnant?” She whispered. If she was, the doctor would have told him. He put the mask back on and tried to hide his disappointment when he shook his head. Dax wasn’t hiding anything, her face fell and her eyes welled up with tears. He held her close to him, she held her stomach as the tears slid down her cheeks. He kissed her forehead, even though she was sad, he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his mouth. His mate wanted to have his pup, to start their family, even though he told her he wasn’t ready to share her yet, truthfully he still wasn’t, but knowing she wanted it made him happy.
“It’s ok, little mouse. We have lots of time. Let’s get you all fixed and then we can try many, many times” he whispered into her hair.
Dax looked up at him, he gently brushed the tears from her eyes, pulling the mask down so he could kiss her, her mouth moved under his, but when her breathing turned ragged they had to break apart.
“Listen little temptress, I said let’s get you better first” Fixing her mask back in place he chuckled. Though he wasn’t entirely certain how long he would be able to wait for. I give you two days! Ky laughed. Shut up! By Sunday for sure! Ky howled in his head. Fuck you! You were all over her on Monday when you brought her in for her ribs and she wasn’t even out of the room! Ok, so his track record for keeping his hands off of her was spotty at best. Try nonexistent, lover boy! Damn it, would you shut up! Don’t get pissy at me, cause you can’t keep your hands to yourself! You don’t need to point it out. No, but it’s fun! You wonder why I hate you! No, you don’t! You’re an asshole! You’re an asshole too! Ky laughed again.
He changed her bandages still hearing Ky laughing in his head. Two days is generous, I will give you till tomorrow! Damn it! You’re already trying to figure it out! Ok, so he was. Was it really wrong that he wanted her all the time? Her lips sparked him, the feel of her hands on him ignited him, and her skin against his just added fuel to the fire. It’s why she was his mate, no one else ever made him feel like that, and he craved it, needed it like oxygen. Tell the truth, if it wasn’t for that stupid mask! He would have had her the second her mouth moved with his. Uh huh….tomorrow! Ky said smugly in his head. He had to control it, she needed more time than just a day to recover. Good luck with that! Maybe, he could just stay away from her. You’re addicted to her, she is a drug and you are hooked! Fuck! He could stay strong, two days and then he would be in New York, ripping her nightmare to pieces. He would focus on that, not on how she set his skin on fire. She was cuddled into his arms, her head on his chest sleeping, even though he had his own bed in her room, for the first night he would share hers. The death grip she had on his shirt told him that’s what she wanted as well. The doctor came in a few more times to check her breathing and injuries. He said tomorrow he wanted her up and moving around and that maybe the oxygen mask could come off, but they would see how it goes.
Thursday morning came sooner than Kane wanted it to. He hadn’t slept much in that little bed, every time he tried to move there was nowhere for him to go and the grip she had on his shirt would tighten. Maybe when Lacey came to visit he would try and sleep a bit in their bed, or this was going to be a very ugly day for everyone. She was still asleep with both her legs draped across his waist, her right arm up by his shoulder and her left hand at his side still clutching the fabric of his shirt. Her head was still on his chest over his heart, almost like she fell asleep listening to the beating of it. How she slept in these positions was a mystery to him? But he always woke up with her on top of him somehow, not that he minded in the slightest, as long as she was at peace she could sleep anyway she liked on him. He hated to disturb her, but he had to get up and stretch, his back was killing him. Carefully as he could, he slid her back onto the bed, rescuing his shirt from her iron grip proved a little more difficult, but he managed to accomplish it without waking her up. He stretched his back and rolled his shoulders when there was a knock at the door, taking a quick look over his shoulder to make sure it didn’t wake her, he stepped into the hallway.
“You look like hell brother” Johnny was his usual cheery self, Kane wanted to hit him.
“Those beds are too small,” Kane grumbled, stretching out his neck.
“How is the little fighter?” Damon inquired, motioning towards the room. He’s had only a brief encounter with her, but there was something about that girl. She felt familiar to him, very familiar.
“Sleeping” he replied,
“Kenneth called his people, they are in place and ready for Saturday, however a few of the other inmates tried to snuff the problem out. Messed him up pretty good” Johnny informed him.
“He’ll wish they killed him,” Kane snarled,
“If it wasn’t for the fact that you were coming down to take care of it personally, the guards might have let them.” Johnny added,
“Sounds like they want him dead as much as you do” Damon mused “At least he’ll have a few days to recover before his….grand finale,” he added,
“Always a flair for the drama” Johnny rolled his eyes at Damon.
“Is there anything else?” Kane asked, he arched an eyebrow when he saw Johnny and Damon exchange a look.
“We are not saying the attack last night was related to the attack on her in the morning, but we aren’t saying it’s not.” Johnny started,
“Then what are you saying?” Kane snapped. Damon handed him a tablet opened to a website, there were photos of Dax all over it. Her every move was being tracked for three years. Before she met him, her movements were easy to follow, to Glenda’s to the warehouse, then she met him and her movements became more erratic. Someone was taking photos of her, without her knowledge, at the diner, outside the warehouse, in the warehouse, in her loft. There were pictures of her with him, walking down Main Street, at the carnival, some of their more intimate moments, the more he saw the angrier he became. It wasn’t until the comment section did he become enraged. Written in big bold letters.
THE BITCH SHOULD DIE!!!!!
Kane ran his hands through his hair, Ky paced in his mind. His growl started low and grew louder, Kane erupted and put his fist through one of the concrete walls. When he pulled it out it was already in the process of healing.
“FUCK!” So much for getting any sleep.
“Now might be a good time to tell her, she’s too vulnerable in the dark,” Johnny suggested,
“FUCK!” He didn’t want to do that, but Johnny was right; she needed to know. “Get Kenneth on this, I want to know who these people are!”
“How the fuck did you not break your hand?” Damon asked, looking at his hand. “I know you’re a tough fucker, but geez that should have a least broke something”
“He’s mated now, their bond makes him a helluva lot stronger than before” Johnny said, shrugging.
“Right!” Damon wasn’t sure if he was buying that, they weren’t telling him something, no mate bond would allow a werewolf to put their hand through a concrete wall and be fine, even an Alpha.
A flood of panic washed through Kane, he turned back towards her room, his mate was awake and no doubt felt his anger, even worse she felt his fear. He was terrified, there were people watching her, people trying to hurt her, fuck people did hurt her. Fate Bonds and Blue Moons and trials to complete, who knows what else was out there waiting to come at her? He felt it all spinning out of his control as it slipped through his fingers. Without saying another word, he walked back into her room and shut the door behind him. Dax was trying to push herself into a sitting position in the bed when he entered. By her side instantly his arms moved around her so she could use them as leverage to push herself up. When she looked at him she saw the fear, the anger circling in his eyes. Pushing herself up to her knees leaning on him for support she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her.
Finding strength in her embrace he buried his face into the crook of her neck and breathed in her scent, letting it surround him, fill him, soothe him. She trailed her fingers up and down the back of his neck, threading them through his hair. She never said a word, just held him to her, comforting and calming him down. He circled her lower half and held onto her, he needed her, her touch, her smell, she knew what he needed.
“My clever little mouse” he kissed her neck and when he looked back at her she was smiling. Her stomach took the opportunity to announce itself, her face flushed as she looked at him.
“I bet you’re hungry, anything else?” He chuckled, he didn’t blame her, he was starving. Her throat was still a little sore, the doctor said to expect that, but her whispers were getting louder.
“Toothbrush, bath, clean clothes and my feet are cold” her voice cut out at the end.
“Toothbrush and something for your feet I can do, but you have to wait 48 hrs before you can get your sutures wet and then it’s a shower, but….maybe I could make a sponge bath happen” he lowered his voice and ran his hand over her bottom. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “The hospital gown makes it easier to change your dressings, so maybe just a clean one for now. Besides there are other benefits to it” he started sliding his hands up her thighs raising the fabric higher as his lips trailed down her neck, when a knock on the door interrupted them.
“Fucking hell!” Kane growled, pulling her hospital gown back down, he could hear her laughing. “Oh, that’s funny is it? You just keep laughing little mouse”
Opening the door, both the doctor and Lacey stood there, stepping aside and letting them in.
“Kenneth needs to talk to you, something about tracing websites being easier than P.O. Boxes” Lacey shrugged at him, she didn’t really care. She was sent on a stupid errand, because she apparently had nothing better to do than be messenger girl.
“I will leave after the doctor takes a look at her” Kane replied,
“Good, cause you could also use a shower” Kane just glared at her. He was not in the mood for her attitude this morning. He went and stood next to Dax’s bed, while he sent Lacey to get her toothbrush and a pair of her slipper socks to keep her feet warm.
The doctor had her breath deep a few times with the mask on while he listened to her lungs. Then he had her take the mask off and he repeated the process. He inspected her throat, there was still a bit of swelling and redness from the breathing tube. He checked the vision in her left eye, the incision on her side and the laceration down her back. He changed the dressing and made a note that the swelling had gone down a bit. He checked her lungs again to make sure.
“Ok time to get up and move around a bit” He said. Kane helped her off the bed, like all things it was made for werewolves so it was taller than most hospital beds. He had her walk around the room for a bit, she was fine at first then her breath started coming in ragged and she found herself gasping. He put the mask back on her, telling her to breathe deep. He listened to her lungs again, they were fine, she just pushed herself too far. He made a note in her file.
“You’re doing fine, the swelling in your back is going down, not as much as I would like, but it is going down. Walk around throughout the day but no more than five minutes at a time do not over do it. Use the oxygen mask as you need it, but you don’t need to keep it on. Continue your deep breathing exercises that I gave you from before and nothing overly physical. You’ll be here a little while longer so we will start you on a liquid diet and then move up to soft foods. I will also have more gowns brought for you to change into, and after that loose fitting clothes, something with buttons” she curled her lip at that, she hated buttons.
“Fucking hell” she huffed into the mask. She could hear Kane snickering, even the doctor tried to hide his grin.
“She’s got a mouth” the doctor said more to Kane.
“You don’t know the half of it” He said smiling proudly “She also wants a bath” Kane added. They both stared at the doctor waiting to see what he would say, Kane arched his eyebrow while she grinned behind her oxygen mask.
“I will send items for a sponge bath, but her sutures can not have direct contact with water right now. I also can not stress enough that you take it easy and….slow” the doctor cautioned, shaking his head, he left the room saying he would be by later to check on her.
Kane pulled her into his arms and removed the mask.
“I can go slow” he slid his hands over her bottom and down her thighs, picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist. His lips once more traveled down her neck, as his hand raised the fabric of her gown to expose her bottom. Once again a knock at the door prevented them from going any further. He released a growl and glared at the door.
“If we keep getting interrupted I’m not sure how slow I will be able to go” he caressed her bottom once more before he set her down and fixed her gown back in place, before he went to answer the door. Lacey was back at the door with stuff.
“The doctor stopped me in the hall, he gave me a few more gowns, and supplies for a sponge bath.” She sounded less than impressed as she spoke, dumping the items in Kane’s arms and walking into the room. She was so done being the errand girl, bad enough Kane made her run around and get things for him now she had to do it for the little imp. It was utter fucking bullshit! She can get her own damn crap! Lacey bit back the scream she wanted to emit, instead placed a forced smile on her face, when she turned her attention to Dax
“I also got a hair brush, your shampoo and conditioner, your toothbrush, toothpaste, some books, magazines and these cozy socks” She put the items on a table that was close to the bathroom.
“Thank you Lacey!” Dax whispered, giving her a grateful smile, she slowly made her way to the table and grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She avoided looking in the mirror as she moved to use the toilet. Finishing her business she washed up, and only then did she look up. The left side of her face was swollen and she could see bruising where she was hit around a large gash, her eye was filled with blood due to the burst vessels, her cheek was puffed up. Her tears slid down as she took in her features. She had to see what he did, managing to get the hospital gown undone. She pulled it forward and looked over her shoulder….
“How’s it going?” Lacey asked, dropping herself into one of the chairs she started flipping through one of the magazines.
“She’s putting on a brave face for everyone, but there are moments when no one is looking that she’s fighting a new demon. It’s in those moments that she needs the most strength” Kane answered leaning against her bed. Lacey kept her eyes focused on the magazine, she was fighting the urge to roll her eyes. She heard all about it, it was all anyone could talk about. How brave Dax was? How scared she must be about what happened to her? Truthfully Lacey was tired of hearing about it. She was hoping her brother would talk about something else, besides his mate, but it seems even the most revered Alpha was wrapped up in that little imp’s web.
They heard a crash come from the bathroom and Kane was there in a second, he tried the door but it was locked.
“Baby, open the door” Kane knocked, he listened and he could hear her gasping. “Get the oxygen mask” he ordered Lacey.
“Baby, open the door please” he called louder,
“Just break it down,” Lacey said, not understanding what the big deal was.
“I can’t, she’s right behind it” Kane barked at her. “Baby, you need to open the door” he banged harder, then he felt the all too familiar cold feeling move through him.
Eyes flashing azure blue he put his fist through the door above the handle and popped the lock. He carefully opened the door and she fell to the floor at his feet gasping for air, her body shaking and blood flowing from her left hand. He quickly put on the oxygen mask and pulled her into his arms to calm her down.
“Carl says hi” she wheezed into the mask, she had pulled the bandage off her back so she could see what he did to her. Kane saw the chaos in the bathroom, the shattered mirror and the blood all over the sink, it all came crashing back to her the second she saw herself.
“Get the doctor” Lacey was out the door in seconds.
“I want him dead, I want him dead” she whispered, crying into the mask over and over again holding tight to him.
“He will be, I promise you, he will be” Kane massaged the back of her head, Lacey was back with the doctor, Johnny and Damon were right behind him.
The doctor pulled a syringe and looked at Kane, he nodded. She felt another pinch in her arm, her vision went blurry, but he felt her trying to fight it, he held her closer to him, until her body slumped against his. Kane sat holding her on the bathroom floor, while everyone waited in the room for them to come out. She popped a few stitches when she broke the mirror, they would need to be mended and her hand needed attention. He pulled the hospital gown around her to cover her bottom, and he carefully got up. He carried her out into the room, Johnny and Damon turned around to give them some privacy.
“The first scar?” Damon asked,
“Carl’s first attempt,” Johnny replied. “Kids been through hell” Damon released a growl, he never questioned Kane’s need to destroy the guy, but now he understood his drive behind it. The doctor quickly fixed the stitches and redressed her back. Then he moved on to her hand. He pulled a few shards from the mirror out of her knuckles, cleaned them up, sutured them and bandaged them. Lacey passed Kane a clean hospital gown and closed the curtain around the bed so he could get her changed. When he was finished he gently laid her in the bed, pulled the covers up, placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered that he loved her in her ear. He opened the curtain and walked towards the door
“I’ll be back before the sedative wears off” he called to Lacey over his shoulder as he walked out the door with Johnny and Damon behind him, leaving Lacey glaring at all of them.
“Fuck you!” She mouthed when she thought no one was looking, but Damon saw her. His brow furrowed, green glowed in his eyes as Titan surfaced for a second. The fuck was that about? He wondered. Titan didn’t care what it was about; he was too busy grumbling about her being alone in the room with his Luna. He didn’t like it one bit, Damon had to agree with him. It wasn’t sitting right with him either that she was in there, but what could he really do, but link the guard and tell him to keep his ear on that.
“What the fuck did she hit it with?” Damon asked, he went and checked the damage in the bathroom, while Kane was busy behind the curtain.
“She has a mean left cross” Johnny replied,
“Holy shit, you two really know how to bring down the fucking house” A string of curses left Johnny’s mouth.
“Don’t get him started, where’s Kenneth?” Kane asked, moving quickly.
“Your office, but are you gonna get cleaned up first?” Johnny asked, referring to the blood that covered his shirt and face.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes” changing directions he moved to their floor. So much for getting a nap!