Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Among those unknowns, Monty stands out. Expensively dressed in his suit with a phone pressed to his ear, he commands everything and everyone with an authority that grates on me.
His eyes constantly find and linger on Frankie, loaded with a proprietary claim that tenses my battered body. I’ve never been comfortable with the idea of ownership when it comes to people, and seeing it so blatantly displayed on his busted face makes me want to add more bruises.
I lean against the wall closest to her, shifting the weight off my throbbing knee. I already miss the silence and stillness of snow-covered landscapes and the quiet company of the northern lights.
The continuous fucking noise, nonstop movement of humans, confinement of small rooms, and the antiseptic chill in the air goes against nature itself.
My senses are honed for the subtleties of the wilderness, not this barrage of stimuli.
An older female nurse approaches Leo, her hands quick and practiced as she prepares the machines, directs him to his bed, and offers him a large cloth with arm holes, similar to the one Frankie wears. Must be a standard protocol in the bustle of medical procedures, because she gives me one, too.
“There’s a bathroom.” She gestures at the attached room. “Please, change in there and return to your beds.”
Leo’s response is quintessentially him—direct, unapologetic, and devoid of self-consciousness—as he sheds his pants in one smooth motion and sits naked on his bed.
I cough, stifling my amusement as I remove my own pants and tie the strange garment around my hips like a towel.
“Kody.” Frankie motions me toward her bed with laughter in her eyes. “Like this.”
She repositions the gown to cover my front half while leaving my backside exposed.
What the fuck?
“My way makes more sense.” I lift the corner of her blanket and peer beneath it. “Is your ass hanging out, too?”
Monty charges forward, shooting me a murderous glare as he extends his phone to Frankie. “I have a call for you.”
I widen my stance and ball my hands into fists. If the old man wants to brawl, I’ll gladly wipe the floor with him.
Reading my thoughts, she rests a hand against my abs and takes the call.
“Hello?” Her demeanor instantly lightens. “Hey, Rhett.” Her head tilts as she listens, and a soft smile blooms on her face. “Thank you. Yeah, that would be great.” Then her eyes widen. “Yes, of course, I want my job back. I’ll be in touch after all this is…well, after a period of adjustment. Thank you again.”
She hands the phone back to Monty, thanking him, too.
The tension in my chest constricts.
Monty’s role in returning this normalcy to her life puts her in his debt. That doesn’t sit well.
Leo, now wearing a gown like me, extends his arm as the nurse reinserts the IV. A scowl twists the bandages covering his face, his glare fixed on Monty.
Yeah, he doesn’t like the man, either.
“That was Rhett, my manager in Sitka.” Frankie looks between Leo and me through the traffic of busy nurses. “He connected us with his attorney. Her name is Melanie Stokes, and she resides here in Anchorage. She’s on her way to the hospital now.”
That’s good news. Securing a lawyer, someone who can decipher the legal complexities ahead, offers a glimpse of stability. It’s a load off our shoulders.
But as she thanks Monty again, that relief is tainted with a bitterness I can’t shake. He helped her get a lawyer by calling someone I assume she trusts—her boss at the hospital.
My gratitude toward him is overshadowed by an ingrained distrust. His brother made my life a living hell. His infidelity hurt her so deeply that she considered jumping off the cliff. And the way he handled her pregnancy?
Fuck that guy.
It’s a contradiction that gnaws at me, this reliance on someone I’m inclined to feed to the wolves.
A young blonde nurse approaches, trying to direct me to my bed. I give her a growl, but this one doesn’t scare easily. She anchors her hands on her hips, wearing a withering scowl.
“Kody…” Frankie stares at the discoloration in my knee. “You need to get off that leg.”
I’m not interested in leaving her side, even if my bed is only a few feet away.
“Stick me.” I hold my arm out at the nurse. “I’m not moving from this spot.”
“Just do it.” Frankie nods to the reluctant woman. “He needs the fluids and electrolytes, and he’s not going to let it happen any other way.”
“I understand that you want to be close to her.” The nurse makes a face at the arrangement of three beds. “But for your safety, it’s important that you’re in a stable and secure position when I insert the IV.”
“You won’t change his mind.” Frankie inches up the front of my gown, revealing the scar left by lethal fangs. “A wolf attacked him, and I gave him a direct transfusion on a kitchen table. Trust me, he can handle an IV while standing up.”