“I’m fine, hun.” She shuddered as she said this, which made me sit up straighter.
“What happened?”
“I’ll tell you everything some other time. I think you have enough to deal with right now.”
“I have nothing to deal with right now besides getting this bandage off.”
“Greg’s on his way,” Liam said.
“Thank you, Liam.” Then to Sarah, I said, “I hope he’s going to take this thing off. And discharge me.”
Sarah and Liam exchanged a glance that made my stomach tighten. Had they seen what lay beneath the bandage?
“Did I lose my eye or something?” I thought I still felt its presence, but perhaps it was like a phantom limb.
“Your eye’s still there,” Liam said.
“Then why does everyone keep blanching when I bring it up?”
“The reason I sent you that message in the shoe is because I overheard Alex and Justin talk about how they’d found out the location of the Sillin stash.” Even though I was glad for an explanation, I sensed Sarah was feeding it to me to evade my question. “I was honestly certain they knew where it was. I didn’t think they were using me to find it.”
I flicked my gaze up to Liam. “I’m very tempted to say I told you so.”
He flashed me a pained smile. “Go ahead. Say it.”
Lucas sauntered in then, shaggy-haired and shiny-eyed. “Back from the dead so soon, Clark?”
I shook my head in amusement. “Would you rather I have haunted your ass, Lucas?”
“Did you just . . . did you just”-he slapped a palm against his chest-“swear?”
While Sarah rolled her eyes, I snorted. “I’m happy to see you, too.”
“You gave us quite the scare last week.” A genuine smile now graced Lucas’s lips.
“Wasn’t my intent.”
“Can you tell Matt it was? ‘Cause I sort of have a bet going with him that you did all that for the attention.”
I gawked at him.
He smirked. “Kidding.”
“So I got you something,” Sarah interjected, digging into her enormous Mary-Poppins handbag. “I got us something.”
She pulled out a firetruck-red silk bomber jacket.
“Wow that’s really . . . red.”
“Wait for it.” She flipped the jacket around. On the back, in flowy white embroidery, was written Boulder Babe. “I have a matching one for myself. Obvs.”
My eyes-or rather eye-dampened again.
“I suggested Boulder Bitch, which would’ve been species-accurate, but this one”-Lucas pointed to Sarah-“vetoed my proposal.”
Sarah gave him the stink-eye, which made laughter burst out of me. I never thought I’d laugh about anything containing the word bitch, but hey, I hadn’t thought I’d die and come back to tell the tale.
“Do you love it?” Sarah asked, her wild curls glinting in the sunlight.
“I love it.”
“Good.”The sound of someone knocking had all of us turning toward the open door.
Why was Ingrid Burley standing on the threshold of my hospital room? When August walked in behind her, I realized they must’ve bumped into each other in the cafeteria, because they were holding matching takeaway coffee cups.
“Hey,” she said, watching him bring me one of the coffees. “I’m sorry for bargin’ in here, but I heard you were finally awake.”
I wrapped my fingers around the warmed paper cup, unsure as to why she was in Boulder in the first place.
“Ingrid’s the reason I managed to unite the packs,” Liam said, as though he’d heard my thoughts. When I frowned, he added, “She brought us the Sillin.”
Ingrid shrugged. “That’s what allies are for.” She drew her fingers through her long, glossy strands, working out a tangle. “I’m just glad we made it in time.”
Perhaps I should’ve been thankful the Rivers had aided us, but it nagged me that she’d used it as an excuse to fly out here with Nelson. More importantly, though, why was she still in Boulder a week after the duel? Was she still holding out hope for August to change his mind?
“Congratulations,” she said.
“Thank you.” I offered her a stiff smile.
“Are you heading back to Tennessee today, Ingrid?” Sarah asked.
“Not sure yet.” She took a sip of her coffee, glancing over the rim at Liam. “Might stick around a few more days.”
I squeezed my lips shut to prevent myself from asking why.
“Liam, can you and I talk a sec?” she asked.
Liam nodded, then cupped the nape of my neck and rested his cheek on my forehead. I wish I had been the one to deserve you.
My heart jounced at the sound of his voice in my mind. Unlike the link connecting me to August, the one connecting me to Liam hadn’t shattered.
I ducked my head out from underneath his. “I heard you,” I whispered, remembering another time when I’d spoken the same words to him with the same amount of wonder.
He frowned. “Why wouldn’t you have heard me? You’re my wolf.”
“I just thought . . .” I glanced up at August who stood so rigidly he looked carved out of wood. “I just thought that link might’ve been gone too.”
There’s nothing more powerful than a bond to an Alpha.