Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
“No!” I cried, settling at his side but afraid to touch him. “Cody…please.”
Then I remembered Cody had said bullets didn’t hurt him although he looked really hurt to me.
I looked up at both men. “Call an ambulance.”
The sheriff shook his head. “He’s going to be okay without one.”
Was it really true? He wasn’t requesting medical help on his radio, so he must know something.
“He’ll… he’ll be all right?” My voice was clogged and tears streaked my face. I wouldn’t have thought I would have any left after breaking up with Cody, but it turned out, thinking he might die produced another storehouse. I’d called him instead of my dad. Maybe I shouldn’t have because he’d come in without a gun. Without a bulletproof vest.
“He said bullets don’t hurt him,” my dad said, but he looked uncertain as he stood over us. I had no idea when the two of them talked without trying to kill each other. “He knew going in what would probably happen.”
The sheriff nodded, calm. He knelt beside Cody and ripped open the uniform shirt to reveal the wound. Blood covered his skin and oozed from the hole in his chest. “Can you shift, bud?”
Cody wheezed. Sweat coated his skin and he looked pale. Too pale.
“Shift,” the sheriff ordered in a deep, commanding tone that sent a shiver down my spine.
There was a tearing of fabric as Cody’s pants split, and then he was in wolf form, panting, blood soaking his fur.
“Damn,” my dad muttered, his eyes wide, but he didn’t sound surprised.
“Will he be all right?” I asked again, flicking my gaze between the sheriff and Cody. God, I just needed someone to tell me he would live, so I knew I could go on living, too.
With Cody.
“Yes. He’ll heal faster in wolf form.”
“I’m so sorry,” I cried. “It doesn’t matter why you want to be with me. You do, and I know it. Please live. Keep breathing.”
I’d be his mate if he still wanted me. That I’d even give up all my hopes and dreams for a family if he didn’t want more kids.
God, please just let him breathe.
The sheriff beckoned me closer. “Come sit near his head, so he can breathe the scent of his mate. Know what he has to live for.”
His mate. The sheriff knew I was Cody’s mate. Obviously, since he ordered Cody to shift, he was one of them. The way he spoke of me was with reverence. Like I was everything to Cody. What he has to live for.
“Can I… can I touch him?” I reached out a tentative hand.
“Yeah. But let him focus on healing.”
I curled up beside the giant wolf, lightly stroking his muzzle and ear. Cody’s eyes were closed. “You heal,” I murmured, trusting what the sheriff had said. “Heal up because I love you.”
The sheriff took a few steps back and gestured for my dad to follow. Since there was nothing they could do for Cody, there was a dead guy to deal with.
“I’m your mate.” A tear rolled across my nose as I leaned in close and murmured in his ear. “I’m in.” My voice was watery. “Okay? Oh look–” I gazed at his chest, shocked to see that his wound had stopped bleeding. “You’re already healing.” I laughed through my tears, lifting my gaze to the sheriff who was kneeling beside the dead guy, a wallet in his hand.
He nodded. “That’s good.”
“Just focus on healing now,” I murmured to Cody, feeling more confident. More like I could be strong and do the comforting instead of falling apart at the thought of living without him.
Cody was going to live.
We were going to have a life together.
We probably had a lot to figure out, but he was worth it. I didn’t want to give up a love so palpable I could feel it pulse between our two bodies.
“I don’t care if you did seduce me in a week,” I told him. “It’s a little humiliating knowing everyone knew about your bargain, but I’ll get over it.”
Cody’s eyes opened, like he was listening to me, and I remembered that the sheriff had told me to let him focus.
“We can talk later,” I told him. “When you can breathe again.”
His eyes fell closed.
I continued stroking his soft fur. “I love you,” I murmured again. “You’re the perfect man for me. Everything I didn’t even know I wanted.”
Cody’s panting breath started to sound less labored. Less like he was on death’s doorstep.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to have more kids,” I whispered. “I will throw myself into my teaching.”
Cody’s eyes opened again. He let out a whine.
The sheriff came over to examine the wound. “Looks like his healing abilities were unaffected. His body is already starting to repair itself.”
I looked up at my dad, who was in just his undershirt and uniform pants. His eyes were serious but haunted. “Did you know?”