Page 24 of Bad Medicine

I hurried across the floor andfell to my knees beside him. “I’m here. I…” I paused to take a shaky breathbefore continuing. “I should have been here all along.”

Jared put a hand on myshoulder. “Kait. You have to be careful.”

“It’s Zach,” I said. “I don’thave to be careful of Zach.”

“He’s not himself right now,”he replied, his voice devoid of emotion.

And yes, it worried the hellout of me.

“Jared, my guardian,” Zachsaid, trying to laugh. All that emerged from his broken and cracked lips was asort of dry cackle.

I closed my eyes. “Tell me whatI can do,” I said, opening my eyes and reaching out to touch the part of hisface not covered by the blindfold.

He flinched, an automaticresponse to being tormented by some of the best tormenters ever to exist—thevampires.

Fucking hideous, blackhearted,horrifying vampires. And it didn’t matter that I’d saved the current master’slife a couple of times, or that he had only ever helped me. Right then, I hatedall vampires equally, the way a good wolf should. The way I always had.

Quite abruptly and completelyunexpectedly, Zach began to shake. Not gently, either. His entire body shook sohard the chain hit the floor with a sort of repetitive slapping sound that Iwould never forget.

“Zach,” I cried, and when Itried to wrap my arms around him, the brutal quaking of his body threw me off.

Jared took my arms and urged meout of the way. “Let me have him, baby,” he said.

And that would stick with meforever, too, the way he’d called me baby and the sound of him caring sofucking much. The way he cared about a human hunter, when no other wolf I’dever known, besides myself, would have. Especially not an alpha, who would seea human and a hunter as a threat to his pack.

But Jared knelt behind Zack andwrapped his arms around him, pulling the smaller man against his chest. Hemoved them both back against the wall, stretched his legs out, and held Zach,murmuring words of comfort into his ear.

I watched for a few seconds, mytears falling freely, before I moved forward and wrapped my arms around Zachfrom the front, pressing myself against him, my stare meeting, and holding,Jared’s.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He only watched me, hisexpression serious and fierce, and I knew that no matter what, Jared wouldalways be there for me. He’d always take care of me, whether I wanted him to ornot.

Together, we held our charge,and I didn’t take my stare off Jared, not once. There was strength in thatconnection, and there was love. A pure, real love, though love seemed to be tooweak a word for what was between us.

I was terrified Zach was dying,but as long as I looked at Jared, my fears gentled. He wouldn’t let Zach die.That’s how much I believed in him.

His expression softened, and Ididn’t know if it was because I’d said the words aloud, or because he couldread them on my face. I didn’t try to hide what I was feeling. Not from him. Ididn’t think I ever would again.

No. I wouldn’t hide from thealpha. Then I sucked in a quick breath, my eyes widening, as I realizedsomething huge. For the first time, I truly trusted him. I trusted him withmyself, my wolf, my pains, my fears…

I trusted him completely.

Never in my life had I trustedanyone completely.

And I hadn’t until that secondrealized how dark and heavy that mistrust had been. Only when I released it didI feel the absence. The beauty and lightness of knowing with every fiber of mybeing that I was loved. And that the alpha would not hurt me, not ever. Itrusted him.

His smile widened as he watchedme, and there was something in his eyes, what was it? His heart? Maybe.

Between us, Zach eased, and hisbody stopped its awful struggle. His breathing evened out, and he slept.

I moved my hand up to Jared’sface and traced his lips with my fingers. “Jared,” I whispered. “Alpha.”

Eli came in as though by somesignal, and took Zach from us, and when Zach lay on his nest, quiet and atease, Jared took my hand and led me from the cabin. He didn’t take me to hishouse, though. He led me to the other small cabin not far from Zach’s.

It, too, was warmed by the firein the stove, which also provided its only light. It didn’t matter. Nothingmattered except there was a bed. Nothing mattered except I was in the alpha’sarms.

There was absolutely nowhereelse, at that moment, I would rather have been.