On a Razor's Edge (Darkness #3)(38)

“So, what does that mean for the Eastern Territory?”

Stefan brushed some wisps of hair back from Sasha’s bruised and scratched face. Charles turned away again. “We won’t have any problems for a while—Andris will probably join up with another faction to regroup. He’ll search for another way to accomplish his goals. We’ll have a reprieve from fighting for a while.”

“Quiet before the storm.”

The Boss nodded slowly.

Andris was a tricky bastard; the only thing you could count on with him was unpredictability. It made strategy a nightmare.

Or so the Boss said.

*****

I opened my eyes and surveyed my room, greeted by the same spotless white affair with that chemical smell you seem to only find in hospitals. While I wasn’t in an actual hospital, I had been moved to a room in the encampment that acted like one.

I turned my head to the side, expecting, and finding, my new B.F.F. lying in the bed beside mine, healing. It had been three days since the battle, and two days since Jonas was moved into my room. Apparently, he didn’t want to be removed from my side, even in the hospital. Somehow, when he’d sacrificed himself to prevent me from being taken, his mind had made the connection that I was worth saving. Charles had said once that thought entered Jonas’s head that was it. Cemented.

“Quit staring, human.”

Being that there was no TV, and he hated reading, Jonas had nothing better to do than to talk to me. Instead, he stared straight at the ceiling. He still hadn’t forgiven me for being human.

I had now forgiven him for leaving me that first battle.

“Did you eat recently?” I asked. I could usually get a response with simple questions that had some relevance.

“Why?”

“I’m hungry.”

“How is that my problem?”

“It isn’t. You’ll notice I didn’t accuse you of eating. I merely asked if you did, wondering if I missed a meal during my beauty sleep.”

Jonas huffed. “Better get back to sleep. You still look like dog shit.”

“Uh hum. So…did you eat?”

His bruised and battered face scrunched down into a tight ball, his desire to ignore me fighting with his need to keep me alive. He hated me even more for it. It caused me no end of chuckling. Especially now that I knew he wouldn’t kill me.

“No. Lunch is coming in about half an hour.” Jonas resumed staring at the ceiling.

He’d sustained a plethora of broken bones, got pounded on, had magical burns and other strange magical maladies, but he’d killed all the enemy invaders with the help of Adnan. Darla had gotten away, had run as soon as I was out of reach, but no one seemed overly concerned with that fact. Other than me, obviously. She was a crazy bitch, not to mention a scorned woman

The door opened slowly. Charles peeked in, scanned the room’s occupants, grinned at Jonas, and then winked at me. “You want a visitor?”

“How the hell can we get any peace and quiet with the human getting damn visitors all day?” Jonas growled at Charles.

Charles’s grin widened. “Bro, you need to simmer down. People are going to think you aren’t friendly.”

“I’ll show you friendly,” Jonas muttered, looking back at the ceiling. It was the only place to direct his eyes away from people. The nurse had tried to lean over him to maintain eye contact when it was time to change his bandages. That nurse had left with a black eye. Apparently hitting Shape Changer females wasn’t the same as human females. Which made sense—the ladies were nearly as strong as the guys, and just as great at fighting.

The nurse had leaned on Jonas’s broken ribs in retaliation.

Tim entered the room with his strangely graceful lumber, the way he walked characteristic of the ginormous Kodiak bear he turned into. He sauntered to the chair at the head of my bed, picked it up and moved to the other side so his face was to Jonas. Not many Mata trusted Jonas, even though he’d done the right thing by me.

“Sasha,” Tim said as his soft brown eyes met mine. “How are you feeling?”

I shrugged. “Okay. The pain meds make me feel better. My shin stopped throbbing, too, so I think I’m good for the moment.”

“I’d thought you were safe; that you had been taken to safety. I apologize. You should not have been in that battle.”

“I could’ve been safe—I think—but I couldn’t let your people die for me.”

Jonas huffed, drawing Tim’s alpha stare for a moment. Jonas ignored him.

Tim refocused on me, his face softening instantly. “We were grossly outnumbered. You saved a great many lives. I, and the pack, would like to thank you. You have our favor, and are anointed Pack Friend status. Should you need us, for any reason, we will be there for you. As kin.”

“Wow.” I blinked for a moment, taken aback. “But I stepped on someone in order to ride your tiger like a horse. Surely a few people are a little…miffed.”

Tim’s lips quirked. “Like I said, you saved a great many lives. You showed bravery and courage, even with a bone poking out of your leg. The tiger didn’t mind a beautiful woman riding him.”

“Be careful with your flirting,” Jonas warned, his eyes boring holes in the ceiling tiles. “She is marked.”

“Marked?” Tim asked, his eyes scanning all available skin.