Kelan's Pursuit (14 page)

“Jake!”
Kelan
shouted.

He stood for a moment, paralysed by fear.
Please God, let Jake have got out.
The heat and smoke coming from the fire spurred
Kelan
into action. He ran back into the bedroom and clambered out of the window. He was about to climb down the fire escape when he heard shouting coming from the roof.

Without conscious thought,
Kelan
grabbed hold of the ladder above him and began climbing. He was enraged. His only thought was to get to his mate. If Gill had harmed one hair on his mate’s head,
Kelan
was going to kill him. He wouldn’t let the panther shifter get away a second time.

As
Kelan
approached the roof, he could clearly hear Jake’s voice. He was trying to reason with Gill. Gill’s voice was louder, angry. As he reached the last rung of the ladder and peered over the top,
Kelan’s
rage and panic caused his eyes to shift instantly. His skin trembled—his wolf itching to break free and get to his mate.

Gill had a knife to Cary’s throat, its blade cutting into his skin.
Kelan
watched in horror as Jake charged at Gill and made a grab for the knife.
Kelan
didn’t hesitate. He vaulted over the top of the ladder and landed hard on his feet on the roof’s concrete surface.

Gill threw Cary aside and fought with Jake for possession of the knife. Jake had a grip on the handle, but Gill twisted it and tugged it away. Jake made a grab for it again, but the blade sliced across his palm, cutting deep. The scent of Jake’s blood reached
Kelan’s
nostrils, making them flare. His heart accelerated until he feared it would burst right out of his chest.
Kelan
ran for his mate. The last thing he saw while still in human form was Gill shoving the knife into Jake’s chest, the blade disappearing until only the handle was visible.

“No!”

Kelan’s
scream echoed out across the rooftop. It changed midway into a howl when he shifted and his wolf leapt at Gill, knocking him off his feet. Without hesitation, he bit into Gill’s neck, ripping at flesh, tendon and bone. Gill screamed once, eyes wide with fear, before he became pliant under
Kelan’s
weight, his body still and lifeless—dead.

Jake fell backwards to the floor. He raised his hand to his chest and felt the metal of the knife embedded there. Blood trickled through his fingers, soaking his shirt. He had never felt such pain in his life. And he couldn’t breathe properly, either. When blood travelled up his throat and caught there, he started to cough. Fear gave way to panic when the metallic taste of his own blood entered his mouth and he felt it escape his lips and trickle down his chin. He started to feel light-headed. Was this what dying felt like?

He watched as the large, grey wolf turned and quickly ran to his side.
Kelan
, his
Kelan
. The wolf whimpered, pushing its muzzle into Jake’s hand. He reached out with his uninjured hand and ran his fingers through the fur on the wolf’s head. Jake could only stare in awe.
Kelan
was magnificent in wolf form. He was glad
Kelan
was here with him if these were the last moments of his life.

Jake tried to tell
Kelan
he loved him, but the words came out as a gurgle in his throat. The last thing Jake saw were the amber wolf eyes staring at him forlornly before changing back into the deep blue human eyes of the man he loved with every fibre of his being.

Jake awoke to the sound of beeping. Where was he? He tried to think around the fog in his brain. He could hear muted voices talking from somewhere around him, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He cracked his eyes open and blinked when the harsh white light stung his eyes, making them water.

When he looked down at himself, he realised he was in some sort of hospital bed. The voices must be coming from the corridor outside his room. Wires and tubes were coming from his hands and fingers and connected to a machine at the side of his bed. It was the machine that beeped.

“Jake? Baby, you’re awake.”

Kelan
appeared at his side. The look of relief on
Kelan’s
face was palpable.

“
Kelan
?”
Jake croaked. The word caught in his throat when he spoke. It felt as though he’d been swallowing sandpaper.

“Here, drink this,”
Kelan
said, holding a plastic cup with a straw to Jake’s mouth. “Just take a little sip, okay?”

Jake nodded and slurped at the proffered drink.

“Thanks.”

“How are you feeling?”
Kelan
asked.

“Like I’ve been hit by a tank.
I ache all over and my chest hurts.”

“You were stabbed, Jake,”
Kelan
said, choking on the words as he said them. “You nearly died.”

Jake’s eyes widened,
then
he gasped, trying to sit up in the bed.

“Cary! Is he…?”

Kelan
placed a firm hand on Jake’s shoulder and held him down on the pillow.

“Don’t try to get up. You need to
rest,
your body needs time to heal. Cary’s fine—well, on the outside at least.”

“What do you mean?” Jake asked.

“The cut on his throat was pretty deep, and he’d lost a lot of blood. It healed, for the most part, when he shifted. But on the inside…”
Kelan
shook his head. “On the inside he’s a mess. I killed Gill.”

“I remember. Don’t blame yourself. Gill would have killed Cary
and
me. You were protecting us.”

Kelan
nodded. “Cary says he understands why I did it. When I saw you fighting with Gill, when I saw the knife go into your chest, I…I saw red.”

Jake started to speak again, but it resulted in a coughing fit.

“Easy, Jake,”
Kelan
said. “Don’t try to speak too much right now. Your throat is sore from all the smoke you inhaled and the breathing apparatus they had in you.”

Jake shook his head and made a grab for the cup on the table in front of him.
Kelan
lifted it to his lips.

“Just small sips.
The nurse said when you woke up they’d get me some ice chips for you.”

Jake took another sip of the tepid water. He took a few breaths,
then
continued with what he had to say. He had to make
Kelan
understand that none of this was his fault. Gill had been crazy, and Jake and Cary were lucky to be alive. That they were was all because of
Kelan
.

“Cary knew better than anyone what Gill was capable of,” Jake whispered. “He knew the man wouldn’t stop until he was dead.”

“I know,”
Kelan
said. “But Gill was his mate. He might say he’s okay, but he’s cut up on the inside. Your mate is like the other half of your soul. You don’t really know it’s missing until you meet your mate, but when you lose them, it’s like losing a piece of yourself. A piece you can never get back.”

“But will Cary be able to find another mate?”

Kelan
sighed. “I don’t know. I only know about wolves. Some wolves that have lost their mates have been lucky enough to find another, but it’s extremely rare. Hell, it’s difficult enough to find one mate. Some wolves
never
find their other halves.”

“That’s really sad. I hope Cary can find someone else. He’s a sweet guy and he deserves something good, someone good.”

“Yeah, I hope he finds someone, too.”

Jake felt his eyes grow heavy. He struggled to keep them open, but he was fighting a losing battle.

“Tired,” Jake managed.

“I know, baby. You need more rest. Go to sleep now. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Jake nodded, or at least he thought he did. He was almost asleep when he felt
Kelan’s
warm lips place a tender kiss on his forehead.

* * * *

The second time Jake awoke, he knew exactly where he was. When he opened his eyes, the light in the room was dim and it didn’t hurt his eyes as much. He looked down at his hands. One was covered in a bandage.
Kelan
was holding the other in his own, rubbing circles over Jake’s palm with his thumb.

Even though the action was meant to soothe, Jake couldn’t help the way his cock twitched and stirred under the sheets.
Kelan
had that effect on him, and Jake was powerless to do anything about it, not that he wanted to.

“Welcome back,”
Kelan
said.

“Hi,” Jake replied hoarsely.

“How are you feeling now?”

“Horny.”

Kelan
threw his head back and laughed. “If your dick is hard, then you
must
be feeling better.”

Jake nodded. “How long have I been asleep?”

Kelan
sobered at once.
“This time, just a few hours.
But you’ve been in here for almost four days.”

“What?” Jake gasped.

Kelan
reached for a cup on the table, fished out an ice chip and placed it on Jake’s tongue.

“Here, have this,”
Kelan
said. “It’s better for you right now than water.”

Jake nodded and let the ice melt on his tongue.

“Four days,” he said at last.
“How so long?
Have I been asleep all that time?”

“You weren’t asleep. You were in a medically-induced coma. The knife pierced your lung and you had to have a breathing tube put down your throat. They pulled you out of the coma this morning.”

“A coma,” Jake repeated.

“Yeah.
I tried to give you blood, but your injury was so bad it hardly helped at all. I was terrified, Jake, so afraid I was going to lose you. I couldn’t bear that.”

Jake wasn’t sure he could process what
Kelan
was telling him.
A coma?
Christ, he must have been in a bad way for the doctors to do that to him.

“Jake, there’s something else we need to discuss. There’s a shifter working here at the hospital, a doctor. Cary and I explained what really happened to him, but with a stab wound, the police had to be called in. It’s hospital procedure. They want to talk to you when you wake up. I told them you were mugged and that your wallet was stolen. I think it’s best if we stick to that, okay?”

Jake nodded. “What about Gill? What happens when they find his body on the roof?”

“They won’t. Cary carried Gill from the roof. We managed to get away before the fire service showed up. We contacted Cary’s council and they came to collect Gill’s body. The police will never know of his involvement in all this.”

“Where is Cary now?”

“He’s at Cody’s apartment. He and Stefan are keeping an eye on him until I get him back to Texas, but I think it’s going to take a while before he’s able to work again. He’s in a bad way. When you see him… He can hardly function properly at all.”

“So he’s still going to go with you, even though his life is not at risk anymore?’

“I’m making him,”
Kelan
declared. “He has nothing left here. His home was destroyed, his mate is dead and in the state he’s in, he wouldn’t be able to hold down his job anyhow. I’m afraid he’d end up on the streets, and I’d never forgive myself if that were to happen to him when there was something I could have done about it.”

Jake smiled.
Kelan
was the most selfless man he knew. He couldn’t imagine his life without
Kelan
in it. That would hurt worse than the knife in his chest had.

“When are you going back to Texas?”

Kelan’s
eyes grew sad. “I don’t know. I need to go home pretty soon because there are a few problems in the pack, but I’m not leaving until you’re better. You are my first priority Jake, everything else can wait. Of course I had hoped that…”

“I’m coming with you,” Jake said in a rush.

“You want to come and visit?”

“No.”

Kelan
screwed his eyebrows together. The confused look on his lover’s face made Jake smile.

“I’m coming for good.”

The smile on
Kelan’s
face lit up the whole room. Jake couldn’t help but smile back. What was there to keep him in New York?
A job?
He could work anywhere, but Texas was where
Kelan
would be and that was all he needed to know. If he had
Kelan
in his life, he could face anything else that came his way. They could face things together.

“You mean that?
For good?”
Kelan
asked, holding his breath in anticipation.

Jake was everything he had ever wanted in a mate. His life would be complete if Jake was home with him in Texas. His whole family would be together. He couldn’t think of a better way to spend his days.

“For as long as you want me,” Jake said.

Kelan
chuckled. “But I’ll
always
want you.”

“Then you’ll always have me.”