Neither of them had moved when she slipped from the bed shortly before six in the morning. It was seven when they stirred and stretched.
“How does she sneak out of bed without making it move?” Noah rolled to his back and stared, working to orient himself and force his vision to work. They’d sat up until midnight reading, occasionally talking and sharing a beer.
“I smell coffee,” Wade mumbled, tossing the blanket off and standing up with a tall stretch above his head.
“The daycare is closed today,” Noah shoved his legs over the side, accepting that late mornings just weren’t in his cards.
“I don’t hear anything downstairs,” Wade went to the top of the stairs and listened. “She’s not here.”
That instantly trapped Noah’s attention, both men moving down the stairs quickly. Wade went into the kitchen while Noah did a quick search through the other rooms.
“Her car’s outside,” Noah commented, staring toward the main door.
“Does she run? Jog?”
“No…hell, no, she went swimming,” Noah ran back up the stairs and grabbed a shirt and shoes, aware of Wade behind him doing the same.
“It’s not storming. Should we intrude on her private time?” Wade asked, hopping on one foot down the stairs and following to the door.
“Only if her father…”
Both heads turned to the sharp, loud squawking and pecking at the patio door.
Galileo stood tapping and letting loose with loud noises that made them wince.
“Something’s wrong,” Noah said in a rush, running to the front door and throwing it open.
Neither spoke as they ran down the drive toward the open expanse of ocean spread before them. Galileo flew overhead, squawking as he went.
Red had spilled onto the flat sands, visible before they reached her. She lay on her side, a twelve inch steel bolt arrow through her left shoulder, blood seeping around the edges on both sides.
“I can’t take it out,” Noah was on his knees, a barbed end and a sharp pointed arrow on the other. “We need to get her to the urgent care.”
“Wait…” Wade pulled his shirt off. “Be ready to stuff it on both sides of her shoulder.”
“What’re you doing?”
“I can’t heal her. But I can remove it…” Wade dropped to his knees, his palms held out in front of him as he chanted, reciting from memory. His gaze was locked on the pale features, the faintest of flutter in her eyes holding his attention. He didn’t exhale until the arrow disappeared from her shoulder and fell with a light plop into his palms.
Noah moved quickly, snuggly wrapping the sleeves of the shirt around her shoulder to squelch the bleeding. “Get my SUV…I’ll bring her to the road.”
Wade took off running for the house while Noah lifted Danea carefully against him, the injured shoulder out. He hadn’t missed the impact point. Someone had shot her from the beach, not from the water. There were prints on the sand and two dozen gulls swarming on the beach, watching him.
Whatever was intended, he was certain the only reason she was still on the beach, were the gulls. Another piece to the puzzle. He felt his heart thudding in his chest and realized it was beating in time with hers. Steady and firm, he refused to let her go. They…refused to let her leave them, in any form.
He climbed carefully into the front of the SUV, holding Danea close. He reached out with his left hand, tapping buttons. Sirens filled the air.
“Don’t hesitate, Wade,” Noah told him firmly.
“Did she wake up?”
“Nothing. Her eyes are moving…and her heart’s steady,” Noah said quietly. “I think the bleeding’s stopped, but she’s lost a lot of blood.”
Silence surrounded them until they pulled beneath the brief overhang outside the huge building with the hospital sign on its side. Wade stepped from the SUV and followed behind Noah.
“Carolyn! Where are you?” Noah shouted into the crowded emergency room.
“What is all the racket?” Carolyn Jennings stepped from a room off to the side, her scrubs a multi colored collection of small animals to keep the kids entertained. “Noah…what happened? Bring her down here…” she grabbed a sheet from one of the closets and followed, draping it carefully over Danea as she went to unwrap the shirt from her shoulder.
“Let me in there!”
“Camelia?” Noah and Wade said the name at the same time, both looking toward the hall and the silver haired woman striding into the room.
“Dr. Polnari? What are you doing in the area? And here?”
“This is my daughter,” she answered, removing the light jacket she was wearing and tossing it to one of the straight chairs in the room. “I’ll treat her.”
“How the hell…” Noah started.
“Galileo,” Wade said quietly.
Camelia didn’t respond, her hands moving to replace Carolyn’s. “The bleeding’s stopped…there’s damage…she’ll need surgery…” she looked up abruptly from her daughter’s throat to Noah. “You marked her.” She demanded sharply.
“That’s important now?”
“You,” she turned her attention on Wade. “Have you marked her, as well?”
“I…yes…why…”
“Carolyn, I want two empty blood bags, now,” Camelia, wiped her hands down the sides of her jeans and went to the sink. “Sit, gentlemen…this won’t hurt a bit.”
“What are you doing? Get Danea into surgery,” Noah ordered gruffly.
“She won’t need surgery. What happened?” She asked, carefully cleaning around the wound while she waited. “Hang the bags, Caro and take half a pint from each of them.”
“Yes…they’re mates?” Carolyn looked at the sheriff and then at the professor.
“More importantly, they’re her mates,” Camelia said with a nod. “And not to be too delicate since it really isn’t my forte to begin with…but you have had sex with her? Both of you? Shared body fluids…that kind of thing…”
Camelia laughed at the expressions on their faces. “Men…who knew my little girl had it in her…two strapping young men like you.”
“How is this going to help?” Wade looked down at the red fluid entering the sterile blood bag. “You don’t even know what type we are?”
“It doesn’t matter. Not to mates. Once you’ve marked her…a miracle of a hybrid, gentlemen,” Camelia prepared Danea’s arm, watching as Carolyn combined the two bags a few minutes later. “She’ll heal herself,” she whispered, taking the bag and setting the needle into the crook of Danea’s arm.
Noah’s hand came out, gripping Danea’s fingers before Camelia could sink the needle in.
“Are you positive?”
“It’s what I’ve studied all my life,” she told him. “You honestly believe I would risk my child’s life on an uncertainty?”
She continued when he nodded once and removed his hand. She watched the way his fingers curled around the much smaller hand, the other one on her other side, holding her daughter’s other palm in his.
“It won’t take long,” she assured them confidently, watching the warm red fluid vanishing into her daughter.
Long seemed a relative term, Wade thought, pacing the floor while Camelia removed the IV. Noah had already removed the slim band-aid, the wound closed in the crook of his arm. Wade was staring at Danea when he saw the skin around the wound begin to move together, from the inside out. Slowly the skin closed around the jagged opening, a few minutes later the only indication there had been a wound was the blood stains on the sheet covering her.
“Good girl,” Camelia whispered, kissing her daughter’s cheek with a long, long breath. “You never told me how this happened.”
“We don’t know,” Noah answered. “She went swimming before sun-up. Galileo came pecking at the glass…” He shook his head. “Someone was on the beach and shot her with a spear gun bolt. We don’t talk to gulls, so we don’t have the answer. How did you know she was here?”
Camelia frowned and looked slowly from one to the other. “You don’t know. She’s mated with you both and still… She hasn’t told you…”
“She told us you seem to always know when she needs you. That she admitted to the last time you appeared,” Wade said, speaking before Noah could erupt. And he could easily see the urge in the other man’s eyes.
“Now we know she’s a hybrid, but a hybrid of what?” Noah’s voice was low, his lashes narrowed.
Camelia went to the door, closing it firmly before stepping to the supply cabinet and pulling out a large bottle clearly labeled ‘SALINE’. She turned the cap and walked to stand beside the gurney holding Danea. Without speaking, she up-ended the bottle, pouring the liquid from Danea’s waist to her feet until the bottle was empty.
“What…?” Wade stopped when the sheet began moving. Danea rolled to her side, her head turning and soft little moans coming from her lips.
Both men stared.