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BRIAN
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SHE APPEARED OUT OF thin air.
Eyes wide open, bloodless, frozen, she stood less than ten yards from me holding Blizzard’s reins.
The horse made a soft nicker of recognition, startling my mortified Beauty.
“Brian?” My name came out of Elizabeth’s mouth in a raspy whisper.
And then her eyes rolled up.
I leaped, throwing myself underneath her before she hit the ground. She landed on my back and tumbled softly in the snow.
My wolf had enough consideration to allow me to start shifting back right away. Fortunately, I’d changed this morning in the woods instead of in the stable, so I had my clothes and my footwear under a nearby tree. I dressed in a hurry, cursing myself for not leaving my clothes on. I lifted Elizabeth from the ground and mounted Blizzard. Holding her limp body in my arms, I gave Blizzard a nudge.
“Home,” I said. I didn’t need to hold the reins; Blizzard knew the way to the stable.
“You should have given me a sign you were close, you silly horse,” I murmured, frustrated and scared. “She could’ve been mounted on you instead of walking you when she saw me. She could’ve fallen and hurt herself.”
I could blame the poor horse, the wind that was blowing in the wrong direction or my weakened senses, but it was my fault and no one else’s that Elizabeth was now unconscious.
But now she knew. No more hiding.
I’d been certain she’d follow me right after I left this morning, had even waited for her in the stable for a good twenty minutes, keeping my wolf at bay. She’d put two and two together; she was ready to see my wolf. I’d wanted to walk her through my transformation. I’d wanted her to be able to touch me and feel it was still me.
But she hadn’t come. I couldn’t wait any longer, and changed.
She’d waited until daybreak and then followed me. The morning was quiet, not a breath of wind that would help my weakened sense of smell to detect her scent.
I pressed Elizabeth’s limp body closer to me. Her heart pumped strong and steady, her breathing was regular. Good signs.
I could hear a vehicle coming toward us. Jason’s truck.
A few moments later, it stopped beside us, and he and Harriet jumped out.
“Did she see you or did she fall from the horse?” Harriet asked. She sounded worried, adding to my tension.
“She stumbled upon me, but she wasn’t on the horse. Just popped up out of nowhere.”
“She sneaked out of the house,” Jason said. “I went to the stable to tend to the horses. Blizzard wasn’t there, Elizabeth wasn’t in the house. I reckoned she’d follow you, so Harriet and I came after her. Just in case she got lost. Now let me take her.”
I passed Elizabeth to Jason and dismounted. Jason carried her to the truck and lowered her onto the flattened back seats. I grabbed a blanket from the back and covered her.
“Brian,” Harriet said, “you go with Jason and Elizabeth. I’ll take Blizzard home.”
“Do either of you carry a phone?” I asked. When Harriet waved hers, I said, “I want a doctor to check her. Call someone—Ahmed, Astrid, Gerd Falkenstein, whoever is available.”
Harriet was already on the phone. “Astrid and Ahmed have a surgery scheduled this morning,” she said when she finished, “but Gerd’s on his way.”
“Good. Did Astrid sound concerned?” I asked.
Already on the horse, Harriet placed her hand on my shoulder. “No. Rather excited. You don’t need to worry so much. Elizabeth’s a tough girl.”
“Brian, let’s go,” Jason said.
“I thought she was ready,” I said as I sat beside Elizabeth. I gently lifted her head and placed it on my lap. I stroked her face. Her skin was pale but warm.
“Oh, she’s been ready for a while,” Jason said, “but humans can never be totally prepared to meet one of us. Give her some time, and she’ll be just fine.”
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LILY, AZEM AND ZANA were waiting for us in front of the house. Zana was trying to calm down a frantic Luna.
I carried Elizabeth to my bedroom and placed her on the bed. Some color returned to her cheeks; she looked as though she was asleep.
By the time I removed her boots and freed her from her tight riding outfit, Gerhard Falkenstein had arrived.
I gave him a quick update. He started to examine Elizabeth, asking questions here and there.
“To the best of your knowledge, is Elizabeth as healthy as she appears to be?” he asked.
I told him about her migraines, low blood pressure and painful monthly periods.
“Now that she’s here, it’s going to get better. Has she complained about migraines since she came?”
“No, not even once.”
“And her periods? Did she have cramps?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Gerd. She didn’t mention it. We didn’t discuss her monthly cycle. But I think they might come more than a month apart.”
“More than six weeks?”
I thought for a second. “No. Just about that. Six weeks.”
“This is considered normal.” He gave me a suspicious look. “By the way, how do you know that her periods are painful and six weeks apart?”
From Lily’s report, of course. “I just happen to know,” I said. “Don’t ask how and don’t tell her I told you. She’d be pissed off big time if she knew.”
“She doesn’t need any additional stress; I agree.”
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally packed his instruments back into his bag. “Nothing’s wrong with her. Her senses were overcharged, that’s it. I’ll stay until she regains consciousness.”
For the first time in the last forty-five minutes, I felt I could breathe again. “Thank you, Gerd.”
He rubbed his chin. “I believe that right now Elizabeth’s mind is dealing with the shock. That’s why she lost consciousness—her subconscious took over to find a solution. That being said, I’m not one hundred percent sure how she will react when she sees you. Perhaps you should ask Harriet or Lily to stay with her.”
I felt sick in my stomach. “You think she’ll be frightened when she sees me?”
“Maybe.”
Or repulsed? She had stood in front of a three-hundred-pound beast that reached almost to her breasts. If in that split second it hadn’t crossed her mind that she’d made love to the man who was also that, it would as soon as she opened her eyes.
Still, I wouldn’t leave her side. “I’m responsible for everything that happened to her,” I said. “I’ll stay here with her.”
A moment later Zana’s head peeked into the room. “May I stay here with you, Khalid?”
“You’re more than welcome. Come in.”
“Elizabeth will wake up soon, Brian,” Gerd said before he went downstairs. “Call me right away. I’ll be downstairs.”
Almost at once, the phones started ringing. I heard it from my room; Harriet’s, Lily’s and Azem’s in the parlor. Someone was also calling on the landline.
“Zana, close the door, honey.”
Blessed silence enveloped us. I sat at the foot of the bed, and Zana took a seat in the armchair beside me.
With the back of my fingers, I checked Elizabeth’s forehead. It felt normal. I brushed a thick, curvy lock of her hair away from her cheek.
“Elizabeth doesn’t like her curls,” Zana said.” But I wish my hair was like hers.”
“Your hair’s pretty, too.”
“Khalid, will she be okay?”
“Dr. Falkenstein says she’ll be fine. You like Elizabeth, don’t you?”
“She’s my friend,” Zana said, puffing with pride. “We talk about everything. Do you know why her hair is curly?”
“No. Can you tell me?”
Zana flashed a smile. “I think Elizabeth wouldn’t mind if I did. She inherited it from her many-many-times-great-grandmother, only hers was very light, and Elizabeth’s is dark. She was a princess or something, that relative. She lived at—”
Before Zana could reveal the identity of Elizabeth’s curly-haired blue-blood relative, the door opened and Harriet came in. “Any changes?” she said in a quiet voice.
“No, but Gerd says she’ll wake up soon. What were all the phone calls about?”
“Astrid, Rowena, the Blakes and Lani. Astrid and Rowena want to come to see Elizabeth.”
“Nobody is coming to see her!” I said. “Not today. The last thing Elizabeth needs is more werewolves, wizards and Tel-Urughs around her.”
“Astrid can help, Brian. She’ll calm her down. Reason with her, if necessary. We want Elizabeth to stay here, not to run away at the first opportunity.”
“Elizabeth has the right to decide whether she wants to stay or not,” I said, heatedly. “And god help me, I’ll make sure no one—”
Zana’s small hand tugged on my shirt sleeve. “Khalid, don’t worry. Elizabeth will stay. She likes us all, especially you.”
I smiled and stroked her hair. “Hope you’re right, Zana. We’ll soon see.”
“I’ll go now, Brian,” Harriet said. “Call me if you need me.”
No sooner had Harriet gone downstairs, than Elizabeth stirred and let out a soft moan.
I moved closer and I took her small, warm hand into mine.
Her eyes fluttered open.
I held my breath.
A tiny, tired smile broke on her lips, and then they moved, whispering my name. “Brian.”
“How are you?”
She placed her other hand over mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Okay, I guess. I passed out, did I?”
I lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. “Do you remember why?”
“Oh, yes,” she whispered. “I’m so tired. I want to sleep.”
“Sure, sweeting, just let Gerd do a check-up. He’s here.” I turned to Zana, who stood quietly behind me. “Go downstairs and ask Dr. Falkenstein to come up.”
Zana nodded but didn’t move. Tilting her head, she studied Elizabeth. “Are you okay?” she asked. “We were all worried.”
Elizabeth worked up a tiny smile. “I’ll be fine, honey. We might skip our afternoon ride, though.”
“Oh, that’s okay, Elizabeth,” Zana said, still glued to the same spot. “We’ll go tomorrow.”
I gave her a sharp look. “Zana! Dr. Falkenstein.”
“Okay, okay!” She marched to the door, opened it, then yelled for Gerd. Elizabeth let out a soft chuckle.
Gerd was upstairs in no time. “Hello, Elizabeth,” he said from the door and walked to her, a reassuring smile on his face. “Glad you’re awake. I’m going to check your vitals.” He turned to me and Zana. “You two—please wait in another room.”
“See you soon, Elizabeth,” Zana said, not happy with Gerd’s order. “I’ll stay close.”
I was touched by Zana’s fierce loyalty, but once Gerd was done, I wanted some private time with Elizabeth. “Zana,” I said, as we walked through the private door to Elizabeth’s bedroom, “I need a big favor. If someone comes to see Elizabeth, don’t let them come up. Tell them that she can’t be disturbed.”
Zana’s swallowed hard. “What if Ellida Astrid wants to see her? I can’t stop an ellida, now, can I?”
“She’s the only exception.” Astrid was also a more reasonable person than her mother. “If Einhamiress Rowena shows up at the house, however, come and fetch me, okay? But do not let her come upstairs.”
Zana nodded, looking wary.
“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’m sure you can do that,” I added.
Sweet child. She straightened her back and said, “I would do anything for Elizabeth.”
When Zana left on her mission, I sat on the bed and waited for the almighty Dr. Falkenstein to let me go back to her.