CHAPTER 1
“Help! I need help here!”
Devon slammed through the hospital doors, shoving aside anyone in his way as he frantically searched for someone in the identifying white coat. Panic hammered through him as he nearly barreled over a man on crutches. Cassie’s head rested limply against his chest, her breathing had become shallow; the soft beat of her heart had slowed to alarming conditions.
“Now!” he bellowed when no lab coats appeared. “I need help now!”
A young man, in the much sought after white coat, appeared through another set of doors, his eyes widened as he took them both in. “What happened?” the doctor demanded, rushing forward.
“An animal,” Devon lied smoothly. “Some kind of animal attacked her.”
The doctor’s eyes narrowed sharply upon Cassie’s prone form. “We need a gurney over here!” the doctor commanded sharply.
Devon clung tighter to Cassie, his hand digging into the golden silk of her hair as nurses and orderlies bustled about. The doctor and a nurse came at him, holding their arms out to take her from him. Possessiveness tore through him; he clung tighter to her, anger surging inexplicably forth as they tried to take her away. Though he did not understand it, he did not want to let go of her, and he did not want anyone else to touch her.
“Give her over son,” the doctor commanded gruffly.
Devon took a steadying breath as he tried to quell the unstable beast lurking just beneath his surface. The beast that was ready to kill in order to keep her safe, even if she was not in danger right now. Slowly, painfully, he managed to regain enough control, and reason, to hand Cassie over to the doctor and an orderly. His arms felt empty without her reassuring weight, his body instantly missed the physical connection between them. He kept his mind touching briefly along the edge of hers in order to keep himself reassured that she was still alive. It was only that connection to her that was keeping him even remotely sane, and reasonable, right now.
The doctor eyed him wearily, his eyes scanning rapidly over the tear marks in his shirt, and the blood that marred it. “Are you injured?”
“No,” Devon answered impatiently, barely glancing at the jagged wounds in his chest. The blood had already stopped flowing; the muscle had begun to knit itself closed once more. What had once been deep gashes appeared more like scratches now.
The man’s eyes narrowed upon him before glancing briefly back at Cassie. “Did you two have a fight?”
Devon bristled, rage flared through him as he took a step closer to the smaller man. “There was no fight, it was an animal, now save her,” he growled.
Fear flashed across the doctor’s face as he took a small step back. “We’ll have to… ah we have to alert the police. Procedure, you know,” he stuttered out.
Devon lifted an eyebrow, his gaze burrowing into the doctor’s. Using his ability, he thrust his mind forward, pushing it into the doctor’s. Exerting his power, he bent the man’s will to his own, altering his memories and forcing him to bow to Devon’s wishes. This was one of the abilities that he did not relish using, but it did come in handy once in awhile. The doctor’s hazel eyes glazed over, he nodded briefly before turning slowly away, his attention becoming focused upon Cassie once more. The doctor moved swiftly through the halls, heading in the direction that they were wheeling Cassie. Devon followed silently behind, moving like a wraith through the stark halls.
They pushed her gurney into a bright room, where they hurried about, hooking her swiftly up to a bunch of beeping, whirring machines. The bright light of the room was harsh against his sensitive eyes; the stringently chemical smell abrasive. In the middle of all the harsh coldness of the sterile room, Cassie was a bright, warm beacon of light. Her golden hair, spread out like a fan around her, was the most vivid thing in the entire room.
She was far paler than normal, her skin almost as white as the sheets she lay upon. The delicate blue veins in her neck, forehead, and around her eyes stood out sharply against her abnormally ashen skin. But even with her pallor, she was delicately beautiful, and completely perfect. His heart ached for her, ached to hold her, ached to save her from anymore pain as they stabbed her with needles, and poked and prodded at her. Anger shot swiftly through him, he reminded himself that they had to do this in order to save her life.
He turned away when they cut her shirt off, her modesty forgotten in their rush to find the source of all the blood. He could not look upon her now. He hadn’t seen this much of her yet, and this was not the place for him to see it, especially when she had no choice in the matter. And he most certainly could not stand to watch these strangers taking in the beauty of her, he was afraid he would kill them if he did.
“Where did all of this blood come from?” Though Devon had healed the life threatening injuries that had driven them here, there were still three small cuts in her neck. He had left them behind in order to satisfy some of the human’s curiosity, apparently not enough though.
It took a moment for Devon to fully realize that the doctor was speaking to him. He focused his gaze upon him, studiously avoiding Cassie’s prone, half naked form. “The cuts on her neck.”
The doctor frowned, his eyebrows drawing tightly together as he shook his head. “Those cuts aren’t deep enough, they’re superficial at best. I need to know the truth, if we are going to treat her I need to know where all of the blood came from.”
Devon’s hands fisted as he took a step forward, pushing the smaller man back with his body. Drawing on his strong abilities, he opened his mind to everyone in the room, snagging hold of the edges of their thoughts as he drew them all in. The hustle of the room slowed to a stop as they turned toward him, their minds a blank slate for him to fill as he saw fit. “The blood loss is from the cuts on her neck, there are to be no more questions. She needs blood, now treat her,” he growled fiercely.
He withdrew slowly from their minds, leaving them slightly dazed and glassy looking. They blinked in surprise, their minds snapping back into place as the normal hustle of their jobs seized them once more. Devon focused on the back wall, folding his hands tightly behind his back as he struggled not to look at her again.
He wanted to reassure himself that she was alright, and he desperately wanted a glimpse at her body, but he would hate himself for taking advantage of her at such a time. Not when she was so vulnerable, and still on the verge of death. He focused his attention upon the room, listening to the bustle of the people, the beep of the machines, the soft commands and orders rapidly barked out and completed. He felt so useless, so helpless. It was taking all he had not to break something, not to rip it to shreds with his bare hands in order to ease some of his frustration.