Craved Mate: Cybermates by Ayers, Candace (good short books .txt) 📕

front door. I ran back, grabbed my jeans from the bedroom, and stepped into them before answering.

The moment the door swung open, Heather’s nose twitched, her brows lifted, and she stared up at me. Her hands flew to her hips.

I cleared my throat, knowing I’d been busted by my big sister. She could definitely smell Mel all over me. “Hey, Heather. What are you doing here? How’s Warren?”

“Well, well, well, looks like someone finally got himself a life.” She made exaggerated sniffing sounds. “Oh, you naughty boy. Where is she? Is she still here?”

I grunted and crossed my arms over my chest. “Quit razzing me and answer my question. How’s Warren?”

“He’s fine. He got IV fluids and he’s back home sleeping. Feeling much better. But we’re not discussing my mate. You like her?”

I growled. “What did I just say?”

“I don’t give a shit what you just said.” She waved her hand in the air. “You’re not getting away without telling me. If not today, then tomorrow. Anyhow, I came to get Ame. I figured she could sleep at my place tonight, since apparently Jenny’s home for the night. Besides, a baby might cramp your style.” She winked.

“Knock it off. It’s perfectly fine if Ame stays here. I can drop her off in the morning. I don’t mind.” But Heather was already in the room I’d set up for Ame and leaning over the side of the crib.

“Jenny promised she’ll spend a little time with her tomorrow since she’s actually home. She even asked about Ame, for a change.”

I nodded and sighed. “Okay.” I hated to see Heather get her hopes up, but I’d lost all faith in Jenny.

“We have a lot to talk about soon.” She studied me for a moment. “You look different and you were with a woman. I don’t even remember the last time… Something is going on with you, little brother, and I intend to pry all the juicy gossip out of you sooner or later. Be warned.”

I followed her to the door. “If you need me in the morning, call the station. I’ll be on duty. My shift starts at seven.”

“Thank you, Hamish. For everything.” She stared at the ground, her voice going quieter. “I don’t know what I’d do—”

“Hey. You’re not gonna go get all mushy on me, are you?”

She snorted and whispered so as not to wake the baby. “Me? Oh hell no. You got the wrong she-wolf if you think that’s gonna happen. This bitch is tough as nails.”

As I watched her walked along the path adjoining our condos with Ame asleep in her arms, I quietly agreed. “She certainly is.”

I waited until Heather was safely inside, then poured myself a glass of water and wondered what to do about my mate.

Heather really was going to press me for details, and my sister was masterful when it came to eliciting confessions. She should work for the CIA or the FBI, or Interpol. I couldn’t tell Heather the real reason I had avoided claiming Mel. Not while she was going through the very thing I was hoping to steer clear of.

Heather no longer had a choice. I did.

From the bedroom, I heard a crash. Mel groaned. I just listened. Then Mel rushed across the bedroom to the bathroom. More groaning. I heard her throwing up. I raced to the bathroom to check on her and found her on her knees in front of the toilet. Her body convulsed as she choked and dry heaved. I sank next to her.

“Hey, you alright? What’s going on?”

She lifted her head and her unfocused eyes danced around the spot I was squatting.

“Where did the Oldsmobile sleep?” Her skin was pale, the skin under her eyes dark. She looked frail.

“The Olds—? What’s wrong, Mel?” My chest tightened painfully, and I told myself that humans got minor illnesses all the time. It wasn’t necessarily anything big. She could have eaten something that disagreed with her.

She tried to pull herself up, but before I could grab her, she fell backward. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she landed hard, her shoulders hitting the tub with a painful-sounding thud.

I swore and pulled her into my arms. Her body was covered in perspiration. As a trained EMT, I’d always been good in a crisis. I tended to have the gift of clarity in emergencies. It was almost as if, in such situations, the world moved in slow motion and my brain sped up. Not this time.

As I looked down at my mate, I froze. All my training was useless as my brain completely blanked.

Hospital. That was it. Emergency room.

I raced us toward the hospital and left the truck running while I ran her inside. I carried her up to the registration desk. “Help! Now!”

The place was empty, so the young woman manning the desk pushed a button and called someone. Within seconds, two nurses rushed out, then one went back for a gurney.

I laid Mel down and as one did a cursory inspection, the other ran through a list, asking me a myriad of questions, most of which I couldn’t answer.

“What’s wrong with her?” I didn’t even recognize my own voice.

“I don’t know, sir. I’ll come and find you as soon as we know something.”

It wasn’t until after I watched them wheel her through the set of swinging doors and she was out of my view that something occurred to me. I burst through the doors and had a vague sense that one of the medical attendants was speaking to me, something about remaining in the waiting area and letting them do their job. Not sure, though, since I ignored everyone and everything that wasn’t Mel.

I focused in on her scent. As a wolf shifter, my sense of smell had been a great asset when I rode ambulances. I’d been so panicked and flustered, I hadn’t even thought to concentrate on her scent and see what I could detect.

The odor of disinfectant in the hospital hallway was overpowering, but I