Scarlett

He helped me into one of his shirts before he carried me back to the bed.

Someone from the medical center came to look me over. They'd wanted me to go stay in the medical center for the night under observation but I'd refused. Cade told them he would watch over me. I was told to rest and they gave me some painkillers.

Once they left, Cade got into the bed with me. I was starving so he brought me some food which I ate quickly.

"So what happened?" I asked as I put the empty plate on the bedside table. My eyelids felt so heavy. My mind wanted answers but my body wanted to sleep.

"Sleep, Scar," he instructed gently as I shifted to lay my head on his chest. "We can talk tomorrow."

The pills helped ease the pain and I drifted to sleep.

When I woke up I was lying on my stomach. Cade was awake and lying next to me, watching me.

"Hi," he whispered and he pressed a kiss to my forehead. For a moment I smiled and then all the memories of the previous day came back to me.

I rolled onto my back and groaned. I wasn't in as much pain as yesterday, but it would be a few days before I healed totally. I wondered what my face looked like today.

"How are you feeling?" Cade asked with concern.

"I'm still in a little pain but I'm sure I'll be better by tomorrow," I assured him as I sat up and leaned against the headboard.

Cade slipped out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. I wasn't sure what he was doing until he came back with a glass of water. He handed the glass to me and picked up the tablets the nurse had told me to take. He dropped two into my hand.

I swallowed the tablets and handed the glass of water back to him.

"So tell me what happened with Victor," Cade said as he sat down on the bed beside me.

"That guy was crazy," I began. I decided not to go into the details of what he had in store for me. Talking about it would only upset Cade.

"He told me how he got me out of the house without anyone noticing. The last thing I remembered was Curtis sedating me, and the next thing I remember is waking up in a cell being held by Victor. He told me he was launching an attack on the pack and I was so worried. I remembered you said that you wouldn't be able to fight off an attack by him."

"It could have been so much worse but the girls insisted they wanted to fight, and then your brother arrived with his pack," he revealed.

"I told you girls could fight," I gloated with a smile. He smiled and shook his head.

"Fine. You were right."

"Say that again?" I teased. He playfully glared back at me.

After a few moments, our playful mood turned serious.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he reached over and caressed my cheek.

"Why are you sorry?" I asked as I studied his features.

"I was supposed to be there to protect you and I failed," he stated. His voice was filled with regret.

"Victor was determined to get me and he would have done anything to do it. Besides, you had no idea Curtis was working for him," I said, trying to ease the guilt he felt. "We were both wrong but I can't say I was happy when you locked me in the cell."

I remembered how angry I'd been. I didn't have that anger anymore. Maybe it was because, despite everything, things had worked out.

"Will slapping me make you feel better?" he asked in a serious tone. I contemplated it for a moment.

"I can't say that hadn't crossed my mind more than a few times while I was in the cell," I admitted. "But I'm over it."

I shrugged and he smiled at me.

"That's the problem. We're both so stubborn and so intent on protecting each other that we end up doing stupid things," I said.

"I know I could have done things differently but I was scared," he explained as he ran an agitated hand through his hair. "When I found out you had overheard us I knew you were going to do something drastic and I couldn't let you do that."

There were several moments of silence.

"The thought of something happening to you...it's like trying to breathe without air," he said, trying to put into words how much I meant to him.

"I get it. I feel the same way about you. But what you did to me was horrible. Don't ever do that to me again," I warned him. "We are probably going to face other problems and we need to learn to deal with them together."

"You're right. We need to learn to work things out together," he echoed.

"Did Victor tell you how Keri and Curtis managed to hide the fact they were werewolves?" he asked.

"He'd been injecting them with wolfsbane," I answered. "It suppressed their werewolf traits. It was how I defeated Victor."

His eyes darkened with anger and he remained silent. I reached for his hand and took it into mine.

"He meant to inject me with the wolfsbane to keep me from mind-linking or being able to shift. But I managed to get the syringe and I injected him with it. He wasn't able to shift but I was. He was able to get the empty syringe and he filled it with air. Then, just before I killed him, he injected it into me."

I gave him the shortened version. He didn't need to know all the painful details.

"That explains why you collapsed. It had something to do with the air in your bloodstream," Cade said.

I was so thankful it hadn't killed me.

"How did you find me?" I asked, still confused as to how he knew where I was.

"I discovered you were missing," he explained. He reached for both my hands and held them in his. "It had to have been Curtis but I wasn't sure why. Luckily Blake had someone watching Keri. He was worried about her and when he found out from the guy watching Keri that she and Curtis had gotten into a car together, I knew you had to be with them."

It was still hard to believe that Curtis had been working for Victor.

"The guy tailed them onto Victor's territory and he also discovered they were both werewolves. He told me where they were and I got some guys and got there as soon as I could."

He paused for a moment.

"When I saw you, you crumpled to the ground. I was scared."

It was still hard to believe I'd come that close to dying.

"I think the fact that you are a werewolf, and heal quicker than a human, is the only reason you survived," he finished. He squeezed my hands.

"What is going to happen to Keri?" I asked as I bit my lip. He'd brought Victor's body back for a reason. And despite the fact that Keri had betrayed us, I didn't want something bad to happen to her.

"She is now the alpha female of Victor's pack and hurting her will start another war. Besides, whether I like it or not, she is Blake's mate," he said as he rubbed his temple.

We'd overcome so much but I was so glad that we weren't in their shoes.

"Why did you bring Victor's body back with us?" I asked. There was no way I ever wanted to see that man again even if it was in a body bag.

"We need to prove that he is dead so that Keri can take over," he replied.

"Why do I have the feeling that we are only safe for the moment?" I said.

"There is no guarantee that the change of leadership from Victor to Keri isn't going to have some effect on the surrounding territories."

I gave him a questioning look.

"Victor was a brutal sadist but at least we all knew where we stood with him. Keri will take over his leadership but the problem is no one knows what type of leader she will be. Treaties will have to be renegotiated."

It was werewolf politics.

He leaned forward and touched his lips to mine. All thoughts of what we were talking about vanished. As he pulled back, I held his face and kissed him harder. I took control and I pushed my tongue into his mouth and caressed his tongue. I needed more.

He groaned against my lips.

"You need to rest," he said as he tried to pull away but I wasn't having that. I snaked my arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

"I need you," I told him as I pressed my lips against his.

He was still for a moment and then his arms wrapped around me and he held me firmly against him. He was careful not to hug me too tight.

"For you, anything."

My heart swelled at his words.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too," he said as his eyes took in my face.