Stalked (Rogues Shifter #2) (17 page)

Garrett returned, followed by a tall man with sandy blonde hair and broad shoulders. When he spoke his deep voice rumbled around in his chest like a timpani drum. “Ms. Crawford, I’m Henry Morganstern. I’d like to help you if I can. Let’s go to Ethan’s room. We can talk there.”

I grabbed Garrett’s arm for support as he and I, Dr. Morganstern and Liam walked down the hallway to room number 310. I swallowed hard and prepared myself for what was to come. Ethan needed me to be calm and focused. Garrett kissed my head and Liam smiled encouragingly as Dr. Morganstern opened the door.

It was a room with only one bed and one window. There were the usual IV bags, trays of instruments, a beeping heart monitor, and several other machines I didn’t recognize. I let go of Garrett and rushed straight to the side of the bed to take my first
close look at Ethan.

He looked ghostly pale. His body was covered in bandages but I could sense that even his smallest cuts weren’t healing. There was blood in his hair and more soaking through the dressings around his head.  I reached out and brushed a chocolate strand of hair from his face, one that had somehow managed to avoid getting soaked in his blood.

Trembling, I took his cool, limp hand in mine and pulled magical energy from the ley lines into my chest: ready to send it wherever Ethan needed it the most. As I listened to his shallow breaths, I saw him helping me down a fir tree, handing me a corn muffin that he’d baked for my birthday, making me dance with him at The Wild, our backgammon tournaments and our pillow fight at Carly’s cabin. I could hear his infectious laugh and the way he'd growl at me when I ran ahead of him in our animal forms. I closed my eyes and took a silent oath, vowing to do all that I could to hear my friend laugh again.

Dr. Morganstern spoke, “If we can get him to shift, he’ll be able to heal. I have to make a call and then I’ll be back and we can begin,” I never heard him leave the room because my full attention was on Ethan. What if I couldn’t do this? What if he died because I wasn’t powerful e
nough or smart enough? I swallowed down a sob and remembered how when I was first learning how to heal, Maya had told me to get over my "I can't do it" attitude and just get on with it. Garrett moved a chair over to the bed so I could sit down without letting go of Ethan’s hand. Quiet tears were rolling down my cheeks and splashing on his bed as Liam moved another chair next to mine and sat.

Garrett leaned over to whisper, “I’ll leave you alone with
Liam for a few minutes, but I’ll be back." Garrett hadn’t fed and so would have a difficult time resisting the pull of the fae magic.

Liam took his arm. "I'll stay until you return. Go and feed. Jacqueline will need your strength." Garrett nodded and left in a blur.

Liam took my chin in his hand and forced me to look at him.
“You must let go of the guilt. It is useless. It's most important to have faith in yourself and in Ethan's desire to live.”
He released me so I could focus my attention on Ethan again.
”Take his hand in both of yours and look into his face. After you feel my magic in your center, go into his mind to see if there is something there that makes him resistant to shifting.”

Liam wasted no more
time, placing one of his hands on my upper back and his other over my heart. At first my body jerked in the chair as if shocked by an electrical surge. Then my muscles melted into relaxation as warm waves of the most delicious power seeped into my core. They traveled throughout my body, connecting Liam's two hands and then spreading comfortably around my organs and limbs. Finally the glowing warmth reached my mind, enhancing my own core's ability to focus energy and heal. I felt free of all constraints once more, able to accomplish whatever I set my mind to do.

Keeping
my eyes and my hands on Ethan, I sent out fae-laced tendrils of emerald power to probe deeply into his psyche, becoming suddenly aware of Ethan’s chaotic dreams. There was a deep chill and a flash of nausea, then a shocking jolt as I sensed a familiar, malevolent presence. Kennet was in Ethan’s mind, torturing him; keeping him from shifting and healing.

I sent to Liam,
“Kennet is messing with Ethan’s mind. He’s not letting him heal.”
Liam nodded, looking concerned but not surprised. His lovely violet eyes swirled with gold as he seemed to zone out, perhaps investigating on his own. Just as suddenly his eyes lost their golden sheen and he turned back to me again.

“Jackie, you’re strong enough to push him out. I sense that Kennet is not nearby and so is not able to maintain his hold easily. Find where his presence is centered in Ethan’s mind and attack him. I will be here as your anchor to reality.”
I felt his hand move from my chest to my shoulder.

“Shouldn’t you be doing this? You’re a healer too.”

“Ethan will respond to you much more quickly than he would me. He may just see me as another fae attacking him. Kennet cannot hurt you. If I felt that you were in danger I wouldn't allow you to do this.

Wouldn't allow me? I filed that comment away and asked,
“I won’t hurt Ethan by attacking Kennet?”

“No, j
ust focus on removing him.”

I took another deep breath. Liam’s fae magic flowing through my veins made my mind and my senses i
nto sharpened fae blades. I forced myself back into the turmoil of Ethan’s mind and searched for Kennet. I moved through scenes of violence and death. Kennet had created a world where Ethan was tied to a tree with silver chains burning into his flesh, while Sinc, Kyle and I were lying on a bloody, grassy field being ripped apart by werewolves.  Ethan screamed with frustration as we were killed, then brought back to life to be killed again. I turned and saw Kennet at the top of a hill and willed myself to stand before him.

“Lord Kennet, you’ll release Ethan from this
torture now or I’ll force you.”

“It’s foolish
of you to threaten me, Jacqueline. When you are mine I can make your long life very difficult. If you would just come to me now, your friends and your vampire would be safe for all time. I can offer you a life of pleasure.”

“
Get out of his head.”

“No, I am enjoying my game.
He is in such delicious agony over the death of his friends.”

I pulled in more energy and shoved him in the chest, forcing him to step back. He only laughed, enjoying my frustration. Conjuring up a fae blade, I stabbed him in the heart. Blood spurted from the wound, but still he held his ground and shook his head.

“You can’t hurt me, Jacqueline. Unlike Ethan, I know that none of this is real. It is my creation.”
Despite his confident words, Ethan’s silver chains had begun to disintegrate and I watched as two of the werewolves disappeared. He was losing his focus, but I had to think of a better way to force him out completely.

I narrowed my eyes in anger, zeroing in on this fae lord’s major weakness.
“Why would I
want to spend my life with an incompetent fae like you? You’re not even on the Council of Elders. Lord Caelen and Lord Argon are superior to you in every way. Even Liam, Lord Caelen’s bastard, is more worthy of my attention. Pleasure is all well and good, but somehow I think that even in that department you’d be lacking.”

His face turned red and his eyes glowed with
an angry solid gold. I didn’t see his fist until it was too late. I felt it connect and its force made my psychic form step back, but the pain was nothing like what it would have been had he punched me in the real world.

“You will regret every word, Jacqueline Crawford.”
He hissed.

His energy was wavering
, so I shoved him with all of my might and he was suddenly gone from Ethan’s mind. The violent scene disappeared into blackness, briefly disorienting me.

When I released Liam's and my
combined energies, I was happy to see that Ethan’s expression had become peaceful and his steady breathing was no longer shallow. Even his skin had begun to pink up. I breathed a relieved sigh but tensed up again as I looked sheepishly at Liam, knowing that he’d heard every word.

He slid his hand from my shoulder down to my hand and squeezed it, smiling. “Only you, Jacqueline, may refer to me as Lord Caelen’s bastard, and hopefully it will only be on this one occasion.
" He chuckled. "I’m also very pleased to hear that you find me more appealing than Lord Kennet.”

My face flamed with heat.
“I’m sorry, Liam. I couldn’t hurt him physically, so I went for his ego’s jugular. You know that Garrett and I respect you and value your friendship."

“I wouldn’t go
that
far.” Garrett was back and kissing the top of my head, so Liam stood to let him sit next to me. As they passed each other, Garrett smiled and put his hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Thank you.” Liam only nodded and smiled then dissolved magically into the ley lines.

The doctor checked Ethan’s monitors and looked at me with curiosity. “He’s much stronger already. What did you do?”

“Someone powerful was messing with his mind, so I went in and threw him out.”

Garrett sent,
“Kennet?”

“H
e was torturing Ethan.”

He nodded and stood, walking around behind me to rest his hands on my shoulders in support. Dr. Morganstern sat next to me and held out his hand. “Let’s see if we can do this.” He explained in detail what I would be looking for. I took his hand with my right and took Ethan’s with my left. I closed my eyes and pulled in more energy, then reached into Ethan heart, traveling through veins up into his brain where I found the swollen blockage. I sent a picture to Dr. Morganstern who then demonstrated how the pressure could be relieved. I sent out my probes to Ethan and tried to duplicate that procedure.

It took twenty minutes, probably the longest twenty minutes of my life. I would send the doctor pictures of what I saw physically and he would adjust his steps slightly. But even after having Liam’s magic infused into my bloodstream, I was still growing weaker by the minute. Garrett tried to help by sending me encouraging words and by massaging my upper back and neck to help relieve the anxiety that almost overwhelmed me. I mean, Jeez, I was messing with Ethan's brain. I could kill him with one tiny mistake.

Still, I kept pushing myself until finally, Ethan stirred and his eyes fluttered open. I let go of the doctor’s hand and held Ethan’s in both of mine.

His brow was furrowed with pain, but he managed to smile at me. His beautiful golden brown eyes met mine and I shuddered as I released some of the tension that had tied my muscles into knots. Tears ran down my cheeks as he squeezed my hand weakly and then lifted his own to wipe them away.

Garrett walked to the door. “I’ll tell the others that you’re awake.” He left quietly. Before Dr. Morganstern followed him out, he told Ethan that the others could visit for only fifteen minutes because he needed to shift quickly to recover
fully.

After they left, Ethan turned to me. “I felt you there the whole time. You kept telling me t
o hold on. Thanks for not giving up on me, Speedy.”

He’d used the
silly nickname he’d given me on the island, so I laughed with relief. “Hey, I seem to recall that we have a bowling rematch to schedule.” He smiled weakly again just as Sinc burst through the door. She ran to his side and started hugging and kissing him, and he winced in pain at her enthusiasm.

“Take it easy, Sinc, he’s not healed yet.” Kyle had pulled her off of him allowing his parents to take her place. I laughed as I stood, meaning to make room for Sinc on my side of the bed, but my knees wobbled and I swayed. Kyle let go of Sinc and ran to me, scooping me up in his arms like I was a feather.

“Cheetah girl, you need to go home with your vampire to eat something and get some sleep. You saved the day again, so go take care of your own ass for awhile.” He handed me off to Garrett who’d just gotten back in time to hear Kyle’s comment.

Hearing
Ethan’s warm laughter made me cry again, but this time Garrett kissed away each one. Before we left, Ethan’s parents thanked me with happy tears in their eyes and Sinc hugged and kissed me on the cheek and told me she’d call me tomorrow.

“Garrett, put me down.” We were walking down the hallway
of the hospital and people were staring. "This is embarrassing."

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll be fine.” He lowered me to the ground where I managed to stand steadily for a few moments. Feeling more confident, I took a few steps toward the elevator but had to grab the wall to keep the room from spinning.

“How’s this?” Garrett wrapped my arm around his waist and then put a supportive hand over my shoulder, taking some of my weight. I was able to make it outside and to our car with a little dignity. And because he’s a very intelligent mate, he didn’t crack any jokes at my expense.

Chapter Fifteen

I slept on the short car ride back to our Crescent City home. It didn’t make sense for me to go back to Gasquet since, now that Ethan was injured, I wasn’t starting class the next day. Plus I was nervous to be in the house by myself, what with Kennet gunning for me. I knew what I’d said to Kennet was only going to come back and bite me in the ass, but I had to get him the hell out of Ethan’s mind so he could heal himself.