Mac"Mac, wait." Blake reached out and grabbed my wrist but I shook him off easily and tried to go again. When he tried to stop me a second time, I didn't think, just let my base instincts take over.My teeth were bared in a feral snarl as I gripped the arm clamped over mine and tossed him away as easily as if I were swatting a fly. Unprepared for my attack, he flew back, his body struck the wall opposite with an audible slam, the impact sending a rain of plaster and wood down on us.A lesser man would have been killed instantly. Fortunately, Blake was not one. He sprang to his feet with a curse, eyes glowing a deep black as he half shifted, his hands lengthening into claws, muscles straining against the seams of his clothes."Mac, snap out of it or you'll hurt Blair!"I growled at him, having partially shifted too. Hurt her? Fuck no. What I was trying to was save her life while he was being a fucking obstacle. "I'm trying to save he

Blair“Blair? Good, you're awake.” she said. “I’m Dr Berg – and I'm in charge of your care."“I remember,” I replied, trying to sit up. Mac grasped me by the arms and lifted me so I was propped against the headboard. I shot him a grateful smile and he nodded then retreated to his chair. Dr. Berg was busy scribbling my stats in her clipboard and paid us no notice until she was done.“You’ll have to stay a little while with us,” she told me as she pocketed the pen. “Have you heard of sepsis?"“Uh…I have -”“Sepsis is the body’s response to overwhelming infection. Your pneumonia set up that response, making you even more ill. We've managed to get most of it under control, but you’re going to need intravenous treatment for at least the next forty-eight hours. I–”She broke off and glanced up at Mac, who had stood up while she was talking, no doubt reacting to the alarmed expression on my face at the thought of spending more

BlairI froze at the question, something slamming against my heart. A small sound slipped through my lips and I shut my eyes for a second, wishing I was anywhere but here, pinned by that all too knowing gaze. But of course, I was all out of wishes because when I opened my eyes, Mac was still staring at me, arms crossed and his jaw set stubbornly and I knew there was no avoiding the humiliating conversation we were about to have.“Of course I do,” I avoided his gaze and shoved the last of my stuff into the bag and zipped it up. “I wouldn’t be leaving here if I didn't have somewhere else to go, would I?”“I dunno,” He rubbed at the scruff of beard on his chin and raised an eyebrow. “You tell me.”I flushed at the implication of his words and cleared my throat. “I do have somewhere to go.”He cocked his head at me and regarded me in silence while my fidgeting simply got worse. Then with a determined grunt, he hooked a large hand under one of

SKYLAR“Hey Holly,” Mac said. Still holding onto me, he moved towards the steps to the girl in the doorway, pulling me along. I followed reluctantly, still wary and barely recovered from the nasty shock. We came to a stop in front of Holly, his height easily dwarfing hers as he looked down at her, his expression stern and assessing. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”Holly merely shrugged off his question, her gaze pinned on me. Once more, I forced myself to meet her gaze head on, while wondering if her mother - Mac’s partner was inside the house. I also wondered about the identity of the shifter - though I was certain it wasn’t the as yet to be known partner since that wolf had been male.Female shifter’s wolf forms were usually smaller and more delicate looking than their male counterparts, even the alpha presenting females. So, it was safe to assume there was somebody else in the house. And that made me very, very nervous.“Who’s this?” Holly asked,

Mac Despite all her assurances to the contrary, I still couldn't quite shake the feeling that Sky did not like the room. First, there had been that fleeting look of dismay that crossed her expression the moment she'd stepped into the room, though she'd quickly covered it with compliments. Even though those compliments somehow fell flat. The most enthusiastic she had been was when I showed her the walk in closet. She'd perked up, and had given more than a cursory look around the small, dark space, seemingly more impressed by the tiny, windowless closet than the extravagant room attached to it. I'd been on the verge of offering her a different bedroom, even though I'd chosen that one because I'd figured she'd appreciate the view and the natural light streaming into the space, arguably the best in the house, save for the main bedroom - mine. And yet, Sky had merely glanced at the window wall, in fact, she seemed to actively avoid it. Still, since she'd assured me it was fine, I'd swal