Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Five.
Four.
Three.
I love you, Salem.
Gregori plucked each of the wires in the correct order, slicing through them with ease. As his nail went through the green wire, he forced his body to shift. Pain rippled through every tendon and crackled through his bones, but he fought through the agony to wrap his enormous body around the bomb. He tensed, breath held, waiting for the world to explode around him and end his life. A dragon’s body was built to survive a beating, but not so much C4 exploding at once.
But one second ticked by and then another and another.
He was still alive. His heart was beating.
Slowly, he cracked open one eye to find the time on the bomb stopped at one second. He was alive, the hospital was still standing, and the bomb had been defused.
Very carefully, he pulled away from the cabinet and shifted back into his human form. The process was painfully slow and his entire body was soaked in sweat when he was done. He took one step back from the bomb and his legs collapsed under him.
The relief rushing through Gregori was bitter. His dragon should have been begging to rush back to Salem’s side to make sure their mate was safe, but it felt like it curled up in his chest again and returned to sleep, indifferent to the entire world.
Something was very wrong with his dragon. This wasn’t just a little homesickness. This was bad, and he had no idea how to fix it. Especially if fixing it meant leaving Salem’s side.
The worst thing ever was having to function even though he was worried out of his mind. Salem couldn’t sit there and stew, he had patients to look after, and while they had an emergency evacuation procedure, it was hard to pull off when they had this many young children. Any available nurse from the other departments rushed in to help, and honestly, it was the only reason why they were able to manage.
Then he sat there, near his most delicate patient, his eyes on the child—but his mind on a dragon.
In this moment, where everything was uncertain, when he couldn’t turn and seek Gregori out for reassurance, it was easier to define his feelings. Easier to see the shape of them. Salem had suspected it all before but had deliberately not looked too close, a little afraid of what he’d find.
But now? When he had nothing to do but worry? It was too obvious to ignore.
The worry felt as deep as a knife, sinking in right through his heart. The need to hold Gregori, to reassure them both he was fine, went just as deep. At some point, his heart had taken Gregori fully in. Even Salem wasn’t sure how or when it’d happened, only that Gregori was incredibly precious to him.
Shit, what timing for a realization. When Salem couldn’t even do anything about it.
It felt like an eternity went by before they got the all clear. Salem didn’t know precisely if Gregori was all right, but he tried to take no news as good news. The building hadn’t collapsed, there was no sign the bomb had gone off, so odds were very good his dragon was fine.
Salem repeated the mantra a few times as his heart still felt wrung out from the stress.
They were a touch slower putting everyone back into their rooms. People were half worn out already from the mad rush; there was no need to push themselves to make some arbitrary speed record. Once everyone was settled back in, Salem took a second to text Gregori.
Ok?
The response was quick.
Ok. Bomb defused. I’m in one piece.
Only then did Salem feel like he could breathe. He put a hand over his heart, breathing out slowly, before answering.
I’m relieved to hear it. Meet you at home?
Ok.
He read through the conversation again and frowned. Something was off. Normally, if Salem texted him, Gregori would call back. It was one of those annoying-cute habits of his. He preferred phone calls over texts. And if he really had defused the bomb already, why hadn’t he come back to Salem? So much of this felt out of character.
Salem’s gut said something was very wrong here. His head was inclined to agree.
His office door opened and Alexis popped in.
“Hey, how’s Gregori?”
“He texted saying the bomb’s defused, and he’s fine.”
“Uh-huh…and you’ve got your frowny face on, why?”
“It’s…out of character for him to text back.”
“Awww, look at you,” Alexis cooed. “Actually knowing your boyfriend and shit.”
He just wearily looked at her. Must she? No, this was Alexis, so she must.
She caught his look and cackled. “I came in to tell you surgeries are likely canceled for today. They want to do a thorough sweep of the hospital before they resume anything. Emergency surgeries only.”
“Ahh. Not surprised.”
“But now that I’m here…have you talked with him yet?”