“Didn’t know what?” asked Eli.
Ignoring his pack mate, Jesse stroked her paw again and repeated in a shaky whisper, “I didn’t know.” If he had, she—
White-hot pain blasted in his head, slicing through his brain. He squeezed his eyes shut as his vision grayed and sleep lured him. He fought it, determined to stay with Harley. And then he felt her. Not her body. Not her mind. He felt her pain, her exhaustion, and how hard she was fighting the darkness pulling at her. Before now, he’d sensed her emotions. Now he shared them as they vibrated up and down the bond that seemed to be strengthening with every second. He couldn’t see it, but he felt it—a sort of tug on his consciousness.
Invigorated, heart pounding with a newfound hope, Jesse forced energy down the bond. He had no clue if he was doing it right, but he kept going. His wolf urged him on, too anxious to feel any satisfaction about the bond yet. “Take it, Harley, accept it.” Because she was stubborn enough to fight him out of concern that she’d drain him. And that was exactly what she did. He punched the ground, growling, “Accept it.”
A tiny hand touched his shoulder. “Don’t cry, Jesse. It’ll be okay.”
Jesse looked at Cassidy, becoming aware that his cheeks were wet.
“I just need to touch her,” said Cassidy.
He realized then that she was no longer wearing the vest. He watched as she bent over and laid her small hand on the cat’s flank. An echo of a strange tingling sensation reverberated up the mating bond as the healing energy moved through Harley. He winced as a few things snapped back into place and the cat yelped.
After a minute, Ally crouched behind Cassidy. “You can stop now, sweetie.”
Cassidy’s brow creased. “She’s not fully healed yet.”
“I know, but I’ll do the rest,” Ally assured her. “You need to sleep.”
“No, I—” A yawn cut Cassidy’s protest short. “Okay.” She sighed as Cain lifted her carefully. “I told you you’d take off my jacket,” she said to him sleepily. “In my vision, it looked like a jacket. But it was a vest.”
“That’s okay,” Cain told her. “You just sleep.”
As Ally put a hand on Harley, Jesse felt healing energy hum through her once again. This energy was stronger and worked faster. The moment the Seer moved aside, he scooped up the little cat and held her close, doing his best not to suffocate her. He was still shaking from the bone-deep terror of losing her. He needed to feel her. Smell her. Hear her heartbeat loud and clear.
He buried his face in her soft fur. “Shift for me, baby.” The cat growled low in her throat, and he felt Harley’s amusement. Apparently the margay wanted some attention first. Typical. And a relief, because it meant she was okay. That was all he cared about. He inhaled her again and again, letting it chase away the panic eating at him and his wolf.
Shaya appeared with Nick close behind, who was cuddling a sleeping Willow. “She’s okay?”
“Yes, she is,” said Roni, “thanks to Cassidy and Ally.”
Shaya turned to Cain. “I know I said it a billion times already, but thank you for saving my girls.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”
The guy frowned. “You’re crushing Cassidy.”
“Oh.” Shaya stepped back, sniffling. “Sorry.”
As she went to take the little girl, Cain held Cassidy tighter and gruffly said, “I’ve got her.”
Jesse nuzzled the cat’s head. “Shift for me.” The margay growled again, and he smiled.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Skimming his fingers up and down his mate’s naked back, Jesse kissed her shoulder. Not a single scar marred her soft flesh. There was no evidence whatsoever that she’d been ripped into by talons and had almost died earlier. No physical evidence, anyway. His fear, however, was still fresh in his system. “You okay?” he asked. She was too quiet. Too still.
“Stop worrying,” Harley mumbled softly into the pillow. She could feel his anxiety as if it was her own. “I’m just tired.”
Stop worrying? “You almost fell asleep standing up in the shower.”
“Because I’m tired. Let me sleep.”
“I’m not stopping you.” Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. He was intentionally keeping her awake. Every time she seemed to be drifting off, he panicked, remembering that moment when he’d felt a fatal, permanent sleep pulling at her. He stroked his hand over her hair. “I felt how hard you were fighting to stay.”
“Of course I was fighting.” She’d known what it would have done to him to lose another mate. She hadn’t been able to stand the idea of him going through such torture, and that had helped her fight as hard as her cat.
“I really didn’t know, Harley.”
Well aware of what he was talking about, she pinned his gaze. “I know you would never have intentionally held anything back. Don’t be angry at yourself. Being fully open to someone isn’t as easy as it sounds.”
He traced the length of her spine. “If the bond had formed sooner—”
“You realized what was blocking the bond, Jesse. I didn’t. I didn’t even suspect that that was what it was. You did.”
He kissed her, licking over her bottom lip. “Our scents have mixed.” Now everybody would know she was taken. “I like it. I like feeling what you’re feeling.”