J. Tyler: Black Moon

“Burned himself out,” Zan slurred, his voice odd and garbled. “Don’t know if this will be enough.”

A green glow began around Zan’s palms and spread to encompass Kalen’s whole body. For too long, the Healer’s efforts didn’t seem to be working. When at last her mate sucked in a breath, there was a collective cheer from the men. But their relief was short-lived.

“Lots of damage,” Zan managed, swaying. “Maybe too much.”

Then he slumped to the side, unconscious. The Pack jumped into action. Jax and Ryon grabbed Zander while Aric and Nick took Kalen. It wasn’t until they started for one of the SUVs with her mate that she remembered her dad. She looked around frantically, calling for him, and he squeezed her hand.

“I’m right here, baby girl. Come on. Let’s see to that man of yours.”

She rode in the back of one of the SUVs with Kalen, and they had to pry her loose when Melina and Noah rushed out to take over. She tried to follow them into the ER, but Nick blocked her path.

“Let Melina and Noah do their jobs. You need to see to Zan.”

“But—”

“That man just saved Kalen’s life and now he needs your attention.” His voice softened. “Go. Seeing to him will take your mind off your mate for a while.”

He was right. All through Zan’s examination, she worried for the Healer as well as her mate. By the time she concluded her tests and got him settled in a room, her heart was heavy with the knowledge of the personal mountain Zan now had to climb.

He was going to be all right—but it was going to take a long, long time to get him there.

Once Kalen was settled into a room, no one could pry her from his side. He looked dead, so still and pale, his chest barely rising and falling. He’d given everything to save them all, and there was a possibility he’d never open his eyes.

Taking one of his hands in hers, she stroked his skin as the tears fell. “Listen to me, please. You can’t leave us,” she whispered. “The baby and I need you. Please stay.”

Laying her head next to him, she wept. And began the long wait.

Kalen was at the bottom of a deep, dark ocean.

No matter how he tried, he couldn’t swim to the surface. Couldn’t breathe. So he let go and floated, rested a while and tried again.

Sometimes he heard quiet conversation. He wasn’t sure why or where he was. It scared him a little, not knowing. The longer he floated, the more aware he became that he needed to get to the surface soon, or he never would. Something dear to him waited for him up there, and he had to fight.

So he did, and the voice began to solidify into one that he recognized. Mackenzie . His mate, his love. She told him stories all the time, begged him to wake up, and he wanted so badly to respond. To tell her that he loved her and wasn’t giving up.

Then one day he broke the surface. He heard a machine beeping nearby. The rustle of someone in a chair, flipping pages, reading something. Stuff made sense and he knew he was back. But how? It didn’t matter. He just had to get his lids to cooperate.

Finally he blinked them open to find that everything was fuzzy. But he could make out his mate’s figure sitting close to him, bent over something. A magazine? Yeah. She was reading, and he liked waking up to find her there.

“Baby?” he croaked.

The magazine plopped to the floor and her blue eyes widened. “Oh my God! You’re awake!”

Happy kisses peppered his face and he smiled, or thought he did. “I think so. Unless I’m dead and you’re an angel.”

Sitting back, she stroked his face, touching him everywhere she could reach. When his eyes focused more, he saw that there were tears glistening in hers. He wanted to brush them away but didn’t have the strength to raise his arm.

“Hey, none of that. I’m okay, right?”

“You are now.” She sniffled.

“You and the baby?” he asked in sudden alarm.

“Relax before you strain something,” she said softly. “The baby is fine and so am I. Do you remember what happened?”

He stared at her, thinking. Which was hard since it seemed he was dosed on good drugs. “I forgot.”

“The battle. You killed Malik and all his Sluagh,” she said gently. “You saved everyone in the Pack.”

The storm. The fight. His friends had been losing badly.

Then he’d used the lightning against the enemy.

“I used the light to drive out the darkness.” He smiled at his mate. “Sariel told me to.”

She smiled back, though it was tired at the edges. “That you did. Do you feel any different? I mean, is there any darkness left?”

Though he was exhausted, he searched deep inside himself. Looked for that awful black thread that Malik had fostered and had wanted to grow into something horrid. “It’s gone,” he breathed. “For good, I think.” He hoped and prayed.

“That’s the best news I’ve had all day. Other than the man I love waking up, that is.” Leaning over, she kissed him on the lips.

Something still worried him, though. “I didn’t leave here on the best of terms. Last time I saw Nick, he was trying to kill me.”

“Well, that changed when you almost killed yourself in the process of saving the world,” she told him, love shining in her blue eyes. “The whole Pack has been in and out of here for over two weeks, willing you to get better. Your brother, too. They think you’re pretty awesome, and so does my dad. And I happen to think you’re fantastic, too.”

Damn. His eyes burned.

“You’re lucky to have a dad like him.”

“He’s yours now, too. You’ll give him a chance to prove it, won’t you?”

That choked him up, and he worked not to show it. “You bet, baby. Say, how are his soldiers?”

She looked sad. “They lost a few, but not as many as they should have, considering how outnumbered they were. There’s something else, though.” She hesitated.

“What is it?”

“Zan was hurt. Remember how I said he couldn’t take another trauma to his head without risk?” Kalen nodded in dread. “He suffered another blow to the skull during the battle, and he was bleeding badly from his ears when we brought him in. When everything was over, he was deaf.”

Kalen stared at her. “He can’t hear? Is it permanent?”

“We don’t know for sure. He’s not human, so there’s a chance that he’ll hear again one day. But for now, nothing.”

“Tell me it wasn’t my fault,” he pleaded. If he’d caused Zan to go deaf with the explosion, he’d never forgive himself.

“I’m not going to lie—we don’t know how much the blow to his head factored in, versus the explosion. He’s not saying much about it.”

“Will he see me?”

“Soon. He needs time to heal and rest, same as you.”

There was no arguing that, so his visit with Zan would have to wait. He needed to get well. He had a mate to care for and a baby to buy lots of cute baby things for, too.

“The baby,” he rasped. “He’s really okay?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you, especially about that.” She smiled at his use of “he” for their child. Taking his free hand, she scooted forward and let his palm rest on her tummy. “The baby’s fine. See?”

Reaching out with a tendril of magic, he searched. And found the tiny life warm and safe in his nest. Tears pricked his eyes. “I don’t know how to be a father. It’s not like I’ve had a great example to follow.”

“Oh, honey.” She stroked his hair. “You’re going be a great daddy, because you’ll want to give him all the love and support you never had from your folks. If anything, I’ll have to worry about you going overboard, doting too much and spoiling him rotten!” Now she’d said “he,” too. Kalen’s enthusiasm was rubbing off.