“Didn’t... Didn’t think about that.” His teeth were chattering; he could hardly get the words out.
She snatched up the first aid kit, quickly cleaned the wounds again, and re-bandaged them. But it was too familiar a task to fully occupy her mind.
Bear shifter.
Werebear.
“Shane’s the panther, lying in wait. Hal’s the grizzly bear.”
As she wrapped blankets around him, she asked, “Is Lucas really a dragon... A dragon shifter... a weredragon?”
Hal nodded. To her relief, his shivering had subsided.
“And Nick’s a werewolf.”
“Yeah.” Hal gazed at her with his gorgeous hazel eyes. His bear’s eyes. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I wanted to wait for the perfect moment.”
“That sure as hell wasn’t it!”
“No,” Hal admitted. “But it’s why I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I really don’t need to. Shifters heal fast. I’m not in any danger, Ellie. In a day or so, I’ll have completely recovered.”
“Oh.” It took a moment to sink in. Hal wasn’t going to bleed to death or die of shock. She wasn’t going to lose him. He wouldn’t die.
To her surprise, a sob tore up from deep in her chest. Then another. Burning tears ran down her face. She couldn’t control them, or the ugly sounds she heard herself making. She tried to turn away, to hide herself, even though she knew it was too late. But a hand caught her wrist.
“Hey.” Hal’s deep voice tugged at her attention with more strength than his grip on her arm. “I wore myself out with that stunt. I can’t sit up and hold you. Come lie down next to me.”
The car was built on a larger-than-life scale, or she never could have managed it. Even with both of them lying on their sides, it was a tight fit. But she lay down next to Hal, pulled the blankets over them, and cried on his shoulder. He held her tight, his body heat and presence soothing her.
“It’s all right,” he murmured. “It’s all right.”
At first she was embarrassed, and then she stopped caring. Hal was alive. He’d saved her, but he hadn’t traded his life for hers, as she’d feared.
“I thought you’d die,” she whispered. “In the parking lot, when you threw yourself in front of me. In the car, when I saw that you were hit. When I realized the car was trapped. People die of cold and shock and blood loss. Especially all three together!”
Hal pulled her in even closer, wiping her tears away. “I’m sorry, Ellie. I was so wrapped up in protecting you, I didn’t stop to think what it was like for you.”
“I was going to drive you to the emergency room, like it or not,” she admitted.
The rumble of his chuckle vibrated through her body. “I figured. That’s why I had to let you know. And my bear can’t fit in the car.”
“Your bear,” she repeated, marveling. “Did a werebear bite you? Or were you born that way?”
“I was born a bear shifter. When I said my family was back to nature... Well, they’re really back to nature. I come from a clan of grizzly bears that don’t like the city or cars or television. It was a big deal when they boug
ht a refrigerator. I was the black sheep.”
Ellie’s face cracked in a fragile smile. “Black bear.”
“We’ve got some of those in the clan, too.”
She wiped her eyes on her hands. “What about Protection, Inc.? Are they all black sheep, too?”
“One way or another.” His muscles tensed against hers. “Damn, nearly forgot. My gun’s outside. Can you get it?”
Ellie reluctantly extracted herself, went outside, and retrieved the gun and holster. Hal snatched them up and set them on the floor, within hand’s reach. He was still thinking of protecting her, though she couldn’t imagine that even Nagle’s hit men would venture out in this storm.
“I know how to shoot,” she said. “I mean, not like you. But Ethan taught me. You don’t have to stay up and guard me. Let me take a turn guarding you.”