Catalina shook her head. “No. He’ll want me close when he wakes up.”
“Shane’s panther isn’t like my bear,” Hal said. “It can take control of him. And this is exactly the sort of situation that makes it go berserk. Just back off to the other side of the room, and stay there until I say it’s safe.”
Hal had seemed friendly before, but his rugged features were grim as he stepped forward. He loomed over her, taller than Shane and twice as burly. His size, which had been reassuring when they’d been fighting side by side, now seemed menacing.
Stay with your mate, her leopard hissed, but Catalina didn’t need any prompting.
She wrapped a protective arm around Shane’s chest. “Shane’s my mate. He wo
n’t hurt me, and neither will his panther. You back off. I’m not going anywhere!”
A startlingly sweet smile softened Hal’s face. He stepped out of Catalina’s personal space, and walked around to settle down into a chair on the other side of Shane’s bed. “Good. But keep an eye on him. He really might lash out when he wakes up.”
She stared at Hal, puzzled by the instant shift from threat to approval. “Were you deliberately trying to scare me away from him?”
“I was trying to see if it was possible to scare you away,” Hal replied.
“Why?”
Hal gave an embarrassed shrug. “Ellie’s going to kill me when she hears about this. But Shane’s been through a lot. I had to make sure you’d stand by him, no matter what.”
“Oh,” Catalina said, enlightened. “You were testing me to see if I was good enough for your buddy. Forget Ellie, Shane’s going to kill you when he wakes up.”
“Probably,” Hal admitted. “And speaking of testing, I should warn you—”
Shane woke abruptly. The monitors all beeped their alarms, but it was drowned out by his snarl. His eyes were wide open but unfocused, his features twisted in the feral rage of a wild beast.
Catalina caught the hand that whipped up to try to yank the oxygen tube off his face. With her other hand, she stroked his hair. “Easy, Shane. You’re safe. I’m right here with you.”
He jerked his head to stare at her, then relaxed. The panic and fury faded from his gaze, leaving only the usual intensity of the man she loved.
“Sorry.” Shane’s voice was hoarse but calm.
Catalina had seen enough people wake up after surgery to know how dry the tube made your throat. “Want some water?”
He nodded. She helped him hold the glass steady as he drank through a straw. By the time he finished it, she could hear voices from outside the room, though she couldn’t make out the words.
“The team’s here,” said Hal. “Can I let them in? They’ll want to see you.”
Shane glanced down at himself. Catalina tried to see through his eyes: the wires clipped to his chest, the bandages, the oxygen, the IV, the machines. Lying flat on his back in a hospital bed. The post-surgery weakness that had made his hands shake just trying to hold a glass of water. He must hate feeling so defenseless and exposed, when he was normally so cool and combat-ready.
“No,” Shane said. “Not yet.”
His eyes took on a familiar inward-looking gaze. Now that she had a leopard, she knew his panther was talking to him.
“What’s he saying?” Catalina asked.
“He’s telling me to let my pack in. Weird cat. Panthers don’t have packs.” Then, looking exasperated, Shane added, “And nobody’s going to lick me.”
Catalina giggled. “I think your panther and my leopard are on the same page.”
“The team can visit later,” Shane said. Pitching his voice so low that only she could hear, he said, “I don’t want them to see me like this.”
Catalina also spoke softly, but said, “Shane, the rest of the team showed up just in time to see you pass out. It looked like you were about to stop breathing. Ellie and I got you stabilized, and then we loaded you into Hal’s car and burned rubber out of there. The team has got to be worried sick about you. Nobody cares what you look like. They just want to make sure you’re all right.”
“Let them in,” Hal said. “Do it as a favor to me. I asked Ellie to hold them off, but she’s way outnumbered.”
“So am I,” muttered Shane. Then he surrendered. “Fine. They can come in. Just let me sit up first.”