Firefighter Unicorn (Fire & Rescue Shifters 6)

“Well, she’s venomous all the time because of her animal, right? Her wyvern is scared of everything, so it's always on the defensive. But it's not scared of you.” Hope shrugged. “So you should be able to touch her.”

Why was he still staring at her like that? Wasn’t all this painfully obvious?

“Haven't you even tried?” she asked.

“Ivy won’t let me near her. She said the thought of hurting me made her so nervous, her venom would be strong enough to kill on contact. You really think that I'm still immune?”

“Well, not exactly immune. I mean, you shouldn’t be sharing gloves or anything—her venom would still affect you if you came into contact with it. But don't you get it? You won't come into contact with it by touching her directly. Her wyvern won't want to hurt you, so if you get close to her, it will have to settle down.”

“So she wouldn't be venomous at all,” Hugh said slowly. “Not only to me, but to everyone.”

“Exactly! And once she’s turned off her venom once, maybe she’ll learn how to do it whenever she wants, even when you’re not around. You can help her relax enough to control it.” Excited, Hope wheeled right up to him, tugging at his arm. “You have to go after her, Hugh. Right now! You have to make her listen to you.”

Hugh let her pull him upright, but balked as she tried to urge him toward the door. “What if your theory is wrong?”

“It's not my theory,” Hope said. “It was our mom’s. She was always searching for her true mate. She wasn’t as venomous as Ivy, but she was still always a bit toxic. She was certain that if she could just find her mate, her wyvern would finally learn to chill out.”

Hugh ran a hand over his face, his expression so closed it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. “Does Ivy know about this?”

“Of course.” Hope hesitated, wrinkling her nose. “But I don’t think she believes it. She doesn't exactly have a great relationship with our mom. And Ivy’s always preferred to expect the worst possible outcome. That way she can’t be disappointed.”

“She’s scared to even try,” he said softly.

“Right! But you have to make her try, Hugh. Don't let her push you away. Just, just sweep her off her feet and kiss her!”

“Damn it, that's a tempting thought,” Hugh muttered. He picked up his glass of water, shaking his head slightly. “I don't know, Hope. I rushed into one irreversible decision, and look where it got me. I need to think about this.”

Hope opened her mouth to argue further…and then saw the red ring around the bottom of Hugh’s glass.

It wasn't his glass.

Ivy's never careless, she'd told Betty…but she had been. And now Hugh, oblivious, was raising her venom-contaminated drink to his mouth.

“Hugh, no!” Hope flung herself forward, with one hard, frantic push of her wheels. “Stop!”

The edge of her wheelchair crashed into his thighs, knocking him off-balance. Ivy’s glass slipped from his hand. As if in slow motion, Hope saw it tumble, glittering water droplets scattering outward in a deadly arc.

Straight into her own face.

Chapter 27

Ivy came out of the emergency care ward to find Hugh sitting alone in the waiting room, his head in his hands. He sprang up as she entered, face pale and every muscle tense.

“Is she…?” He left the sentence hanging in midair, looking near-sick with worry.

“She’s going to be all right,” Ivy said, and her own tight chest eased a little at the sight of the relief that washed over his face. “She’s still unconscious, bu

t she’s breathing on her own again now. I left Betty watching over her. She’ll let us know when she wakes up.”

Hugh closed his eyes for a moment, his lips moving soundlessly in prayer. Then his expression tightened, relief turning to self-recrimination. He sank back down into the plastic chair.

“She got hurt because of me. Because of my carelessness.” He leaned his forehead against his clenched fists, elbows braced against his knees. “I couldn’t even do anything to help her.”

None of that was true. It was Ivy’s fault, her own carelessness, that had nearly killed her sister. Hugh had saved Hope’s life, by performing CPR until the ambulance arrived.

She ached to tell him that. She wanted to wrap words of love around him, embracing him with her voice as she couldn’t with her arms. To take away the burden of guilt that slumped his shoulders.

But she didn’t.