The lion slammed into him, knocking him to the ground, and his head slammed into the hardwood floor. Pain exploded throughout his skull, and Luke’s last thought as his vision went black was directed to Damara, who he knew could still hear him.
Tell Tarun I love her.
Tarun stared at Luke’s still body, tears streaming down her face. “What the hell were you thinking, you idiot? You never should have shifted in there.”
He couldn’t reply, of course. He probably couldn’t even hear her. He’d been unconscious for over an hour, long enough to scare the living shit out of her. The steady rise and fall of his chest had reassured her at first, but the fact was, he should have woken up long ago. And the steady breathing, while amazing because it meant he was still alive, was beginning to feel like it was taunting her.
Probably one of the stupidest things to feel, but her thoughts and emotions were scattered in a thousand different directions, and her heart felt like it had been decimated. She didn’t even know which way was up anymore.
Why hadn’t he woken? There must have been some serious damage done to his skull when
he fell. Shifter healing was fast, and it was powerful.
He should have woken up. It seemed like the only thought she could hold for any length of time. He should have fucking woken up already.
“His gift is more powerful in human form.”
Tarun turned as she heard Noah’s voice, watching as he came in the bedroom. He walked over to the bed and gazed at Luke before looking at her, clearly trying to hide the worry in his eyes as he answered the question she’d directed at her mate.
“Still. We had it under control. He should have waited, or at least tried to use it in animal form first.”
Her voice shook as fresh tears stung her eyes, and she quickly turned away, wrapping her arms around her waist as she walked to the window.
“None of us would want to admit it, because we fancy ourselves unbeatable, but we were struggling some. If the War Cats hadn’t been there, there’s a good chance we would have lost quickly. And who knows, maybe Luke tried to use his gift in animal form first. We won’t know until he wakes up. And he will wake up, Tarun.”
Tightening her lips, she shook her head, wanting to yell and rage, to demand how the hell he could possibly know that. But she didn’t want to take her anger and hurt out on him, so she didn’t reply to his statement, and changed the subject. “How’s Dmitri?”
“He’s better. Just really fucking pissed that he was taken out before he could warn us.” He looked at Luke’s prone form one more time before turning away. He began walking back to the door, stopping briefly next to her and quickly squeezing her hand. “I just came to get an update. Don’t go giving up on him too easily, Tarun. He’s young, strong, and he just found his mate. He’s not going to let anything take him away from you—not even himself.”
She tried to force a smile as she nodded, sure the only thing she managed was a grimace. He left the room and she wrapped her arms around her waist again, like she could hold herself together if she just kept her grip tight enough.
“He’s right, you know. I wouldn’t.”
Gasping at the sound of Luke’s weak voice behind her, she spun around and rushed to the bed, her heart leaping into her throat. “You fucking idiot!”
He started to laugh and then stopped, lifting his hand to touch his fingertips gently to his head. “That must have been some hit I took.”
“It was,” she replied, her voice softer as she perched next to him on the edge of the bed. Her throat ached with the need to yell at him, but his head clearly still hurt, and she didn’t want to cause him more pain. “You’ve been out for an hour.”
“Shit. The fall had to have done some damage, then. Now, why exactly am I an idiot? No, wait, what was it? Oh, that’s right. A fucking idiot.”
Narrowing her eyes, she glared at him. “It wasn’t just a fall. You were attacked while you were in human form, which brings me to the reason why you’re an idiot. For shifting to human in the middle of a shifter battle where most of the people in the freakin’ room were trying to kill you.”
“I knew if I made Jerry shift back, there was a good chance the battle would end. My gift is more powerful in human form.”
“Okay, sure, but did you at least try to use it in animal form first?”
She could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t before he ever spoke. “No.”
“That’s what I thought.”
His light blue eyes narrowed on her. “Did forcing his shift end the battle?”
“Yes,” she answered reluctantly.
“That’s what I thought.”
She glared at him as he repeated her words back to her, but felt her anger dissipate as he started to sit up. “What are you doing? Don’t move.”