“Emergency services—can you get your mate to let us in? We need to get you out of there and they won’t let us.”

I stared at her a minute before I was able to process what she was saying. Mate? I heard the growl then. Declan’s wolf crouched in the passenger seat, his lips curled back in a snarl. Though everything ached, I reached over and dug my fingers into his ruff. He whined, his distress evident, but he kept his eyes on the paramedic.

Even in my state, it was easy to see what was going on. I was injured. Declan’s wolf was in protective mode and he didn’t know these people. “It’s okay. They’re here to help,” I tried to explain over the bond. I wasn’t sure how much got through. I was having a hard time focusing.

I must have passed out again, because next thing I knew, I was in the ambulance, the small woman, Rosa, flashing a light in my eyes. I was on a gurney, the wolf sprawled across my legs. He was panting, agitated. I gripped his fur with one hand, the other hooked up to an IV. Rosa said something to me and I tried to answer, but I’m not sure if I did. The world blurred after that, winking out like a star.

The next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital room. It was small and blessedly a single. The walls were painted light green, with a strip of chalkboard paint lining the room in the middle, as well as a small whiteboard. The akesoite must have come in while I was unconscious, because the chalkboard strip was already half covered in sigils. Incense burned in the wall sconce, mostly covering up the antiseptic smell found in most hospitals. Three small glass globes filled with herbs hung from the ceiling. The lights were dimmed, the drapes pulled, making me think it was still nighttime.

The wolf slept at my feet, otherwise the room was empty.

The door clicked open, revealing a man in scrubs. Even with his hair cropped close, you could tell there was some curl to it. He brightened when he saw me awake. “Welcome back.” He waved at a small whiteboard with a bunch of notes scrawled on it. “My name is Jacob. I’m your nurse tonight. How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” I said, surprised that it was mostly true. They must have had me on some solid drugs. “Headache. What happened?”

“You were in a wreck. Your akesoite will give you a better rundown, but the summary is you have a minor concussion and some bruising.” He flashed a light in my eyes, because apparently that was the theme for the night.

“I’m going to touch her now,” Jacob said, grabbing one of the machines nearby, and it took me a second to realize he wasn’t talking to me. He held up the blood pressure cuff. “The machine will make some weird noises, but I promise it won’t hurt her.”