Free Slate's Mistake by Tigertalez Page B

placed on the
floor until the men could tear it out. The house didn’t have close neighbors, which
was why no one called the police when the invasion happened, and the invaders
used silencers on their rifles, so the only things that had made any sound were
whatever had taken down the doors and broke the windows.
    Katie piled up two plates and headed back to the
medical room where Slate was still lying unconscious. As far as she knew, he
had yet to regain consciousness, but she felt like it would be soon, and he
needed food. Earlier, she had cleaned him off as best she could and then
removed the bloodied sheets. She had placed a heavy blanket over the mattress
and then put a clean sheet over it. That was no picnic as she had to roll Slate
on his side and do one side, then roll him over to do the same on the other.
But as she looked at him now, she saw just a hint more color in his skin from
the elevated temperature his body sported to heal, which was why she had only a
sheet covering him up to his waist.
    Placing the food on the nightstand, she headed back
out for drinks. She moved a chair closer to the bedside and started to eat her
meal. As she ate, she took the time to study his tattoos. The larger one was on
his shoulder. It was a black-hilted dagger with two arrows crossing over it in
an X. Around it was a lion’s mane and underneath was written “De Oppresso Liber”. The other tattoo, which stretched across
the right side of his ribs, simply read “It is better to conquer yourself than
to win a war”. It was obvious these two tattoos had meaning, and she was
curious what they meant to him.
      She was almost
done eating when she saw him stir just a little. Katie’s heart pounded in her
chest with excitement and anticipation. Reaching her hand out and placing it on
top of his, she watched his face while praying silently for him to wake up. His
skin still felt feverish under her hand.
    His eyes rolled under their lids then tried to flutter
open.
    “That’s it, Slate, wake up for me.” She kept her voice
low. Light brown eyes fluttered more, then fixed onto hers. She spread her
mouth wide in a smile of relief. “There you are.” She placed her plate back on
the nightstand. She slid one hand under his and used her other hand to cover
the top. “How do you feel?”
    His hand lightly squeezed hers. “Better now that
you’re here.” She snickered at his corniness, and he joined her at the
derision. “Seriously though, I feel complete with you here.”
    Katie brought his hand up and rested her forehead on
the knot of fingers. “I feel better with you, too.” Suddenly, she couldn’t
carry her emotional burden any longer, and she started to cry. After a moment,
she was able to regain control. She felt his thumb rub her cheek. “Slate, I’ve
got cancer. If we mate, you’ll die if I can’t get better. I don’t want you to
die.” She was barely able to get the last sentence out before she broke down
again. Her shoulders shook with her sobs, but she didn’t let go of his hands.
    “Baby-Kate, look at me.” His rough but gentle voice
pulled her to do what he asked. She sniffed her runny nose and listened to what
he had to say. “I love you already. If anything should happen to you, whether
we are mated or not, I’d die. I could never be with anyone else, ever. I don’t
need a mark to bond to you, I already am.”
    Katie drew in her breath. “You love me?” Even as she
said it, butterflies tickled her belly, and she felt in her heart it was true.
What’s more, she felt the same way about him. Her one and only argument for
keeping her distance was just lost, and now there wasn’t anything holding her
back from a destined mating.
    Slate smiled. “Yes, even more then
my own breath. I know we don’t know each other well, but fate never
makes mistakes, and as I get to know you more, I could only fall more in love
with you. The mating pull isn’t the foundation, it’s just the beacon a shifter
is granted