Guarding His Heart Read Free

as she faced the rogue. Any other female would have most likely dissolved into tears or hysterics, but not her. No, Lynn had taken one solid knock to the head then managed to stab the son-of-a-bitch with the very needle the doc had been wielding earlier. When the bastard had thrown her, Jag swore his heart stopped.
    “Okay, man, tell me what the hell just happened,” Liam ordered, bringing Jag back to the here and now and handing him a sheet to cover himself with.
    Taking a deep breath, he described the attack all the way to the point where Liam and the doctor had charged in. He had a feeling he’d be forced to recap the event again to the Prime, but it was the Prima he dreaded most.
    Jag had come to like Samantha very much, and admitting his failure to protect Lynn would shame him greatly. There was Lynn to face as well.
    How in the hell was he supposed to look her in the eye? His inner jaguar might want her for his mate, but Jag knew that he, the man, wasn’t worthy of her. No, Lynn deserved a male who could protect her as well as provide for her needs.
    While the latter was no problem, the first had just proven to be something he failed at. If he wanted to pursue a proper claiming, he needed to show he deserved her.
    “Damn,” Liam drawled. “The girl has guts; I’ll give her that.”
    “I’m just glad her guts didn’t end up all over the floor. All it would have taken was one swipe of his claws to fillet her belly.” Jag shuddered. “I can’t remember ever feeling so scared…or helpless.”
    Liam clapped him on the back, the move meant to be friendly. Since Jag had kept to himself for so long, it startled him a bit. “She’s your mate. I’m sure it won’t be the last time you experience that feeling, but it’ll be worth it.”
    “She’s not my mate.”
    “Denial is a sad, sad place to live. Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better, but your jaguar knows. You were scent marking her, Jag. I had a feeling you might like her, but I had no idea it went that far.” Liam shook his head. “This is my fault. I’m sorry, man.”
    Jag couldn’t have been more shocked. “How the hell is this your fault?”
    “We never should have left this piece of shit in here,” Liam snarled, kicking the dead shifter. “None of this would have happened. Lynn wouldn’t be hurt, and you’d be patched up. Shit , we still need to at least bandage you.”
    “Is there a shower around here? I think it would be a lot easier if I just washed all of this off.” Jag waved a hand in front of himself as if Liam could have missed all the dried blood and mud coating his body.
    “Yeah, follow me. I’ll have a few men deal with the body.”
    With the sheet still wrapped around his waist, Jag followed Liam down the hall and into what was obviously a patient room. He showered as quickly as he could, vigorously scrubbing his body and ignoring the pain from his many wounds as he attempted to be done before any news about Lynn’s condition arrived.
    He came out, this time with a small towel wrapped around his hips, to find Liam and Dr. Lewis standing at the foot of a hospital bed. Lynn lay there, utterly still, with an IV hanging overhead.
    Guilt rose up within him. When she’d gone for the meds, he’d been so focused on the sexy sway of her hips in those cotton pants that he failed to notice the rogue shifter had regained consciousness until it was too late.
    “How is she?” Jag asked.
    Dr. Lewis grimaced. “Not well. She has a moderate concussion, and I gave her some pain meds to keep her comfortable. I went ahead and scanned her neck, too. It showed some signs of whiplash, so from the shoulders up, she’ll be pretty miserable for a while.”
    Liam dragged his hand over his face, looking as exhausted as Jag felt. “I’ll need to set a guard at her door. I can come back once I brief Dylan and take over.”
    “I’ll do it.” Jag wanted to be the one to keep her safe and knew he’d never relax unless he was