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let Samuel resume his place at my side.
    Anger tightened the sides of Samuel’s mouth as he touched my shoulder. I looked down and realized that my skin was bruised and raw where the harness had rubbed, and everywhere were small rust-colored spots of dried blood. I looked like I’d been in a car wreck.
    Thinking about cars reminded me about work. I looked out the window, but the sky was still dark.
    â€œWhat time is it?” I asked. My voice came out in a hoarse croak.
    It was the vampire who answered. “Five forty-five.”
    â€œI need to get dressed,” I said standing up abruptly, which was a mistake. I clutched my head, swore, and sat down before I fell down.
    Samuel pried my hands away from my forehead. “Open your eyes, Mercy.”
    I did my best, but my left eye didn’t want very badly to open. As soon as I had both of them opened, he blinded me with a penlight.
    â€œDamn it, Sam,” I said, trying to squirm out of his hold.
    â€œJust once more.” He was relentless, this time prying my sore eye open himself. Then he set the light aside and ran his hands over my head. I hissed as his fingers found a sore spot. “No concussion, Mercy, though you have a sizeable goose egg on the back of your head, a hell of a shiner, and, if I’m not mistaken, the rest of the left side of your face will be purple before daylight. So why does the bloodsucker say you have been unconscious for the past forty-five minutes?”
    â€œCloser to an hour now,” said Stefan. He was sitting down on the floor again, farther from me than he had been, but he was watching me with predatory intenseness.
    â€œI don’t know,” I said, and it came out shakier than I meant it to.
    Samuel sat beside me on the couch, pulled off the small throw blanket that hid the damage Medea had done to the back of the couch, and wrapped me in it. He started to reach for me, and I pulled away. A dominant wolf ’s desire to protect was a strong instinct—and Samuel was very dominant. Give him an inch and he’d take over the world, or my life if I let him.
    Still, he smelled of the river, desert, and fur—and of the familiar sweet scent that belonged only to him. I quit fighting him and let my aching head rest against his arm. The resilience and warmth of his flesh against my temple helped my headache. Maybe if I didn’t move, my head wouldn’t fall off. Samuel made a soft, soothing noise and ran his clever fingers through my hair, avoiding the sore spot.
    I hadn’t forgotten or forgiven him for the flashlight, but I’d get even with him when I felt better. It had been a long time since I’d leaned on anyone, and, even knowing it was stupid to let Samuel see me so weak, I couldn’t force myself to move away.
    I heard Stefan go to the kitchen, open my refrigerator, and mess around in the cupboards. Then the vampire’s scent drifted nearer and he said, “Get her to drink this. It will help.”
    â€œHelp with what?” Samuel’s voice was a good deal deeper than usual. If my head had hurt a little less, I would have moved away.
    â€œDehydration. She’s been bitten.”
    Stefan was lucky I was leaning against Samuel. The werewolf started to his feet, but stopped halfway up when I whimpered at his sudden movement.
    Okay, I was playing dirty, but it kept Samuel from attacking. Stefan wasn’t the villain. If he’d fed off of me, I was sure it had been necessary. I wasn’t in any shape to step between them, so I chose to play helpless. I only wished I’d had to act a little harder to do it.
    Samuel sat back down and moved my hair away from my neck. His fingertips brushed a sore spot on the side that had just blended in with my other aches and pains. Once he touched it, though, it burned and ached all the way down to my collarbone.
    â€œIt was not me,” Stefan said, but there was something uncertain in his voice—as if he