Shifters of Grrr 1 by Emerald Wright, Terra Wolf, Shelley Shifter, Artemis Wolffe, Wednesday Raven, Amelia Jade, Mercy May, Jacklyn Black, Rachael Slate, Eve Hunter Read Free Book Online Page A

the long, blonde locks.
    "Yes, completely. Cut it all off."  
    Strand after strand of hair fell and formed a mounting pile by the chair as her shoulder length hair was reduced to a cute, easy pixie cut. It made her face pop and she had never felt freer. There had been so many changes, but this time when the stylist put that mirror in her hand she was happier than she had ever been. She truly felt lionhearted.
    It was when she got up from the chair and went to leave the salon that Emily looked up at the ceiling and promptly passed out.

Chapter Seven: Room 109
    Machines buzzed, tubes came and went from her body, and Emily was still unconscious when the emergency personnel went through her phone to look for someone to contact. Not seeing any I.C.E. or emergency contact, they hit redial and hoped for the best.  
    "Please don't let it be Chinese takeout service," the technician whispered.
    "Hello Emily?" Holden breathlessly answered, knowing she had called earlier but hung up before he reached the phone.
    "Sir, this is a medical technician at Mercy University Hospital. We've got an Emily Heart here and can't locate any emergency contact for her. You were the last one she called. Could you come down, that is if you're friends or family of Emily?"
    "I'll be right there." Holden was already pulling on pants and locking up the apartment as he bolted out the door.
    He made record time as he busted through the glass doors at the entry to the hospital. He rambled up to the counter and asked for her room.
    A tired, overworked desk clerk typed the name into the computer and said "Room 109" without a bother of looking up at him.
    Down the hall, to the left, he walked peering at the small signs that led him to the room. He stood outside it, not knowing whether to knock or walk in. He chose the latter.
    "Emily?" he asked into the darkness of the room.
    He could then see her there, lying helpless in the bed. He looked around, but nothing offered him clues to why she was there.  
    Carefully and quietly, he walked back out and asked a nurse that was passing by as to her condition.
    "Family?"  
    "No, I'm a friend and..." Holden began, trying to explain.
    "Sorry, we can't divulge patient information outside of the family." She said as she grabbed her charts and kept walking.
    Holden's blood pressure started to rise and he paced up and down the hall, keeping the growl of his bear to a minimum. He was seething at what was occurring. They could call him to come down there, but not tell him what was happening? This would not do.
    He walked down to the nurse's station and casually asked the first one he saw there the same question.
    "Family?" he was asked again. This time he was ready.
    "Yes." He lied.
    The nurse explained that Emily's blood tests were showing dangerously low levels of red blood cells and double the normal white cell counts. She was anemic, in the middle of a raging infection, and it was taking its toll on her prognosis.
    "Which is?" Holden asked the nurse.
    "Same as it was, Sir, she's got about six months. Probably less now. I'm sorry." She offered, placing her hand on his shoulder as she went back to her station.
    Holden didn't know what to think or feel. There laid his mate, the one he was supposed to be with, unconscious and with precious few months left to live.
    The vow is damned.

Chapter Eight: Coming Home
    The faint hiss of the machines was the first sound she heard upon waking, the second was Holden's voice. Emily raised up on the pillows and asked how long she'd been there.
    "A few days." He answered as he snaked his hand through the bed rails to hold her hand.
    "How did you know I was here?" she asked him; confused and a bit disoriented.
    "They called the last person on your call list which was me. I came as soon as they called."
    "So you've been here three days?" She couldn't believe that was true. She hadn't even spoken to him since that night in the tattoo shop, nor gave him chance to explain.
    "Yes, I wanted to be