Read Online Bear His Bond: Wylde Den Two (Alaskan Den Men Book 9) by Talina Perkins - Free Book Online

not to startle him or give him false hope. There were still a couple of tests to do before she would know for certain. Along with her knowledge in animal medicine, she also studied at the knee of her mother, who worked as a biology professor by day. By night she used her knowledge of plants and herbs for healing salves and teas. Thanks to her mother’s green thumb and smarts, so did she.
    Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Everett angle his head to the side but didn’t say anything. Big surprise there.
    “You mean what Brax dumped?”
    She nodded. “Mmhmm.”
    He paused, considering her question. “Other than a bullet, not that I know of.”
    Right. He’d stripped before shifting, and there had been so much dirt and blood she couldn’t tell if any of the liquid the ice bear had poured in the water made contact with him.
    Wait. That was it. The bullet. It had to be laced with the same substance the shifter poured into the lake. “Why that lowlife, back-stabbing asshat!”
    Where the hell did she leave her glasses?
    Everett gestured to the top of his head, with a small grin.
    Right. She could create compound formulas, save lions and tigers from near death with her herbal concoctions. She tossed a look at Everett…and apparently bears. But she could not keep up with a pair of glasses.
    With as much ease as she could, Pepper worked off the bandages she placed over the wound after their shower. “Doc, what is it?”
    “I got so carried away with other distractions in the shower I forgot the most important thing.”
    She stood, carefully placing his leg back on the cushion. “When you shift after getting hurt, what happens?” She rummaged through her gear and found an unused swab and sterile baggie.
    “I heal. All shifters do. Even that damn ice bear will heal.”
    Oh. Good point. She understood the disgust in his tone all too well.
    They were like sitting ducks out here, maybe he had trouble shifting too. She could hope.
    Pepper moved back to the couch and turned his leg slightly so she could see the outer part. Just as she thought.
    “See these petals?” She held up the tiny wilted petals that dropped from her field bandage, “I found them wrapped up in this and it appears they came in contact with only one side of the wound. Hence the reason the other side has not healed. They must have stuck to my scarf when I fell to the ground.”
    Darkness clouded his eyes, so she pushed forward quickly. “When you’ve gotten hurt in the past, can you ever remember a time where you couldn’t shift or didn’t heal?” Using the process of elimination, she ran through the obvious to tick it off her list. Careful to not aggravate the area any further, she swabbed the wound that had yet to close on the inside of his leg.
    “If it’s bad enough the pain will keep the shift away. It’s just part of being a shifter. We heal fast for the most part, never get sick and have fast metabolisms.”
    “Then why the fever?”
    His eyes narrowed. “Good question.”
    “I think I know why. Whatever Brax spiked the lake with must be some kind of poison meant for shifters. But I don’t know for sure what it does and how bad it will get because of your wereblood metabolism. Your system could just be acting wonky to the gunshot. I have to make sure. I have to take samples of the water and with what I have in my field kit I can run some tests here that will at least tell us if it’s lethal. And with this,” she held up the long cotton Q-tip, “I’ll confirm what I already believe to be true.”
    “That I’m poisoned.”
    She nodded.
    “Pepper, you’re not doing what I think you’re saying you wanna do.”
    Pepper arched a brow at him and anchored her hands on her hips. “It’s not like you’re going to do it for me. Besides, I’m a big girl. And it could mean lives, Everett.”
    “Yeah, yours, Pepper,” he tossed back at her. “Not happening.” He grabbed a fist full of cushion and hauled himself to his feet. He