“How long have I been here?” I motioned around the room, curious why I wasn’t in a hospital.
“You have been unconscious for two days,” Eli answered as he headed out the door. “I’ll send Tegan in with some water for you. If you start hurting, I have pain medication you can take.” With that, Eli was gone, and I was left unsure what to think of him. He had a very brisk bedside manner, something I guessed was typical of a doctor, but he was here, at Alex’s house. My musing ended when Tegan practically skipped into the room with a glass of water.
“Thank goodness you’re awake,” she dropped into a chair that was sitting beside my bed and handed me a glass of water. I took a sip and sighed as it instantly soothed my dry throat. “You have no idea how crazy Alex has been. I finally had to shove him out of the house today so he would stop pacing your room. He’ll be angry that you woke up while he was gone, but really the guy was wearing grooves into the floor.”
“Was it bad?” I asked. I hoped that maybe hearing what happened from Tegan would help to fill in the blanks in my memory.
“It was scary,” Tegan quit smiling as she told me what happened. “You told me the car was speeding up and then there was a crash. Your scream made my blood run cold, and there was this horrible sound of squealing tires. You screamed Alex’s name and then a loud crash, and then nothing. Just horrible silence. I’ve never seen Alex move so fast. He shifted and was gone before anyone else could completely register what we heard.
“When we found you, your car was smashed into a tree on your side. There was so much blood that at first, I thought you had been cut open badly somewhere. It turned out to all be coming from your head wound. While Eli patched you up, Jarren searched for anything from the other car. He found nothing. He went all the way back to the bar. There was a faint scent of the Hunter coming from the bar and parking lot, but then nothing.”
“Why didn’t I go to the hospital?” I questioned. Tegan fidgeted in her seat a little, glancing around the room like she didn’t know how to tell me something. She finally huffed out a sigh and met my gaze.
“Alex was worried for your safety,” Tegan answered. “He thinks the Hunter intended all along to hurt you. He said you’d be safer here where we could protect you.” I let the fact that my life may be in danger settle over me. I couldn’t imagine a reason for someone to want to hurt me. I was just a waitress in a small-town bar. The pack was my only link to anything other than ordinary.
“He’s after me because of you guys, isn’t he?” I asked Tegan point blank. Tegan’s eyes looked sad as she gave a slight nod. Her shoulders sagged as she slumped back in the chair. The perky girl who was happy to see her friend was gone, replaced by a person who knew she was about to lose someone she cared about. I reached out to give her hand a squeeze, and when Tegan looked up, I smiled at her.
“So, who’s Eli?” I asked. Tegan’s face broke into a grin and she was talking a mile a minute about the doctor who is a werewolf. I couldn’t help grinning back at the female werewolf who was gossiping like a middle school girl at a slumber party.
At some point, listening to Tegan talk about what was going on around the house had put me to sleep. Either that, or the cocktail of pain killers that Eli had come to feed me when my pain was getting bad, had knocked me out. When I opened my eyes, the room was dark except for the lights from my heart monitor and the dim glow coming from a small lamp.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Alex’s voice was raspy and low in the dark room. I turned my head to find him sitting in the chair that Tegan had occupied earlier. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in days. His face was lined with worry and his clothes were wrinkled like he’d been sleeping in the chair. If he had been sleeping at all.
“Hi, mountain man,” I grinned slyly. He chuckled and rubbed his hand across his unshaved beard.
“Yeah, I guess it’s getting long,” he scratched at his cheek a moment, his eyes searching my face. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I hit a tree,” I joked, and he narrowed his eyes a bit at me. “I’m sore, and so tired. I feel like I could sleep for a week. I’m hungry, too. I don’t think IV food is all that filling.” I motioned to the IV behind me that was pumping a steady flow of liquid into my body.
“Eli said you could eat. He suggested keeping it light since it’s been a few days,” Alex stood. “Do you want some soup? I’m positive that Mackenzie made a huge pot when she heard Eli say that. That woman looks for any reason to cook something.”
“Soup sounds perfect,” I smiled up at him and he leaned down to brush a brief kiss across my forehead. The moment he left the room, I tried stretching my body a little to ease the discomfort of lying so still for too long. My ribs pretest a little bit, but the pain killers still seemed to be doing their job. Hoping that it would take Alex a few minutes to get the soup, I eased my legs to the side of the bed and tried to push myself up into a sitting position with my good hand. Pain ripped through my ribs and my hips. I gritted my teeth and finally managed to sit on the edge of the bed. I was panting from the effort and the pain.
“I told you that you should keep still,” I gasped and winced in pain at the sharp voice. I looked at the open door to find Eli standing and watching me. “I can admire your wish to be independent, especially when this Alpha seems so keen to micromanage you, but for the time being, you need a little help.”
He walked into the room and stopped in front of me. Reaching out for my good arm and helped me ease slowly to my feet. I ended up chest to chest with him and looked up to notice that his eyes were disarmingly friendly, completely at odds with his briskness. They were a beautiful hazel with little laugh lines around them.
“Thanks, Eli,” I smiled, hoping to appease him. He helped me shuffle slowly, moving my IV and monitor along with me, until I could sit in a recliner. The chair sat in the corner of the room overlooking the closed curtains, and I imagined that during the day I would have a beautiful view of the forest. For now, I sat happily in the dark room feeling a bit of the ache easing off my ribs. The chair was already proving much more comfortable than the bed.
I watched Eli moving around the dimly lit room. He took some blankets from the foot of the bed and brought them to me. One he laid across my lap and the other he placed gently along my left hip to ease where it pressed into the arm of the chair. He then lifted the footrest slowly until my feet were kicked up and he quickly spread the blanket in my lap across my bare legs.
“I’m going to lay you back just a bit,” he told me, as he suited actions to words. “I don’t think you need the heart monitor on anymore.” With that he eased my shirt up enough to remove the tiny wires and sticky pads that had been recording my heart beat. He finished his task as Alex walked in carrying a tray with a bowl and a glass on it. Alex did a double take of my new location with some concern.
“The chair is so much more comfortable,” I said as way of explanation. The concern didn’t leave his face, but he did nod slightly. “I have an important question. When can I shower?” I looked at both men, hoping they would say now. My body felt gross. I had noticed dried blood in several places, and I hoped the shower would help to soothe my sore muscles a bit, too.
“After you eat your soup, I’ll see if Tegan minds helping you,” Eli told me, and I started to tell him that I didn’t need help, but he waved me off. “You need someone to help. Trust me. The first few showers are going to be hard. You can’t get your stitches in your head or your cast wet. That’s going to take some maneuvering.”
I gave up my arguments in hopes that Alex would at least set my soup down. I was pleased when he finally did, and I found myself staring into a bowl of homemade chicken soup. It smelled amazing and my stomach let out a fierce sounding growl. Both men chuckled and I blushed.
“Eat, doll,” Alex encouraged. “Your shower can wait a few minutes.” Elis left us in the dimly lit room, presumably in search of Tegan, and Alex pulled his chair around the bed to sit beside me. I was too busy inhaling the soup to speak fo
r several minutes. Then I decided to ask Alex some of the questions that had been bothering me.
“How are you explaining my absence to Delilah and my work?” I thought it would be the easiest answer to hear. I imagined Delilah must be worried. Alex looked uncomfortable with my choice of questions and I got nervous waiting for his answer.
“Well, Tegan called the resort and pretended to be you,” Alex started. “They weren’t happy when she told them that you were going out of town for a while and you weren’t sure when you’d be back. I’m pretty sure they implied that you were fired. Lynn was easier because she knows Tegan. Tegan told her that you had to go out of town with me for a family thing. I think she thinks we’re getting married. She hinted as much to Tegan. Tegan promised her you would call. Tegan left the same message for your sister, but Delilah hasn’t called back.”
“Well that was awfully easy,” I said, surprised. “I can’t believe Delilah isn’t going crazy. But she has been really busy with Silas; maybe she hasn’t had the time yet.” I shrugged my shoulders, trying to brush off Delilah’s lack of worry as no big deal. Inside it hurt that she hadn’t bothered to at least check on me when I didn’t come home.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Alex
I could hear every word Zee was saying to her sister. Not that I was trying to eavesdrop but even from the kitchen I could hear her. The conversation had started off quiet, but as the minutes wore on her voice was rising. I didn’t think things were going well.
“Don’t you ever call him that again!” Zee yelled from her room. I assumed that I was being insulted. Delilah probably wasn’t taking Zee staying with me well. Jarren’s eyes were narrowed in the direction of Zee’s room, and I thought that he could also be the one they were yelling about. Either way, I expected it was because we were werewolves.
“I don’t care what Silas says,” Zee’s voice sounded weaker. All the yelling was probably wreaking havoc on her ribs. At Silas’ name Jarren let out a sharp growl that had Mackenzie whipping around to glare at him.
“Jarren, get on out of here and help Aaron with the lumber since you have so much energy to work off,” Mackenzie waved her spoon at him when he turned to look at her stunned. I fought back a chuckle at the brave woman. She held her ground against the bigger male, and finally Jarren stood and stalked from the kitchen. I waited until I heard the front door slam shut before I started laughing. Mackenzie shook her head, but I saw her smile as she turned back to what she was doing.
I cocked my head to listen for noises from Zee’s room. It was silent, so I hoped she was done fighting with Delilah. I stood to go check on her and Mackenzie set a tray, with a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk, on the counter. She smiled at me and shooed me towards Zee’s room. I grinned as I took the snack. Mackenzie had food for every reason under the sun.
I walked in to find Zee in her chair, staring sadly out the window. I followed her gaze to see Tegan and Wyatt chasing each other through the trees. Tegan dashed out of the trees and stood on her hind legs to press her nose to Zee’s window. Zee’s face broke into a small smile, and then a bigger grin. I saw the cause of her amusements. Wyatt was stalking slowly up behind Tegan while she wagged her tail at Zee, seemingly unaware. As Wyatt crouched down to pounce on Tegan she suddenly flipped around in mid-air and landed in front of him. She licked his snout as he stood frozen in surprise, and then dashed off into the trees again. Zee burst out laughing but was clutching her sides as she tried to catch her breath. I just shook my head at their antics.
I pulled my chair up beside Zee’s and sat the tray with the cookies and milk on the small table beside her. She smiled happily as she picked up a cookie and sighed when she took a bite. I had to agree with her sentiment as the warm cookie practically melted in my mouth. Mackenzie could sell the cookies and make a fortune. I didn’t talk to Zee. I let her eat her cookies in peace, and I knew eventually she would tell me what was going on.
“Delilah wants me to come home,” Zee finally said. I nodded my head but stayed silent. I knew she had more to say. Her brow was wrinkled in thought as she continued. “She says I should have gone to the hospital. She also says you are obviously a criminal who is brainwashing me to believe in fairytales. The man who tried to kill me is probably someone you made angry. Silas is apparently in agreement and has also informed her that he thinks Jarren is suffering from paranoia and that he’s stalking Delilah.”
“Did she tell Silas about the pack?” Panic rushed through me at the thought of us being exposed. We would have to do damage control to keep the knowledge of werewolves from spreading.
“Oh, no, you don’t have to worry about that,” Zee waved off my worries, “I asked the same thing and she said, and I quote, ‘Do you think I want people to know you’re insane?’ So, no worries there, I’m just nuts.” She shrugged, but I could see the hurt written all over her face.
“You’re not,” I grabbed her good hand and kissed her knuckles, “But Jarren might be a little paranoid, and he has been following your sister. He still doesn’t trust her boyfriend. I’m surprised that he was noticed, though. Jarren is usually incredibly stealthy.” I needed to get out to the build site and talk to him, something wasn’t clicking.
“I don’t know,” Zee said, looking out the window to where Tegan and Wyatt had been playing before. “Maybe I’m a little crazy. I can’t help but wonder what it would me like to feel the freedom of running through the woods like that. To have such a close-knit family who would be there for you in every moment. To be strong enough to fight my own battles and come out unscathed. To see the world in a completely new way.”
I sucked in a harsh breath to try and calm my heart down. I was completely shocked at her admission. I fully expected Zee to want to stay human, and that I would be completely happy with that decision. Now the thought of her as a wolf had my wolf instincts fighting my human ones. A huge part of me knew that as a wolf she could stand by my side at the head of the pack as my mate. The human in me didn’t want her to make the decision for the wrong reasons.
“Listen doll, you should stay here and rest,” I spoke softly, hoping she wouldn’t assume I was giving her a command. “Eli says you need at least a good week of rest before you start trying too much. We have all the time in the world to talk about everything, but for today, why don’t you just relax.” Zee looked at me skeptically for a moment, but finally nodded her head. I helped her lie back in the chair a little bit and pulled her blanket up over her bandaged body.
I left her snuggled there with a movie on the laptop beside her. I had two wolves to track down. I left the house and shifted, sensing Tegan and Wyatt off in the woods still, I called to Tegan. I trotted to the edge of the woods where I expected her to come out, and I shifted back to human. A white and black wolf with brilliant blue eyes came up and yipped softly at me. I smiled at my adopted little sister as she shifted to human.
“Thanks for cheering her up,” I nodded toward the house. “She’s really upset about Delilah, whether she’ll admit it or not. You made her laugh.”
“She needed it,” Tegan shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Besides Wyatt’s been a butt lately. He needed to have a little fun, too. Now if only Jarren was that easy the pack might quit being so anxious all the time.” I marveled at her ability to pick out who was causing stress, and how to divert the problems. I would never understand her reason for staying so low in the pack when she was full of potential.
“She was talking about becoming a wolf,” I watched the array of emotions that flitted over Tegan’s face, from happiness to worry. “I don’t think I’m the best judge of her readiness for that. I can’t help but think of how amazing she will be as a wolf, and how perfect she will be as my mate” Tegan’s eyes widened at my admission.
“You plan to ask her to be your mate?” She questioned. “Only if she becomes a wolf, or would ask her to be with you as a human as well?” Tegan always had a way of pushing through and asking the hard questions, or the awkward
ones.
“I knew a long time ago that I love her,” I replied, feeling a thrill running through me at being able to say it out loud to someone. “I haven’t told her yet, but I do. I would love having her by my side as a wolf or as a human. Whichever she chooses.” Tegan’s face broke into a grin, and I couldn’t help returning it.
“I assume you’re telling me all of this for a reason,” Tegan waved her hand in a carry-on motion.
“I was hoping you could talk to her if she wants to talk,” I said. “I don’t mean you have to go in there right now and get all over her about it. I just want her to talk to someone who isn’t biased. She seems ready to stay here while she is healing, so there is plenty of time, like I told her.” Tegan was looking at the house when Wyatt’s howl broke the silence. A grin spread across her face.
“Yeah, if she wants to talk, I’ll talk,” Tegan was practically dancing with impatience. I chuckled at her as I waved her away. She pecked me on the cheek and shifted back to her wolf. Her fur rippled in excitement as she raised her nose to let out her answering howl. With a final yip in my direction she dashed off into the woods.
I turned to head to the site of Aaron’s soon to be home. Wyatt and Tegan’s relationship was moving from harmless flirting onto something more serious. I had already had to assign them the same patrols because they would run with each other regardless. Now, when they didn’t need to be out checking the territory, they were playing.
I wondered how much longer it would take for Wyatt to ask to mate with Tegan. It wasn’t something he had to do, wolves picked their own mate, and love wasn’t something anyone should control. Wyatt would ask out of respect for me as a friend. They were an interesting match. Tegan, usually shy and logical was becoming more outgoing under Wyatt’s influence, and her confidence had risen to extraordinary highs. Wyatt, always an amazing Beta, but inclined to joke around, was working hard at improving the pack in every way he could. They were perfect for each other, and I was happy that their interest in each other was growing.
Falling Hearts (Hearts of Wolves Book 1) Page 12
