Page 13 of Fated to the Wolf Prince
“Okay, when you’re ready, we’ll get out of here for a few. But we won’t touch you, okay?”
She nodded again and pushed unsteadily to her feet. She wouldn’t unclasp her hands, even to brace herself on the table. She walked woodenly between us as we exited the barn and made a beeline for the waiting refreshment tables, and my heart ached for her.
She hadn’t shared what had happened to her to end up in foster care, but as a wolf, it was incredibly rare. All we knew was that when she’d joined our pack, she was a scared, silent teen who would cower if any man approached her and could barely handle human contact, even from the pack’s females. I suspected abuse or human trafficking, but I didn’t know, and she’d never volunteered the information, even as we grew closer and she came to trust us over the years.
When illness took my mother a year after Shay joined the pack, she had been firmly by my side, silently supportive, and we’d been best friends ever since. Even Leigh, who couldn’t be more opposite with her need to talk a mile a minute and love of flirting with the unmated males, would defend her tooth and nail. We were bonded, and there was no two ways about it.
The whole situation made me feel like the worst friend. I had been so wrapped up in my weird situation-ship with Kane that I hadn’t begun to think about how Shay would handle all the forced time with so many men.
The shell of my best friend standing in front of me, though, pushed everything else out of my mind.
I tapped Leigh on the back of the arm while we waited in line for lemonades. She looked over Shay’s head at me, so I leaned in to speak quietly.
“I’m going to ask Gracelyn if we can switch around and stay together for the next few rounds. It might not help, but… I don’t want to leave her alone like this.”
“Good idea. We’ll meet you back there with drinks before the next whistle.”
“Thanks.” I squeezed the back of her arm, then jog-walked back to the barn we’d just exited. So focused was I on Shay’s predicament, the warning growl of Gracelyn’s mate didn’t sink in until he stepped in front of me, eyes low and threatening.
“Oh! Hi, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” I held up both hands in my best calming gesture. “I was just hoping to speak with Gracelyn for a moment—my friend, she… she isn’t doing so well, and I was hoping we could shift the seating for the next round…” The growl didn’t stop or ease up, so I changed tacks. “Also, I noticed that Gracelyn’s ankles were a bit puffy and wanted to make sure she was aware of ginger compresses, which can really alleviate swelling and make her more comfortable at the end of the pregnancy.”
The growls ceased immediately, and he spun to face Gracelyn, pulling me forward by the sleeve.
“Hi!” she said brightly, leaning forward awkwardly in her recliner. I noticed on closer inspection that the dirt was disturbed underneath, as if it had puffed out when someone plopped it down here, possibly with her already in it.
“Hi, Gracelyn. I just wanted to ask—” Her mate growled. “I, uh, just wanted to tell youfirstabout ginger, which can do really great things for swelling. It’s pregnancy safe and offers a boost to the lymphatic system. Also, my friend isn’t doing so well with this activity, and I wanted to make sure if it was okay if we all stayed together for the rest of the rounds?” I spewed the words so fast, she looked confused, then accusingly at her mate.
“Adam, take a walk.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Adam,take a walk.” The steel in her spine was impressive, staring down a physically imposing, dominant wolf from her seated position. He wasn’t alpha, but he was at least gamma, and I could feel the annoyance rolling off him strongly enough that I wanted to take a step back.
He narrowed his eyes at her, but reluctantly gestured over two female volunteers who were waiting in the wings. When he stepped away, he was rubbing his palm over the back of his hair in frustration.
She fixed a smile on me, waving an apologetic hand after her mate. “Sorry about that. He’s overprotective, with the baby and all, but it’s gotten worse since I’ve had to be on bed rest. I made them carry me out here, because I didn’t want to miss all the fun.” She hugged her clipboard to her chest, then glanced me up and down. “But, I know you didn’t come over here to hear about my woes! What can I do for you—seat change?”
I frowned, trying to process her light-speed information sharing. She and Leigh really would get along. “Who put you on bed rest? That’s quite unusual for a wolf to need it, though I can see you have the swelling. Do you mind? I’ve been studying medicine for quite a while, and I’m our pack’s healer back in Texas.”
She waved for me to do as I wanted. “You’re unmated and already the healer? That’s impressive. Usually the healer has to be mated. How’d you swing that?”
I shrugged a shoulder blithely as I felt along her ankle. “Small pack, so not many options when Dee and Zeke were ready to retire.” Definitely puffy, and the indents weren’t filling in nearly as quickly as I’d have liked. “I am happy to speak to your healer, but I’d like to see you on a regimen of ginger and red raspberry leaf starting immediately, and I think light walking starting tomorrow would be good for you. When are you due?”
“A month, give or take.” She wobbled one hand, resting the other gently over her swollen belly. “And after we’re done, I can introduce you to Doc. He’s crotchety, but he’s got every kind of thing in the infirmary.”
Doc sounded like the perfect person to start with, and explain my research to. Win-win. “Excellent. I’ll come back after the event. Speaking of which—”
“You and your friend can stay together. I noticed she was struggling, and it’s no problem. We want this to go well for everyone.” Her warm smile was genuine and pulled out a matching one from me.
“Thank you, Gracelyn, I appreciate it.”
“Of course. You better get a move on, though. Ninety seconds!” She gave three short blasts on the whistle, warning everyone to take their places, so I hustled over to Shay and Leigh.
We had a long day ahead of us still.
NINE
Kane