Page 38 of Planet Wolf

So he’d been able to tell? “Did everyone know?”

“I doubt it. Maybe some of the other healers, but I don’t give a shit what they knew. I wanted you out of there immediately, and it should never have been allowed to go on as long as it did.” He wasn’t yelling at me; it was Jadon he admonished.

Jadon kneeled in front of me as the bullet train pressed forward. “I’m sorry. I’m always letting you down. It was supposed to be fast.”

I wasn’t upset. As Carl touched my head, I gave in to the faint. There really wasn’t anything else I could do.

They had a weak mate in a society that wouldn’t tolerate anything but strength. What were we going to do?

I woke up to the sun streaming through the window in a bedroom I’d never been in before. I blinked. I’d fainted on the train, and now I was presumably in my new room. How bad had my entrance been? Did Jadon’s particular pack hate me now, too?

They’d changed me out of my suit into my more comfortable sleeping clothes. Had I slept the rest of the day? The sun was low, making it almost dinner time.

Alfie came through the door. “I heard you wake up. Come on. We’ll try some bland food similar to the pig. Also, I’m running some tests that will help clarify some things.”

Gone was my sex-interested healer mate. In his place, the man who felt responsible for all things Esther-health related had returned. “How bad is it that I fainted?”

“In what way?” He sat on the edge of my bed.

“Did everyone see me have to be carried in?”

He shook his head. “No one. You’ll meet everyone tomorrow or the next day. It’s just us here for now. Come on, see the home we made for ourselves in the hope we’d one day have you to share it with. Just the idea of you. We didn’t know how much we would love you, or we would’ve traveled the universe until we saw your face.”

Alfie didn’t wait for me to get up. Instead, he picked me up in his arms. I loved it. “So romantic of you.”

“I have my moments. Just kick me when I forget to show you that I love you, or if I’m being too Healer all of the time. Or if I snore. Kick me then, too.”

I groaned.This is going to be a thing now.“Can we go outside and sit in the sun? I loved how it felt when I was here.”

“Yes.” He showed me around what was now my new home on the way outside. It was impressive, with more bedrooms than I could ever imagine using, and a huge downstairs. There were two kitchens, and rooms upon rooms that I could use for anything I wanted. Not that I had anything to use the rooms for. Finally, we headed outside. I didn’t see Jadon and Carl, so I figured they probably had actual jobs to do. Yes, that was true, I remembered. Jadon was an engineer and Carl was a lawyer, but Alfie was always a healer, which meant he’d probably have to take care of me day in and day out.

Finally, he set me down outside on a white chair with a view of the valley below. “This is a nice spot. I picked this spot for the furniture, so I get to sit with you here.”

That was sweet. But I again thought of him being stuck there, taking care of me. I tried to explain, saying, “I don’t want you to feel trapped with…”

He kissed me, leaning over to cut off whatever else I was going to say. Once my mind was blurred by his kisses, he explained, “I take care of the pack. You are pack now. You’re more than pack, you’re family. You’re my mate. You are my everything, my entire world. I’m not stuck with you. It would hurt me to leave you. It would cause me so much pain, I couldn’t function. Carl is patrolling the grounds to make sure all is correct here, and Jadon went to get us food. They’re probably in agonizing discomfort to have to be separated from you right now. It is many months until mates can leave each other comfortably. I’m notstuckwith you. I am privileged to sit here.”

I loved that.

12

“This is from the same family as that pig you can eat,” Jadon said as he moved some meat toward me. “Small bites. Tell me what you think.”

I did as he requested. So far, it didn’t turn my stomach. “I think it’s okay.”

He and Alfie nodded. Carl stared out the window. “There’s company coming.”

I looked to see what he meant. My new-to-me kitchen was gorgeous. I could sit in there all day, and I might just have to, since I currently had no other duties to perform beyond eating and sleeping. Oh, and a ton of sex, not that I was complaining. I loved that part, anyway. Carl in the shower as soon as he’d gotten home, Alfie on that bench outside when my energy level had gone up. If we’d been alone, Jadon might have taken me on the counter of the kitchen.

How I had become the luckiest girl on the planet was beyond me, but I was.

“I don’t see anyone. Can you smell it?”

Carl shook his head. “I just know.”

“That’s why he’s so amazing.” Jadon said as he walked toward the door just as I heard the car coming. “See? He’s never wrong.”

I got to my feet. I was dressed for the day but remained barefooted—not exactly prepared to meet anyone. Where were my shoes? I’d put them… I really had no idea.