“Seriously?” Emory asked.
“He did, and spent half the night screaming,” Berni said, laughing at the memory.
“I was ten and you blocked the door so I couldn’t get out,” Frank protested.
Berni looked at Jacob. “See, you have all this to look forward to. Now, Frank and I are off to chat to those three wolves.”
“Be good, boys,” Frank said, walking out with his brother.
There was silence for a moment. Jacob looked at the tray of goodies at the end of his bed. “Please tell me that’s lemon cake and I can have some.”
“I’d rather you didn’t have any today,” Robbie said, before relenting. “But maybe just a little bit.”
“Really?” he said happily.
“Sure,” Robbie replied, cutting a small piece and putting it on a plate before handing it to Fran to pass to Jacob. “Let’s all havesome,” Robbie suggested, cutting more and handing the plates out.
Everyone sat around the bed and ate the cake.
“I can’t remember the last time I had any cake,” Jacob said.
“Laura, the cook, is amazing,” Ezzy said.
“I’ve just had the best idea,” Finn said, sounding excited and sitting forward. “When we go shopping you should come with us, Jacob.”
“Shopping?” Jacob queried.
“Yeah, I need some more clothes. Most of my new clothes were destroyed by those wolves who came for me. A lot has been replaced, but I could always do with more, and I’m pretty sure you don’t have many clothes with you. We should go and buy more. Me, Ez, and Fran love shopping. Robbie breaks out in hives. What about you, Uncle?”
Emory laughed. “Hives, so many hives.”
“So, we leave the boring doctors here and go have fun,” Fran said.
Jacob looked confused. “You want me to go shopping with you?”
“We do,” Finn said. He gazed at Jacob. “Jacob, you’ve had friends before, you know how friendships work.”
“I’ve only ever had one proper friend, the others all hung around with me because I was an Alpha heir,” Jacob admitted.
“Well, that was one more than me,” Finn said.
“So, we declare you our friend, whatever happens between you and Fran, you are now our friend,” Ezzy announced.
Jacob gave a small smile. “I’m sorry about everything,” he said, looking at them all.
“It’s forgotten,” Finn said, patting his leg.
CHAPTER 17
Fran was watching Jacob and saw him getting paler. “The pain medication has worn off, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Jacob admitted.
“Want some more? Your body needs rest,” Robbie reminded him.
“Please,” he replied, shifting a little and grimacing. “But you don’t have to stay, I know you’re all busy.”
“Well, me and Robbie are, Fran has some time off, and Finn and Ezzy are slackers,” Emory said, grinning.
