Okay so not more private, she thought. Goodtoknow.
His voice softened as he continued. “And the fact that she would willingly touch me, when she doesn’t even know me,humblesme.”
She could feel his eyes on her, and Heather had never wanted to see more than in that moment. After several minutes, she gave a nod and released his hand, which she really wanted to snatch back up again but decided against looking like an obsessivegirlfriend.
She turned and walked back to Stella who guided her back intoherseat.
Lucian began introducing the males one at a time, but it wasn’t until the he’d introduced all the unmated males that he introduced Kale, Ciro,andNick.
“Hello again,” Kara said, her voice wavered just a little, but Heather couldn’t figure out what her younger friend wasfeeling.
“I would like to declare that Stella James is my true mate. And unless she refuses me, I expect others to treat her as a mated female. How long will this punishment last, Lucian?” Ciro, the one who’d been introduced as the Italian pack Alpha, asked. He reminded Heather of Lucian. He had the calm demeanor that came from experience, and she imagined it took a lot to upset him. But she could also hear the strength in his voice. There was a reason he was an Alpha, and his calm demeanor should never be mistaken for being a pushoverorlazy.
“Seeing as how it has only just begun,” Lucian said in an equally calm voice, “it will last afortnight.”
Moregrowling.
“Mercy alive, where is Jewel when I need her,” Heather muttered. “Lucian, I understand that Sally has declared you to be older than dirt, so I’ll forgive the whole fortnight reference. Could you do me a solid and speak in modern-day Englishplease.”
“Two weeks,” Luciananswered.
Heather inwardly groaned. She wasn’t about to say it out loud, but she wanted Kale to just talk. His voice was deep, his accent made her insides all squishy, whatever the hell that meant, and quite simply, he soothed her. But if the stupid spell was going to last two weeks, she’d only get to hear him speak when he talked to anyone but her or the other healers. That.Sucked.
“I don’t know about you two, but I need a shower,” Kara said as shestoodup.
“Yep,” Stella said, popping the ‘p’. “I definitely need to cool off.” She sucked in a breath and then hurried on. “I mean clean off. I need tocleanoff.”
Heather couldn’t help it. She threw her head back and laughed. “I’m pretty sure we all heard you say cool off, as in you’re hot andbothered.”
“Heather.” Stellagrowled.
“Would it happen to be the yummy, Italian accent getting you all dirtyminded?”
“Holy hell, Kara, put some duct tape over her mouth,” Stella huffed as she grabbed Heather’s arm and practically dragged her up thestairs.
“I’m sure Ciro would be more than happy to help cool you down and then clean you up.” She should shut up, she really should, but Stella was straight cursing a blind streak, which only made Heather laughharder.
“Your mate has a wicked tongue,” she heard Ciro say, not attempting to keep her from hearing. But it was Kale’s words that had her blood warming in herveins.
“Aye, that she does. And she can use it on me any time shelikes.”
Shut. Up. Heather inwardly groaned. Hot accent and a sense of humor. Tell her where to sink her teeth and she would gladlychompdown.
* * *
Kale was a goner.She was nothing he expected. Her hair was long and blonde, she had big brown eyes, and her skin was coated in a healthy glow from the sun. If she was over five feet tall, he’d be shocked. She was small, but curvy in all the right places. Her aura was bright and pulsed with life. It stole his breath. Yes, she was blind. He remembered Peri talking about the healers when they’d first arrived, and she had mentioned that one of them was without sight. He hadn’t expected it to his mate, but he didn’t give a leprechaun’s arse about that. It made his wolf want to protect her even more and snarl at anyone who would get close to her. She was vulnerable, and he knew that was going to make his drive to protect her even stronger. It wasn’t her blindness that had caught his attention. It was her bravery, her sharp tongue, and her sense of humor. To top it off, she wasbeautiful.
“You okay?” Bannon, the third in their pack,asked.
“My mate was less than a foot from me, and I couldn’t touch her or talk to her. So, no, I’m bloodynotokay.”
Bannon shook his head. “That shite is justcruel.”
Kale shrugged. “We disobeyed orders. There are consequences. At least I can see her and be near her. That’s more acceptable than her being in a completely differentrealm.”
He was sitting in the hall upstairs ten feet from the door where the girls had disappeared. He would have felt like a pathetic pup if Ciro and Nick hadn’t followed him up and took up their own vigil along the hall. When the three healers came out, they were probably going to either laugh their arses off or snapatthem.
To his surprise, and by the looks on their faces, the surprise of the other two, all three girls came out of the room carrying towels and little bags containing various bottles of fragrant liquids. They stopped and Heather bumped intoStella.
