“What does that have to do with?—”
“When was the last time you went anywhere that wasn’t this God-forsaken infirmary?” That grin was back, and so were the shivers. I ignored them again, moving my nap to the top of my list as soon as he left.
“That’s none of your business?—”
“Better yet, when was the last time you had a day off?”
“Now you sound like Mill,” I said, more bite in my tone than I intended. My brother was always telling me to take a vacation, to let the nurses handle it, to call in another healer from another pack if only for a few days. I never did. I wasn’t weak. I could handle it. I could handle anything.
“You should listen to him,” he said with a sigh. “I see you, Wyn. And I think you could use a little fun for a change.”
Now scalding with this unknown exhaustion and the embarrassing rush of having been scolded by the pack’s playboy, I turned to defensiveness. “I have fun. Just because it doesn’t look like your idea of fun?—”
“Slowly rotting away in this office isn’t anyone’s idea of fun.”
I thinned my lips and slowly nodded, admitting perhaps he had a point. It had been months since I’d been with anyone intimately, and years since I’d had a date. But who would want this life? I worked sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, and I was more likely to come home covered in blood and shit than to be an attentive, present partner.
“Come to the Yule party,” he said, his voice dropping to a lower, demanding tone. My wolf sat up at attention, hackles mildly raised at the order but hesitantly intrigued by my willingness to comply. “Let me show you how to have a good time, and when it’s all over, you can come back to your patients.”
“I’ll consider it,” I said.
He shook his head and let out a low, sad laugh. “I guess I’ll have to take that.”
Our eyes met, and something else passed between us, something charged with electricity and unspoken truths. His wolf prowled to the surface, gleaming out of his icy eyes with hunger and an invitation to dance. I let my wolf answer with hesitation and snarling protection. Even if I happened to accept his invite, I highly doubted his idea of a “good time” would match mine. He would expect me to go back to his room with him. I would expect a cordial hug and a respectful goodnight.
“Fen,” I finally said.
“Wyn.”
“Get out. I have patients to tend to.”
He pushed to his feet and strode to the door, and I watched the predatory sway of his hips as he went. He was powerful and capable, certainly one of the pack’s highest-ranking members. He could take down vampires and wrangle cattle. He would batter through any threat that came our way. It was one of the reasons I’d tolerated him thus far.
But maybe he was right. I could use a night away from all of this. Perhaps having a chance to be around pack, around family, would be good for me.
His scent lingered in the air, tasting like warm apple pie as I inhaled, and another wave of chills racked through my body.
Shaking it off, I refocused on the medical chart and flipped to the next page, memorizing any details I’d need to help Justina have a successful birth.
“He’s right, you know,” came another voice from the doorway.
I glanced up to see Briggs, a highly talented nurse, standing with their arms crossed. They’d been working in the infirmary longer than I’d been the healer and could often diagnose people before I’d even had a chance to put my hands on them.
“Not you, too,” I sighed.
“Yes, me too,” they said, raising their eyebrows like a disapproving parent. “You should go to the party. Get out of here for a while.”
“And who’s going to make sure Justina?—”
“This is Justina’s fourth set of cubs,” they said. “She could practically do it on her own if it weren’t for her overprotective mate forcing her in here. I’m surprised she didn’t bite his head off when he tried to help her take a drink of water.”
I laughed. That much was true.
“You haven’t been to the Yule celebration in years,” they said. “You deserve the break.”
“But what about?—”
“I’ve got it,” Briggs said. “And Kelly and Mike are here. We can hold down the fort for a few hours.”
