Silas had no idea what that meant, but he nodded anyway.
“First, let’s check out your injuries,” Doctor Anthony encouraged kindly.As he spoke, he took the small backpack that Solomon had been wearing.
Not seeing the point of arguing, Silas slowly nodded once more.
Chapter Four
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ONCE ANTHONY WAS FINISHEDchecking out the knot on Silas’s head and proclaimed him free of a concussion, he offered him a couple of painkillers.After Silas told them that painkillers had never really helped him much, Solomon explained how they were of a special design.They’d been created by a wolf shifter pack’s doctors specifically for shifter kind.
Silas had taken them with another softly spoken, “Oh,” which seemed to be his go-to word when he didn’t know how he was supposed to respond.
Craeg realized it was a pretty good indicator of when Silas needed something explained further...or time to process.
With that in mind, they all began taking turns explaining different aspects of shifters, mates, the paranormal world, their need for anonymity, and how their pod worked—led by Alpha Kaiser Roush and his brother William as the beta.To Craeg’s pleasure, through it all, Silas never tried to leave his lap.The more they talked, the more Craeg could see Silas’s brown eyes begin to glaze over, clearly from information overload.
“Okay, guys.That’s enough for now,” Craeg interrupted Anthony’s explanation of the Shifter Council and their role in the paranormal world.“I’m pretty sure Silas needs time to digest what we’ve already told him.”
Solomon winced, his expression turning commiserating.“Yeah, it’s a lot, buddy.”He patted Silas on the shoulder.“Don’t worry.You’ll get it, though.”
Silas nibbled his bottom lip as he nodded slowly.
Speaking of digesting, Craeg heard the low, unmistakable sound of a stomach grumbling—Silas’s stomach.“Hungry, sweets?”he asked unnecessarily.
His mate answered anyway, perhaps happy to latch onto a subject change.“Yeah,” he whispered, peering at him with a sideways look.His cheeks had begun to darken, betraying his embarrassment.Silas seemed to need to explain, for he continued, “The sun is beginning to set.My bat can feel it.”After glancing at him again, he added, “The colony will be waking to head out to start feeding now.”
While rubbing his lips against his mate’s temple—Craeg liked the way it made the small man’s heart kick up a notch—he offered, “How about we meet outside this cave, huh?I’ll take ya somewhere to get cleaned up, and we can have a meal.”When he sensed Silas’s hesitation, he racked his brain for a way to sweeten the deal and came up with, “Ya said you’d been livin’ as a bat for six years.”With a smile, Craeg waggled his eyebrows.“Any favorite foods ya been missin’, my sweets?”
Silas opened his mouth, perhaps to answer, but he hesitated.His attention roved over the cavern’s far wall as if he was searching for...something.Then Silas’s cheeks darkened some more as he nibbled his bottom lip.
Craeg grinned, knowing something had popped into his young mate’s head.“Anythin’,” he crooned.Taking a stab at guessing, he offered, “Fried chicken and mashed potatoes?Steak and French fries?”Craeg heard Silas’s stomach growl again, and he figured he was getting to him.He quickly thought about what a teenager might think of, considering he probably hadn’t had much human food since then.“Pizza?”Hearing Silas’s quick inhale, Craeg guessed he was on the right track.“Pepperoni pizza with sausage and extra cheese, maybe mushrooms?”
“N-No mushrooms,” Silas murmured, sounding breathy with anticipation, and Craeg wondered if he could make his mate sound like that before sex.“Chicken.With onions.”
“Oh, yum,” Craeg replied before making an appreciative humming noise of his own.“Three-meat with onions.”
While Craeg had never had that combo before, there wasn’t much he didn’t enjoy on a pizza.If Silas wanted a pepperoni, sausage, and chicken pizza with onions and extra cheese, that was what his little mate would get.Craeg knew their pod’s chefs could whip up anything.
After bussing another kiss to Silas’s cheek, Craeg rubbed his beard hairs over him as he rumbled, “So, I’ll see ya outside, Silas?”He hesitated, then offered, “Or would ya like to swim with my whale?”
“I-I don’t know how to swim.”
If Craeg hadn’t been a shifter, there was no way he would have heard Silas’s whispered admission.
Huh.My mate can’t swim?
That’s okay.
Just as swiftly, Craeg spoke the thought out loud.“That’s okay, Silas.”He grinned as he told him, “I’ll teach ya.”
Silas stared at him, his brown eyes wide.Still, he started to nod.
Craeg couldn’t help taking that and running with it.“Would ya like to hold onto my dorsal fin?”He knew he was probably pushing, but he couldn’t think of anything better than swimming with his mate while in his animal form.“All ya have to do is hold your breath when I swim through the tunnel.”
When Silas winced and looked away, Craeg knew he’d pushed too hard.As much as he wished his mate would trust him to keep him safe, they weren’t there, yet.Theyhadjust met, after all, and just because Silas was a shifter, he was still learning to understand his nature.
“It’s okay, Silas, my sweets.”Craeg squeezed his upper arm before rubbing it soothingly.“I’ll meet ya outside.Okay?We’ll walk the beach together.”
