As we approached, I studied the rolling hills and the buildings tucked into the valley below. Houses were dotted around a larger structure which Stan said was the meeting place.
It was smaller than I imagined, but I hadn’t grown up in a fox den. And though I was part of a pack, I didn’t live with them and had little experience in communal living.
Stan drove through the gates and pulled up beside a house, no, a cottage. There were pink climbing roses around the entrance, so it was definitely a cottage.
An older woman appeared on the porch, and she raced along the path with her arms outstretched. She had Stan’s auburn hair, though hers was streaked with gray.
“Stan, my darling boy.” They hugged, and she patted his flat belly. “Congratulations.” She turned to me and enveloped me in her arms. “You must be Axel, the famous hockey player.”
I sent Stan a look over Clarissa’s shoulder. Famous I wasn’t, but my mate mouthed, “You are.” I hoped she wasn’t going to call me “Axel, the famous hockey player” whenever she spoke to me.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Clarissa.”
Stan handed his aunt a red velvet cake we’d picked up on the way, as, like me, it was her favorite.
The cottage scented of herbs when we walked in, and Clarissa made tea. After we’d finished our hot drink and my mate and his aunt nibbled slices of cake, Clarissa asked me about my injury. Stan had given her the bare bones, but I detailed how my wolf had been knocked out and had been unable to help me heal. She didn’t interrupt, but when I finished, she asked to examine my wrist.
A tingling sensation spread over my arm and wrist as she placed both hands on me.
“Interesting.”
I didn’t like the sound of that and raised a brow at Stan. But he shrugged.
“Your human side is healing as a human would, slowly. But your wolf is holding on to his trauma.”
“Can you fix him?” How did anyone fix a shifter’s beast’s mind?
“I can help him, not fix. Your wolf experienced something catastrophic.” Clarissa pulled jars from a cupboard. “It’s not often a shifter’s animal is knocked unconscious, and he’s scared about it happening again, but by protecting you, he’s limiting you.”
Are you?
Maybe. Listen to the nice lady.
Clarissa mixed herbs with a mortar and pestle and instructed me to mix a spoonful with hot water and drink it morning and night.
“This will reduce inflammation and dampen your wolf’s fear response.”
Next she gave me a jar of what appeared to be a cream or ointment and told me to rub it on my wrist four times a day.
“And that’s it? My wolf and I will be cured?” I was trying not to get too hopeful, but Clarissa's calm manner and authoritative tone were getting me excited.
“No, you need to spend more time with your beast. Shift more, run in the woods and talk to him.” She glanced at her nephew. “Both of you should shift together.”
We spent a pleasant afternoon, and when we left, Clarissa told me to come and see her if I experienced any problems.
“When I meet your baby, I expect you to be on the ice with a hockey stick in your hand.”
12
STAN
I loved shifting with my mate, and having to do it more often? Yes, please. I just hated that the reason was that my mate’s wolf was struggling so much.
When my aunt explained the trauma his wolf had been through, it made sense. I’d never heard of a shifter having that happen to them and had been scared at the time. But I’d convinced myself that all was fine now in that department. How wrong I’d been.
The entire visit highlighted how very little I knew about shifter medicine and shifter healers. All my training had been with humans, and that was great. That was my job and where my skillsets should be. I sort of knew the basics of shifter health care—shifting helps you heal, viruses don’t manifest the same, that kind of thing. But being with my aunt and seeing how she was able to help my mate in a way I hadn’t so much as considered had me second-guessing some of my life choices.
Maybe I wasn’t meant to be a human nurse. Maybe I was meant to be a healer. I wasn’t sure what all that would entail training wise and if it was a career avenue or more of a calling. Heck, forall I knew it wasn’t a possibility for me as half human. It was something I needed to look into more, but not yet.
