“What’s up?” I asked.
Jade crossed his arms and spoke curtly. “I arranged for Kaskian to depart the island after he assaulted Rorik in the nurse’s office, but I found out later that he missed his flight. I suspect he did that on purpose. He must’ve hidden in the forest and waited for a second chance to strike. All because of a ridiculous grudge.” He scoffed, then cast a gentler look at Rorik. “I sincerely apologize for my oversight. Are you all right?”
Rorik nodded slowly. “Yeah. Thank you.”
My heart skipped a beat. It felt so fucking good to finally witness a nice interaction between my mate and my family.
“But I’m worried about Poppy,” Rorik said, brow furrowed in concern. “Let me check on him.”
His worry was mutual. I’d noticed the wolf lying flat against the hilltop when I arrived, but I was too busy dealing with Kaskian to check on him. Unfurling from Rorik, I let him go and followed close behind.
Rorik skidded to a halt near the wolf. “Poppy?”
Poppy didn’t react. He trembled, staring straight ahead at nothing.
I frowned. Something about his current state reminded me of Viol’s weird reaction back in the medical room when I’d mentioned Rorik was a polar bear.
“Poppy,” Rorik called again, louder.
The wolf jolted. He scrambled to his feet. The flat, listless way his fur fell against his frame made him look smaller than normal.
“Are you okay?” Poppy asked.
Rorik grunted. “I’m fine. Areyouokay?”
A noticeable beat passed. “Yes,” Poppy murmured. “Don’t worry about me.”
I cast a sidelong glance at Jade, who’d quietly come up behind us. He gave a subtle nod. He’d look into it.
“E-everyone can stop staring at me now,” Poppy said, sounding more like himself. He stood up, then nudged something out of the dirt with his paw. “Here, Rorik.”
Rorik gasped. He leaned down to sniff it, then picked it up. “Thank you, my friend.”
Poppy’s tail wagged loosely.
“I believe this belongs to you,” Rorik remarked. When he turned around, I saw my earring dangling delicately from his teeth.
I snorted in amusement as I took it back from him. “Whose bright idea was it toburyjewelry that goes in your skin?” I blew off the debris, then clasped it in my paw for later. That wasn’t touching my ear without a freaking deep clean.
Rorik opened his mouth to respond, then stopped as if zapped by lightning. A sheepish expression came over his face. “Um…”
“What is it?”
Rorik winced. “I… might’ve swallowed Aurum’s earring by accident.”
“You—what?”
His voice was thin with embarrassment. “I was holding it between my teeth when I stumbled into Poppy and Kaskian. Everything blew up and I lost track of it.”
I bit my lip hard, but it wasn’t enough to stifle the laugh that blurted out of me. I cackled for thirty seconds straight.
“You’re laughing,” Rorik said flatly. “I swallowed your twin’s earring and you’re laughing.”
I wiped a tear from my eye. “C’mon, it’s funny.”
Rorik was still in bear form, but I could tell he was blushing hard. “I’m a total disaster,” he mumbled. “You should’ve picked a different omega to fall in love with.”
I grinned. Oh, how I enjoyed hearing him admit that I loved him.
