“In your case, your bear’s depression is situational. Once you solve the situation, the depression will ease.” He stood. “Give it some time. If you’re still worried in a month or so, call me again. I’ll be happy to do another evaluation.”
I sighed, not at all happy with his prognosis. “Thank you for coming by and seeing me,” I said, shaking his hand.
His lips twitched, and I had the sudden, horrible suspicion that he’d somehow gained the empathic ability his wife had. Some mate bonds were like that.
I glared at him, and he patted my shoulder, chuckling as he left.
When he was gone, I collapsed into my chair again with a sigh.
Stressed, I ran my hands through my hair and decided I needed a bubble bath. I hadn’t had one in a while, and I really wanted one.
Later,in the bath, I settled against the waterproof cushion at my back, sighed in relief, and closed my eyes, sinking deep into the water. The overhead lights were off, and instead I’d lit twenty scentless candles. Their flickering illumination danced across my closed eyelids, and the hot water and jets soothed my tired muscles.
Instead of using strongly scented bubble baths and salts, which made my bear sneeze, I’d found a more neutral bath oil that still had helpful things like magnesium, honey, and sea salt.
He’d tried to warn me when I was a small cub that he had allergies, but I’d thought he was joking. It turned out he hadn’t been.
My stomach rumbled, reminding me I was still hungry. The Clan dinner had been cut short, so everyone else was probably still hungry as well. I’d go make something in a bit, after my bath.
My session with Draven had helped, but it hadn’t done much to reassure me that my bear would be fine. I just had to hope that things would work out.
If Piper didn’t choose us…
I didn’t want to think about it, but I had to believe we’d both be okay.
“I’m sorry you’re going through something so hard. She asked us to be patient. We can do that for her.”
Then I remembered what happened at the gym earlier and smiled. “We’re affecting her, at least. That’s a good sign.”
I actually got a rumble from him at that, which made something in my chest ease. At least he was paying attention. He was still there.
I didn’t know what I would ever do if he just disappeared completely. It was rare, but it could happen when a shifter went so deeply inward they had trouble coming back out.
After a good hour in the bath, I got out and dressed in joggers and a tee shirt. I was tired and didn’t want to cook, and hoped there were still leftovers from dinner.
I moved through the Lodge quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone.
In the kitchen, I rummaged through the massive fridges and even checked the deep freezer, but nothing looked good, so I started pulling things out to make burgers. On a hunch, I made several.
Just as I was toasting the buttery buns on a hot griddle, bears started filtering into the kitchen, looking bleary-eyed and exhausted.
I smirked as I plated everything, adding the potato salad Sullivan had made the day before and grabbing several bags of chips. I set it all out on the table in front of Mathan, Alistair, and Matteo.
I eyed my First.
“Should you be out of bed yet?”
He grimaced. “The four walls of my bedroom were closing in, and I needed to get out of my room.” He eyed the plate in front of him and grinned. “Besides, you made me food. I’m starving.”
I chuckled, setting out cups filled with ice and filling up a pitcher with water, then setting it on the table as well. “There’s more burgers being kept warm if any of you want them.”
Mathan and Alistair both nodded at me gratefully as they dug in, and we were all quiet as we plowed through the meal. Starving shifters were no joke. We needed a ton of calories just for maintenance, not even counting the extra calories needed for shifting.
“Is there still cobbler?” Alistair asked, filling his cup with water and downing it in several gulps.
I nodded. “Yeah, no one got to it yet. We can heat some up, we just need to save some for Piper.”
Matteo set his burger down and used his napkin, his movements careful and pained. “Did you know she was in the military?”
