“Do you think you did something wrong?” she whispered.
He pushed back the perpetual stray curl. “I almost did. He’d have died without you there.”
“He’d have died without you too.”
Aaron shook his head. “All he needed to do was unleash his wolf. That’s all he really needed the whole time.”
“And as we both saw, he fought what he needed until it nearly killed him. Had you not triaged the wounds and slowed the bleeding—which let’s be very clear, I couldnothave done—he would’ve been gone before his wolf had a chance to heal him.”
“And then I almost killed him, keeping the pack out.”
“I wouldn’t have known to let them in either. I wouldn’t have known any of it except that Malachi told me. Last night was not his time to leave his pack, and that’s why you and I werebothwith him. We saved his lifetogether. Please listen to me, let go of whatever this is, and know you did exactly what Malachi needed, just like I did. Your fast, smart work and my understanding of my mate are why our alpha is alive right now.”
Twin tears fell down Aaron’s cheeks. He nodded, ducking his head again.
“He told me you care deeply, and I can see that. He also told me you’re skilled at your job. Malachi trusts you as medic for this pack.”
Another nod. He looked toward the open door a few yards away. “I love that wolf, April. He’s the brother I never had. I was a wreck when I came to the pack at fifteen, and he looked out for me until I wasn’t so messed up.”
Oh…it was Aaron. The pup for whom young, conscientious Malachi had worried and sacrificed sleep.
His brow furrowed, then smoothed with comprehension. “You already knew that.”
“I didn’t know it was you,” she hastened. “I—when I first came here, I woke him up with my nightmares. He told me they would fade in time, and I…I asked him how he could be sure. So he told me about a pup he’d met here when he was just sixteen himself. A pup whose nightmares got better. He didn’t tell me what you dreamed about, Aaron.”
“No, he wouldn’t tell that part.” Slowly the tense line of his mouth eased. “And if it helped you, then I’m glad he told you.”
When Aaron turned to go back to the group, something within April tugged her back toward the bedroom. “I’ll join you in a minute.”
Aaron’s smile was knowing. He nodded and headed for the living room.
She padded to Malachi’s bed and stood silently. He didn’t stir. April sank down in the desk chair and watched his chest rise and fall, the motion steady and easy now as she’d believed it never would be again. His lips were barely parted. The lines of concern, duty, and pain had smoothed from his forehead. His sleep was peaceful, his physical presence not diminished but gentler. April hoped he would wake stronger, for his own sake. The extreme frustration at his current weakness was understandable, given his usual physical power. But it seemed deeper than that.
She wondered if he needed to talk about it, if she could help. Her heart filled with the sweet warm affection for him that was different yet part of the other feelings she had for Malachi—respect for his integrity, safety within his protection, enjoyment of his company, physical attraction. So many feelings for Malachi. For her wolf.
Icando it. I can be the mate of an alpha…of the strongest alpha.
What she’d told Aaron rang even truer in her own heart now as she rethought it. Fate had brought her here, to her true mate and true pack. It had brought a cost of pain to Malachi, and she would always hate that. If she could change places, bear the hurt herself and spare him, she would—though he would protest with a roar.
But he had survived. He would be strong again, as strong as ever, in part because of her. She could leave this room, and he would continue breathing. Then, in a few hours (she hoped at least a few hours), he would wake up and growl at having slept so long. April looked forward to it.
She got up and went to rejoin the pack.
Patrick, Cassius, and Rhett were missing from the group, still on patrol. April’s gut said Drew wouldn’t return. Not today, not with two of his number killed.
Everyone else had gathered in Rhett’s spacious living room. Adults chose from abundant seating options. When chairs and couches were filled, people had tugged over a pair of bench ottomans. Others tossed back-supporting pillows onto the floor and sat against the walls. No one was without some form of seating or support, almost as if Rhett had literally counted the number of options provided. April found a seat on a bench in a far corner, next to Willow. The wolves, even Ezra, were keeping their distance from Willow as long as her hands smelled of bleach.
“How’s Mal?” Willow said.
“Sleeping.”
“Oh, good.”
“By the way, thanks for taking on the worst job, bleaching the floor.”
Willow shrugged. “I’m the newest member of the pack.”
This much April knew. Ezra and Willow had been bonded for about three months. “So, what, it was your dues?”
