Chapter 0112
Mia’s long wet tongue licks me across the check affectionately and I laugh heartily at the gesture. I stroke her little cars, petting softly, and a soft sigh escapes Mia’s chest.
Suddenly, she starts panting heavily. I grab a dish of water, thinking it might be her body’s thirst from the energy needed to undergo the shift to wolf form, but she refuses to drink.
Her panting turns to soft whines, and I frown.
This isn’t good at all.
I get Mia to lay down on her side, and I stroke along her ribs and belly, soothing her with -my touch. She closes her eyes, and I’m not sure if she’s fallen asleep, or merely doesn’t have the energy to do more.
The sound of howls fills the air, a sign of all the wolves outside surrounding us, racing around the grounds. I can’t help but envy those other wolves a little, but the thought is fleeting. I’m too worried about Mia to spend too much time lamenting my own human
state.
I keep stroking her as I dial the Pack DarkWood hospital, trying to get a hold of Mia’s medical team.
But no one answers.
Of course they don’t. They’ve probably all shifted themselves too.
“I
“Shhh… shhh… sleep, my darling….” I whisper into Mia’s ears, hoping to calm her.
We just need to get through the night.
That’s all.
Just get through the night.
I repeat this to myself like a mantra, over and over again as the hours tick on and the wolf howls continue on outside.
By 4am, nearly the end of the night, Mia shows no signs of shifting back to human form. My worries grow with each hour that passes.
When Ethan, in his normal black–haired human form, walks through the door to the cottage, I know that I need to take Mia to the hospital.
He’s so young, far from the age where he can shift, which is also why Alaric didn’t recognize him as his son when they met. But today, I entrusted him to Aidan and Ryan…
“It was so awesome, Mommy! You should’ve seen it! I ran so fast, but I still couldn’t catch up with the wolf forms of Uncle Ryan and Aidan! I chased so many squirrels and
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* Chapter C
+25 BONUS
chipmunks-” Ethan chatters away at a rapid pace, so excited he barely pauses between
words.
“That’s so wonderful, Ethan! I’m glad you had fun, but I need you to go back to Uncle Ryan’s, please. I’m so sorry, but I have to take Mia to the hospital,” I tell him, sadness apparent in my tone.
I want to keep discussing the night with him. I desperately want to hear all about his wolven adventures, but one look at Mia’s whimpering wolf form and I know that this is an
emergency.
My daughter needs medical attention at once..
“It’s okay, Mommy. We can talk later. But…” Ethan suddenly looks very worried. He looks up at me with his green eyes, the spitting image of my own.
“What is it?” I ask him.
“Well… won’t you see that man again? Alaric? Won’t that trouble you?” Ethan says.
I stare at my son, once again shocked by his perceptiveness and intelligence. He knows Alaric’s name. And somehow he also knows that seeing Alaric can be a difficult experience
for me.
I kiss him on the top of his head and smile at him reassuringly. “He might be there, yes. But it doesn’t trouble me at all, darling. He means nothing to me.”
Ethan squints his eyes at me, like he’s trying to decide if I’m telling the truth. Like he’s trying to read me.
Suddenly a loud whimper erupts from Mia and know I’ve run out of time.
I’ve got to get her to the hospital immediately!
