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What happened to them?He was going to need to pee soon.

They went away. They just disappeared. Like poof.

That set him back on his heels. Is there some sort of portal here? Am I in danger of…poofing?He’d seen too many magical things to doubt Rory’s story, and his new…friend sounded sad that his dragons were gone.

No. All the wolves are fine. And me too. The dragons are the ones that left. That’s it.

Hmm.He took a deep breath, testing the wound to see how bad it hurt now that he was awake. Okay. Whoa.

“Hey. Hey, easy. No hurting you, okay? That’s not cool.” Those warm hands eased him back down.

His tail thumped, because Rory’s voice and touch made him happy. Calmed him.

“That’s right, sweet wolf. That’s so much better. Just relax.”

He went as boneless as he could, trying to let the herbs the healer had given him before do their job. He just needed to rest, and he would heal so much faster.

“How’s he doing?” someone asked, and Rory kept petting.

“He’s hurting, but he woke up and drank. That’s good, right?”

“That’s very good. Can you still hear him?”

“I can. He’s amazing. I’m very fond.”

“That’s wonderful, Rory!” Whoever Rory was talking to was a little…not condescending. Maybe more motherly.

She’s nice. She’s one of the healers.

Okay. You deserve respect, Rory.

She’s an elder to me. Very kind. Remember, I’m a guest here. I’m human, not a wolf. I just wanted to be with the pack.

Not a wolf? Huh. That was—well.He wasn’t going to disabuse Rory of his notion.

I’m sorry. I wish I was something…special.

You are. So stop that right now.The urge to shift so he could talk to Rory as a man was huge, but his body simply refused.

All right. I mean, we’re talking together, aren’t we? That’s special.He could totally live with that.

It is. You hear me. And it had been so long since his whole family had—Goddess. He needed to cut that right off.

I do. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.

Thank you.Rory was too good to be true, but he was going to try very hard to hang onto him. Fen knew that already.

Fen understood how important having a mate was. He knew it, bone-deep. His parents had been so happy, and so had his brother and Hailey…

Fen? Fen, are you all right?The soft petting happened again.

I am. Sorry. Sorry, I was hurting a moment.That was the truth, even if he wasn’t talking about the physical pain.

I’m sorry. That sucks. How can I help? Can I help?

Just stay here with me. I’ll be asleep again soon. More water?He was so thirsty.

Of course. There’s plenty. Rory offered him another drink. So gentle with him.