Page 25 of Briggs (Paranormal Council Enforcers #16)

Briggs

N othing could have prepared me for the week I’d just had.

The night after Todd and I claimed each other, we’d spent curled up in my bed.

We’d made out, had an amazing frotting session because there were more ways to find pleasure than just sex, and then fallen asleep.

The next morning after breakfast, we’d gone for another run on the mountain, but it had been cut short because Todd wasn’t feeling well.

When we’d shifted back into our human sides, we both quickly understood why: his heat was starting.

I’d been around enough omegas to know that heats varied from person to person, both in intensity and length.

But I absolutely wasn’t expecting Todd’s to last six very long days.

Not only that, but it was incredibly intense, and we had very little downtime in between rounds.

When he finally fell asleep yesterday afternoon, I had been incredibly relieved for both of us.

For him because it meant he would finally have relief and could rest. For me because I was running out of energy to take care of him.

I was grateful that it had become obvious to someone, most likely Master Edison, what was happening because there were new sport drinks, protein bars, and fruit cups that were easy to feed to my mate while we were in a small window of downtime.

I managed to get us both mostly cleaned up before I passed out next to my mate.

I slept for over twelve hours, and although I would normally be concerned about Todd still being asleep, I wasn’t.

His heat had been hard on his body and mind, and now it was time for his cheetah to take over and make sure they both got what was needed.

I was up, showered, dressed, and had eaten a massive steak, half a chicken, a loaded baked potato, and salad.

An entire pot of coffee was consumed, as well as about a gallon of water.

I felt better, but even after all of that, I knew it was probably going to take a day or two before I felt like my old self again.

I had a mate, a claimed mate, and although I was excited about that, I had to wonder what the future looked like for us.

Todd had been rescued from southern Mexico.

He and a few others had been found in a compound much like the one the hellhounds and warlocks had located in South America.

How many more were out there? How many would we miss and never find?

How did I help Todd overcome the demons that still plagued him?

I didn’t know. What I did know was I needed to schedule several meetings, but one of the most important was probably with Dr. Swift.

I wouldn’t ask to be told anything that had happened with Todd, but because he had treated my mate since he arrived here, he was probably the best choice to give me answers about how to best support my mate going forward.

I wanted to be there for him, to give him what he needed. But I wasn’t quite sure how to do that.

I picked up my glass of water and went to the office.

There were several things I needed to take care of, and calling the doctor was only the first. After I was situated in my chair, I scrolled on my phone to the number for Dr. Swift’s office.

I’d seen Dr. Bennett several times, and I would see whoever I needed about this, but I knew Todd had been seeing Dr. Swift since he’d arrived.

“Dr. Bennett’s office. Henry speaking. How can I help you?”

I smiled. I liked Henry. He added so much to the once overly serious office. Well, and the fact that Dr. Bennett had mated with Dr. Braun. Garin had done a lot to help Dr. Bennett be not so serious.

“Hello?”

“Sorry, Henry. I’m here.” I sighed. “It’s Briggs. I think I need to come in and talk to someone. Maybe Dr. Swift?”

“Hi, Briggs. We’ve been expecting you to call, actually. Dr. Swift is still away. He and his mate have decided to extend his vacation for a few more days. Do you want to wait, or do you think Garin might be helpful? He’s seen Todd several times, actually.”

I hadn’t realized that. “I’ll see whoever. I need some advice about how to best support Todd in his recovery.”

“Is Todd having issues? Do we need to get him back in for an appointment?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. The last thing I wanted was to mess things up with my mate.

But maybe I just did that. “Todd and I are mated now. And he’s had a heat,” I said.

“I know he still worries about certain things, and he is trying to get better so he can bring his brother and sister here with us.”

“Ah. I understand now,” Henry said. “Well, depending on how quickly you wanted to get in, I can have you see Dr. Bennett this afternoon late, Dr. Brauer is available later in the week, Dr. Braun is available next week, and Dr. Swift…” Henry paused for a moment. “He has openings the week after next.”

Without a thought, I decided that was probably the best time and person to see.

“Can you put me in with Dr. Swift? And there’s a very real possibility that I’ll bring Todd with me.

I don’t want to keep this from him, but I also don’t want to invade my mate’s privacy and just go snooping through his memories.

I know a lot of them are difficult for him. ”

“Understood. I have you down for the ninth of September at two. Is there anything else you need? Do you feel that we should reach out to Todd? Is he there with you?” Henry asked. “You mentioned that you were mated now.”

“We are. He’s sleeping. His heat ended yesterday, and he’s still recovering. I can have him call the office once he’s awake and recovered.”

“Fates alive. Why didn’t you say so?”

I blinked a few times. Hadn’t I said that we were mated and he’d had a heat? I was certain I had. “I thought I mentioned that to you?” I said.

“Yes, but you didn’t say his heat just ended.” Henry sighed. “What are you doing calling us? You should be with your mate.”

I smiled. “He’s not far,” I told him. “I slept around twelve hours, and now that I’m awake, I’m taking care of some things. Todd is still very much asleep though. I needed to get up and take care of myself so I can do the same for Todd once he wakes.”

I heard Henry mumbling, but even with my advanced hearing, I couldn’t make out what he was saying. “Very well,” he said finally. “I have you down for September ninth. I’ll also leave a note for Dr. Swift to reach out to Todd once he returns.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Henry.”

“You’re welcome. And congratulations, Briggs. Please take good care of Todd. He’s such a sweetheart.”

“He is. I intend on doing everything I can for him. I’m very much looking forward to spoiling him as much as he’ll allow.”

“Good. He deserves that. See you soon.”

The call ended, and I set my phone down on the desk to rub my forehead.

Was I not supposed to be here where I was?

Was it a requirement for the alphas to stay with the omegas until they were both awake?

Todd and I had our bond, something I was grateful for, and I could tell he was still very much asleep.

Before I forgot, I put the appointment in my phone and set two reminders.

I needed to make sure I didn’t miss it because it was important that I knew how to best support my mate.

He was my future, my everything already, and if he was struggling, my wolf and I both wanted to do what we could to help him through things.

My next call was going to be to Master Edison.

I assumed it was him who had left all of the food and drinks for the past week, and a time or two, I’d woken up to fresh sheets on the bed.

If I didn’t work with dozens with magical abilities, I would have been a bit freaked out about that one.

But with a mountaintop full of warlocks, hellhounds, and fae, it didn’t take much to figure out how the sheets were refreshed while we slept between rounds of amped-up, heat-fueled need from my mate.

I owed him, or whoever had helped, a huge thank-you.

It was the middle of the week, which meant Master Edison should be at the council working.

“Should” being the most important word there.

He was the created warlock, after all, and he tended to pop from place to place as needed.

Taking a chance, I found his name in my phone and touched it.

I honestly shouldn’t have been surprised when he picked up on the second ring.

“Hello, Briggs. Or perhaps this is Todd?”

“Hello, Master Edison,” I said.

“Briggs, then. Congratulations on how things have moved with you and your mate. What can I do for you? Is everything all right?”

I smiled. He truly did care for all of us, even if we weren’t from his line or original eight. “Thank you, sir. I’m doing about as well as can be expected when coming off a six-day-long heat with my mate. I did want to thank you for the food and clean sheets. At least, I believe it was you.”

He chuckled. “It was. I apologize that I didn’t catch on sooner and help out in the beginning. I should have made sure to check in after our talk last week.”

“I appreciate all of the help as is. You did more than I would ever expect from others, let alone someone as busy as you are.”

“That is how family is supposed to be, Briggs. We look after our own.” There was a pause. “How is Todd doing?”

“He’s still sleeping,” I responded, still thinking about what Master Edison had said. “I slept around twelve hours, but I have a feeling that Todd will sleep a bit longer. I’ve checked in on him through our bond, and there seems to be no issues, just that he’s sleeping soundly.”

“That’s good. I’ll let Maxwell know to check in on Todd.”

“Sir?” I had no idea why someone named Maxwell would be checking on my mate.