Page 1 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Ava

I throw my bag over my shoulder and walk towards the front doors of the Orlando pack house. It looks exactly the same as when I left just a few months ago. “Keep walking,” Raechel mutters behind me. “Before I turn into a puddle of pure sweat.”

“This humidity is no joke,” Talya says from somewhere behind me.

“Yeah, well, it’s June in Florida. What did you expect?” I don’t look back as I say the words.

“Well, pardon those of us who never travel this far south,” Raechel responds. I don’t bother answering her. I don’t have the energy. And not only because of this soul-sucking humidity but more because I’m exhausted and cranky. I just spent however many hours on a plane with all the Northwoods pack members. My brain hurts, my ears hurt, and I’m annoyed. I want to just find a cool room and take a long nap.

“You feeling okay, Ava?” Sage asks me quietly, sneaking up on me.

“Great,” I respond. I don’t really want to respond at all, but it’s hard to be unkind to the gentle healer, even for me. Thankfully, I'm saved from having to say any more by the front doors opening.

“Northwoods Pack, welcome, welcome.”

I can’t even manage a smile for the alpha of the Orlando Pack. Cade’s actually a really nice guy and a good alpha to his pack, but right now I just can’t. He holds the door and greets each of us by name. It’s pretty impressive because there’s a lot of us. Garret, the alpha of the Northwoods Pack, and his mate, Emma lead the way. Liam and his mate, Talya, greet Cade next, and Liam grins with ease. Liam is the beta of the pack and balances out the hard-natured alpha. Then there’s Paul, the pack doctor and his sweet healer of a mate, Sage. Rounding off our noisy group is Raechel and Max. Well, Max is anything but noisy. He’s the quietest one in the bunch; he’s also the scariest. He’s the pack enforcer, obviously. Oh, there’s also Kyle and his mate, Madison. They’re both enforcers under Max. They're an obnoxious group, but I can’t say much bad about them seeing as they took me in after they rescued me from the vampires.

I push those memories deep down; I don’t ever allow myself to think about those days. “Welcome, we’re so glad you’re here.” I turn my attention back to Cade, the alpha of the Orlando pack who is hosting our pack for the next few days.

“Does she know yet?” Raechel asks loudly.

Amber, Cade’s mate, joins us. “She has no clue,” she says with a gracious smile. Her eyes find mine. “Welcome back, Ava. We’ve missed you.”

Not wanting to be rude, I simply nod. The fact is, I don’t miss being here. It’s hot and humid and mostly just sticky here all the time. But the Orlando pack was good to me too when I came with Rose, my friend and healer. Speaking of Rose, that’s why we’re all here. Word on the street is that Maverick, the terribly annoying beta of the Orlando pack, and Rose mated. I personally can’t stand the guy, but I know my friend is head-over-heels for him. Begrudgingly, I can admit that he’s good to her. I saw that during the time I spent here. “Tonight is the ceremony,” I hear Amber say. “If you could all be in your places by seven, Maverick will bring her out back about seven-fifteen if all goes well.”

“Do we have to dress up?” Raechel asks. Amber glances at Cade.

“Yes.” It’s Emma, Garrett’s mate, that answers instead. She smiles and shakes her head at Raechel. “It’s a dressy event; I already told you that before we left.”

“I know; I was just making sure. I brought my smoking hot red dress,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at Max.

“Angel.” The word is mostly a growl, but at least it’s an affectionate growl. I think. You never really know with Max.

“Let me show you all to your rooms,” Amber says.

“I can show them,” a new voice says.

I refrain from groaning when I see the sisters, Sabrina and Sarah. Maybe they won’t notice--

“Ava!”

I flinch at their united scream. And then I’m suddenly swallowed up in a sister hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

“We missed you so much.” When I can finally disentangle myself, I pull back. “Did you miss us?” Sabrina asks hopefully.

“Uh,” I hedge.

“You did,” Sarah says, looping her arm through mine. “Rose is going to be so excited to see you. Let’s go to your room and catch up.” Before I can say anything, she turns to Amber. “Same room as before?”

Amber looks at a piece of paper. “Yes.”

“Got it.”

Before I even realize what’s happening, Sabrina has my bag, and Sarah is steering me towards the stairs. “Can you believe they’re mated? I swear it’s the absolute most romantic thing,” she gushes.

“Oh, you should see him watch her when he thinks none of us are watching,” Sabrina chimes in. “He is so smitten.”

“Right? Who would have thought our Maverick would be a smitten kitten?” Sarah says with a laugh.

I raise my eyebrows. “I think you got the wrong animal.” They laugh like I’m absolutely hysterical and talk a mile a minute all the way to my room...and for the next two hours. Finally, when I don’t think I can take another minute, Sarah stands up. “We’d better let you rest before tonight.”

In a blur of words and hugs, they disappear, and I sag against the door a moment before kicking off my shoes and falling face first on the bed. I look at my phone and groan. It’s already after three. After setting an alarm for five-thirty, I close my eyes.

My phone goes off before I’m ready for it to. With a groan, I turn off the alarm and try to orient myself. I finally drag myself from the bed and begin the process of getting ready. Thankfully, my dress is wrinkle-free. I shake out the black dress before slipping it on. It’s dressy enough to be appropriate for something like a mating ceremony but not too flashy as to attract attention. Funny how much I’ve changed, but that was a long time ago. I use a curling iron on my blond hair. After running my fingers through the curls to loosen them, I spray my hair with hairspray and put on makeup. I do my eyes up dark, just the way I like them. I add a gold necklace, earrings, and black heels. I put in just enough effort that I don’t look out of place but not enough to steal any wayward eyes. I don’t even bother looking in the full-length mirror as I head out the door. The faster I get tonight over with, the faster I can escape to my room for the night.

I pass lots of people as I make my way down the stairs. All of us are heading to the same place. I recognize most of them from the time I spent here with this pack. Though people are friendly to me, nobody goes out of their way to talk to me, which is exactly how I want it. “Ava!” I turn at the sound of my name and see Samantha, another healer and a friend of mine. Her mate, Wyatt, the alpha of another pack stands right behind her.

“Hey,” I manage to say right before she hugs me.

“Hey, Ava,” Wyatt says with an easy grin. He’s always so chill.

“How have you been?” Samantha asks me as we walk towards the door that will lead us outside.

“Good. How’s the baby?”

It’s just the right question to ask because she begins telling me all about her and Wyatt’s little one. I listen all the way to the back of the property and join the others already there. “Wow,” Sam breathes. “This is beautiful.”

Even I have to admit, it’s pretty amazing. Amber has worked her magic once again and turned this area into a romantic getaway complete with candles, fresh flowers, twinkling lights, a string quartet, and water fountains. We join the Northwoods Pack, who has already gathered near the front.

“Samantha!”

Samantha is suddenly mobbed by the girls. I stay out of the way, checking my phone multiple times. Finally, somebody gives us the cue to find our seats. “Ava,” Samantha says, waving at me. “Sit with us.” I walk to the row where she’s sitting and take the seat next to hers. I bounce my knee restlessly as I try to wait patiently.

Wyatt leans over Sam. “Have you talked to Bryce lately?”

My knee stops moving. “No. Why?”

He shrugs. “I just thought he was coming for this.”

My stomach drops. “Bryce is coming. Here?”

He must read the panic on my face because he gives me a relaxing smile. “I must have gotten it wrong.”

My eyes immediately scan the room. When I don’t catch sight of the tall blond alpha, I take a deep breath and settle myself. He’s not here. Running into Bryce tonight would not be good. I've managed to avoid him for months now, and I don’t plan on breaking that track record tonight. In fact, the last time I saw him was actually here. He and his team came to help the Orlando Pack try to figure out who was poisoning them. I’ve avoided Bryce like the plague. He has this crazy notion I’m his mate. I’ve seen how the male wolves treat their mates, and let’s just say...I am trying to stay far away from him. I have no desire to be locked down, unable to go anywhere without a man. Guilt hits me just a little. The male wolves are actually really good to their females; any of them would die for their mate.

Morbid much, Ava? I berate myself and push mates far from my mind. Bryce isn’t here, so I don’t have to spend extra energy trying to avoid him all night. Somehow, I’ve managed to avoid every time he’s visited the Northwoods Pack. I hope my luck doesn’t run out tonight. I shake my head. It won’t. I’ll be on my guard.

A hush settles over the crowd, drawing my attention. I turn around but can’t see anything over all these tall shifters. But from the change in music, I know that my friend has entered the area. Movement up front catches my attention, and I watch as Maverick walks up and stands beside the string quartet. His complete attention is fixed on someone behind me that I still can’t see. I study him for a moment. It’s been interesting to see the change in him, but I have a feeling I’m going to see even more tonight. Already, he doesn’t have that aggressive energy coming off him that he usually does. He looks almost... relaxed . I nearly laugh out loud because Maverick and relaxed are two words that don’t belong in the same sentence. And yet, somehow, he is. I turn back just as Rose and Cade step into my line of sight. I smile at the sight of my friend, and it's a genuine smile. She sees me at that exact moment, and her eyes widen. I can clearly see the tears she’s blinking back. Shocker. Still, I can’t help but smile at my best friend. I’m so glad she’s happy. And if it’s Maverick that makes her happy, who am I to stand in the way?

The ceremony doesn’t last long, but more than a few tears are shed. Finally, it finishes, and they dismiss us to the after party. The chairs disappear around us and the tables on the sides begin to overflow with food. The music kicks up, and the dancing gets underway. I wander over to one of the tables and snag a plate because my stomach has been growling for the past hour. “Ava!” Sarah calls out, appearing in front of me suddenly. “Let’s dance. Everybody else is coupled up except us single people. Let’s go party and forget we’re single.” She pulls me forward. Sometimes I forget that so many of these people are shifters until they do something like manhandle me. She literally almost pulls my arm from its socket. I manage to set my plate down on an empty table before she drags me to the dance floor. The music kicks up another notch, and I realize there’s no getting out of this. I’m standing in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by people. If I don’t dance, I’m going to attract more attention than I want. So, I let myself move just enough to make it look like I’m dancing.

“Oh, come on!” Sarah says, laughing. “You can do better than that!”

I shake my head. “I’m not really a dancer.”

“I wasn’t asking,” she says before she grabs my hand and leads me into the craziest dance I’ve ever been a part of.

A few minutes later, Sabrina joins us. “Ava! I didn’t think you had it in you!” she shouts over the music.

“Yeah, well your sister didn’t leave me any room to not have it in me!” I yell back.

She laughs. “Let’s go!”

I’ve just finished spinning at least three times in a row when somebody steps in front of me. I take a step back for a minute, trying not to fall over. A guy I don’t know stares down at me. His eyes are wide. He takes a step closer, and I take a step backward. “Who are you?” I demand, loud enough to be heard over the music.

He leans forward slightly. “Mate,” he growls.

His words shock me to the core and then anger me instantly. I step away from him. “No, no, no, no. I already have one furry backside after me. I'm not having another.”

Somebody stands next to me. “Uh, Jackson,” I hear Rose say timidly.

But the idiot ignores her and leans towards me again, and his eyes start doing that glowing thing that all the guys do when their wolf is close to the surface. My panic increases. Suddenly, a fierce growl practically rocks the ground I’m standing on. There’s a blur of white, and then the guy in front of me is knocked away from me. Rose and I stumble backwards. Mav catches Rose and says something to her that I miss; I’m too busy watching the trainwreck happening before my eyes. The huge white wolf has the man pinned to the ground—at the throat. Even I know that’s a kill hold. Panic rises in my throat.

“Sooo, Bryce is here,” Rose says calmly next to me.