Page 30 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Chap ter 30

Ava

The entire night is surreal, like something out of a storybook. We sit around the table for dinner. I cast an apologetic glance at Sherese, but she waves it off. The conversation flows easily as if Sherese and I are actually a part of this family. Bryce’s mom is the sweetest, and his dad is like how I think Bryce will be in another however many years. I don’t say much but just take it all in. Krista tells us stories about Bryce as a kid, and he dishes it right back to her. My brownies are a hit; I can’t help but feel good when the pan is empty by the end of the night.

I’m ready to call it a night, though, when Bryce stands up. “Ready to go?”

I glance towards the kitchen. “Shouldn’t we help with the dishes?”

“Oh goodness no,” Bryce’s mom says. “We can take care of them.”

“Thank you for dinner, Mrs.—”

“Nope,” she says cutting me off. “It’s Brenda and Tom.”

I nod. “Thank you for dinner, Brenda.” She wraps me up in a hug.

“Me too,” Krista says and gets in on the hug with us.

I feel more than see Bryce step close. “Okay. Release Ava.”

They both laugh and step back. I turn to Tom. “Thank you, Tom, Sir. It was nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” he says with a gentle smile that’s so like Bryce’s. Tom has the kindest eyes; it’s hard to picture him being a ruthless alpha. I glance up at Bryce. I guess kind of like father like son.

Bryce meets my eyes, and I can see the pinch of concern. “Ready?” I nod and turn to Sherese, who is getting a similar hug from both mom and sister, though the hugs are definitely not as crushing as the one I received. “I’m sorry,” Bryce says as we walk to the car. “They’re a little much.”

“No, it was fine.” When we get to the car, I take a full breath for what feels like the first time all night. While Bryce’s family was great, that’s the most peopling I’ve done in a really long time. I glance at the clock and notice it’s not even eight yet. “Do you mind if I stop to check on Brandon really quickly?”

“Sure,” comes Bryce’s easy reply. “We can drop Sherese off on the way. Is that good with you?” he asks in the rearview mirror.

“That’s great.” My loud vampire friend is kind of quiet, and I wonder if tonight was too much for her. I feel guilty for bringing her along. I know I wouldn’t be able to sit at a table of vampires for dinner. I grimace. Maybe I should have just let her stay at Hunter’s. I glance back at her, but she’s gazing out the window.

Bryce pulls up in front of Hunter’s house. “This is my stop,” she says as she climbs out of the car.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell Bryce and climb out. “Sherese.” I hurry to catch up with her. “Hey, I’m really sorry. That must have been really hard; I shouldn’t have made you come.”

“Nah. It was fine. They were very welcoming to me.”

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have made you go there,” I argue.

“It is what it is. We’re both living in our new realities now. Have a good night, Ava.”

“You too.” I watch her go for a moment before I walk back to the car and climb in. I put my head against the seat rest as Bryce starts driving.

“You okay?” he asks quietly.

“Yeah.” I stare out the window in the growing dark. “Your family is really nice.” He pulls up in front of the pack house after that. “I can just run in really quick.”

“I’ll go with you.”

He holds the door for me as we walk inside. Immediately, somebody catches his attention. I give him a small wave and set off towards Brandon’s room. Cody opens the door almost before I knock, startling me. “Boss told me you were on the way,” he says with an easy smile.

I give him what I’m sure is an awkward smile. “Thanks.” I make my way to Brandon’s room. I knock softly and open the door. He's sitting on the bed, staring off into the distance. My heart clenches. “Hey Brandon.” I keep my voice soft and low. “What are you up to?”

He turns towards me, and I can’t help the gasp that escapes. His eyes are red. Cody appears behind me. “Ava, everything okay?”

I don’t turn away from Brandon. “Hey Brandon, it’s Ava,” I try again slowly but without getting any closer to the bed. A moment later, I feel a presence at my back. There’s a hand at my waist, and I know whose exactly it is.

Bryce applies a little pressure to pull me back. I let him because I’m not a masochist. I know the very real damage Brandon could do to me if he isn’t in his right mind. Brandon’s gaze narrows in on us, and he’s out of his bed in a flash. I scream; I don’t mean to. It just sort of bursts out. Bryce practically throws me to the side and meets Brandon head-on. Somebody pulls me out of the way, and I realize it’s Cody. “No, wait.” I turn back to the fight. Brandon slams his fist into Bryce’s cheek, and Bryce’s head jerks back. I wince at the sound; there’s at least one broken bone. “Brandon, stop!” I keep my voice level but loud enough that he can hear. He turns towards me for an instant, and Bryce gets him down to the ground. Cody helps him, and a moment later, Brandon is incapacitated. “Don’t hurt him,” I say desperately. I kneel next to him on the floor. His eyes are even more red now, and he has anger and aggression coming off him in waves. “Brandon,” I say gently. I wait for him to meet my eyes. “These are my friends,” I say slowly and distinctly. “They’re helping me. Bryce thought you were going to hurt me, that’s why he pulled me back.” I’m not sure if that’s what went wrong, but I think it might be. “He’s not hurting me.” The longer he looks at me, the more the red starts to fade. “I think maybe it’s okay to let him up now,” I say quietly. Neither Cody nor Bryce releases their hold right away. Slowly they start to loosen their grip. Cody pulls back first. “Brandon.” I wait until his eyes meet mine. “Nobody here is hurting anybody. Bryce is going to release you if you can stay calm, okay?” He blinks twice. “Okay,” I say to Bryce. Bryce eases off him and in a move that he can pull off because of his shifter side, he stands to his feet and sweeps me away from Brandon at the same time.

“Cody, watch him.” Bryce propels me into the other room and out into the hallway. Then he lifts my chin. “Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? You’re the one that just took a blow to the cheek.” I look at his cheek. It’s all red, and I can see the bruise already forming. Without thinking, I reach my hand up to his cheek. He catches it midair, and my eyes dart to his. “I’m going to heal it.”

“Don’t worry about it; it will heal within a few hours.”

“Bryce, you broke a bone in your cheek. Let me heal it. Please.” He shakes his head. “Okay, now you’re just making me angry.” I pull my hand from his, and he lets go. “Just let me heal it.” I stare into his eyes as I reach up to his cheek. He doesn’t pull away, and he doesn’t stop me this time. I put my palm on his cheek, and his eyes close. “I’m sorry it hurts,” I whisper. I close my eyes and concentrate on sending healing energy into his cheek. I haven’t healed all that often, even though Sage tried to make a student out of me. But I feel it working. I feel more than hear the bone snap back into place. I keep sending healing energy until I can tell the area is completely healed. When I open my eyes, Bryce is right there. His head is inches from mine, and I am keenly aware of his arm wrapped around my waist.

“I had no idea.” His voice is gravelly, and I can see the presence of his wolf in his eyes. I’m taken aback by the intensity in his gaze.

“No idea what?” I’m shocked I’m able to even form words.

“Your healing power. It’s amazing.” His voice is filled with awe. “You’re amazing.” His eyes run over my face. “But I think I changed my mind about wanting a healer in our pack.” His words are like cold water. I pull back, but he doesn’t release his hold on me. “I didn’t know it was such an intimate experience.” His eyes narrow. “I don’t want you healing any of the males in my pack. Ever.”

I feel a little better about his words now. “You don’t want me touching their faces like this?” I ask, putting my hand back up to the cheek I just healed. He turns towards my hand.

“Definitely not.”

I like having this power over him. I meet his eyes as I brazenly run my hands over his chest. His eyes darken. “How about this?” I ask.

“Absolutely not.” His words are harsh, and a small thrill runs through me at the power to affect him so.

His eyes flick down to my mouth and then back up, and I feel myself sway towards him. “Alpha,” somebody says from somewhere behind us. I jerk as reality comes flooding back. I try to step back but he doesn’t let me.

“What?” he asks without looking away from me.

“Maverick wants to do that group call now.”

Those words pull me from my Bryce-induced stupor like nothing else could. I see the words have the same effect on him. He pulls back and his expression becomes guarded. “Let me get my mate home, and I’ll call him back.”

“You’re fine,” I tell him. “I’ll hang out with Brandon until you’re done.”

He's like a totally different person now. “I have to take the call in the conference room with my security team. We’re discussing security for the funeral this weekend.”

His words take me by surprise, though they shouldn’t. Obviously, there would be a funeral coming. I feel stupid for not thinking about it. “You’re going.” It’s not a question.

“I leave with my team Friday morning.” His face is unreadable.

I feel hurt he didn’t tell me about it. “That’s great.” I turn away from him and head towards my brother’s room.

“Ava.” His hand snags my wrist. “I didn’t invite you because I didn’t want you to have to go back to where...”

“Where they took me,” I fill in for him.

His eyes are gentle. “Yeah. I wanted you to stay here where it’s safe.”

“Yeah, but my best friend will be grieving and hurting. I need to be there for her.” I don’t ask for permission. “What time are we leaving on Friday?”

“Seven AM.”

I nod. “I’ll be ready.” I walk into Brandon’s room before he has a chance to say anything else. Cody’s sitting in a chair within eyesight of Brandon. “Thanks for keeping an eye on him. What do you think set him off?”

Cody eyes Brandon and then looks back at me. “I don’t know. He was fine. That’s the first time I’ve seen him do that red-eye thing since he got here.”

“Yeah. I thought he was doing better.” My heart feels heavy.

“I’ve got to go for that phone call,” he says.

I wave him away and take the chair he vacated and pull it closer to Brandon’s bed. His eyes are closed now. I wonder what set him off. I shoot off a text to Sherese to see if she has any thoughts on the matter, but she’s not really any help.

I breathe out a sigh and try to relax, even as I think about my interactions with Bryce. He’s been so different since we got here. He’s always been so gentle and good with me, and he still is. But he’s distant. He just seems so far away. I sometimes see a trace of the Bryce I knew from before but then it’s gone. He's barely around me at the house, like he’s keeping his distance. Even last night at his parents’ house, he was kind but he wasn’t warm or super engaged. It’s almost like he’s... The thought slams into me like a ton of bricks. I stand up so quickly, I nearly knock the chair over. I check to make sure that Brandon is still resting, and then I leave the room and stride towards the conference room.