Page 4 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Ava

I stare up at him as my face flushes. I can’t help it; it always does that when I’m embarrassed or flustered. I see the smirk he’s trying so desperately to contain, and my cheeks heat even more. I bite back the response I want to give. I cock my head to the side as I look up at him. Way up . I forgot how tall he is. “Lead the way.”

“This way.” He walks beside me as we walk towards a black truck.

I stop in front of it. “A truck?”

“You have a problem with trucks?” he asks in that infuriatingly sexy voice.

“Nope,” I say flippantly. “Love them.” I don’t. I really don’t. They’re so hard to get in for someone as short as me. I approach the door with trepidation; I have no idea how I’m going to climb up and in. Bryce steps up beside me and opens the door. I lean forward looking for the button to slide the seat forward.

“What are you doing?” he asks with curiosity in his voice.

“Moving the chair forward, so I can sit in the backseat.”

“Why in the world would you do that?”

“So, Hunter can sit up front. He’s too long-legged to sit in the back,” I say without looking back at him. When he doesn’t say anything, I turn back. His face is tight, and I know what that look means. I’ve been with the wolves too long to not know. Somehow in his possessive mind, he thinks I’ve noticed Hunter because of the comment I made. Of course, I noticed the man. He’s a walking threat, just like Bryce. But I didn’t notice him in the way Alpha here thinks I did. “I was just making an observation,” I say quietly.

“My enforcer is riding in his own car.” The words are not as friendly as I’m used to from him.

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” I take hold of the side of the chair and try to put my foot up on the sideboard.

“I see why you don’t like trucks,” Bryce says quietly from behind me. “I’m sorry, Ava. I never even thought about it.”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I push back. “It’s fine. I can manage.”

“You shouldn’t have to. I’ll return this rental tomorrow and get something else. I’m going to lift you,” he says in a low voice near my ear.

Instant panic floods my chest. “No, I’m good.”

I barely even get the words out of my mouth before his hands grasp my sides, and he lifts me up and into the seat. I sit there, stunned a moment. “You good, Ava?” he asks softly.

I blink. “Uh, yeah.”

After a moment, he closes the door gently and walks around to his side. I use those ten seconds to settle myself. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to handle being in this truck with him by myself for... what did Raechel say ? Two hours ? The truck smells like him. I can’t really place what it is, but it’s like the smell of fresh earth after a hard rain mixed with something...spicy. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve never smelled anything else like it. The door opens, and Bryce climbs in. I turn and look out the window. “Ready?” he asks in that infuriatingly sexy voice.

“Yes.”

He pulls out of the parking spot, and it hits me. I’m with Bryce. Alone . This is everything I’ve tried for months to avoid, and I’ve been successful too. Until now. It doesn’t matter. I’ll just do what I’ve been doing. Ignore him; ignore this whole thing and hope it goes away. Except there’s something that’s bothering me. “Is your pack poor?”

A sputtered laugh escapes him, and he casts a look my direction. “No. Why would you ask that?”

“You rented a truck.”

“Again with the truck thing. What do you have against trucks?” he asks with amusement in his voice.

I shrug. “It’s fine; it’s just not as nice as the cars that the Northwoods Pack members drive.”

“Well, I happen to love trucks. I’ve had mine back home since I turned eighteen.”

“How long ago was that?” I can’t help it; the question slips out.

“Seven years ago.”

“ Huh.”

He glances at me again. “What?”

“You’re just not as old as I thought you were.”

“I’m scared to ask, but how old did you think I was?”

“I don’t know...like forty?”

“Ouch,” he winces. “Do I act like I’m forty?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really know you all that well,” I answer honestly.

“We could change that, you know,” he says easily.

I don’t answer him mostly because I don’t know what to say to that. It gets quiet after that, and I think maybe I've upset him. I decide this time that I’m actually going to stay quiet. Only the quietness gets to me. I think I make it an hour before I cave. “Do you have any family?” I ask suddenly.

“I do. My father was the alpha of our pack until he passed the reins over to me. He and my mom are both still living in my pack as well as my younger sister.”

I look over at him. “Is that normal?”

“Which part?” he asks with a small smirk.

“The part where your dad passed the pack over to you. I thought alphas only took over by challenging the leader.”

He nods. “That is true for most packs, but there are some packs that pass the alpha title to somebody else.”

I take in his words. “What’s your sister like?” I ask, suddenly curious.

He smiles, as if just the thought of her makes him smile, and I suddenly feel jealous. I shake myself because that’s literally the dumbest thing ever. She’s his sister. “ She’s a brat,” he says with nothing but absolute affection in his voice. “She’s always getting into trouble of some kind. She’s never been the meek and mild kind of a girl.” His words make me wonder if that’s what he’s looking for in a mate, because I am the furthest thing from meek and mild. “She takes after my mom. My mom is hard-working and the sweetest woman you will ever meet, unless you cross her.” He shudders, but it’s done in love; I can tell.

“And your dad?” I ask.

“He’s an alpha through and through, but he’s a good man. He would die for my mom and sister or me if he needed to. He dotes on my mom and sister all the time and so much more since he handed the pack over to me.” He glances over at me. “What about your family?”

I let the question hang in the silence, and I turn to look out the window. Because of what I’ve been through, nobody’s asked about my family. I haven’t talked about them in a long time. I haven’t wanted to, and my friends have respected that. But now that Bryce is asking, I don’t know if I can answer him. To his credit, he doesn’t push me. We ride in the silence for a while with just the radio playing quietly in the background. I wrestle with whether I want to go down this road or not. In the end, I feel like I owe it to him after what he shared about his family.

“It’s just me.” If my sudden statement startles him, he doesn’t show it. He looks over at me. “My dad was a wealthy businessman that traveled often, and we’d travel with him. He was always busy, like crazy busy; but he did the best he could, I guess. It was my mom that held us together as a family unit. She made us go with him on many of his trips, to keep us together. My brother,” I pause and swallow hard and then force the words out. “My brother was three years younger. When my mom died, we lost our family unit. My dad worked more and more. Eventually, he died of a heart attack. Not sure to this day if it was natural causes or pills.” I can’t stop the bitterness in my voice. “Anyway, after that it was just my brother and me.”

“What age were you when he died?” he asks quietly.

“I was seventeen; he was fourteen.”

“What did you do?” His words are soft and low.

I stare out the window, unable or maybe unwilling to look at him. “I kept hidden what happened until I turned eighteen, so nobody could take my brother away.”

He’s quiet a moment. “College?”

I scoff. “No. I had to get Brandon through high school. I took a couple of jobs; I didn’t have time for college classes. And then...” my words stall. I can’t put into words what happens next. I’ve never told anyone what happened next. Yet somehow, in the darkness and quietness of this truck, I just can’t stop the words. “They came for me one night.” The words are unemotional, like myself.

“Vampires?” he questions softly.

“Yeah. They were waiting when we got home one night. They took me.” There’s only silence surrounding us as I relive the worst night of my life. “I wish I would have known they were there...in the darkness...waiting. I would have never gotten out of the car; I would have never let Brandon get out of the car. I would have just kept driving.” My words are little more than a whisper, but I know he can hear them because of his shifter hearing.

“And your brother?”

His quiet words startle me. Pain like a knife lances my chest as it does every time I think of Brandon. “They killed him.” The words are harder to get out than I thought. I don’t look over at him; I’m lost in my own world of grief.

“I’m sorry, Ava. I’m so sorry.”

“It is what it is.” There’s no emotion in my words. I feel a hand on my knee, but I don’t respond. I don’t feel anything; I don’t let myself. I stopped feeling anything the night my brother was murdered because of me. Bryce doesn’t say anything for a while, and when he finally does, he surprises me.

“My team specializes in finding people. That’s what our company does. We do private security, and we find people that don’t want to be found. You ever decide you want to hunt down the vampires that killed your brother, I’ll go with you.”

I blink in shock. “Why would you do that?” I know firsthand just how dangerous vampires can be. It takes two grown-male wolves to take one vampire down; they’re just that strong and fast.

“You’re my mate.”

And just like that, everything I’ve been running from for months crashes down around me. “So, it’s your job to take care of me?” I turn to face him. “Are we going to talk about last night, by the way? Or are we just avoiding that giant elephant in the room? You almost killed that Jackson guy last night.”

“Yes.” His calm answer just makes me more irritated. “You should be thankful I didn’t kill him.”

“Well, that’s just ridiculous. I don’t even know the guy.”

“He called you his mate, and that wasn’t something I was going to let go.” I can hear the anger in his words.

“How do you even know I’m your mate? What if I’m Jackson’s mate?” There’s a loud crack, and I whip my head towards him. “Did you just crack the steering wheel?”

He moves his neck, like he’s stretching and then settles. “Let’s get one thing very clear, Ava. You are my mate. You don’t have to like it; you don’t even have to do anything about it if you don’t want to. But just so there is absolutely no confusion in your mind, you are my mate. Nobody else’s.”

“Well, I’m just saying—”

I never get the thought out. Bright white light floods my face, and I scream. “Hang on!” Bryce shouts, and then a loud explosion sounds.