Page 45 of Healing Fate

“How does he not already know?” Shelby asked. “I mean, didn’t he help out with the last mission?”

“No,” Kelsey said. “He was supposed to go but was called to stay back at the last minute. I mean he did help, but from here, not onsite.”

“I hadn’t crossed paths with him until I took Vada to get her required school physical. Of that I am certain.”

“If he’s your true mate, then you would have known for sure,” Elise said.

“There’s no mistaking that call,” Emma agreed.

“But it sounded like you weren’t certain, so compatible mates? That’s cool too, but you could have crossed paths with him at some point and maybe not have realized then. I mean there were a lot of shifters in one place, right?”

A small growl escaped me, and my eyes widened as I clamped my hand over my mouth.

“Nope, not compatible. Definitely true mates,” Elise said with a smirk.

Micah

Chapter 12

I had always loved kids, but I had never really seen myself as a dad, until now. Vada was an easy kid to love. We spent a quiet evening of pizza and a movie, just like I’d told Lucy we would. After the movie, I got Vada cleaned up and into her pjs then we went back out into the living room so she could play a little longer.

I turned on one of the kid channels and laid down on the couch.

It wasn’t long before Vada joined me.

“I seepy, Doc.”

“Me too, sweetheart. Want to snuggle a bit before bed?”

She stared at me with her big eyes and nodded as she climbed up and settled onto my chest.

Before long we were both fast asleep and that’s how Lucy found us.

Her gasp of surprise jolted me awake. She was staring down at us with an odd look on her face.

“Hey, you’re home. Sorry, I guess I fell asleep.” I gave her a sheepish look knowing Vada should have been in bed long before now.

Lucy still didn’t say anything.

“Did you have a good time?”

She shrugged. “It was okay. Everyone was really nice.”

I frowned. “Just okay?”

“It was great hanging out and relaxing. They sure do like their wine.”

My wolf perked up unhappily. “You’ve been drinking?”

“Me? No. I just don’t like it. Never have.” She paused and looked at me weirdly again. “Would it have been a problem if I had?”

“If you had been drinking? No. Of course not. I just don’t like the idea of you drinking and then driving. I know we’re shifters, we actually burn off the alcohol faster than humans and a few beers isn’t really going to impair anything, but during my residency I spent time doing rounds in an ER.” I shuddered remembering the horrible needless suffering I’d witnessed in the name of just a few drinks. “I’ve just seen too much. It’s not worth getting behind the wheel with even a drop of that stuff in your system.”

She glared at me and then smiled. “I agree. And it’s important to me to live that example for her.” She pointed to the sleeping child on my chest.

“I completely agree.”

I leaned down and kissed the top of Vada’s head. I hadn’t really considered such decisions for parenthood. I mean, I encouraged my patients, especially new parents, to think of these kind of things, but they had never directly affected me in the way they were now.