Page 23

Yelena

I lock my car with a click of my keys and hurry toward the building. For the first time since I started at Ruby Clinic, I’m late.

Cleo had another vivid dream last night and neither one of us got much sleep. At least it wasn’t a nightmare this time. The worry I have that she will have an episode or a vision during the day or when I’m not with her remains ever present.

She told me she dreamed of an old woman who smelled like lavender and who lived in a little cottage in the woods.

Unlike the other dreams, this one felt strange but comforting.

She said the old woman smiled at her and told her to be brave and that she would see her at home.

There was a big black wolf that looked at her, and then they played together.

He showed her the woods, and they ran in a large meadow with wildflowers.

When she was tired, she laid down and the big black wolf laid down next to her, keeping her safe. When she woke up, she was in her bed.

I reassured her the best I knew how, but, as I held her close, I knew the truth.

She dreamed of Callie and the Pack…and Austin. There was no one else she could have been describing. The big black wolf who protects her. My heart feels like it’s being squeezed into pieces.

If Callie is appearing in her dreams, that means her prophecy must be correct. Cleo is the new Seer, and my heart simply aches at that fact.

How will I tell her? She doesn’t even know about her wolf yet. Or the pack. It’s too much!

And then there’s Austin…

My mind is muddled as I hurry across the parking lot. It’s been seven days since I left pack lands and came home to the city.

Seven days since we completed Callie’s Farewell Rites, Austin ascended to Alpha, broke off his engagement, and declared his love for me. And admitted he knew about Cleo.

I shiver. It all seems so surreal. The last week has been full of planning, research, and worry. I’ve spent every free hour pouring through Callie’s old letters for clues about what I should do next. When I’m not thinking about Callie or Cleo, I’m thinking about Austin.

Seeing him again….it was a lot. I knew it would be difficult, but I never could have expected the way things went down. Or the way he kissed me .

I touch my lips in memory and close my eyes, reliving that moment for just a second. Surreal.

With a deep breath, I reach out and push open the glass doors of the clinic, the cold metal handle biting against my palm.

The fluorescent lights of the reception area flicker and hum, casting an eerie glow over everything.

The smell of antiseptic fills my nose as I make my way into the treatment rooms.

“Ms. Croft!” a sharp voice calls out from behind me. I turn to see Dr. Taylor, his thick glasses perched precariously on his hooked nose, his arms crossed sternly across his chest. “You’re late. That's unlike you."

"I know, I'm sorry," I apologize quickly, pushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His eyes scrutinize me for a moment longer before he gives a curt nod.

I try to put on a brave face, but everything feels different.

"Room four," he instructs crisply, handing me a patient chart. As I hurry down the hallway to meet my first patient of the day, my mind can't help but drift back to Austin.

How many years did I dream of hearing him say that? How many times did I beg the Moon Goddess to give me a sign, any sign, that he even cared? Why is this happening now and all at once?

I shake off the memory and force myself to concentrate as I push through the doors, greeting a young boy and his mother.

At least my work will give be a worthy distraction. I hope.

My smile is automatic as I ease into the routine, taking vitals and asking questions. The boy, only a few years older than Cleo, watches me with wide, curious eyes. His leg is bleeding with an ugly scrape, and he’s holding an ice pack to his knee.

"Cold," he declares as I press the stethoscope to his bare chest.

I chuckle softly, "Yes, sorry about that."

His mother smiles at our exchange, her eyes tired but grateful for my gentle care. I know firsthand how worrying it can be when your child is injured.

“He’s going to be okay, mom. You did the right thing bringing him in,” I tell her quietly.

She gives me a relieved smile.

As I kneel on the white tile floor, placing bandages on the boy's scraped knee, my heart aches. I'm not sure if it's for this young one who's bravely trying not to cry, or for myself, or even Cleo. I think of the pain that she will one day experience when she has her first shift.

Will she be brave, like this little boy, or will she be scared? My eyes well with tears and I have to duck my head to hide them. She doesn’t even know about her shift yet.

“Can I have a blue sticker when you’re done?” the little boy asks, bringing me back into the moment.

My fear for Cleo and the unknown is still weighing heavy in my heart but I realize there’s nothing I can do about it right now. I need to focus.

“Great job, champ!” I exclaim as I finish wrapping his knee. “You can definitely have a blue sticker!”

His toothy grin is contagious, and it lights up the room.

Maybe distractions are exactly what I need.

After treating the boy, I lose myself in my work, making my way through routine check-ups, minor injuries, and unfortunately, a severe case of pneumonia.

My patients tell me their stories, and I nod in all the right places, even managing to throw in an encouraging word or two, but my mind wanders to Austin over and over.

It’s like he’s infected me, making it impossible for me to forget him or concentrate on anything. When I’m not thinking of him, I’m thinking of the pack.

It’s my fault they don’t have a Luna right now. I know why Austin did what he did with Sylvie. Their match was terrible. Neither one of them would ever have found happiness there. But then he said the things he said to me.

He wanted to choose me for Luna.

And I said no.

I refused him. I wonder what my pack would say if they knew the truth?

Would they resent me? Would they understand?

I wish I could tell them how long it took for me to realize that, as much as I love my pack and was honored to be the future Luna, putting my happiness on the back burner almost destroyed me.

My daughter, my job, and my own wellness are my priorities now.

I can’t give them all up so easily. Not when I know firsthand what it could do to me.

He says he’s changed. Maybe it would be different this time.

Before I can think about that further, I hear footsteps.

“Ms. Croft, we need you to run to the lab, please.” I look up and nod as Dr. Taylor hands me a small specimen bag.

“Yes, sir,” I answer automatically.

I take the specimen bag and hurry down the hallway toward the lab. My mind drifts as I walk, thoughts of Austin and the pack swirling through my head.

What if I had said yes? Would we be mated already, planning a bonding ceremony?

Would the pack have accepted me after I left them all those years ago?

A nervous knot forms in my stomach at the thought.

Could Austin really make me happy after all these years?

We are Fated, but is he really a changed man? Would this time really be different?

I don’t have the answers to the questions that burn my soul.

I reach the lab and hand the sample to the technician. As I turn to leave, my gaze falls on a flyer tacked to the bulletin board. “Full Moon Hike” it reads in bold letters, advertising a group hike during the next full moon.

My wolf stirs in my chest. Since our visit to our packlands, she’s been more active. We both ache for the freedom of running under the moonlight and feeling the earth under our feet. Like we could at home.

I’m so distracted by my thoughts that I’m not paying attention to where I’m going. I bump into another person on my way to the elevator and stumble forward. Strong arms grab me, saving me from falling on the floor.

I feel a familiar zing of awareness flow through me, and I breathe in deep. I’d know that scent anywhere but here? It’s unexpected…and unwelcome.

“Yelena?” Austin asks, looking down at me with worry in his silvery eyes.

I shrug off his hands and straighten my scrubs before I take a wide step away from him.

“What are you doing here, Austin?” I hiss, my eyes darting around to see if anyone has noticed us.

Austin is not the kind of man that goes unnoticed for very long.

He draws attention, especially among humans.

Everything about him, from his muscular frame, silvery eyes, and thick, dark hair seems specifically designed by the Moon Goddess to draw in the female gaze.

And I am not immune. Austin takes my breath away every time I see him. He’s the only man who makes my body instantly respond just by being close to me.

“Your father gave me the address of the clinic. So this is where you’ve been working?” he says, moving aside for another nurse who gives us a curious look.

My father gave him the address of the clinic? I’m shocked.

“Yes, I’m at work, and you aren’t a patient here. You need to go,” I tell him sternly.

His face falls, and for a second, I want to reconsider and tell him to stay. My wolf longs for me to tell him to stay.

But I can’t risk this job. It’s how I support Cleo. I’ve worked hard for this.

“Yelena, can’t we talk? Please? There’s so much more that we need to say. That I need to say,” he says, pleadingly.

I shake my head, even though my heart screams at me to hear him out.

“I’m at work, Austin. Please respect that,” I tell him quietly.

He holds up his hands in a placating gesture and then nods. “After work, then? Can I meet you somewhere? I just want to talk. Please, Yelena. Talk to me?”

I sigh and look down at the floor.

“There’s nothing left to talk about, Austin. I’m sure you have a million things to do back home. Maybe you should go there and do them.”

I don’t give him another chance to speak, instead I hurry over to the elevator and jam the button.

“You had faith in me when I didn’t deserve it,” he calls out after me. “You believed in us then. I believe in us now. I’ll show you, Yelena. I’m a better man.”

The elevator doors close, leaving me in blissful silence and solitude for a moment.

I push the stop button, halting the elevator’s progress, and sink to the floor, resting my head in my hands.

He came to find me.

He wants to talk.

He says he believes in us now.

I let myself savor that knowledge for a fleeting moment.

My pulse is pounding, and I feel like I’m being pulled in too many different directions at once. If Cleo is manifesting her Seer abilities, going home to the pack is really the only safe option.

But living there, with Austin as the Alpha? Having to see him every day? To watch him with Cleo? Knowing that I’ve rejected him? Will I be able to resist the call of my mate bond, or am I destined to fall for him again?

I can’t stand the idea of being hurt again but, at the same time, I don’t know if I can escape it.

I don’t know whether I want to scream or cry.

Moon Goddess, show me the answers. Show me the path I’m supposed to take. Please. I pray, holding onto the moonstone ring I’ve worn since childhood.

I take another deep breath and then I press the button on the elevator again.

I finish my shift in a daze, barely registering the faces and voices of my patients and coworkers. All I can think about is Austin, here, wanting to talk. The encounter plays over and over again in my head.

His pleading eyes, his determined stance, telling me he's not giving up. A small part of me thrills at his persistence even though my practical side remains wary.

We have too much history to simply pick up where we left off all those years ago.