Chapter 3
Devon
Rose sat beside her mother, worry etched across her face. She kept twisting her fingers together as she tried to explain.
“She, um… she was fine last week,” Rose started. “Then she tried to move the firewood herself because I wasn’t home, and she—”
Her eyes darted toward her mother, then back to me. “She said it wasn’t heavy, but then she fell. After that, she couldn’t really walk right. She says it hurts when she moves.”
I offered her a small smile. “You did the right thing bringing me here, Rose. It’s okay.”
That earned me a tiny nod, though she still looked unsure. Her mother kept her gaze fixed on the far wall, lips pressed tight together.
I noticed her hands twitching against the blanket and the way she kept looking away when Rose spoke. My gut told me there was more to the story than she was letting on.
“Rose, could you get me some water?” I asked gently.
She blinked, startled, but then nodded and hurried off.
When I glanced over my shoulder, I realized why the poor girl had looked ready to bolt earlier.
Carter stood near the door, arms crossed, shoulders filling the space. I could feel his presence, even though he was clearly suppressing his alpha aura.
Years of working around lead alphas had taught me the subtle tells: the way the air thickened, the charge beneath the surface, even when they tried to mask it.
It wasn’t threatening exactly, but it made most people straighten without thinking. No wonder Rose could barely get a sentence out.
I’d expected him to be gone by now, or at least calling Cooper to send me home. Most would have done that.
But here he was. Silent. Watching.
Broad shoulders, a steady jaw, dark eyes following me just long enough to make me aware of them. It tugged at the back of my mind in a way I couldn’t place.
If he wasn’t going to intervene, he could have waited outside or at least sat in the armchair just a few feet away. Instead, he stayed like a statue someone had forgotten to move.
I wasn’t about to call him out, not when I was already skating on thin ice for staying here.
The last thing I needed was to undermine him in front of his pack. Maybe I’d ask him later when it was just the two of us.
For now, Maria came first.
“Maria,” I said gently, crouching a little so I could meet her eyes. “I need to know what really happened.”
Her jaw worked for a moment. She flicked a glance toward the door, then toward Carter.
“I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble,” I added, keeping my voice soft. “I just want to make sure I treat you right.”
She exhaled through her nose. “It’s been going on for a while. The pain.”
“How long is ‘a while’?”
“Maybe three months.” Her voice grew quieter. “Started when I slipped near the lake. There’s a path that gets muddy when it rains. I didn’t fall all the way, just twisted it the wrong way while carrying a bucket of water. Thought it’d go away, but…” She gestured helplessly toward her leg.
The way she said it, half guilty and half defiant, made me think she had kept working through the pain until it became impossible.
“Can you stand for a second?” I asked.
She tried, wincing as she shifted her weight. Her right leg trembled beneath her, forcing her to sit again.
I moved closer, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Don’t push it.”
I ran my fingers lightly along her spine, tracing down to the lower back. She stiffened but didn’t pull away.
I pressed gently at the base, then along her hip, feeling the faint ripple of tension beneath the skin. Muscles clenched too tight for too long.
The pain seemed to start in her back and slowly spread down her leg. It was a pattern I’d seen before, where a small injury quietly grows, spreading until it can’t be ignored.
“Your leg got weaker after your back started hurting, didn’t it?” I asked quietly.
She nodded.
“Good news is, it’s manageable. You didn’t break anything, but you’ll need to rest properly this time.”
I placed my hands on her lower back and closed my eyes. The familiar hum stirred in my chest.
A faint, golden pulse coursed through me. It felt sharper than usual, alive in a way I hadn’t noticed in a long time.
It slipped through my palms and sank into her skin, seeking out the damage beneath.
I could feel the tension unwinding slowly, like a knot being teased apart. Her breathing evened out.
This was what I was meant to do. Not sitting behind a desk arguing over budgets and supply lists. Or watching my father resist getting the help he needed while I tried to hold the rest of the family together.
I drew back after a few seconds, letting the last of the light settle before pulling my hands away.
I could’ve pushed further, but I needed to conserve some energy for the others later.
“It doesn’t hurt,” she murmured, letting out a shaky breath. “I thought I’d be like that forever.”
I smiled and reached into my pocket, unwrapping a small piece of candy and popping it into my mouth.
Rose returned just then, a cup of water in her hands. She blinked at us, confused when I took the cup and simply passed it straight to her mother.
Brian appeared in the doorway, hesitant. I beckoned him in.
“Hey, champ. Your mom’s going to be fine, but she’ll need a little help around here while she recovers. Think you can handle that?”
He nodded quickly, though his lip trembled. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and started crying.
Maria pulled him close, whispering something I couldn’t hear.
I caught Carter’s eye and jerked my chin toward the door.
He didn’t argue, just followed me out into the hall, his boots quiet on the wooden floorboards.
The night air was cool when I stepped outside the cabin, the scent of pine sharper now that the rain had passed.
Maria’s cabin sat just a few feet from the water, and I followed the path until I reached the narrow pier that jutted out into the lake.
It was dark, and the far shore was just a shadow. Moonlight caught the ripples on the water. I wished I could see it in daylight, but this was nice too.
I exhaled slowly and sat on the edge of the pier, letting my legs dangle. My hands still tingled faintly from healing, like the afterglow of static.
I’d missed this feeling. The warmth that came with drawing power from my core, letting it flow through my hands until it settled into someone else’s pain and turned it soft, manageable.
In Pecan Pines, I barely got to use it anymore. Lately, I felt less like a healer and more like some paper-pusher. Endless forms, training rosters, meetings. The paperwork alone could drown a man.
Not that it was all bad. Since I’d taken a step back as head healer, I got to watch Ethan take over. It had been satisfying. I’d always known he had what it took, and it was good to see him finally step into it.
Still, somewhere along the way, I’d forgotten what it felt like to actually do the thing I’d trained my whole life for.
To see someone smile in relief. To hear them grumble that I was overcautious while still showing up the next day because they trusted me.
That was the heart of it. The arguing, the laughter, the shared work of keeping a pack on its feet. That was healing, too.
Before settling in Pecan Pines, I used to move around a lot, spending a few months here, a season there, patching up packs that didn’t have a resident healer.
It was never easy, but it was simple. I went where I was needed.
Then Ryder took me in. I stayed longer than I should have, partly for the pack and partly because the pay was steady. For all his flaws, he understood that keeping a healer content meant keeping a pack alive.
When Cooper took over, everything changed. Pecan Pines became home.
I couldn’t imagine leaving now, not even when the thought occasionally crossed my mind in weak moments. I even wanted my whole family there one day.
If only I knew how to convince them.
A soft shift of weight on the wood behind me made me glance over my shoulder. Carter had joined me at some point.
He sat down beside me, gaze fixed on the water. Normally, I’d have bristled at someone sneaking up like that. But strangely, I didn’t mind it this time.
I reached into my coat pocket, fished out a small candy bar, and held it out. “Want one?”
He hesitated, then took it. “Thanks.”
I tore open my own wrapper and took a bite, letting the sugar settle my nerves.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him fumbling with the wrapper, and I rolled my eyes.
“Really?”
He didn’t answer, so I snatched it back, opened it, and handed it to him again.
“Thanks,” he muttered, his voice low and slightly awkward.
I caught the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth, as if he were laughing quietly at himself.
We ate in silence, the lake rippling softly at our feet.
After a while, I asked, “So… why were you watching me earlier?”
He turned to me, brow furrowed. “Watching you?”
“Yeah.” I glanced at him. “Most lead alphas I’ve worked with either give orders every five seconds or leave the moment I show up. You just stood there, not saying a single word.”
I paused, lips twitching. “Didn’t even look like you were breathing.”
He blinked, clearly taken aback. “I was making sure you were protected.”
“From what? The cup of hot water Rose gave me?” I snorted. “Nearly burned my fingers. That was a close call.”
He didn’t laugh, but the side of his mouth twitched again. I probably stared a second too long.
His mouth had a nice shape. Sharp, but softer at the corners.
“I just meant,” he continued, eyes returning to the lake, “you’re under my protection while you’re here. It’s my job to make sure nothing happens to you until you leave.”
“Right.” I leaned slightly toward him. “So, you needed to keep me in view. Make sure I didn’t run off or something?”
That earned me a sidelong glance. “Is that why you’re really here?”
That caught me off guard. The teasing died on my tongue. I turned back toward the lake.
“I don’t know,” I admitted after a moment. “It’s been a lot lately. I just needed a break.”