Chapter Eleven
Two Days Later
Lord didn’t like this feeling.
He woke up, looked around the bedroom, and Astrid was nowhere to be seen. Something wasn’t right. He couldn’t quite put his finger on the reason why.
Throwing the blankets off his body, he padded to the window, looking out over the snow-covered ground. It was late in the morning, and this wasn’t like him to sleep in.
“Astrid!”
There was no response.
He left the bedroom and checked on her room.
There was no sign of her, but the scent of vanilla was heavy in the air.
Quickly, he rushed downstairs. She was not in the sitting room, and as he got to the kitchen, he saw the stove was on, and smoke was coming from a pan.
Astrid was on the floor, completely passed out.
Lord first turned off the stove, and then he looked at Astrid. She was still breathing, and he checked her pulse, which was fine, as far as he could tell.
“Fuck!”
He had never felt this sense of panic before. All of his life, he knew what to do.
Rushing back to his room, he felt his wolf taking over, wanting to get the cell phone. He pulled up Blake’s number and dialed. It went straight to voicemail.
“No, fucking no, do not do this to me. Do not do this to me today. Not today.” He glared at his cell phone as he knelt by Astrid’s side. “Come on, baby, what is wrong?”
He smelled and he was sure she was sick. She had to be sick, she was passed out cold. Didn’t the shows say he wasn’t to move the human? What the fuck! He didn’t know what the hell he was doing.
Pressing Blake’s number, he put it on speakerphone as it actually rang this time. It took five rings for Blake to answer, and the man actually sounded like he had woken him up.
“Dude, this had better be important. Do you know I never sleep in?” Blake asked.
“Astrid is out cold on the kitchen floor.”
“Wait? What? What did you do?”
Blake went from sounding sleepy to high alert.
“I didn’t do anything. What do I do? I don’t ... I’m a wolf. We don’t go out cold like this and if we do, we tend to know what to do. Do I move her?”
“Shit, I don’t know. Uh, if she’s on the kitchen floor, that’s cold, right?”
“Can you get a doctor out here?” Lord asked.
“No, all the roads are cut off.”
Just then, Astrid let out a moan, and she started to come around. He saw the perspiration dotting her brow.
“Is that her?” Blake asked. “Is she okay?”
Astrid let out a sigh. “What happened?”
“Can you stand?” Lord asked.
Blake was still trying to figure out what was going on, and Lord was more interested in Astrid.
“Look, Blake, find some way for me to talk to a doctor. I don’t care how much it costs,” Lord said.
He was trying not to panic, but Astrid didn’t look good at all. He didn’t like this. Hanging up the phone, he dropped it on the floor, and he didn’t wait for Astrid to get to her feet; he picked her up in his arms. She let out a moan and sank against him. She was burning up.
Lord carried her upstairs and lay her against the pillows.
“I’m so cold,” she said.
He pulled the blankets around her and rushed to the windows to check that they were secured. He didn’t want a breeze getting to his woman. They were all secure.
She let out another moan. He went to her and placed the back of his hand against her temple.
“What were you doing?” he asked.
“Cooking you breakfast. I like cooking breakfast.”
“You shouldn’t have come out with me,” he said. “This is because I took you out with me to check on the ranch.”
“I liked helping you. I enjoyed it.” And her teeth chattered in between each word she spoke.
He tried not to panic.
“It doesn’t matter if you enjoyed it, Astrid. You’re sick.”
“I’ll be all right.”
In the distance, he heard his cell phone ringing, and he didn’t want to leave her, but he had to go and get his stupid phone. He couldn’t believe he had forgotten it. Picking it up, he saw there was a call from Blake coming in.
“What?” he asked.
“I’m going to change to a video call. I’m with the doctor,” Blake said.
“You are?”
“You asked, buddy, and I deliver. I know how important Astrid is to you, and you said you didn’t care what it cost.”
Lord looked down at his cell phone and saw a video invite had been sent his way, which he accepted. Blake was there as was an older man, with thick white hair and a nice smile.
“This is Doctor Smith,” Blake said. “He’s a good man. He’s my family’s doctor.”
“Nice to meet you, Lord,” Doctor Smith said.
Lord was not good with pleasantries, but he was not going to be rude to a man willing to help him.
“Thank you for helping me. Astrid is human.”
“Blake has filled me in with the details. Would it be possible for me to see her?”
“I moved her into bed,” he said, walking back upstairs and finding Astrid still where he had left her, leaning against the pillows with the blanket pulled up to her chin.
For the next thirty minutes, Lord did everything the doctor asked of him, and listened as Astrid and the doctor talked.
The cold had made Astrid sick, and he had to keep her warm and monitor her for the next twenty-four hours.
If her condition worsened, she would need medical attention as it could develop into pneumonia.
Lord had loved the snow when it fell, as it had given him a chance with Astrid. Now, he hated it. All he wanted to do was take care of her.
The doctor ended the call, and Blake said goodbye.
Lord went downstairs and started to warm up one of the bags of soup Astrid had premade and stashed in the freezer.
The instructions were on the packet, and even though it came from the freezer, he couldn’t deny that it did smell damn good. Astrid was a fine cook.
He tried to distract himself and not think of the warning in the doctor’s voice. If this wasn’t controlled, Astrid was going to end up in the hospital, and he knew humans were at risk when it came to pneumonia. He couldn’t let that happen.
Carrying the tray of soup upstairs, he placed the tray on her lap and then picked up the bowl.
“You don’t have to do this,” Astrid said. “You could go and check on the cattle.”
“I’ll handle everything on this ranch. You don’t worry about a thing, and right now, focus on getting well,” he said.
He was not going to have her worrying about anything.
Slowly, he fed her the soup. She looked way too pale for his liking.
“You cooked,” she said.
“I know how to cook. Before you came along, I was doing a fine job of it.”
She let out a laugh. “I have no doubt.”
“But, I’m not as good a cook as you.”
“Is that why you’re taking care of me, so the ranchers don’t hate you?” There was a smile on her lips, and he looked at her.
“No, I’m taking care of you because I care, Astrid. I don’t want anything to happen to you, and I don’t give a fuck if my ranchers like me or not. I’m the boss. They don’t like it, they can fuck off.”
She offered him a small smile. “I don’t think I can eat any more.”
Lord finished off the last of her soup and removed the tray from her legs.
“I’m just going to get some sleep,” she said.
“You do that, baby. I’ll be right here.” Lord pulled up a chair, and he sat down and watched her.
Nothing could happen to her. He refused to believe that anything could happen to his woman. She had to be okay.
****
Astrid opened her eyes and looked over to where Lord was currently sleeping. It had been a rough couple of days, and Lord had been there for her. He wouldn’t leave her side. She knew he handled what was needed on the ranch, but only when she was asleep.
The snow had started to thaw.
Her illness had broken sometime through the night, and as she looked over at him, she knew the worst was now over. They had made it.
He looked absolutely exhausted. And she felt ... good. A little achy, but she felt good.
“You’re awake,” Lord said.
He sounded so sleepy.
“Yeah, I’m just going to the bathroom.”
“I can’t let anything happen to you,” Lord said.
This surprised her and she turned to look at him as he had snuggled against the chair. It was then she realized how tired Lord was.
“What?”
“You’re everything to me,” Lord said. “It’s why I went to the library through the years. I hate reading. But I had to see you.”
He went quiet and she saw he had fallen asleep, and she wanted to ask him what else, but he was silent. Astrid climbed out of the bed, moved close to him, and clenched her hands into fists. She would not wake him, even though that was exactly what she wanted to do, and to ask what he meant.
Over the years, she had watched him come and go from the library.
Most of the time, she was the one who served him, but from time to time, one of the other librarians had.
She was not going to lie, she did feel a little jealous when they served him.
Not that she could stake a claim over him. Lord was not hers.
He is mine.
Astrid grabbed a blanket and rested it over Lord. She didn’t want to wake him, just to move him. He looked so tired, and she made her way into the bathroom. She took one look at herself and groaned. She did not look good. Her hair was thick with grease, and even her skin looked oily.
Taking a quick shower helped her feel much better. She had no choice but to go to her own room, where her blow-dryer was, and took care of her hair. She changed into a pair of sweats, along with a large oversized sweater, and made her way downstairs.
There was nothing out of place. Lord had not lived anywhere else for the past few days but by her bedside, which was really sweet. He had exhausted himself.
She opened the downstairs curtains, and as she did, she saw how clear it was outside.
The snow had been melting for a couple of days now.
There was still a thin layer of it on the ground.
This was the only part of the snow she hated.
The moment it started to melt away, and she always found it particularly sad to see it go.
She let out a sigh, and as she turned away, she saw Blake’s truck entering the driveway. Making her way to the front door, she opened it just a little, as Blake climbed out of his truck and made his way toward her.
“You’re okay?” he asked.
She pressed a finger against her lips. “Lord’s sleeping upstairs. He’s completely exhausted.”
“I can imagine. He phoned us and was beside himself with worry,” Blake said, talking in a whisper.
“Is everything okay?” Astrid asked.
“I came as soon as they got the roads clear. I wanted to make sure the two of you were okay. You’re looking good.”
“I feel much better.” She didn’t want to wake Lord, so she urged Blake into the kitchen, where she quickly got the coffeepot on.
She checked the creamer to make sure it was still good and hadn’t spoiled, by giving it a taste. She made herself and Blake a coffee.
“I’ve never seen Lord like that,” Blake said. “You do realize he is completely in love with you?”
Astrid turned to look at Blake, a little taken aback.
“I don’t think that is accurate.”
“Trust me, it is. Lord is ... you’re his everything. You have been for a long time, but I don’t think Lord’s quite understood that.” Blake laughed. “You know he doesn’t like to read.”
She stayed silent as Blake took a sip of his coffee.
“The man can’t stand books. Thinks they’re so fucking boring, and he hates dramas and shit. The first time he ever saw you, you had your nose in a book. He saved you.”
“He did. I was so engrossed in the story, I didn’t look where I was going, and he pulled me out of harm’s way.”
“It was that moment he fell. He doesn’t like to admit it, because you were so young, but, you know, no one else has ever been able to hold a candle to you,” Blake said.
“Why did he say ... what he did?” Astrid asked. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. The truth was, she loved Lord more than anything. That hadn’t changed. He had hurt her, and she didn’t want to be taken for a fool, and she certainly didn’t want to be used.
“Because he’s Lord, and he’s a wolf and wolves are assholes,” Blake said.
“Also, he’s lonely.” Blake held his hands out as he looked around the kitchen.
“There are not many wolves without a pack. Lord doesn’t have a pack.
He’s never been much of a people person.
It makes me wonder how he has been able to survive all this time.
” He let out a little whistle. “There is a lot about Lord that is different. The way he is with you, is just like any of the wolves we see back in town. You’re his mate, Astrid.
You two have danced around each other long enough.
I get that he hurt you, but trust me, he will do whatever it takes to make it up to you.
That is the kind of man Lord is. Will you let him? ”