Chapter 31
A Time for Healing
TEDDY
I open my eyes to find feathers in variegated shades of copper and verdigris draped across my torso, partially obscuring my already impaired vision. Feathers? I come fully awake, forcing down a startled cry when I realize where I am… and who is sheltering me under her wings.
Sophie is pressed against my back, her breath coming in soft, low puffs, her luscious scent a precious balm enveloping me.
Then everything comes flooding back: my nightmare, Sophie clutching my shirt and then soothing me with a kiss, her lips drawing me in like a shipwrecked sailor to the promised land.
I drowned in the feel of her mouth on mine, in the strength of her embrace, in the twin beating of our hearts; if I didn’t need air to breathe, I never would’ve stopped kissing Sophie.
She wasn’t granting me little pecks for comfort’s sake; oh no, her kisses sizzled with heat, sending shivers from the top of my spine all the way down to my toes. Despite all my insecurities when it comes to Sophie, I can’t deny this revelation: she obviously feels the pull of our mate-bond too.
But does that mean she really, truly likes me… or is she attracted to me because of a connection we share that we have no control over?
I huff out a sigh, realizing I’m on my own here; I don’t know of any other mate-bond between a werewolf and a faerie…
it’s uncharted territory. I need to tell Sophie and give her the opportunity to withdraw if she feels it’s all too much.
That last thought sends a spike of pain through my core, and I shudder, which disturbs the slumbering faerie next to me.
“Oh, I didn’t realize I extended my wing feathers last night; it’s not something I do often, only when I’m feeling…” Sophie hesitates before adding, “… entirely at peace.”
Okay, I really need to have that chat with Sophie; I can only hope her sense of peace doesn’t flee immediately afterward. I run a hand through her feathers, and she laughs.
“That tickles!” Her wing brushes against my side and disappears as she retracts it, and then Sophie is up and moving toward the door. “I’m getting dressed and will be back shortly to change your bandages so you can get dressed. Sound good?”
“Sophie,” I call after her. “We need to talk.”
Sophie’s entire posture droops, like a flower wilting for lack of rain.
She pivots around and raises her hand in traffic-cop fashion.
“Please don’t say kissing me was a mistake, or it never would have happened if you hadn’t been on painkillers, or I’m a terrible boss for falling in love with you.
” She suddenly stops speaking when she realizes what she just admitted.
“You… love me?” My voice cracks as I shakily push myself into a seated position. I try not to cry out in pain, but every muscle screams as I lean forward too quickly, and I yelp.
“Oh, Teddy, what are you doing? Are you trying to torment yourself? Or me?” Sophie scrambles over to the bed, helps me to sit up, and piles an extra pillow behind my back.
I grasp her hands and draw her down until she’s sitting on the bed facing me, but she tries to pull away, clearly embarrassed by her admission. “Please don’t leave,” I urge her.
“When will I learn to keep my big mouth shut?” she whines, trying to twist out of my grip, but I tug her close, so close our faces are inches apart.
“I love you Sophie—I’ve loved you since the moment we met.”
“That’s impossible!” she sputters. “I was covered in specks of old wallpaper, dried glue, and construction dust, and I distinctly remember you wrinkling your nose at me.”
“I was in love but didn’t realize it right away,” I explain, holding onto her wrists because she’s still attempting to wriggle free.
“That makes no sense,” she pouts.
“It does if you’re a werewolf.”
“Brr!” she mutters. “Always the same excuse. If you liked me so much from the beginning, then why did you move out so abruptly? I know I’m a terrible housekeeper… and that eel in the tub was kind of off-putting… but I must have done something to really offend you.”
Hmm… I can see now that I hurt Sophie more than I realized by not disclosing the real reason. “It happened right after your grandmother clipped your wings, and you were sobbing so hard I took you in my arms. Do you remember?”
Sophie finally stops trying to twist out of my grip. “Yes… I felt safe and warm, and then…”
“And then you shoved me away and told me not to touch you again. Remember?”
Sophie says quietly, “I remember.”
“Well, that’s when I realized… when I knew beyond any doubt exactly what you meant to me.” I pause and peer into her large gray eyes.
She catches her bottom lip between her teeth and asks in a small voice, “What do I mean to you?”
“Absolutely everything.”
Sophie drops her gaze, a knot forming on her brow. “But then why did you move out?”
“I knew being around you day and night without being able to touch you was going to drive me mad with longing because—” I take a deep, fortifying breath and then release it “—because you are my mate.”
Sophie springs off the bed so fast I can’t catch her.
“Whoa!” She’s wearing pink-and-white shorty pajamas that are a major distraction to any serious conversation, especially now that she’s put her hands on her curvy hips.
“I’m not sure what you think happened last night… but we certainly didn’t mate!”
I compress my lips together to keep from chuckling, but she notices and glowers at me. “You’re my fated mate, Sophie… my match.”
Sophie returns to the bed and plonks down beside me. “I thought that only happened between two werewolves.”
“I guess there are exceptions, because you’re absolutely, positively my mate.
” I pick up a lock of her chestnut hair and twist it between my fingers.
“My ‘mysterious’ werewolf condition is really no mystery at all; it’s tied to this mate-bond between us.
If we’re not together, it hurts so much I can’t be around anyone— especially you—during the full moon.
That’s why I locked myself away in the basement for the weekend. ”
Sophie is completely still and silent, so I continue to ramble. “But… er… that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to feel the same about me. I have no idea how it works for faeries. And I don’t want you to feel obligated to… to…”
She puts a finger to my lips and whispers, “You don’t want me to feel obligated to do this?” Then she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me so sweetly and completely that I forget why I was worried about telling her the truth.
When we finally break apart, I lean my forehead against hers and murmur. “I think my next full moon will be far less painful.”
She smiles. “Why is that?”
“Because I’ll be obligated to do this…” I thread my bandaged hands through her silken strands and claim her warm lips, kissing my faerie mate until she has no doubt about my true feelings.
Sophie finally pulls back and pats my cheek. “I’ve been very remiss; it’s time I start behaving like a proper nurse.”
“Aren’t nurses supposed to help their patients heal?” When Sophie nods, I draw her beautiful face toward me for one more toe-curling kiss. “Then I pronounce you the best nurse in Wisconsin… perhaps in all of North America.”
She snorts. “Now you’re just being silly.”
“I’m baring all my secrets here, so please keep up,” I tell her playfully.
But then my tone switches from lighthearted to serious. “You healed my most painful wound of all, Sophie.” I press her hand to my chest, directly over my pounding heart. “You mended the rift inside here, buried so deep within my core no surgeon’s scalpel could ever reach it.”
“Oh, Teddy,” she sighs. “Thank you for loving me back.”
I frown. “Loving you back? I loved you first.”
“Not really,” she says, hopping off the bed and out of reach. “One look at Leslie T. Barker, standing in my bakeshop in his blue, button-down shirt and pressed khakis, and I was a goner.”
“Really?” I ask, wondering how I could have misread her so completely. “But you started talking about a prospective boyfriend the night we met.”
“What else was I supposed to do when you started lecturing me about wills and forfeiture clauses? It was a defense mechanism.” Sophie goes to the door and pretending to be a nurse, says in clipped tones, “I shall return in ten minutes to change your dressings, Mr. Barker.”
Despite the discomfort each time my bandages are changed, I’m looking forward to Sophie’s soothing touch on my skin.
Afterward I’ll get dressed and begin making plans for our future, in between naps, meals, and meds. The ugly green armchair is actually quite comfortable for contemplation, especially with Zosia in my lap.
And I want to speak with Nash as soon as I’m able; I’d like his blessing before I propose to his daughter.