14 Meg
Meg
It hadn’t stopped raining in three days and I was losing it. My wolf paced within, stir-crazy in a way I’d never seen her before.
You try staying trapped inside your mind.
I’d been told to stay indoors where it was safer.
Although Justus and Helen didn’t seem to be staying here, or if they were, I hardly saw them.
Everyone acted as if they’d melt by getting wet.
I guess I didn’t actually know what it was like to have your rain scheduled and then watch the system break.
To make matters worse, I was pretty sure Roman was avoiding me. I’d caught a whiff of his scent yesterday, but it was gone before I could sniff him out.
I can track him if you let me.
The problem was that I couldn’t shift in the city.
Not that I didn’t stretch my wolf’s muscles here in the room.
But if I thought my sensitivities to the noise and light were bad, my wolf had it ten times worse.
I could only imagine her running down the congested streets, disorientated and confused.
We can try it?
I’m sure that’ll go over well with the humans. I rolled my eyes.
By “safer,” I assumed they meant keeping me locked somewhere out of public view while they figured out how to get the humans to accept a wolf shifter in their midst.
Alice—the internet holographic guide—and I were forming a relationship of sorts. Not that she had much personality, but I’d figured out how to turn her on and ask questions.
There’d been no mention in the headlines of the attack at lunch the other day, but the trending topics did revolve around mine and Justus’s upcoming wedding.
There were speculations on what designer dress I was going to wear.
Polls to see what should be on the menu at the reception.
But what worried me most were the opinion pieces on our union.
Mostly, I was learning that human purist ideologies ran deeper than anyone outside these walls thought.
Not that they were alone in their biases. Plenty of shifters and witches hated purist humans too. I thought of Alec, and her disgust with anything human. Another bout of homesickness squeezed my heart.
I really hoped she was doing okay. And that Mom wasn’t too worried. Dad would take care of her, but she was so sensitive and still dealing with Trish leaving to be with her mate.
It’d only been a week since I left. I wondered if Trish had found anything in Amarock Pack when she went to visit the witches. Something to get me out of this mess. Because from where I was sitting, I’d never be leaving this house again.
Panic rushed through me, and I hurried to the library. My one solace in this cold and lifeless place.
*
“Sorry, Miss Meg. I didn’t realize you were in here.” Katrina stood in the open doorway of the library with her cleaning supplies in a cart.
“I was just leaving.” I held the new stack of books against my chest, but my feet didn’t move me toward the direction of the door.
Exit is that way.
“Did you need anything else?” Katrina asked.
The alpha-wolf in me didn’t want to admit how lonely I truly was, but I’d grown up with sisters, and a niggling voice in the back of my head said that I’d want them to ask for help if they needed it.
Then again, I wasn’t them.
“Here, let me help with your cleaning.” I set down the books on the end table and reached for the duster.
The color drained from Katrina’s face. “No, miss. That’s not necessary. I can handle it myself.”
“Please?” I smiled, feeling pathetic for begging to do chores in someone else’s house. “I’m going crazy with nothing to do.”
Katrina glanced over her shoulder, but she must’ve taken pity on me, because she closed the door, putting us alone in the library. “If you want to climb the ladder and dust the top shelf, I’d appreciate it.”
“No problem.” I climbed fast and got straight to work as Katrina wiped the lower surfaces. “Is this the only house you clean? Or do you have others?”
Katrina shook her head. “I work full-time for the councilwoman. Cleaning is only part of the duties here.”
“I see.” I made quick work of the shelf I could reach and then pushed the ladder over, riding along with it. “What’s it like working for Helen?”
Silence followed my question, and I stopped dusting to peer down at Katrina.
The look in her eyes as she glanced up told me everything she couldn’t say.
“I figured.” I smirked. “Are all the council as ungrateful as she is?”
A laugh burst from her, quickly smothered with a cough.
“That’s most of the upper levels,” she said quietly. “But we shouldn’t talk of such things.”
“Why not?” I finished the final section of the shelf and tossed the duster back onto the cart.
Katrina looked at the closed door. “It isn’t proper. Thank you for helping. I’ve got it from here.”
I strained my ears, catching the faint sound of someone walking around downstairs, and my wolf let out a whine.
“Is everything okay?” I climbed down the ladder. “You can tell me if you need help or if someone is forcing you to be here. I’m not afraid of the humans.” I flexed my arm for emphasis. “Perks of being an alpha wolf. I can take them down for you.”
Katrina’s smile was strained. “I’m perfectly all right, Miss Meg.”
I stood in front of the housemaid, studying her to see if she was lying to me.
There it was again. The faint scent hidden behind the chemicals that clung to her apron.
A hint of magic.
My curiosity flared to life, but an insistent tug in my chest pulled me away.
He’s here!
“Okay.” I gathered up the books. “But promise you’ll let me know if you need anything.”
Katrina gave a slight nod and returned to her work, stopping me right before I ran from the library.
“Wait, miss.” She pulled another book from the shelf, motioning to the top of my stack. “The cliffhanger hurts on that one. Don’t leave without the sequel in hand.”
“Thank you for saving me.” I was still laughing as I stepped into the hall, hoping to drop off the books in my room and then hurry downstairs.
As luck would have it, I didn’t need to hunt Roman down because he crashed right into my chest.
Had it been a rom-com, the books would’ve gone flying, but I wasn’t a klutz who let borrowed books get damaged, so I kept the stack safely in my arms.
Though his leathery, masculine scent did surround me and I might’ve let a whine slip as he caught me by the elbows.
He was out of breath and damp from the rain as he stared into my eyes. “I…” His gaze went to the books I held. “I didn’t know you liked to read.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” I tried to sound teasing, but it came out as an accusation. I quickly backtracked. “And there’s probably a lot I don’t know about you.”
“Of course.” Roman stepped away, leaving a cold space between us. “That’s how it should be. Have you seen Justus?”
I flinched at the sound of my intended husband’s name.
Roman seemed to notice. “Has he done something? If so, I’ll—”
“I haven’t seen him since yesterday,” I said, cutting Roman off.
Why? I wanted to hear the rest of his threat. My wolf purred.
“I’m sorry about that. I’ll see if I can convince him to spend more time with you.” There was a coldness to his tone that didn’t match the warmth of his words.
“Don’t bother.” I sighed. “I’d prefer him to stay away as long as possible, but I wouldn’t mind getting out of here myself.”
From the look that flashed across his face, I realized that wasn’t a possibility.
“Do you need more books to read?” he asked.
That was probably the hottest question I’d ever heard from a male, and it was even hotter coming from my mate. But everything about this conversation was so very wrong.
“What I need is a break from this house,” I said.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you with that.” Roman took a step back. And then another.
“You’re sorry about a lot of things.” My eyes burned as I stared at him, begging him to see. If he’d just give me one hint that he recognized the mate bond between us, I’d take the lead from there.
Roman lowered his face, and I figured I’d lost him. I held the books tighter against my chest, seeking comfort from the words hidden within.
At least fictional men wouldn’t let me down.
“Actually.” Roman glanced around the empty hall before lowering his voice. “Do you… read out loud?”
“I can. Read out loud.” I arched an eyebrow.
“If you really want to get out of here, I can take you somewhere. You’d be doing me a favor, though.” Roman said this like I’d back out. Like my wolf wasn’t currently howling in triumph.
“Yes.” I nodded eagerly. “Let’s go. Anywhere.”
“It’s not going to be any place fancy.” The smile that threatened to break out on his face had my heart soaring as I shook my head.
It didn’t matter where we were going, as long as he was coming with me.
The smile finally teased his lips. “I need you to bring a book.”
*
“Where are we?” I asked in a hushed whisper, listening to the humming in the walls and the beep of machines.
“It’s a hospital,” Roman said. “Where people come to heal.”
I wasn’t stupid. I knew what a hospital was. But from the smell of the place, I wanted to point out that no one here seemed to be getting better.
Except there was a lightness in Roman’s steps, and his face was so full of hope I’d never seen before that I couldn’t bear to crush his spirit.
“The nurses say his brain waves spike when I’m talking to him, and he loves stories.” Roman pushed open the door to the room.
A man—no, a body—lay on a bed hooked up to tubes and machines. I couldn’t bring myself to enter.
It smells of death.
“Roman, I—”
“Please.” The pain in his voice cut right through me. “I just… Please.” He lowered his tone. “His readings are dropping and the nurse says that if his brain can’t learn to use the new neural connections on his own, then it will all have been for nothing.”
He motioned to the book in my hands. “Can you just read to him?”
I didn’t understand a word he was saying, but the alpha in me wouldn’t back down when there was a job that needed done. “Okay.”
“Okay?” The relief in his eyes wasn’t fair. It tore my heart out with it and reminded me of how cruel our situation was.
This definitely wasn’t a fairy tale mating, but my mate needed me, and I’d be there for him.
It was the least I could do.
I opened the book as I crossed the room, trying to keep things light. “You should’ve told me in the house why we were coming here. I would’ve picked a different book.”
“I can run back…”
“Don’t worry.” I waved the paperback in the air as I perched at the edge of the chair beside the bed. “I don’t know about brain waves, but this one will definitely get his blood flowing again.”