Page 64 of Magic's Rise

“Are fine.” Aspen pulls the scrubs up. “The poultice is quickening the healing process.”

“Which won’t stop your wounds from ripping back open,” the doctor counters, clearly not amused by Aspen’s determination to leave.

“Look, I appreciate your concern, but I can’t just lie here while my friends are….” Aspen catches sight of us in the doorway. “Here to collect me.”

“Your wound requires time to heal.” The doctor spins toward us. “He needs to rest and keep his leg elevated.”

“I agree.” Before the doctor can look too relieved, I add, “But he doesn’t know the meaning of that word. Maybe if we stop by the library, we can look it up, and he can write it down in his grimoire.”

“Very funny.” Aspen turns his back to us as he shrugs out of his hospital gown. A black and blue bruise that paints his left side, which he covers with the top of his borrowed scrubs. “What’s the news about…” He glances at the doctor. “Our van?”

“It’s being repaired at the shop.” Levi steps forward, edging the doctor out of the way. “We’ll settle you at the pack house, where you can keep that leg elevated.”

“Fine.” The doctor pinches the bridge of his nose. “Please see that he doesn’t walk on it too much. Stitches and poultices only go so far.”

“Noted.” Without hesitation, Levi bends and scoops Aspen up, bridal style.

Aspen flails before latching his arms around Levi’s neck. “This isn’t necessary.”

“Doctor’s orders.” Levi strides for the door, and I snatch Aspen’s wand off the wheeled lap table, the thin piece of wood humming at my touch.

“I’ll trust you to keep him off his feet.” The doctor follows Levi out into the hall, and we trail after. “But if I hear that you’ve been putting any strain on that leg, I will escort you back here myself. Understand?”

Aspen waves over Levi’s broad shoulder. “Message received, loud and clear.”

“Send the bill to the pack house,” Levi instructs the secretary as he sweeps past.

Haut lengthens his stride to reach the entrance first and holds open the door.

Once Levi settles Aspen in the front seat, I return Aspen’s wand, and the rest of us pile into the back, with me on Haut’s lap.

Aspen grunts with pain as he buckles in, then twists to stare at us. “Now, catch me up on what the hell we’re dealing with.”

PERFORM, MONKEY!

As we bring Aspen up to speed on what happened with us last night, Levi drives us back out toward the werewolf compound.

Leaving behind the heart of Silver Hollow takes no time, the paved road transitioning back into dirt, and the dense forest closing in once more. It’s a stark separation between the werewolves who founded the small town and the others who came after.

I lean forward in Haut’s lap, his arms around my waist stabilizing me. “How come Silver Hollow grew up around the coven and not the pack compound?”

Levi’s eyes flick to me in the rearview mirror. “Despite the barrier, werewolves still have a bad rap, though it’s gotten better with the younger paranormal generation.”

“But you guys still stay separate.” I nibble on my bottom lip. “Doesn’t that make it harder for them to accept you?”

“It does.” He rests an elbow on the window ledge as we bump down the road. “But young werewolves are a bit much. Not sure seeing that would help our case, even with the barrier’s effect in place, giving them more control.”

“What do you mean?” Tris’s eyebrows pinch together.

“When they’re young, they’re pretty rowdy, as you saw last night, but when puberty hits?” Levi shakes his head. “That’s when the dominance acts start up. Kids who thought they’d be alphas suddenly realize that the scrawny pups they picked on when they were kids can turn them belly up, baring their throat once they reach puberty. Add in the human side of things, and it’s just better to keep a little distance for everyone’s sake.”

His eyes flick to the rearview mirror again. “It’s not like that with wolf shifters?”

“In the packs that choose to roam, it is.” Haut tugs me so that my back rests against his chest. “But in Hartford Cove, choosing to stay pretty much means accepting the current Alpha, which had become a hereditary position until recently. The position is back with the founding family now, so everything is as it should be.”

Haut lost his position as Alpha because of me, and I squeeze his arm in comfort.

Confusion fills Levi’s voice. “And no one challenges it?”

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