Page 9 of Wolf Chosen

“Oh well, yes. That’s very generous. I’m happy to pay extra…” Taylor says.

Cindi waves her hand in a don’t-worry gesture. “I had everything stocked anyway, and I’d love some company. It’s lonely out here and I love a bit of girl time whenever I can get it. These males can get a bit overbearing sometimes.”

A timid smile curves Taylor’s full lips. “That’s very generous. I’d like that. Thank you, Cindi.”

Cindi sends me a quick wink as she brushes past. I drop Taylor’s case inside the room and follow both Taylor and Cindi to the kitchen. Cindi says something to Taylor, who chuckles. Her shoulders loosen as she follows Cindi through the door.

“I’ll leave you both to it,” Cindi says. She sends Taylor a warm smile before she leaves us alone.

“Have a seat,” I gesture to the small kitchen table as I move to the counter. “I'll get started on those burgers.”

Taylor hesitates, her eyes flicking between me and the empty chairs. “I can help, if you'd like? It's the least I can do after you've gone to all this trouble.”

I wave her off. “I'm a doctor, remember? Multitasking and making quick meals is kind of a requirement with my schedule.”

Understanding blooms in her gaze as the pieces click into place. “That's right, you mentioned working at Northwestern Memorial, didn't you? That's quite a trek across the country from there to Willowbrook.”

Grabbing the necessary ingredients, I nod. “I grew up here, but I wanted to expand my experience, work at a bigger hospital for a while.” I don't elaborate on why I left. That lack of mates meant Willowbrook’s declining birth rate.

“Well, thank you,” she murmurs, settling into one of the chairs. “For helping me, I mean. I certainly didn't expect to be such an imposition when I came here.”

I open my mouth to reassure her, but she presses on before I have the chance.

“Do you... do you treat many people with aplastic anemia?” Her fingers worry at a stray thread on the hem of her shirt, a nervous gesture that has my wolf rumbling with the need to soothe her. “At your hospital, I mean.”

Keeping my movements casual, I continue prepping the burgers as I consider my response. “Some,” I admit slowly. “But you're the first I've encountered with this particular... strain.”

Her brow furrows, and I can sense the melancholy rolling off her in waves, the echoes of it reverberating down our bond. “I've been told by many doctors that they can't help me,” she confesses in a small voice. “That I... that I only have a few months left, at best.”

The grief, the utter desolation in her tone is a kick to the gut. I taste the bitterness of it on my tongue, see the shadows creeping over her lovely features as the weight of her fate presses down upon her.

“Not always. I’ve seen people recover,” I say. I don’t tell her these are human patients with human diseases. The strain of her Anemia would never have been detected. Should she never have found Willowbrook, should I not have decided to visit Mom and Dad, she would have died. “You’ll recover, Taylor. I’ll make sure of it.”

Suddenly, she's on her feet, pacing the length of the kitchen with restless, agitated strides. “Why are you saying things like that to me? Don’t you think if there was any way of getting better I would have found it by now?”

My wolf snarls, demanding that I pull her into my arms, that I soothe away her anguish and make her understand that she'll never have to face this darkness again. It's all I can do to hold myself in check, to keep from crossing that line before she's ready.

“I—”

I want to say she’ll recover now she has the benefits of lupine blood. That all she needed was more wolf DNA to help regenerate what already runs through her, but I stop because that’s one sure way of never seeing her again.

“You don’t have to be nice and pretend like...” She trails off, shaking her head as a single tear escapes to trace a shining path down her cheek. “Like anything can come of this. I'm dying, Doctor Miller. If this is some kind of cruel joke, I don't have the strength for games.”

Before I can think better of it, I cross over to her in two long strides, gathering her into my arms and pulling her trembling form against me. She stiffens at the unexpected contact, her entire body going rigid but I can't bear the thought of letting her slip through my fingers when she's so close to unraveling.

“Let me go!”

The words are muffled. She presses her palms against my chest and pushes away but I don't release her. I can’t bear not to have her in my arms. Not when the bond aches like this with her pain.

I want to tell her she has nothing to worry about. That she will recover, but I also know she won’t accept that. So I don't speak. I don't offer her empty reassurances. Instead, I act on instinct.

I cradle the back of her head in one broad palm and I angle her face up until our gazes lock. I drown in the molten depths of those emerald irises. For a fleeting moment, the world stills and holds its breath. Then I lean in, closing that final distance to capture her lips with mine.

Chapter Six

Taylor

It takes a moment to realize what's happening, to process the fact that Liam, this virtual stranger who has inexplicably inserted himself into my life, is kissing me. And not just a light, chaste brush of lips, but a full-on, searing kiss that burns through my body from my head to my toes.

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