Page 107 of Healer's Call

Talya glances at the wolf before giving me a gentle smile. “No. I’m a dreamer, and Liam is the beta for the Northwoods Pack.” She looks at me like those words should mean something, but they simply don’t.

“What’s a dreamer?”

The wolf is the one that answers my questions. “Talya is one of my creations. She meets with me in this place and works with me to help my wolves.”

My mind doesn’t exactly process his words, but I nod anyway. “So this is like...” my fragile mind doesn’t seem to want to wrap around anything too tightly. I wonder if there’s something it’s trying to keep me from remembering. But every time I push, the thoughts that seem so close slip just out of my reach. So, I let them go and let the peace of this place soak into me.

“This is called the dream state,” the wolf says by way of explanation.

“Oh.” I look around. “That makes sense; it’s beautiful.” I turn back to face her and Liam. They both look so sad. “Why are you both so sad when it’s so beautiful here?”

“Why doesn’t she remember anything?” Talya asks quietly.

“Her mind doesn’t work the same way yours does up here. You’re in the dream state; Liam is as well. Rose is not.” The wolf’s words sort of roll right over me.

“Healer.” The wolf’s voice commands my attention, and I turn my gaze back to him. “You saved the rogue wolves, even when no one thought they were worth saving. That took courage. Thank you for healing them, for seeing past what they currently were.”

“She healed rogue wolves?” Talya asks, sucking in a breath.

“She did.” The wolf’s words continue to flow over me. “And it was a rogue that killed her.”

Talya makes a sound, and I turn back to face the wolf. Those words finally pull my attention, and my mind begins to make its way back to what happened before I came here. It’s hard, kind of like wading through fog. “A rogue,” I repeat softly.

“Yes. Your mate held him down while you healed him.”

“My mate.” The words sound foreign on my tongue.

“Yes. The one who gave you that bite mark on your left shoulder.”

I look down at my shoulder and see the outline of a bite mark. I try to remember, but I just can’t. “I don’t have any memory of that.”

“You wouldn’t,” the wolf explains. “It was after your death.”

I suck in a breath. “My...death.” Those words cut through the fog unlike anything else.

“Maverick did it after your death.”

Maverick.

His name slams through my mind with the force of a freight train, and suddenly everything is back. A strangled sound leaves my throat. “I died? But what about Mav? The pack? No, this can’t be...no.” My voice dies on a painful sob. Talya puts her hand on my shoulder but doesn’t say anything. “This can’t be it.”

“Why not?” The wolf’s voice is not unkind.

“Because I have more to do. I need to be there for the pack.” My head snaps up. “I need to heal the rest of those rogues.”

“More Rogues?” It’s the first time Liam’s said anything in this dream state or whatever it is.

But I don’t have time to explain everything to him. “And Mav. Mav needs me.” The words hurt to even say. “He’s been through so much. This will be too much. Please don’t do this to him.” I realize I’m pleading with him, but I can’t bring myself to care.

“You’re right. Maverick has been through so much.”

“That’s why he needs me,” I can’t stay quiet. “Please...and...and I need him.” The truth hits me like a ton of bricks. I don’t know when it happened, but Mav has become important to me. “I haven’t gotten close to a lot of people in my life, but—” The words cease to form on my tongue.

“But you have with Maverick,” the wolf says for me.

I nod even as a tear drips down my cheek. “And I feel safe with him.” I meet his eyes. “For probably the first time in my life.”

“I know.” His voice is more gentle now.

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