Page 18 of Healer's Call

“We won’t,” Ava says as she opens the door and heads out. The walk to the large dining area is quiet. We see a few shifters as we walk down the hallway, but mostly it’s quiet. “Where does everybody go?” Ava asked, looking around as she walked.

I don’t bother answering. When we get to the large serving area, I feel like I’m going to be sick. But I manage to get a cup of apple juice down. It does help, actually. Ava convinces me to grab a plate of food, and I cave. We find a small table to sit at and eat together, just the two of us.

A few minutes later, I start to feel somewhat better. “Feeling better?” Ava asks.

“Yes.”

“You don’t look as pasty white anymore,” Ava says.

I wrinkle my nose. “Thank you, I think.” I glance around the room again.

“He’s not here, you know,” Ava says without looking up at me.

“Who?” I ask.

She meets my eyes. “Maverick.”

“I wasn’t looking for him,” I say quickly. Too quickly.

“Right.” She’s quiet for a minute. “How long do you think Garrett will give us before he sends someone to pick us up?”

“I’m not sure,” I answer truthfully. I texted his phone right after I finished healing Maverick early this morning and asked him to give us more time. “He okayed us staying for now, but he said he was going to call later.” I’m not looking forward to that call. I basically defied his orders; I have a feeling he’s not going to be too happy with me.

A shadow looms over us, and I look up. Eli stands over us, and I fight the urge to back away from him. “Cade said you healed Mav.” I don’t know if he’s questioning it or just making a statement. Either way, I stay quiet. “Thought you didn’t care whether he lived or died.” I look away. “Well, thank you.”

His words surprise me, and I whip my gaze to his but he’s already turned around and started walking away. “Well, that was...interesting,” Ava says. I don’t argue with her because she’s right. I wasn’t expecting that.

“Hi.”

I look up startled and see a beautiful girl with long dark hair standing in front of us. “Hi, I’m Sara.” She sits down across from us before I realize what’s happening.

“Sure, have a seat,” Ava mutters under her breath, earning an elbow from me.

“I’m Rose,” I finally say, remembering my manners. When Ava doesn’t say anything, I add, “And that’s Ava.”

“It’s so nice to officially meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.” She grins and looks over her shoulder and waves atsomebody. I turn to Ava who gives me a deadpan look. “This is my younger sister, Sabrina.”

“Noticing a theme here,” Ava mutters again. I give her a look and face the newcomer.

“Hi, Sabrina, I’m Rose and this is Ava,” I say to the girl who looks almost exactly like her sister, earning me a grin from this sister.

“We know who you are.”

I nod, unsure what else to say. “So how do you like it here?” Sara, the older one, asks.

“It’s uh, nice,” I manage to say. The two sisters exchange a grin, and I feel like I’m on the outside of a joke.

“You must not be experiencing the life of the pack,” Sara says. “You need to hang out with us. We can show you all the cool places and all the cool people, especially the guys in town,” she says and wiggles her eyebrows.

I’m confused about their actions. “I thought all wolves had a mate, and you didn’t like date around.”

“Yep, that’s right,” Sara says, never losing her smile.

“But that doesn’t mean you two can’t have fun, and we can live vicariously through you,” Sabrina says.

“So, when are we planning a trip into town?” Sara asks.

I look at Ava, but she doesn’t say a word, leaving me to deal with it. “That’s really nice, but I’m staying busy here. And um,” I don’t know how to say the next part about the fact that technically Maverick is my mate. Just thinking those words makes me sick.

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