Page 6 of Healer's Call

Ava shoots me a glance. “Have you seriously never traveled?”

“You don’t really travel much when you’re in the system,” I say under my breath. She doesn’t say anything, and I regret saying what I did. I don’t want pity; it’s just a fact. I never traveled because I was in the foster system, bouncing around from one family to another.

“I’ve never been here either,” Raechel says. “Man, it’s hot. Max, we should find a pool,” she shouts, turning to find her mate.

I shake my head and look around once again. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this isn’t it. I close my eyes and lift my face, soaking in the warmth of the sun. Maybe this trip won’t be so bad after all.

Chapter 4

Rose

We unload our luggage and carry everything over to the waiting black SUV. By the time we finish, I wipe my face. “Welcome to humidity,” Ava says before she slams the trunk door.

“Is that what it is? I’m already sweating, and we’ve only been out here for five minutes.”

Ava gives me one of her looks. “Yep. It will only get worse the closer we get to summer.” Without another word, she opens the door and climbs into the backseat of the car. I climb in a moment later and sit next to Raechel in the middle row. I glance back at Ava to see if she’d rather sit here, but she’s staring out the window so I let her be. Max climbs in behind the driver’s seat a moment later, and Blaine climbs in the passenger seat. I study his profile for just a moment. I’ve seen Blaine before but never interreacted with him. He's one of the shifters that I try to keep my distance from because he’s so intimidating and such a big guy. Of course, I really keep my distance from all the shifters...and people pretty much in general. As if he feels me staring, Blaine turns his head toward me, and I quickly look out the window. I stare out the window as the city passes me by. I can’t believe how green everything is already. It’s all still dead back home, trying to recover from a hard winter.

But here, everything is green. The buildings are new and impressive, and there seems to be something to look at, no matter where I look. What I really can’t get enough of, though, are the palm trees. “Huh,” Raechel says from next to me. She’s busy looking out her own window. “It’s not what I thought it’d be like.”

I turn to her curiously. “What did you think it would be like?”

She shrugs. “Like Chicago.”

“What’s Chicago like?” I ask, curious now.

“Dirty, graffitied, people on top of each other.”

“That sounds terrible,” I can’t help but say.

“Chicago’s not all like that,” Ava says from the backseat.

“You didn’t live in a very good area, Angel,” Max says from the front seat, but other than that, he stays quiet. We drive for a while and leave the big city behind. We’re down to just a two-lane road now, and it's a beautiful drive.

“Max, can we stop at some point and grab something to eat? I’m starving.” Raechel’s stomach growls right after her words, and I watch Max glance back in the mirror at her. I look out the window because it’s always hard for me to know how to respond with each of the different couples. I have to admit, I am completely fascinated by their relationships. Each of the males in our pack would die for their mates in a heartbeat. They're so protective of them, but they’re also loving and are so careful to make sure their needs are taken care of. I love it so much, but I never know what to do with myself. I don’t want to stare like a creep, but I also don’t want to look away like I don’t approve. Instead, I always just act awkward.

Not surprisingly, Max finds a place to stop just minutes after Raechel said she was hungry. After a quick lunch at a burger place, we’re back on the road again. I feel a headache coming on, probably from everything that has happened. I can’t believe I’m in Orlando right now. If you would have told me a few months ago that this would happen, I would have never believed it. But after Samantha left, I knew there needed to be a change. Ava and I couldn't just keep hiding away in the healer house. So I asked Raechel to be our accountability person. She took it quite literally and forced us to go places. First, it was to the clinic for shifts; then it was a drive. Eventually, she took us into town.She’s made us do everything from getting our drivers licenses to clothes shopping, eating out, and so much more. She even made us go bowling and mini-putting on two separate outings. As hard as it was to go back out in public again, it was so necessary. And I’m so thankful. I could never do what I’m doing now if she hadn’t done that. Ava and I would have probably both been still hiding in the healer house, wasting away in fear and isolation.

“How much further?” Ava asks from the backseat.

“About twenty minutes,” Max answers.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. “Are we still in Orlando?”

“No, we’re outside the city now.” Max answers.

“Then why is it called the Orlando pack?” Ava asks, taking the question straight from the tip of my tongue.

Max shrugs. “Guess they’re close enough to claim the city.” He turns onto a private road after that, and silence fills the car. We drive quite a way before we see anything that gives any indication that we’re headed in the right direction. There’s a tall black gate and a small building that looks like a security shack. Max pulls up to the closed gate and stops. A guy steps out of the building and walks over to Max’s window. “I’m Max, enforcer for the Northwoods Pack. My mate, a pack mate, and two healers are with me.”

The man nods. “We’ve been expecting you. You can go on in.”

The gate opens, and Max pulls through. I’m expecting to see houses, but I don’t see anything. Even after Max drives for a few minutes, there’s still nothing. “I don’t understand,” I finally say. “Where are all the houses?”

“It’s not set up like our pack.” It’s Blaine, surprisingly, that answers. He’s said like a total of two words this trip. “Most packs aren’t as large as ours, so most live in a pack house.”

“Like Samantha and Wyatt’s pack,” Raechel says absently as she peers out the window.

“All the pack lives together?” Ava asks from the backseat. Her voice sounds exactly how I’m feeling right now—a little uncertain. Okay, a lot uncertain. I, for one, am terrified.

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