Page 18 of The Wolf I Sworn To Hate

Then William addressed the crowd again. “We are running on a generator. Shower time is limited to five minutes a person. You have twenty minutes a day to charge personal devices. We’re going to keep the heat off in most of the rooms, including the bedrooms. We’ll turn the heat on in the bedrooms around ten atnight when we kick on the second generator. Heat will be turned off again at six sharp.”

He looked at Elliot as though daring him to open his mouth. Elliot pressed his lips together and looked away.

Sean caught Xyla’s eye and grinned at her. Butterflies exploded in her stomach and her heart beat a lot faster as a warmth flooded through her that had nothing to do with hot coffee.

7

Sean

Sean laughed to himself when he saw Xyla’s face turn red after he grinned at her. She seemed to be shocked when William put Elliot in his place.

“It’s about time someone stood up to him,” Sean murmured to Sawyer.

“I doubt if he’ll stay quiet for long,” Sawyer said. “They never do.”

The five men pulled off their snowy outerwear and sat in the chairs close to the fire. Sean held out his hands, which were covered in blisters, despite the gloves.

Sawyer inspected Sean’s hands and raised his eyebrows. “That’s going to hurt.”

“Is that your official diagnosis, Doctor?”

“Yep. Mine are in just as good shape as yours.” Sawyer held out his hands, showing red palms with multiple blisters.

Sean shivered. He was freezing. The cold had managed to seep through his clothes and skin, getting into his very bones.

If only I could shift into my wolf form, I’d be a lot warmer. However, I’m not sure these people would handle it well if I suddenly stripped and became a wolf.

“Alright, gentlemen. I need to see your ears, noses, fingers, and toes to check for frostbite. It’s a might chilly outside, making the conditions perfect for it.”

Everyone pulled off their socks and Sawyer inspected everyone’s extremities. William, who had been a medic in the army, checked out Sawyer’s ears and nose. Sean was glad when everyone was pronounced safe.

Sara and Franny brought everyone coffee. The hot cup burned the blisters on his hands, but Sean was glad for the warmth.

“Thank you for rescuing us.” Ellie smiled coyly at Sawyer. “I guess you were the Doctor Charming who rescued the princesses after all.”

Sawyer blushed a little. “It wasn’t just Sean and me. It was all of us.”

Marcie looked at Sean as though he was some kind of god sitting on a throne. “You are all heroes then. We appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” Darren laid his blistered hands palm up on his knees and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes.

Marcie walked over close to Darren and held one of his hands in hers. “That must really hurt. Sara, by any chance, do you have some aloe?”

“I do. There’s a huge plant in the dining room where it can get the afternoon sun.”

Marcie and Ellie disappeared for a minute and came back with a couple pieces broken off of the plant. They slathered the aloe juice over the men’s hands.

“Thanks, ladies.” Tristan smiled at both of them. “Although, it will make holding the coffee cups a little more difficult.”

“We’ll hold them for you,” Marcie said.

Sean wasn’t sure if she was flirting with Tristan or if she was truly trying to be helpful. He suspected that it was a little bit of both. Marcie was a natural flirt. Plus, Tristan and Darren wereboth nice-looking men, and he had given her the brush off to an obvious invitation twice.

He set his empty coffee cup on the table and briefly wondered if it would be rude for him to close his eyes and fall asleep right there.I don’t think I snore that much.

Laying his head back on the chair, Sean half closed his eyes. He noticed that Xyla was watching him.

When Elliot went into the room, he would be sharing with Edward, she walked over to him.

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