Page 16 of Call Don't Fall

“It’ll take awhile to find the stuff you like but it’ll be worth it not to faint again.”

“It’ll be worth it to be back in my own bed or yours. I guess at some point we have to talk about that too. Do you own your house?”

“Nope. I have a roommate.”

“Lar?” Chasten asked.

“Nope,” I laughed. “I’ve never lived with him. He still lives with his litter mates.”

“Will they be mad if you move?” he asked.

“Probably not. We’re not really friends. We both needed a decent place to sleep when we weren’t working. It was just easier to find one apartment. We can both afford it and it won’t take Tank long to find another roommate. Nurses are always looking for roommates. Someone’s always moving hospitals, territories, or finding their mates. Do you?”

“I don’t have a roommate and I do own the house. I bought it with erotic art money,” Chasten smirked.

“Good money then,” I shrugged and finished placing our coffee order.

“So, it’s decided then? You’ll move in with me?” he asked, looking up at me hopefully.

“If you’ll have me.”

“I might have to drag you there anyway if you don’t come willingly. I’ve grown rather attached to having you by my side already. Me, my wolf, and the magic aren’t going to put up with you sleeping somewhere else.”

“Cave wolf,” I teased him as the kitchen worker rolled in his breakfast cart.

***

After breakfast and coffee, it was time to test how well Chasten’s wolf was doing. This time I shifted with him. Normally, I wouldn’t shift at the hospital, but he needed the moral support. Both of us being in our wolf forms held up the test a bit because there was a lot of tail wagging and sniffing around each other, but I took it as a good sign that Chasten’s wolf felt up to being playful and friendly.

Doria, the nurse on morning shift, was patient. She was an older she-wolf with more grandkids than kids at this point. If my memory served correctly, she was even expecting her first great grand pup. She humored us as Chasten and I walked small circles around each other, nuzzling and licking.

Then Chasten’s eyes lit up with mischief and before I could tell him to take it easy at first, he took off down the corridor like a bat out of hell. I was in the backseat to my wolf who threw his head back and howled for Chasten to get his furry tail back here – right now! The corridor with its familiar items and faces passed in a blur as my paws slapped against the floor as my wolf chased Chasten passed the elevators and around the long loop that brought us back to where we started. He didn’t stop the first time or the second. My mate gave in to a full-blown case of the zoomies much to Doria’s delight.

Eventually he skidded to a stop by the elevator and popped up to push the call button. I tried to poke at him over the pack link but that was a vast network of links that overlapped, and the hospital had magical barriers to stop most communication over it to protect patient privacy. He slipped between the doors as soon as they chimed open and I followed him inside. Doria squeezed through at the last second laughing like we were nothing more than naughty pups.

Doria and I looked to Chasten to see where he was going. He popped up and hit the button for the ground floor and stood tail wagging waiting for his stop. We sank down into the belly of Mercy of Frost. The front doors opened to the lobby and a crowd of nurses, other staff, patients, and visitors all waiting for a ride upstairs. He dashed past them, winding his way through everyone’s legs. Unable to do anything else, I followed on his heels. He led me and Doria outside into the bright morning sunshine.

Chasten flopped down on the grass and rolled in circles. I joined him as Doria watched over us, nodding approvingly. His case of the zoomies left no doubt in my mind that his wolf was no longer acting under the effects of the sedative. He let out one loud bark before shifting back into his human form

“Can I go home now?” he laughed.

“We’ll have to see what the doctor says, but I think so,” Doria nodded.

Chapter Seven

Chasten

This time when Kirk pulled into my driveway, we actually made it out of the truck and into the house. We hadn’t swung by his apartment to pick anything up but that was something Kirk said would only take a few minutes later. I wasn’t sure how anyone could pack up their life that quickly, but I wasn’t about to protest him wanting to spend time properly alone with me.

I stripped down as soon as the door closed behind us. I hated smelling like the hospital. Not even the grass I rolled around in just hours before covered up the scent of the sterile environment that sank into my pores. Usually I was shy but Kirk had already witnessed everything I had to offer in the shower back at the hospital. He followed my lead and stripped down too, starting with his white sneakers, once he double-checked that the door was locked behind us.

I led him upstairs to my bedroom, silently praying he wasn’t already judging my housekeeping. I wasn’t the tidiest wolf around. I sniffed the air, trying to be covert about it, but all I smelled was Kirk. He didn’t even properly live here yet and his scent already filled my head up. I let out a long, slow breath. There was time to worry about straightening up later. For now, I didn’t want to think about anything or anyone else except the wolf man I was finally alone with.

“Where are we going?” he asked to fill the silence as I opened the bedroom door.

“Shower first. I smell like the hospital,” I said. “En suite.”

“En suite,” Kirk nodded and stepped past me once the door was open as if checking for intruders.

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