Page 13 of The Healer

“Right, thanks for the history lesson.” Ilona huffed. “I’ll just ask Amos then?”

“Don’t you dare.” Gran slapped her hand on the table then stormed off with a “Just take the damn box, Ilona.”

She darted after her gran, crowding her. “What if he volunteers information without me asking?” Grinning and bouncing on her toes, she teased her, enjoying flustering her and the reddening of her cheeks. “I’ll get all the gory details.”

Gran raised her face to the ceiling as if she prayed for patience. “What was I thinking, Henry?”

“Gramps would snort and arch an imperious brow.” Puffing on an invisible pipe, Ilona deepened her voice, hoping to mimic his mannerisms. “This is of your doing, my queen.”

Gran giggled then cupped her mouth. “Fair enough. Knowing Amos, he’ll be as tightlipped as I am.”

“So, you think he’s still alive?”

Her hazel gaze turned dreamy. “Oh, yes, he’s well and kicking. I remember a man so vibrant death wouldn’t dare take him.”

“If I may ask, what happened? Did you leave him?”

Tears shimmered, and Gran removed her eyeglasses to dab with a tissue she had produced from the sleeve of her cardigan. “I loved him so much, but he had to marry someone else. When I found out, I took the first bus out of Coedwig, not knowing I carried Elise. I told everyone who asked that my husband was a policeman killed in the line of duty. No one doubted me, not even Henry.”

“Did you love Gramps?” Memories rose, of summers spent with her grandparents, how doting they were and such sweethearts to each other. Ilona couldn’t believe for a minute Gran hadn’t loved him.

“I did. Henry was like your favorite blanket, warm, comfortable, and reliable. He proved in the little things how he cherished me. With Amos, there was no blanket, he was all I needed. He was grand gestures with a volatile temper, but then, so was I.” She wrapped her arms around her waist, clutching the crushed tissue between trembling fingers. “I like to console myself with the thought our love would have consumed us, leaving nothing but an ember of something so beautiful and precious.”

She patted Ilona’s hand. “Promise me, sweet pea. If you meet a man whose passion dominates your senses, propels you to be a better person, inspires you to spread your wings with the full knowledge he’s beside you and will never forsake you, you’ll hold onto him. Don’t let silly fears stop you from embracing such a love.” Gran scrunched up her tissue and tucked it into her sleeve. “You fight to keep him. You promise me.”

“All right, if such a pillar of masculinity should appear before me…”

“Ilona.” Gran rested her hands on her hips, her warning clear.

“Fine.” She grinned, unrepentant, then wiggled her pinky finger. “Want me to pinky swear?”

Gran slapped her hand away. “You get your sass from your father.”

Ilona dragged her into her arms, gently crushing her in a squeeze. “I get it from you.”

Gran’s response was a muffled snort, just like Gramps.

Chapter Six

DON’T BE STUPID

“Idon’tknowhowI feel about this, alpha.” Madison pressed four fingers to her mouth. “I mean, he just stands there, doesn’t say a word.”

At fifty-four, she was still a beautiful woman with two pencils pinning her chestnut-colored hair in place. The laugh lines around her eyes softened her ‘sternness’ and made her more approachable.

“The pal’tsy are part of the deal, Maddy. Each child and their future are my responsibility, and I can’t abandon George—”

“No, your decision to include her in cub-play was a wise one. I just… He doesn’t talk to me.” She buried her fingers into her hair, wobbling the pencils. “Just yesterday, I offered him my blood, for lunar’s sake.”

Rhys chuckled. “He’s there to protect George. Who knows for how long.”

“After Alrik’s despotic rule, I can understand.” Maddy tucked her escaping tendrils into the chignon. The action raised her shirt, exposing a sliver of her ribbed stomach.

“Just endure. Ignore him as he does you.”

A sensual smile twitched her lips. “Mm.” She ran her hand over her hip in a gesture as old as time. “Let me turn my full charm on him.”

Rhys laughed. “You can try. Is there anything you or the children need?”

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