Page 69 of The Healer

“I would, in a heartbeat.” His chest expanded, cutting off his air. Fuck, he would board a plane now. “What you said earlier confirmed I should grant her a little space. I’ll still be there for her, whenever she needs me, even if she doesn’t realize it.”

Mona smiled. “I’ve forgotten how passionate and committed shifters can be. We humans tend to hesitate when it comes to matters of the heart.” Looping her arm through Rhys’s, she nudged him to Harriet’s. “I will do what I can when I call her in the mornings. Nothing too obvious, mind you.”

He chuckled. “She’ll be pissed if she found out we united against her.”

“I’d say not to tell her, but honesty is better.”

He agreed, not wanting silly misunderstandings and secrets to keep him away from Lona. Spilling his heart on what he had thought Callie meant to him would help. Sure, he’d told Lona, but reiterating it wouldn’t hurt.

Amos waited for them on the porch. He opened his arms, and Mona slipped into his embrace, snuggling against his chest. Rhys sighed, admiring how they acted as if they had never been apart. He strode past them and bounded up the stairs to pack. Noah and Jase would be pissed he returned early, but once he explained…

He grimaced.

“Are you going to fix this?” Aiden’s voice at his open bedroom door paused Rhys’s packing.

He glanced at his brother—whose hair had that disheveled power-socket style—and nodded before zipping his duffel. “I have to.”

“Good. I’ve never seen you act like this, Rhys. Not you. Not my older brother.”

Rhys frowned. Everyone criticized him as if they had the right.

“You’ve behaved like a horny teenager, not thinking things through, charging in, making demands. Ilona’s human, can’t sense your alpha vibes, doesn’t care about pack hierarchy, or suffer under the primal urge to submit to a beast more powerful.”

Powerful? Around her, he was the weakling, but he didn’t correct Aiden. If Rhys had a chance to do things over, what would he change? Not mentioning Callie would have led to hurt feelings later on, but by then, Ilona may have loved him.

His breath whooshed out in a low rumble.

Love wasn’t something he thought much of, had assumed it was automatic when he found his mate. Not once had the idea risen that she might not be a shifter.

And he wanted her love, for if she did choose to love him, it was freely given, not compelled by the shifter dynamics or magic or whatever folks wanted to name the mating call.

“Come home, visit the old pack, see Will.” Rhys met Aiden’s gaze, hoping not to reveal how much he would appreciate Aiden keeping Willow company during the Knight Ridge’s Lunar Festival.

Each pack held their own celebration with permission to pass between territories. Humans would call it an orgy, but shifters didn’t like sharing. And though there would be multiple bed partners over the three days, there was never a threesome.

Aiden’s shoulders stiffened, and he shuffled from foot to foot. “Will?”

“Yes. You remember her,” Rhys teased, slinging his duffel over a shoulder. “Gorgeous, blonde hair, wild, sweet, with just a hint of innocence remaining.”

Aiden glowered. “What do you mean? Who would dare—?”

“Enough, cub. She’s all woman now, and besides, you know how mating season affects our women the hardest.” Fuck. Had Lona been a shifter, she would have submitted to the sexual attraction between them. But he didn’t like the thought of multiple men having slept with her. Silly, though, since shifters were a sexual species basing decisions on attraction and instinct. A shifter mate would have had many lovers as was their culture.

Aiden folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the doorframe didn’t diminish the anger in his eyes. “Fine. I guess I could take time off.”

“Great. I’ll settle with Harriet and meet you at Tuesdays.” Rhys waited for Aiden to stand aside, then bolted down the stairs.

The company on the return trip would prevent him from wallowing in his thoughts, in replaying his and Lona’s past interactions, and from rehearsing future conversations.

After a quick argument he won, he paid for the booking. He swapped numbers with Mona then waited in the parking lot outside Tuesdays. Part of him was eager to head home, another dreaded the trip. He didn’t want to discuss his last discussion with Will despite mentioning she’d hit on him. At some point, Aiden had to realize he had feelings for the woman.

While Rhys waited with the engine running, he texted Noah that he was on his way back. He shouldn’t have when his phone rang seconds later.

“It’s a long story, with no happy ending yet.” He didn’t bother with a hello.

“Fuck that, Rhys. It’s been ages since you had a vacation.”

Wincing, Rhys held his phone away from his ear. “I found my mate, Noah.”

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