Page 1 of Promise & Artem

Promise Elliot, she-wolf healer and certified badass female, if she did say so herself, walked out of Lonestar after her shift and stopped to inhale the fresh night air and look at the sky. It was a few days after the June full moon and the sky was beautifully clear and full of stars.

“Hey, girl.”

Promise dropped her head and smiled when she saw London, one of her best friends. The half she-wolf, half-fairy had grown up with Promise in the small town of Allen Kentucky.

“Welcome home,” Promise said, giving London a hug.

“Thanks.” London had spent time in Ashland, Indiana after their mutual friend Lyric, daughter of the pack alphas, had married her mountain lion twin mates, Evan and Elliot.

“Find any good-looking single males up there?” Promise asked.

“Plenty,” she said with a chuckle. “But none were my truemate, which sucks.”

“Too bad.”

“I heard things got dicey with Remy’s mate?”

Not too long ago, Promise and her mom Reika had been in line for snacks at the movie theater when former pack member Remy had called in a panic because his mate Thyme had beenshot while in her wildcat shift. Because Promise and her mom were healing wolves also known as apexes, they rushed to the town of Copper Creek and were able to save Thyme’s life.

“That’s freaking wild,” London said after hearing the details. She gave her a curious look and then said, “Are you okay? You seem a little distracted.”

Promise leaned on the railing in front of the restaurant and sighed. “I’m not sleeping well.”

“Any reason why?”

“Well, I think it’s because I’m ready to leave but Rio’s not.”

“I thought you guys were planning to leave together?”

Promise and her younger sister Rio had agreed a few months ago, that they were going to leave the healings in the Tressel Pack to their mom and find new groups to join up with. They intended to simply travel around until they found their truemates and then settle with their people, becoming the healers for their new family and friends.

But every time they made plans to leave, Rio got cold feet.

“I think she’s just not ready to leave home yet,” Promise said. “Which is fine. I just didn’t picture going on my own.”

“Are you having second thoughts?”

“Not really.” She rubbed the space over her heart. “I know I need to leave. There’s zero reason for us to have three healing wolves plus fae like you who can heal with magic.”

“You could go to Ashland and hang out with Lyric,” London suggested. “At least you would know someone in the area.”

“It’s crossed my mind, but I’m not sure it’s where I should go, or I probably would have gone already. I need to do some serious soul-searching, and I think I just need to set a date and leave, whether I’m alone or not.”

“Setting off for adventure, I love it.”

Promise smiled. “Are you going inside for a late dinner?”

“My mom ordered dinner and asked me to pick it up since I was out and about.”

“Awesome. I’m going to take off, see you later.”

“Good luck making your plan.”

“Thanks, babe.”

Promise parted ways with London and walked to her car. As she left the parking lot and drove to the single-wide trailer in a small trailer park on the other side of town, she thought about what London had said.

Should she go to Ashland and hang out with Lyric and the mountain lions? They had a dragonfae in their midst who was great at healing with magic, so they probably didn’t need another healer. But maybe she was putting too much emphasis on using her healing powers. She wanted to be helpful, though, and aside from healing Remy’s mate, she’d rarely used her healing power.

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