Page 33 of Wolf's Whisper

"Hi," I managed to utter, my voice suddenly squeaky and my throat dry. How did she always manage to take my breath away?

"Were you worried about me?" she grinned as she took a step in my direction, a sly smirk playing around her pink lips.

"What, me? Naaah." I tried, hoping I came across casually, but the grin on her face told me I was failing miserably at that.

With her lips dangerously close to my ear, she brushed a strand of hair away from my cheek. "I’m glad to see you too," she whispered, as I suddenly found myself standing in a field of wild strawberries.

A shiver ran down my spine as she pushed my chin up with two fingers. Her bright eyes pierced into mine as she lowered her face towards mine. Was this it? Was she going to kiss me?

My breath hitched in my throat as I stood in front of her, frozen still, scared that any movement, even a breath, might break this moment.

A light breeze blew over my wetted lips, which I later realised was her breath. She was so close, I could almost taste the strawberries. And then...

"Guys! Enough with all the lovey dovey stuff, we have more urgent and serious business to discuss."

Aspen's loud voice boomed through the cave and as it did, I felt how both I and my wolf were immediately dragged away from Ashleigh. Voluntarily or involuntarily, my attention was suddenly completely focussed on Aspen. Aspen, who had luckily put on a shirt and a pair of trousers. Aspen, who if he wasn't kidding and playing around, was dangerously handsome. Aspen, who turned my brain into mush and my stomach into a stress ball every time he used his alpha voice.

Aspen, who could make me almost forget about Ashleigh.

Not just Ashleigh and I jumped apart, begrudgingly, the redhead pulled away from her own reunion. Even the imposing man and the rebel Darren seemed unable to withstand a command from their alpha, as both of them turned away from Danny.

Yeah, alpha Aspen certainly was something else. And as he spoke in his authoritative voice, planning out our next move, I could feel my heart break as my wolf was torn between the two siblings.

But as much as I wanted to wallow in my own misery, a loud grunt in the back of the cave caught my attention.

With his hand pressed against his side, Regan was now slumped against the wall of the cave. I couldn't be sure, but I could almost see sweat pearling on his face. His face now painted in harsh lines as he finally admitted he was in pain.

"You okay?" and "Are you hurt?" were yelled through each other as both Danny and Darren ran to Regan.

Far more careful than expected, Darren peeled away Regan's shirt. Underneath, he exposed a nasty looking cut that was already collecting pools of puss. Tasty.

But as Regan groaned in pain, that thought disappeared and made way for genuine concern. He seemed the type of guy that wouldn't complain about a little scratch unless it was completely serious. And from the looks of it, it was serious.

Danny pressed a cloth against Regan's ribs to remove the puss and I sincerely hoped she wouldn't use that towel later to dry the dishes. As much as I cared for Regan and wanted him to get the best care, it just seemed like a legit thing to worry about.

The muscles man groaned in pain as Darren applied some sort of sticky ointment and wrapped the wound with a simple cloth.

JP brought him a cup of the leftover soup we had for breakfast and even Aspen willingly gave up his "throne" (aka the ugly stump of wood he found inside the cave) so it could be used as a little end table.

I was still processing the fact that apparently Darren was the healer of the group and wondered how I could help. Everyone else was doing something, so the least I could do was try.

I grabbed one of our logs and poked up the fire, blowing in the ashes to raise the temperature of the coals. I counted out the logs and happily nodded. Definitely enough to last us for a while. What about our drinking water?

The pot that Ashleigh and I filled up not so long ago, was now almost empty. I gazed at the entrance of the cave, realising the storm had sort of settled. I should really help.

The group had shifted and chased away the Coyotes while I had helplessly waited in the cave. The least I could do, was get all of us some more clean drinking water.

I grabbed the cauldron, tipped the left over water into a smaller pot and heaved it up. "I'll Regan some more fresh water," I called out to the group. Danny shot me a grateful look and JP smiled.

I felt a sense of pride course through my body. See, I could be useful. I wasn't just the youngster they needed to take care of.

I felt a warm hand on my wrist. "Be careful," Ashleigh gently said, her blue eyes piercing into mine. I nodded, smiling at her, hoping she'd realise I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself.

"See you soon," she whispered, making my cheeks heat up. Damn, she was so cute. I wish I'd have said something smooth or smart, but I just bit my lip and scrunched my nose. Judging from the twinkle in her eye, she loved my response either way.

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