Page 53 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part Two

“We did it,” he whispered, and I could hear the wonder in his ragged voice.

“We did,” I confirmed. “Let’s go home.”

“Yeah, let’s.”

13

LEO

For the first time since I was a young child, things were calm. Truly calm. There had been a lot of cleanup after we defeated the last two brothers, as we still had to take care of the remainder of their security outside, free the enthralled they’d left behind, and reunite them with their families.

Then there was the matter of my missing pack members. I had hoped we would find them with the last two brothers, but we only found four: Elizabeth, Frank, Archie, and Phillip. Like most of us, they were confused when they first came back to themselves, but bit by bit their memories returned. Unfortunately, even with the increase in their recollection, none of them had any idea where the rest of our pack could be.

We hadn’t been a large pack, cresting over thirty at our biggest before the massacre, but we were still missing about seventeen pack members. I knew it was unlikely that all of them were left alive, but still, I had hope that there were more of us left than the six of us.

If it weren’t for that weight hanging over my shoulders, it would have felt like months of serenity had passed, but inreality it was only about a full week when something incredible happened.

I’d been out in the garden, trying to find a semblance of normalcy with Ven, when a ragged, bony figure appeared at the tree line. Even after so much time, I knew that scent like the back of my hand.

“Andromeda!” I’d cried, heart in my throat as I sprinted for her. Although she was much thinner and worn than I had ever seen her, I knew it was her. Same hair, same button nose, same foxlike eyes.

She had practically collapsed in my arms at the time, but I was there to catch her. Her face was gaunt and drawn, but I knew without a doubt it was her. Hope bloomed in me. Bit by bit, our lost numbers might find their way home.

We were on the third day since she’d arrived, and although she was already improving under Ven’s care, her memories were still scattered. While she didn’t seem to recall us by name, our scent brought her comfort, so Ricky and I donated shirts to her makeshift bed on the couch. One downside of so much of our pack being reunited was that space was getting more and more scarce by the second. Most of the free space in Ven’s yard was packed with tents, and while most of our support had returned to their homes, a lot of them were hanging around to help transport recovered victims back home as soon as they remembered where their home was. I also got the distinct feeling that America wasn’t ready to leave. I didn’t blame her. Sometimes the peace seemed far too good to be true.

“Okay, I gotta go in and get changed,” Ven said, standing up and wiping her hands on the gardening apron that had been given to her by... actually, I couldn’t remember who had gifted that particular item, but I did know that my love had been wearing it whenever she was out in the garden.

“Changed? Why?”

As cute as ever, she smiled and stood up on her tip toes to kiss my cheek. “I have work, silly. Javier offered to drive me there and back, so I won’t have to bike. I’ll only be gone maybe five hours maximum.”

“Ah, right.” Somehow, I had forgotten Ven still had a job outside of our bubble. She’d reduced her hours a lot and had called off for our adventure with the final two brothers, so it had slipped my mind. Really, with all the support from the wide-flung shifter community, she didn’t need to work at all. I couldn’t help but wonder if Ven was clinging to it as one last form of normalcy she had control over. She still didn’t talk much about her spontaneous magical abilities, and I figured it wasn’t the right time to push her. Maybe once things calmed down a little or stopped interfering with her day-to-day life…

“Do you want me to cook dinner?” I offered rather futilely. I wasn’t one of those douchey alphas who didn’t even know how to make themselves a sandwich. I’d cooked for myself and Ricky when we were younger, but my culinary skills weren’t up to snuff when compared with Ven’s or America’s aunties.

“No, I think someone said something about barbacoa, so we’ll be set. But thank you for asking. I wouldn’t mind if you played with the cats and checked in on Andromeda, though. I don’t think she’s quite up for solid food, but I do have bone broth with some silken tofu chunks in the fridge that needs to be reheated.”

Well, it wasn’t quite saving the world, but I was more than happy to do that for her.

“Sure, sounds like a plan.”

“Thanks!” She kissed my cheek again, then hurried off.

Although I felt a little melancholy at seeing her go, I was overjoyed that we finally had enough peace and steadiness that the only reason she had to leave was her work. I didn’t have toworry about any warlocks in the background or enthralled bear shifters who could take her out on her bike ride.

All in all, things were most certainly looking up.

I went about finishing the pruning in the garden, then walked around and exchanged words with everyone who was still on Ven’s little chunk of land. Part of me wondered if we could go to the landlord and ask about renting a larger area so we’d have more room, but I didn’t want Ven to get in trouble if he found out how many people were staying with her at the moment. In all honesty, I’d have loved to go back home and restore the small piece of land our pack had inhabited before we’d been scattered, but the memories of it were bathed in misfortune. That piece of land was only double the size of Ven’s plot, and the houses were all dilapidated, but we’d put so much work into making them cozy houses for the lot of us. We’d had chickens—something I knew Ven desperately wanted—and the woods surrounding it had been perfect for hunting and our monthly runs.

Granted, it wasn’t like our pack lands had been too far considering the fact that the cave was so close to Ven’s home. Perhaps there was a way we could connect the two territories? It seemed a bit impossible since I had no idea who owned Ven’s little plot of land, but perhaps it was something to look into. Especially if we ended up finding more of our pack members.

Thankfully, there was no great drama, so my walk lasted maybe an hour or so, and only because I got involved in a conversation with Ricky. My beta was doinggreatsince our victory with the last two brothers. I was pretty sure it was only his enhanced healing that stopped his cheek muscles from burning with how he was constantly grinning from ear to ear. I didn’t begrudge him the happiness. Of all of my pack members, it seemed that I, for some reason, had suffered the least—only because Ven had freed me from my curse first. Everyone elsebut Ricky and me had to wait for the brothers to die before their curse was broken. While I still didn’t understand how or why Ven had been able to break the enchantment that had kept me locked in my wolf form, I had a feeling it had something to do with her ability to control plants. Some sort of healer magic. I only wish we knew what she was so I could give her the peace she so longed for. Although the battle had been a haze of stimulation and a cacophony of noise, I remembered Frederick saying something strange to Ven. Nothing that quite made sense but did seem like he knew—or at least thought he knew—something about Ven.

It was too bad we couldn’t have kept him alive to interrogate him. But that was the problem with warlocks. Once the upper hand was gained, it was easily lost if not taken advantage of immediately. Although I hated them down to my very core, I had to admit they’d known how to fight.

Once I’d done my rounds, I went inside and reheated the bone broth for Andromeda. While she had never been one for lengthy conversation, I did want to ask her if she was all right. I knew firsthand how confusing it was to go from being purely an animal to regaining humanity again, and I’d had Ven to walk me through it. Andromeda had woken up alone and cold in some place she wasn’t ready to tell us, then wandered in a random direction until she found us. Her connection to me, her alpha, had guided her in the right direction, but she didn’t know that. It must have been so confusing and so utterly lonely.

So, yeah, even if she didn’t remember me, I wanted her to know she’d never be so alone again.

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