Page 58 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part Two

Who would have thought the orphan girl would end up with such a large brood? I certainly hadn’t.

“What’s going on in your head?” Leo asked softly. “You’ve been a bit quiet.”

“I suppose I have, haven’t I? Just thinking about all the changes that have happened recently.”

“There have been a lot, haven’t there?” Leo chuckled, but I picked up a sliver of uncertainty in his tone. “Are you okay with that?“

Ah, I understood that uncertainty now. He was probably worried it was too much, too soon. That I would be overwhelmed by his pack and everything that came with it. Thankfully, I was built of hardier stuff.

“You know, I was actually thinking we should bring some of the brothers back, go back to being hunted and having themenslaving people right and left. That definitely would be an improvement.”

Leo laughed and reached over as if he was going to ruffle my hair but seemed to think better of it. “Smart Alec.”

“But you love me anyway.”

Leo paused and turned his full gaze to me. Although the smile on his lips was kind and sweet, there was such an intensity to his gaze, I could barely breathe. “Yeah, I do.”

What a fucking thing to say. I could feel those stupid tears begin to prick at my eyes as pure happiness bubbled up within me. I had spent so many years begging to be loved, fighting for scraps wherever I could get it. But with Leo? With Leo there was never any emotional starvation. He never withheld his love and affection, not even when he was at his darkest.

How did I ever get so lucky?

“I love you, too,” was all I could utter, and then I was in his arms.

It wasn’t like any of those bodice rippers my aunt used to read—we didn’t suddenly fall to the blankets below us and begin tearing at each other’s clothes. Mostly because I got the impression it would hurt. We held each other, our heartbeats ricocheting off each other’s chests until they slowly, slowly began to synchronize.

God, I loved this man, this wolf, and every day we got to be together was a gift I would not let go to waste.

Eventually, we parted, but only to arrange ourselves across the blanket. I got the feeling Leo was quite proud of whatever he’d put in the basket and wanted to show off a bit. Sure, I wanted to jump his bones, but there was no reason it couldn’t wait until after I saw all the effort he had gone through to make the date special.

“You sure you’re ready for this?” Leo asked, waggling his eyebrows.

“Oh, I’m on the edge of my seat.”

“Actually, you’re on the ground.”

I let out a soft huff of laughter. “Now who’s the smart Alec?”

“Well, I did learn from the best.”

“Damn right, you did.”

We were both grinning like loons, and I loved it. Talking had always been easy between us, but now the threat of the brothers was gone, it flowed that much easier. It was amazing how not having the threat of imminent death hovering over our heads really lightened things.

Granted, I wasn’t stupid enough to think everything would be peaches and roses for the rest of our life. There had to be some fallout from taking down such a powerful family, and I was sure there would be other people who would rise to take advantage of the power vacuum, but I wasn’t going to sit here and dread what was to come. I was going to enjoy my time with my mate and all the new people I had the honor to get to know. I was going to enjoy myself, starting with the soft cheese Leo pulled out of the basket.

“Is that brie?” I asked, my salivary glands waking up. Like most people with taste buds, I loved cheese, but I rarely got to indulge in anything fancy. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been able to buy a little wheel of something so fancy. Maybe my birthday a couple of years earlier?

“It is.” Leo beamed at me. “And this is camembert.” However, the container he pulled out wasn’t one from the store, but rather one I recognized as my Tupperware. “I roasted this in the oven with honey and some walnuts over it. It’s not as warm as it could be, but it is still a little toasty.”

Was I getting emotional over cheese? Yes. Did that say something about me? Probably. Was I ashamed about it? Not in the slightest.

Leo continued to pull treats from the basket that showed how much he cared and how much he knew about me. I didn’t even remember telling him that I only liked dark chocolate when it was paired with peanut butter, and yet he knew. I also didn’t remember telling him that I preferred plain crackers so the flavor of whatever was on them wouldn’t be interfered with, yet he knew.

Could he get any more perfect?

Well, I supposed it would be cool to have a boyfriend who could fly, but that also seemed a bit complicated. Time-travel powers? No, that would get problematic way too fast, and I didn’t want to end up in some sort of time shenanigans where I met my own grandmother and therefore stopped existing.

Wolf shifter boyfriend it was, then.

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