Page 45 of Black Moon

“If you don’t mind,” I said, and motioned to Grove House. “The rooms are well insulated, so you won’t have to worry about the noise or strange scents. We could use my room.” When his eyes went wide, I hastened to add, “Or one of the spare rooms. I don’t mind either way.”

“I, um, yeah. That’s fine. That will be fine.” His pupils were blown wide, cheeks slightly flushed, and finally, my medical training kicked in and I could see the signs. Not just the signs in this moment, when he was distracted by thinking about the fact that we would be having sex soon. I probably looked the same as he did, thinking about that.

But no, the way he’d had more and more buttons at his collar open over the last few days—just that little bit too warm. The way he’d stopped to roll his neck every now and then, like it was carrying extra tension. Maybe even the way he’d read Skip the riot act in the middle of the Grille, or flirted with me when I’d gone to ask him to wait on the story.

I’d been caught up in getting Brook back, but the signs had been plain, right there in front of me. And now, breathing in, it was like I could bury myself in the apple cake scent of—mate, my wolf supplied—ofthis omega, and lose myself completely.

“Did you need to go get your things from the hotel?” I asked, glancing over at his car. “You can just...pick a room in Grove House, and it can be yours for the duration of your stay in town. It’ll make things simpler all around.”

“So that’s a yes you’ll help me, yes?” he asked, one eyebrow lifted, and it was all I could do not to groan at myself.

I’d invited him over, offered him a room, and not even said that yes, I was willing to do what he asked. “Yes of course. I don’t believe I forgot to say I—yes. I will be happy—honored—to help you through your heat,” I agreed, the words tumbling out faster than I thought about them. Hopefully they didn’t sound too ridiculous. “I’ll need to stop in and check on Brook periodically, but especially if you stay at Grove House, it’ll be easy enough.”

His lopsided smile implied I’d said something odd, but that was nothing new. I never knew what to say to beautiful men when sex entered the equation, so as often as not, I tripped over my tongue and turned painfully awkward. He didn’t run screaming into the night, though, so that had to be a good sign. Right?

“I can send someone over to the motel to get your things if you want. If you’re too close, or if you’d rather just crash for the night, or—”

He shook his head and leaned up to kiss my cheek. “No. I’m going to go get my things and drop off my motel key. I can always go back when my heat ends if we think it’s for the best.”

Just the thought of that was horrible, as though I’d somehow already failed in my duties as the alpha he’d asked to help him through his heat. I bit my tongue to keep from promising that I wouldn’t fail him, and simply nodded instead. “That sounds like a good idea. I need to take care of Brook, but I’ll be here. I can show you around the house when you get back. Hopefully by then he’ll be asleep.”

Colt gave me a look that said we both knew how unlikely that was, but he didn’t say anything.

“I’ll be back in a little while, then,” he said, and for a moment, he just stood there.

Was I supposed to...what, shake his hand? Kiss him? Say something? I reached out and squeezed his shoulder, hoping it would be enough, without being weird and over the top. “Drive careful. I’ll see you in a little while.”

He nodded as he finally turned to go. “A little while.”

I went back into the clinic so I wouldn’t watch his car go like some kind of creep.

Inside, Skye and Brook were talking about computer games, as they sometimes did. Skye had spent most of his life trapped indoors, and Brook, well, I thought he was just a video game enthusiast.

I, however, didn’t know a damn thing about games, so I kept my nose out of it. It had been one of my father’s snippets of wisdom, “Better to keep one’s mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

It didn’t translate well into the modern era, ableist slur and all that, but the base sentiment was still reasonable. No point in offering my two cents on a subject I didn’t understand and look like a know-it-all tool who actually knew nothing.

Part of me wanted to suggest Brook take something to help him sleep, but would that actually help him? Or would it make him feel groggy and out of control of his own body? Worse, would it make him feel like I thought him a burden I wanted rid of via sleep?

Nope.

Helping Colt or no, for the foreseeable future, I had to make myself—or someone—available to Brook at all times. And the clinic, too, was his until he stopped needing it. I pulled an actual paper notepad out, and a big red marker to write,All appointments will be in the parlor at Grove House until further notice. Call Linden’s personal phone if you have questions.

The last thing Brook needed was some alpha wandering into the clinic when he finally managed to get to sleep. Even if it was ninety-year-old Mr. Anders, it would be a stress he didn’t need. Not this soon after he’d gotten home. The rest of the pack could deal with a little inconvenience for a while. Brook had survived hell. It was time for us to do everything we could to make him feel safe.

And everyone in the pack had access to my phone number, so they would survive.

With that, I went to tape the note on the door and lock it. That way if they were determined to ignore the note, as some were prone to do, they wouldn’t be able to simply bypass it and come right in.

Until he decided there was somewhere else he wanted to be, the clinic belonged to Brook.

Turning back toward them, I smiled. “Anyone want some tea?”

24

Colt

By the time I got back to the motel and packed up my things, it was almost five in the morning. There was no one at the front desk, but there was a drop box for keys and I called and left a message, letting them know I wasn’t leaving town, just in case.

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