Page 80 of Tides of Fate

“This is Tsuki. She was a gift from my mate. She’s quite beautiful, no?”

It’s a bit of a test because no one would look at Tsuki and say she was beautiful—not yet, anyway—but animal lovers are good people, and Tsuki deserves only good people in her life.

“Quite so. Her soul is beautiful most of all. Shines brightly, justlike yours.”

Nix isn’t sure about his soul, but Artem is right: Tsuki’s is bright. So, Nix lets the driver pass his good-person test with impunity.

They’re stopped at a red light when Nix gets up the courage to ask the question he’s been thinking about since the doors slid open.

“Artem? This is the third time you’ve picked me up, isn’t it? I don’t remember the last time, but Finn described you, and when I saw you today, I knew it was you.”

“It was me. You’re wondering how I came to be where you needed me? That’s hard to explain without sounding like a fool,” Artem says, smiling ruefully.

“That’s okay. I’ve had a lot of weird things going on in my life in the last few weeks. I doubt you could surprise me. Isn’t that right, Tsuki?”

She just snorts and sits up straighter, like the question is beneath her—it reminds Nix of Gideon a bit.

“I suppose you have. Alright, then. Well, every time, I just know I’m supposed to be wherever you are, and then you’re there. That first night, you just appeared out of nowhere at the stop, and I knew you were hurt. When you said you didn’t want either human hospital, I knew you had to go to Lupine.”

He changes lanes, clearing his throat.

“That last night, I’d been sick all day. But I made it to church…you know, the one with the pond and the willows? Church of the Divine Goddess? Always makes me feel better if I can get there. Body and soul, you know? Anyway, when I got home, I had a call to go into work and felt immediately better. It was so strange. But when I got there, I came right to your stop, and there you were.”

He pulls the whole bus into the driveway in front of the ER instead of the stop twenty feet away, and they sit for a few moments, digesting what Artem has said out loud.

“Why do you think you were here today? I’m not hurt.”

“No, you aren’t, but you needed a ride, and I…give rides. Here.” He holds out a card with a handwritten phone number on it and his name. “I’m not sure if I’ll always get…the call.” He looks up meaningfully. “Butif you want to call me, I promise I’ll come. I have a little car, and I can take you anywhere you’d like to go.”

Maybe Nix has made a second friend, and it’s a special joy. In his other life, he’d have been suspicious and probably freaked out, but his wolf is already attached to this nice person with the small smile and kind eyes.

Nix has a good feeling. He looks at the card again.

“Truly? I’d like that, Artem.” Nix smiles. “Thank you. For saving me and being here today. I’m sorry I have to go, but I will call you. Maybe we could have tea?”

He waves, and Tsuki does the same, lifting her paw in the air (who taught her that, he doesn’t know), and then she jumps onto the paved drive.

“See you soon, Nix.” Artem smiles.

For the third time in as many weeks, he follows Tsuki through the ER doors with the sound of the bus’s engine fading behind him.

Chapter Fifteen: Nix

The vestibule of the ER is just as warm as the very first time he’d been in it, only this time he can smell the scent blocker spray, deadening every scent in the small space. It’s strange to be wired into a whole new set of sense memories, knowing he had completely missed it the first time around…and the second.

The waiting room is as empty as that first time, the same nurse from that first night standing in front of the counter. Phone propped on a box of tissues, he’s practicing the movements to a dance, bright pink Crocs squeaking with every slide and hip thrust. But as soon as the doors slide shut, his nose lifts quizzically in the air, and when he sees Nix, his eyes pop open cartoonishly wide, though not in embarrassment.

Nix has been recognized.

“Holy shit balls,” the nurse mutters. The familiar face actually helps with the low-grade anxiety simmering under his skin. Memories of when he’d sat in that chair, hurting and hoping he’d get home in time to clean the mess before Hayes came home, creep in around the edges.

Tsuki presses herself against his leg in comfort, and not for the first time, Nix feels gratitude for her constant presence. She lets out a small growl to warn Nix that the nurse is coming toward them, and Nix pastes a patient smile on his face that he doesn’t quite feel.

Finn is in the hospital somewhere, and time is ticking. There is no time for small talk.

“Hey, you’re Finn’s mate, right? Nix? Wow! You look way different from the last time I saw you.”

Tsuki lets out a growl, and Nix’s jaw drops a little at the faux pas.

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