Page 5 of Ellie 3

Stronger. That was what she was about to say, but I turned her and hugged her to me, kissing her hair yet again and then her cheek. “You’ve got enough people to save and fires to put out, Superwoman. Mum set up my guestroom, so it’s great. I’ll handle it and get back to work. Are you okay to drive back to the hospital?”

“Yes, of course.” She gave me a soft kiss. “Thank you, Ha-joon.” She stepped away and opened her mouth but then closed it, seeming at a loss again.

I went over to the woman and extended my hand. “I’m Dr. Ha-joon Clark, youngest son of Alpha Clark of the London wolves, one of ASH’s Shifter Health and Wellness attendings.”

She studied me a moment. “And my stepdaughter’s lover. Long-time?”

“That’s for her to answer however she wants or if she wants to at all when you’ve been estranged,” I said after a few moments, giving Ellie time to answer first.

“As you wish, Dr. Clark.” She extended her hand to me. “Aurora Reed, formerly Aurora Graves, though it was made abundantly clear to me that I’m not allowed to take that name again even if I’m able to detangle myself from Kenneth. I’m sorry for putting you out, and I thank you for making this easier on Ellie if she’s going to insist on helping me.”

I was honestly impressed that the woman was clearly terrified of me but was going with the flow to not upset Ellie.

What the fuck had really happened and was going on?

Seriously? This wasn’t the evil stepmother I’d built in my head.

I made sure Ellie settled everything with the restaurant, was stable in her SUV, and on her way before getting Aurora situated. I glanced at her when she let out a chuckle.

“Sorry.”

“I just didn’t understand what’s amusing,” I muttered, focusing back on the road.

“I’ve just barely been anywhere in my hundreds of years. Either my family’s castle or my mate’s. The trip between them was the longest time I spent in the world and it was with armed guards and no freedom. In carriages on weeks-long journeys. Now I’ve been tossed out and on a separate continent and it’s funny that I started at her condo—”

“And you’re going right back,” I muttered. “I get it.”

“My mind is a terrifying place, and I’m in as much of reeling shock at Kenneth’s arrest and someone finally holding him accountable as Ellie must be.” She snorted. “Maybe more so.” She studied me. “Would Ellie be happy if I helped the investigations? I don’t know of how much help I could be, and most is probably not current, but I do know how my husband thinks.”

“You’ll have to ask her,” I said firmly, not about to stick my nose in such matters.

“Yes, of course. I was asking for your opinion, Dr. Clark, not your permission for Ellie,” she whispered and looked back out the window. “I was asking if you thought it would hurt her to stir things up more than help her. I can leave it all be or try to—I didn’t come here to hurt Ellie. There were things she needed to know. Truths she needed if she could ever leave the past…”

“Yeah, not sure it’s something she can ever fully leave behind her,” I said, trying my best to keep the sarcasm out of my tone but clearly some of it leaked in.

“Heal from it as best as possible then,” Aurora corrected. “Even if some of the answers won’t give her much help. At least they are answers instead of… I never thought it would be this long until I saw her again. I never—this wasn’t the plan. I thought I would get them free and follow after a decade.”

She sniffled and wiped under her eyes, mumbling that it was for the best given how Ellie had thrived… And that she deserved no less for her sins.

Yeah, okay, so definitely not the evil stepmom I’d been picturing.

She was like a curious kid as we went through the drive-thru but also overwhelmed at the idea of ordering for herself. I picked several things, a few that worked for now warm and other options she could have cold from the fridge later.

Aurora promised to stay in the condo and seemed amused when I checked she knew how to work the TV and whatnot. Yeah, okay, that might be overkill to have asked but… The drive-thru was normal too.

Not if you were locked up in a castle. Got it. Castle prisoners still got TVs.

How the fuck would I know that?

“Every time I blink things get weirder,” I grumbled as I got back in my vehicle and headed for the hospital.

Luckily, I arrived right before my next patient appointment and had managed to eat the burgers from the drive-thru. They weren’t really enough, so I inhaled at least a dozen dumplings later before reloading the steamer for my staff.

Gerald intercepted me on the way to Ellie’s office after I was done with work. “Can you talk some sense into her that I need to speak with her stepmother? I wasn’t asking for the code to your condo, just what unit number and—”

“Whoa, take it down to like a five,” I said firmly, giving him a look that I wasn’t kidding. I made the motion for deep breaths in and out as I took them.

He rolled his eyes but did it, nodding that he heard me. “I’ve got a lot on my plate, and people here arenottaking Ellie’s new declarations and press presence well. Now it’s out that you guys are a couple—I’ve got like forty balls in the air and she won’t let me protect her.”

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