Page 53 of Ethan
Nick looked a little better now. His color was returning, and his breathing had evened out.
Ethan stood beside him, fingers still brushing over the bandages with a gentleness that tugged something loose in my chest.
“You okay?” I asked softly, stepping beside him.
Ethan nodded. “He’ll be out for a few hours. But he’s going to be alright.”
The relief in his voice was subtle, but it was there. I could feel the edge of tension slipping off him, bit by bit.
“I meant you,” I said.
That earned me a glance. A tired, grateful kind of smile.
“I’ll live,” Ethan said.
He finally sank onto the stool I’d nudged over earlier, shoulders slumping forward a little.
“You were amazing,” I said, meaning every word.
Ethan snorted. “I almost passed out thirty seconds ago.”
“Still amazing.”
He looked at me for a long moment. Then he said, quiet and almost shy, “Thanks for being here.”
“I’ll always be here,” I said before I could think twice. “Especially for you.”
His eyes softened, and for a second, it felt like the chaos of the past few hours didn’t exist. Like it was just us again. Like it had been in my room that morning, wrapped in warm sheets and each other.
Ben returned, looking slightly cleaner and a lot less tense. “Nick okay?”
Ethan nodded. “He’s stable. Just needs rest.”
Ben crossed to the chair near the cot and sank into it with a heavy exhale. “Then I’ll stay with him a bit.”
Ethan nodded, and I turned toward the door.
“I’ll go grab us something to eat,” I said. “You’ll both feel better after.”
Ethan’s eyes met mine. “Thanks, Dean.”
Three days after the wild wolf attack, things finally started to settle again. Nick was healing. Ben was back on his feet, quieter than usual but steady.
Patrols were doubled, and no new scents had turned up on the border. For the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe. And maybe ask a certain healer out to dinner.
I found Ethan outside the clinic, crouched near the herb garden Cooper had insisted on keeping alive even though most of the pack relied on modern medicine now.
Ethan had his sleeves rolled up and a smudge of dirt on his cheek as he sorted the herb cuttings into glass jars.
“Hey,” I said, keeping my tone casual.
He looked up, eyes bright despite the fatigue in the rest of him. “Hey yourself.”
“You busy tonight?” I asked.
“I’m always busy,” he replied with a sigh, but there was a tug of a smile on his lips.
I took that as a good sign. “Yeah, but are you busy enough to turn down dinner?”
