Page 24 of Alpha Bond

I manage a weak smile in response.

“I brought something for the pain,” she says, holding out a small vial. When she pops the stopper out, a woody scent wafts toward me.

“White Willow bark?” I tilt my head curiously before emptying the contents into my mouth. My nose crinkles at the bitterness.

She nods. “You use medicinal plants in your pack?”

“Sometimes.” I keep my tone neutral, not wanting to encourage more questions about where I come from.

“That’s wise,” she says. “I’m not against a little natural healing to supplement the drugs we bring in. But you’ll need to be sure to take your antibiotics.” Her eyes drop, and she frowns. Instinctively, my hand lifts to my throat, where I still have the stupid fabric knotted. My skin is hot and sensitive to the touch.

Shit.

“Definitely.” I give another feeble smile. “I should probably do that right now.” I look around at where Jagger is moving away from Greyson.

“The boss wants a meeting,” he says. “I’ll take you back to my quarters. We can sort out your shoes and anything else you might need when I get back. You probably want to rest up a while anyhow.”

“Um…okay.” My toes curl against the rough wood of the platform. At least the floor is clean.

“You still don’t have shoes, honey?” Doctor Bea looks down at my feet. “And you’re wearing Jagger’s clothes. We can’t have that. I’ll take you down to the market.”

“She needs rest.” Jagger’s voice has a strange edge to it.

“The White Willow will kick in shortly. She’ll be fine in a bit. Won’t you?” She turns to me.

“Sure.” I look from one to the other. I’m oddly reluctant to leave him but she makes a good point. I need clothes.

“Great.” Doctor Bea gives a satisfied smile. “All good. I’ll have her back in an hour.”

“Fine. No more than an hour, though.” Jagger doesn’t look pleased. I’m his assignment, after all, and I guess he takes his job seriously.

Before he can change his mind, the doctor links her arm through mine and guides me away. “Ignore his bad attitude,” she murmurs, her head dipped toward me. “Jagger’s a honey at heart. Crusty on the outside and squishy on the inside.”

I slant a look at her, fighting back a wry smile. “Squishy?” It’s not a word I’d associate with Jagger Law.

She casts a look behind her as we put distance between ourselves and the small group left in the square. “Yeah. Totally squishy. Like a marshmallow. A big, sweet softy.”

I snort. “You could’ve fooled me.” The man I’ve come to know has been hard as ice and just as cold.

“Oh, he’ll soften up to you, eventually. It takes a while for him to trust.” Doctor Bea puts pressure on my arm to turn me down a long, winding walkway that leads us out of the shelter of the huge steel enclosure. “You’ll like it out here. The garrison is fine for the singles, but we have a lot more creature comforts outside.”

I blink a little against the bright light as we emerge into what looks very much like a human town. The buildings lining the streets are clearly old, but they’ve been carefully maintained. More window boxes frame windows and every available stretch of ground has been filled with lush, healthy vegetables. It’s so different from Wildview, which was little more than a cluster of cabins, but there’s a sense of being in touch with the earth that calls to me.

“Welcome to Steel Lakes.” The doctor beams at me. I look around us in astonishment. I’d honestly thought that the huge structure we’d been in encompassed the entire pack land they’d been referring to.

“But this is an actual town!” I stare as we head toward a busy square where people are bustling. Jagger had told me as much, but I hadn’t expected this. I try not to do a double-take as a full-grown wolf trots across a road. We’d never been permitted to shift in the daylight. “You all live here? Just wolves?”

“Yep. A couple of generations of us.”

I keep staring around, trying not to let my mouth hang open. Couples are walking about with young children in tow. “Is this where the family units are?” I ask.

The doctor glances at me. “Did Jagger tell you about our community?”

“Not in so many words. He asked your alpha why I couldn’t stay here instead of with him. Casey thought I’d be dangerous.” I still feel a pang as I think of her words.

Doctor Bea sighs. “I suppose that’s not surprising. We’re very protective of our young. They represent our future.”

I nod in understanding. Our pack was the same. Every year, it seemed like there were fewer of us. Even though we had an advantage over most wolves with our ability to breed prolifically. Then again, the raids kept our numbers low.

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