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“Thank you for that.” It made a difference. With Armand I could sense that they weren’t just words, that he meant them.
“We’ll find the Alpha responsible for harming Nathan.”
I nodded. “I’ll help in whatever way I can,” I said. “I don’t know a lot about him, to be honest. I don’t know where he would go.”
“We’ll start with your old pride and question some of the people there.” Armand turned to Pol. “We have a few things for you. The twins weren’t going to let anyone leave this territory without a mating present in the form of baked goods.”
Pol had told me about these twins and their bakery, and I had seen the sign when I was driven here. I didn’t think that I’d be able to partake in their goodness. It was a sweet gesture, one I really appreciated.
“Given more time, they would have had something better, but cinnamon rolls will have to do.” Armand offered the pink box wrapped with a white ribbon to Pol.
“Thank you,” Pol said. “We’ll stop in and see them before we go.”
“We also have a tonic, some medicine from our healer. It should speed up Silas’s healing.” I hadn’t met the Steelwick healer, but they did offer for me to before I left. I didn’t want to take the extra time.
And besides, Aisilo had Mortimer, and from everything I’d heard, he was a miracle worker. He sure had been for Nathan. The reports I’d heard from Steelwick were basically that he was going to see the goddess, it was just a matter of which day. And now? Now he was awake and talking.
“Thank you for this.” Pol took the small brown bag.
I gripped my mate’s hand as I limped along, up the stairs and out the front door. The walking was mostly on my own, but the stairs? Those I needed a lot of help with. I’d gotten significantly better in a short period of time. There was still a ways to go.
The fresh air washed over me, and I breathed in the cool air. I’d never again take for granted my freedom, the sun, the wind in my face. I hadn’t even done anything wrong and I almost lost it all.
“Let’s go home,” Pol said.
“Not until we visit the bakery and thank them for the cinnamon goodness.” I wanted to share my appreciation and let them see how much their gesture meant to me.
The bakery was small, but so full of life. The twins were in the middle of forming rolls when we walked in. Children filled the front of the shop, all playing together, an omega chasing them all with a wet washcloth, their faces covered with frosting.
“We just came to say thank you for these.” I tapped the bakery box my mate was holding. “I heard these are always gone first thing.”
“They are. But we made a special batch for you,” the one named Ralf said. “We made sure your frosting had a little something extra in it. The ones with the extra frosting are for you.” He pointed to me. “They are our special recipe.”
It wasn’t until I got home that I discovered one of the twins was extra good with herbs and that he had a special recipe for those in pain.
We hugged it out, they introduced us to the cubs and their teacher slash nanny, and then we went on our way. As much as I liked them and would like to spend time with them one day, today was not that day.
I settled in the backseat of the car while Thomas went to the bakery to grab some coffee. He came back with one for everyone.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Armand mentioned you should take that medicine with food, so drink it down and then dig into your roll, okay?” Pol handed me the box.
“Yes, mate,” I said.
Something in the medicine that Steelwick gave me or maybe it was the cinnamon roll must have put me to sleep, because the next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes and was surrounded by very different terrain.
We pulled into what I could only assume was the Asilo territory. It was exactly as my mate had described it: the main house with several other small homes surrounding it, the wood shop where Gideon did his work, the little play area where the kids enjoyed the outdoors, a pavilion with picnic tables. All of it was exactly how I pictured it.
There weren’t a lot of people around, which was typical of how things were at Asilo from my understanding. It was quiet. Peaceful. Comfortable.
“How did we get here so fast?” I asked, biting back a yawn.
Pol chuckled. “You slept. A lot. How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Fine,” I said. “I feel better than I have in days, honestly.” The bar wasn’t high, but it was still true.
How long had it been since I had been able to sleep without the threat of capture hanging over my head? Even though we were in a moving car with my leg at a not-so-great angle, I felt as if I had gotten the best sleep since I’d last had my mate in my arms, and really, before then. Even that sleep had been rough with the rocky ground and the pain and fear.
