Sage considered it and then leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands. "Have you remembered anything else from before the attack?"
The tentative happiness I was feeling about having an honest conversation with my mate faded, but I kept my expression neutral. There was no way she could have known what a sensitive subject it was. "Bits and pieces, but nothing substantial. Weirdly enough, I think Cal and some of my other wolves know more than they're letting on. But I'm not about to confront them and look insane if I'm wrong."
Sage folded her hands under her chin and studied me carefully. She didn't say much, but I recognized the look in her eyes—it was the look of a healer. Subconsciously, I bristled. I didn't want to be her patient any longer. I wanted to be her mate in all possible ways.
After the plates were cleared, I fumbled for a reason to keep the meal going. "You want some dessert? They have good pie here."
To my dismay, Sage was already sliding out of the booth. "I actually have some more errands to run. I'll see you back at the house tonight."
"Sage!" I reached out, hoping to grab her, but she avoided me effortlessly, either not noticing me or doing a hell of a good job of pretending I didn't exist.
The bell above the diner door jingled with her exit, and I sighed, leaning back in the booth. She'd given me a taste of what it would be like to have Sage close to me once more, but it wasn't nearly enough. I was still starving for her.
Chapter 8 - Sage
I couldn't stop thinking about lunch with Noah. Not because of the burger, which had been great, but because of the man himself. At first, I'd agreed because it would be nice to just be out
of the house for some time, and I'd been fiercely craving red meat, but soon enough we were talking like we were old friends.
Which, I guess, we were...except he ruined our friendship and any other possible connection by rejecting me. I had to stop forgetting about that, because it was all too easy to forget when faced with Noah's handsome face and smile.
Then there was the way he spoke about his broken memories, and the fact that I might have had a solution. Being a healer meant that I was an expert at fixing physical ailments—broken bones, bruises, burns, and things like that. Injuries to the mind were a different story, but it could be done as long as the healer was confident in their skills and very, very careful. Noah likely wasn't under a spell or anything similar that made him forget; he'd simply been concussed severely. It was damage I thought I could fix, but it would be risky. If I messed it up, he might end up worse off than he already was.
And then there was the fact that I shouldn't be doing Noah any favors, anyway. He'd kidnapped me. I should just let him suffer.
But as the days passed, my resolve weakened, and eventually, I decided I'd give Noah a chance. Maybe if I helped him, he'd see that he was wrong to marry me out of obligation. I'd grown into the talented healer that I was in my new pack, the pack that accepted me, and he'd torn that away. I had no ideawhat to expect, but the moment the thought popped into my head that maybe there was a possibility, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
I needed some time to figure out the right spell to heal Noah anyway, so I didn't rush things. Noah had been spending more and more time out of the house, fortifying the pack borders against potential attacks and investigating what was wrong with the land and waterways. It left me a lot of time alone to think, and also a lot of time to consider escaping.
I seesawed between the two options constantly—running away and trying to heal Noah. My mind was a battlefield, and I was exhausted, torn between wanting him and wishing I could get away from him.
That exhaustion shifted into something a lot more dangerous last night. Noah was once again out on pack business, checking on a disturbance near the border, and I was running myself a hot bath. I'd been dealing with some pretty intense stomach cramps, and I thought that maybe the hot water would help.
But when I dipped my toe into the water and started to sink in, I was struck by a familiar, but wholly unwelcome sensation. A jolt ripped through me, both painful and needy at the same time, and worry followed right behind it.
Oh no. I'd felt that same jolt before. It was my heat cycle getting ready to start.
Being so close to Noah had triggered it, and I was suddenly even more sure that I wanted to escape. Having to deal with the pain of my heat around my mate when my body would be begging me to let him help me through it would be agony. But every time I considered running, I was hit by another wave of pain, like my body was rejecting the idea of leaving.
My mind might have wanted to go back to the Brokenclaw pack, but my body, gearing up for a heat cycle, wanted nothing more than to stay with its mate. The pain would likely grow worse if I tried to leave him, but if I waited until I was in full-blown heat, he'd definitely be able to smell it on me.
I washed quickly, distracted by my new problem, doing my best to scrub the scent off me even though I knew it was impossible to truly get rid of. I was in the middle of dousing myself in scented lotion when I heard the doorbell ring.
Ignoring it was my first instinct. No one would be visiting for me, and Noah was still on his mission, so I hoped whoever it was would just leave. But that didn't happen, and the person rang again before resorting to pounding on the door with their fist.
Cautiously, I looked through the peephole, and when I recognized the wolf on the other side, I opened the door.
It was Noah's Beta, Cal, and his face was streaked with blood and dirt. Suddenly, my heart was pounding.
"What happened? Is Noah okay?"
Cal spoke at the exact same time, our words getting jumbled together. "Noah is at the infirmary with our injured pack members. There was a bear attack. He wants you there as soon as possible."
"But is Noah injured?"
"He's fine, but the others need healing. Come with me. Now."
I grabbed my jacket and slipped on some shoes before following him out the door. My brain was racing with possibilities of what could have gone wrong, and how I wassupposed to treat wounds in a pack that hadn't been expecting me. Would they accept my help?
