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His voice was ultra polite. I wondered if that was instinctive, or if he’d been warned to keep his distance and his manners.
“Thanks, Dillon,” Aiden said, amusement evident.
Warmth briefly speared the blue of Dillon’s eyes. He nodded politely my way, then turned and trotted away.
I glanced up as Aiden pressed me forward. “Is he the youngest in the family?”
He had two brothers, I knew that much, as well as five sisters—six, if Katie was included. I had no idea if such a large number was normal or not for a wolf pack.
“Yes.”
His tone was clipped, and annoyance instinctively rose. “I’m gathering I’m not to ask too many questions about your family?”
His gaze shot to mine. “That’s not what I meant to imply. It’s just—” He hesitated, and half shrugged. “I’m not used to talking about my family to anyone outside of the pack.”
And that was something I always would be, no matter how long we were together. I looked away, studying the gold-wreathed buildings and ignoring the inner sadness. “Then can I ask which of these longhouses belongs to your family?”
“It’s the one on the left with the ivy-leaved cyclamen on the roof.”
Which was one of the largest here. I wondered how many generations lived within its golden walls, and where his bedroom was… “It’s pretty.”
“It is, thanks mainly to the long hours Mom spends on the roof to ensure weeds don’t overrun the flowers.” He shook his head, his love for her evident in his expression despite the lingering swirls of annoyance in his aura.
We walked through the pathway between his home and the next. The buildings immediately behind were obviously communal, as there were blacksmiths, stonemasons, potters, and woodworkers all working in the area. The large infirmary building lay at the far end of the lane, and behind it, lying in the shadows of the canyon’s walls, were smaller longhouses.
“Given a werewolf’s ability to self-heal by simply shifting shape,” I said, “I wouldn’t have thought such a large infirmary would be necessary.”
“The ability to shape shift comes with puberty. Until that point, there’s all manner of cuts and broken bones needing attention. Werewolf children are no different to human when it comes to pushing boundaries, but their belief in their own immortality is probably much higher.”
“Well, they probably do bounce better, given the strength of their bones.”
Amusement teased his lips. “True only to a certain point—trust me on that.”
Though dawn had barely risen, there were already a number of people moving about this area. Most pretended they weren’t interested in us, but their curiosity nipped at our heels. I ignored it and studied the two-story building instead. Unlike most in the compound, the grayish stone here was unadorned by reefs of either quartz or gold. The flat roof was also stone, and it gave the entire building a dour, hunkered-down appearance. But maybe that was intentional; maybe they wanted it to be the sort of place young werewolves preferred to avoid.
/> Aiden opened the door and ushered me inside. A silver-haired woman glanced up and immediately motioned to the stairs on her left. “They’re waiting in Ward C.”
She didn’t bother explaining who ‘they’ were, but I guessed it would, at the very least, be Aiden’s parents and Jeni’s. Our footsteps echoed as we climbed the stairs, making the place seem empty. And, aside from Jeni and whoever was in the ward with her, maybe it was.
The corridor on the upper floor ran the visible length of the building. There were a number of doors running off either side and, down the far right end, a double set of secure doors and a sign saying Surgery and Intensive Care. Which surprised me, given Castle Rock’s hospital was fully equipped and only ten minutes away by car.
We went left. Ward C was three doors down. Aiden ushered me in; the four people inside immediately glanced around. Two of them were his parents—while I’d never been officially introduced to his father, I’d glimpsed him when we’d entered the compound’s outer forest to rescue Ashworth from the dark sorcerer intent on making the wellspring—and the wild magic—his own. But even if I hadn’t seen him before, I would have still known who he was. When it came to looks, the males in Aiden’s family didn’t fall very far from the DNA tree.
The other two were obviously Jeni’s parents—their auras were an agitated mix of anger and deep grief, the latter surprising me a little, given she’d at least escaped the destruction the Empusae had visited on the two men. But I guess they feared that the trauma of what she’d witnessed would probably be with her for a very long time to come, possibly even causing serious mental problems. It certainly wasn’t an unknown phenomenon.
Aiden stopped at the end of the bed. I did the same and studied the sedated girl. She was tall and slender and looked to be in her late teens. Like her parents, her hair leaned toward the darker end of the spectrum for the O’Connor pack, being almost brown rather than a shade of blonde or silver.
“Liz, this is Joseph and Karleen, my mother and father, and Sean and Ryanne, Jeni’s parents.”
Obviously, Karleen wanted her husband kept unaware that she and I had already met—why else would Aiden be reintroducing her?
Ryanne’s red-rimmed gaze met mine. “Can you do anything for her?”
“If you mean erase or hide her memories to ease her trauma, then no, that’s not—”
“Why we’re here,” Joseph cut in. Though there was no censure in his tone, it was nevertheless a warning. He glanced at me. There was absolutely nothing in his expression to clue me in as to what he might be thinking, about either my presence here or me. Even his aura gave nothing away. “Aiden said you can read her memories without having to put her through the stress of questioning—is this true?”
I nodded, even though it was something I hadn’t tried before. “I’ll have to connect with Belle, though, just in case the memories are so strong they drag me down.”
