Page 24

I sigh and drop it when my parents walk in. Claude steps aside for my mother, who hurries to the bed in a cloud of raspberry scent.

She clasps my face in her shaking hands. “Aya.”

“Mom, stop.” I try to pull back. “I’m fine.”

She hugs me tight and breathes in deep. I blink hard at the ceiling. I am not crying in front of all these people. When my father clears his throat from the doorway, she finally steps back to his side.

“You gave us quite a scare,” he says.

I narrow my eyes, but he doesn’t budge. I got my stubbornness from him. My wolf digs in with me. Claude and Ezra reek of discomfort, and my mother’s scent goes sharp with frustration. My father and I keep at it.

He’s the one who gives in with a sigh. “It’s going to take me at least a week to fix your window. Ezra destroyed the frame.”

Ezra stiffens beside me and keeps quiet.

“You mean when you kicked him out of the window?” I snap.

My father glares at me, and the stare-down starts all over again.

My mother throws her hands up. “All right, enough!” She turns to Claude. “Is she well enough to go home?”

“Well, yes,” Claude says, “but she needs lots of rest. You’ll need to make sure she’s well hydrated and maintains a balanced diet while she recovers. Aya should be herself within a week.”

“Hmmm.” My father rubs his chin. “A week, you say?”

Claude bristles at him. “Yes, it’s an estimate, but I believe she’ll be back to herself in a week.” She points at me. “I’m taking you off the schedule for two weeks.”

My mouth drops open. Is she serious? I try to leap off the bed, but my knees buckle and the room tips sideways as soon as my feet touch the floor. My father lunges forward. Ezra gets there first and lifts me back onto the mattress by my hips.

“Whoa.” My legs weren’t supposed to quit on me like that. They’re still shaking.

Claude sighs. “Yes, two weeks, Aya.”

“But you just said my recovery was a week,” I argue.

“You’ve been blowing through your medical training with no break.” She hangs my chart back where she found it. “You need the rest. Not just physically, but mentally.”

I sputter at her. “That’s stupid, I want⁠—”

“You take the two weeks,” Claude cuts me off, “or I’ll put you on a leave of absence for six months.”

I almost argue until thick gray smoke curls from Claude’s nose and ears. She’s mad mad.

My father steps farther in. “Well, this works out.”

I squint up at him and wait to see if I need to argue about Ezra. His scent gives me nothing to work with. Sure, Ezra was wrong for breaking into my room, but my father and uncles ganging up on him was unacceptable. I’m not even going to get into my dusty alpha. I’ll deal with him personally later.

“How about Aya stays with Ezra while I repair her window?” my father says.

“What?” Ezra blurts in unison with my mother and Claude.

My father gives a nervous laugh and runs a hand over his locs. Even I’m gaping at him. My wolf is up and pacing. Never, never has he made a suggestion like this.

Ezra jumps off the bed to scoop me into his arms, but I swat him away. He’s trying to get me out the door before my father changes his mind. There’s no guilt left in his scent. I try not to laugh in his face.

“Aya will be miserable staying in Angie’s spare bedroom,” my father continues.

“You got that right.” I sit up straighter. “I’m not going anywhere near that dusty⁠—”