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“I’m safe now,” I promised. “We’ll catch you up later.” She nodded at the words and swiped tears away before swatting at me.
“Don’t ever do that again,” she growled playfully.
“Yeah, sis. Like she wanted to be kidnapped by a freaking psycho,” Waylen countered with an eye roll, butting her out of the way to hug me as well. Brent shoved him out of the way just as unceremoniously to give me a side hug.
“Glad you’re safe. The pack was quiet without you, and Emma was a mess,” he said with a chuckle, dodging out of the hug before Emma could swat him.
The next fifteen minutes was a constant wave of reassuring the pack and hugging out their worry. It was such a strange feeling having so much attention on me, but it also warmed my heart too. If there was ever a testament that I wasn’t alone in life anymore… this was it.
“Wait,” I said as I realized someone was gone. “Garren?”
Emma frowned. “He said he didn’t feel well and to send Leven his way when you got back.”
My heart stopped and I took off at a full sprint. He’d been feeling shitty a few times since we’d met and I’m sure the stress wasn’t helping. Footsteps thundered behind me as Leven caught up to jog alongside me. He didn’t reassure me, in fact he looked just as freaked out.
When he pushed open the door every light was off and the house was silent. My chest tightened with anxiety as Leven led us back to Garren’s wing of the house.
“Grandpa?!” he called out. A loud cough was our answer. We shared a look and pushed forward until we were in his room.
The air felt heavy in the bedroom. His lights were dim, and I could see his body under the covers. Garren had never looked frail to me, but right now he looked like a strong wind would blow him over.
“What’s going on, Garren?” I asked as I crouched down next to his bedside. My fingers curled around his and he blinked his eyes open. It took a second before he focused in on me and he let out a gasp, yanking me forward with more strength than I thought he could possess right now.
“There’s our girl,” he said as he gave me a quick hug. “I’m glad you’re back. I told them you were a fighter.”
“That I am.” I grinned down at him but it felt forced. “Now spit out the truth. What’s all this coughing about? These down days?”
“I’m okay,” he huffed out. It was not at all convincing and Leven was apparently done with it.
“Talk to me. Now,” he demanded. The old man sighed and sat up, struggling until I helped him get into a sitting position.
“I’m fine. You worry too much,” he complained. Leven grabbed his phone and tapped the screen a few times before holding it up to his ear.
“Grandpa is sick, can you come check him out? Grab your medical bag,” Leven demanded.
“Oh, I don’t need all that,” Garren protested before more heaving coughs took over. “It’s just allergies.”
“We’re wolves. We don’t have allergies,” I said softly. Inside I was freaking out. Wolves didn’t get sick, this was nuts. “I’m going to make some tea while we wait, it’ll soothe that cough a bit.”
Leven stayed while I hurried off to the kitchen. The moment the kettle was warming on the stovetop, the emotional tidal wave hit me. Tears blurred my vision, and I tried my best to breathe through the absolute terror shooting through my soul.
“What’s wrong?” Leven asked softly. His large hand stroked down my hair, soothing me, but his tone was sharp. I didn’t want to add to his own worries but I knew holding back would do just that.
“I can’t lose him too, Leven,” I whispered.
“Me either,” Leven said. “And he’s far too stubborn to leave us. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that,” I countered. His lips thinned into a line, fighting internally for a way to reassure me and himself, but obviously falling short since he remained silent.
We were saved by the front door bursting open as Callum and Nyx stormed in. Nyx didn’t bother to ask where he was, simply rushing past with a wave of his black doctor’s bag. I started to follow but Leven stopped me.
“No, he’ll call us when he wants us. It’s harder to scent an illness if we’re all around him,” he explained. I cursed but didn’t follow.
“What’s going on?” Callum asked. Leven started to explain so I turned back to the tea. At this point I just needed something to do with my hands and at least I knew Garren’s tea order the same as I knew my own. A pinch of cinnamon, a dollop of honey, and a slice of lemon. He kept lemon slices in the fridge at all times so it took me only moments to prepare.
“Can I go in yet?” I asked. My tone held a bit more snark than usual as I battled with my own nerves. Thankfully Leven and Callum didn’t react.
“Yes. He’s had time,” Leven agreed. They followed me back to Garren’s room. Nyx was still hovering over the old man but didn’t protest when we interrupted.
