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Chapter Seven
Cerine
The wolf, now the man, reached back into the tent and withdrew a pair of jeans and a heavy flannel. He dressed then reached in again for boots. When he seemed about to thrust his bare feet into them, I stuffed a pair of socks into his hand. “I don’t know how you ended up on our lands, but I’m glad I happened by. Oh hell.”
I shoved him out of the way and clambered into the tent. Its side were still heavy with snow, and could collapse at any time, but I was far more concerned about his friend who was lying on his back gagging. If he inhaled vomit, it could lead to pneumonia. I grabbed his shoulders and rolled him onto his side. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. Just hang in there for a little longer and you’ll be safely in my house, all right?” While he vomited out a trickle of nasty, metallic-smelling bile, I kept up a line of chatter, healer banter. “You’ll be feeling better soon. I promise.”
“No, don’t touch me. It’s not safe,” the first man called. “We’ve been exposed to something, and we don’t want to get you sick, too.”
After a few minutes, the man in the tent sagged back into unconsciousness, or maybe he’d never really been out of it. His friend was hovering in the tent doorway, blocking my path.
“Could you please move?” I demanded. “I have to get out of the way so you can pull him out. Since it’s clear he’s not going to be able to walk, do you think you can carry him? Preferably in the sleeping bag? And I know he’s sick. But I’m a healer and getting exposed to germs is part of the job.”
“Of course.” He pushed at me as if I was the one who’d been in the way. “I can get him.”
I shifted to the side and he crawled inside and backed out holding the sleeping-bag clad man in his arms. “Where do we go?” He looked at me funny, the only way I could think to describe it. “He’s so cold.”
I pulled a hat on the man in the sleeping bag’s head then bent and zipped the tent closed. The zipper stuck and I had to wrestle a little with it, but it would keep snow out and possibly animals until the man—whose name I still didn’t know—could come back for the rest of their things. Once they were in my house and I stirred up the fire, they’d be warm. I’d make soup and tea and find out what I needed to do to heal the man who was still gagging and shivering so hard, it was amazing his friend could continue to carry him at all.
“It’s not far, I promise.” I started off, peeking over my shoulder every few seconds to be sure they were still behind me. “Hang in there.” Because what more could I say? Until I got them inside, I couldn’t do more to help. The snow was still holding back—just over us. But I’d gratefully take whatever the Goddess granted. I believed she’d wanted me to find these men and help them. Otherwise, I’d never have stood a chance of seeing that tent in this storm.
My cabin came into view and I walked a little faster. It might not be actually snowing directly on us, but what had already come down was at least a couple of feet deep, and the path I’d trod was nearly gone already. I began to regret participating in the Yule run and using up all that energy. My plan afterward had involved relaxing, not digging out a tent and trudging back and forth through the snow.
But I had to keep it together if I was going to be any help to these two. With little information to go on, I tried to think of what might be wrong with the two of them. The man carrying his friend wasn’t as bad, but he wasn’t perfectly well, either. Of that I was certain. And they’d been sent to me because I was a healer. I could help them and send them on their way.
No.
No? You don’t think we can help them?My wolf was not strictly a healer, but her support was always there when I worked with patients, in the background but critical to my success.They’re not that sick, are they?
They are in danger of dying. And you cannot send our mates away.
Dying? They don’t look that bad…our what?
“Excuse me, but can we get inside? My husband is very bad off.”
“Of course.”Great healer, I am, keeping them outside in the cold.“I’m sorry. My wolf had some comments.”
“Mine has been pretty vocal as well. I think the cold has gone to his head.”
Our mates must come inside now.My wolf sounded terribly smug. And wrong about a few things.
They are married, mated to each other. They do not belong to us.
I waited but she didn’t reply, so I decided to put her silly ideas aside and do what the Goddess clearly intended for me to do. I opened the door and stepped aside. “Please come in. I’m sorry the place isn’t very warm, but I’ll get the fire going and it will be comfortable quickly. It’s not a very big house.” A fact I’d never been very apologetic about before…why not? “You can put your fr-your husband on the daybed there. It will be easier to treat him close to the fire and the stove.” I scooped up Incat and deposited her on the rug then headed toward both heat sources to get them started. Then, a stick of kindling in my hand, I turned around.
Despite his previous desire to get inside, the man hesitated on the doorstep, his mate bundled in the sleeping bag in his arms.
“It’s not going to get any warmer in here if you stand in the open doorway.” I moved toward them and grasped the doorknob. “Come in. There’s nothing to be afraid of here. If anything, I’m the one who should worry. Everyone is always warning me about being alone so far from the rest of the pack.”
I had no idea why I was babbling on like this, but I couldn’t seem to stop as I rushed the two inside and over to the daybed. When the blue-eyed man set his mate down, I helped him to get him undressed and under the covers. Once he was settled, Incat returned to lie on the foot of the bed.
Then he stood up and faced me, those incredible eyes studying me in a way no man ever had. I had to take care of them, but I couldn’t move. Could barely breathe, and I wasn’t the sick one.
“Uh…just take off the coat and boots and make yourself comfortable, okay? I’m Cerine by the way and you’ve wandered onto the Triple L Ranch pack lands. I’m the healer here.”
“I’m Finton,” he said. “And my wolf has made an outlandish claim about you and us. Well, about me, but since Trace is already my mate, if you are as well, you belong to both of us.”
