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Chapter Seven
Zion
I ran my hands gently over the female’s limbs, uncovering them one at a time and gently checking for breaks or other serious injury before replacing them under the blanket and moving to the next. While I was not a healer, a pack alpha had to have a little bit of all kinds of knowledge to do their job. Part of that was recognizing certain types of illness or injury and knowing the basic treatment for them. Before I’d taken on the role, this was one thing I’d never learned a thing about, but I’d made it my business over the past year to learn as much as possible about every facet of the pack and how to keep it running well.
So far, I’d seen a lot of bruises, some nasty road-rash-type scrapes, and at least one of her wrists was likely sprained. But most of that would heal when she shifted. If she shifted. Because I was getting the feeling she might not remember how to do that. Or that it was even a thing.
My mate opened his mouth to respond to her, but I held up my hand. “You asked about the wolf thing. But you should know what he means.” I’d never been around anyone but a wolf who scented like one. Somewhere, a pack was missing a female. She did not belong to us. Even if we’d ever thought we needed one. Or wanted one. My mate was everything to me, and my own wolf’s strong reaction to her had to be because I was an alpha and wanted to take care of people. That instinct had grown quickly once I beat the challenger and assumed the role. Almost instantly in fact.
“I should?” Her eyes, half closed under my ministrations, opened wide. “Do you think a wolf attacked me? Is that what happened?” She kicked off the blanket and studied her legs and arms. “Did you find teeth marks? I might be rabid…don’t come too close.”
And…question answered.
She has no idea.My mate’s words came to me clearly.
No, she doesn’t.
Shouldn’t we tell her? Maybe it will remind her and she can try to shift?
I’d considered and rejected the idea already.Not yet. It might shock her. Maybe if she gets a good night’s sleep, it will all come back to her. But that’s not the only thing we have to tell her.
No, I guess it’s not.
Not all mates could communicate mind to mind, but in our pack most seemed to be able to. And as alpha, I had even been able to get into the heads of others on occasion, when it was necessary to help them. When she remembered who she was and what…would she also accept that she was our mate?
It was so new, I wasn’t sure I had yet or what we would do about it. But for tonight, we needed to get her comfortable and feeling as well as possible.
Do you think she expects us to call a human ambulance?Andrade asked.
Since she hasn’t mentioned it, we won’t, either. We definitely don’t need a couple of humans showing up only to have her unexpectedly shift. She’s not stable enough, even if they did know how to take care of her. No, if she asks, we’ll put her off or try to make her feel less frightened.
And so that’s what we did. I examined most of her, keeping away from anything that might make her think I was behaving in a less than gentlemanly way. “Well, it looks like you’re not too badly hurt,” I finally concluded. “If I had to guess, I’d say you fell somehow, maybe tripped over something while hiking. Try to remember if you were camping or something? Maybe down the beach?” Although she’d come from the hills above, so that seemed less than likely.
“I—” She squeezed her eyes shut tight for a moment then winced and opened them again. “It’s like when I look in my mind, there’s a wall right behind where I woke up on the road. Or next to it, rather.”
“Lucky it was next to it.” Andrade pulled the blanket up to her chin.
“You will probably feel better in the morning. My mate is going run you a bath,” I told her. “Andrade, put in some of those good salts that will help draw out the soreness. You know the ones.”
“Yes, alpha,” he said, and I was reminded that he wasn’t mine to order around. The female’s appearance that brought out my protective side apparently also carried the bossy one with it.
I turned to my mate, ready to apologize, but he winked at me before heading toward the master bedroom. It was the one with a bathtub. A big one, jetted, and deep, that had no doubt been installed in a remodel since his parents honeymooned here.
“While we wait, can you try to think of your name? I don’t want to have to refer to you as her or she or female.” I lifted her feet and sat on the end of the couch, settling them back on my lap. “No pressure, but try?”
“It’s still there, the wall, I mean. I guess you can call me anything you like. But are you sure you want to let me stay here? You don’t know me. I don’t know me. Ever heard of stranger danger?”
“Have you?” I absentmindedly began to massage her feet. They had to be sore, as battered as they were. “We’re two men who each is at least twice your size, in terms of body mass. I hope you don’t make a habit of this.”
Silence.
Oh hell. “I was joking, but not. I am aware you don’t know what you make a habit of doing, but you’ll have to take my word for it that you’re perfectly safe here with us. We only want to help you get better and figure out who you are and where you come from.”
Mate.My wolf’s voice was happy. Sure, he saw no problem in this.
“Did you say something?” she asked. “Or did…”
“Andrade,” I reminded her. “And no. We didn’t.” If she wasn’t aware that our wolves existed, I wasn’t going to try to explain it to her. Not tonight anyway.
