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No. He’d stay with them. He’d grow closer to them because he didn’t see how he could not. He’d only been at the sanctuary for a few weeks and already he loved both of them as if he’d known them his entire life. Now that he’d interacted with them in his human form, he couldn’t see how falling deeper for them could be avoided.
Blasted.Why had he been so foolish? Why had he been so driven for fame and riches that he’d turned his men into wolves, earning Flidae’s banishment? Why had he chosen to live such a brutal life?
Now he only wanted one life. One with Brandy and Dylan.
He surrendered to the fog and had no idea how much time had passed before the clouds lifted.
“His heart rate is growing steadier.” Parker’s voice reached him as he wavered between consciousness and unconsciousness.
“Thank God.” Sweet Brandy’s voice threw him a lifeline.
“Is he going to be all right, Mom?” Dylan’s anxious tone arrowed right to his heart.
“Of course he is. He’s a fighter.” Meredith’s vote of confidence brought him out of the trance.
The first thing he saw was Brandy’s face leaning over him. He wished he were in human form so he could reach for her, hold her, kiss her.
“Hey there, big boy.” She buried her face in the fur at his neck and he couldn’t stop the urgent whine that slipped from his throat. When Brandy rose, he licked every inch of her face until she was laughing heartily. Such a wonderful sound. “Okay, okay.” She stepped back and used the end of her tank top to wipe her chin.
“Guess he’s going to be totally fine.” Parker came into view next to Brandy, giving her a nudge. “He hasn’t lost his affection for you.”
“Jealous?” Brandy poked him back.
“Yeah, a little. I mean,Iwas the one that dug that bullet out. Why isn’t he this happy to see me?” Parker leaned on the exam table.
Reardon lifted his paw and rested it on Parker’s hand. It was the best he could do. He definitely wasnotgoing to give wolf kisses to the vet no matter how many times he tended his injuries.
“Aww, see? He loves you too, Dr. Daniels.” Brandy put her hand on Reardon’s other paw and gently stroked the fur there.
“He heard me complain.” Parker went over to the laptop he had open on the counter. “Alator is getting quite a record here. Broken leg. Bullet wound. At least I got the chance to do the physical, I guess.”
“There had to be an easier way,” Meredith said as she approached with Dylan.
The boy rested his head on Reardon’s mid-section as if it were a pillow. “What were you doing outside the fence, buddy?”
“Excellent question,” Brandy said. “There must be a gap somewhere. That’s next on today’s agenda. We can’t have any other wolves escaping. Apparently it’s ridiculously unsafe beyond the sanctuary boundaries.”
“In other words, be careful out there,” Meredith said to Dylan.
“Well, you check for gaps,” Parker said as he snapped his laptop shut. “I’m heading over to the sheriff’s.”
Brandy grabbed Parker’s forearm. “Thanks, Park.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I may still go over to Swift’s and shoothimin the leg.”
Reardon clenched his teeth, his claws extending and retracting as he remembered Hank Swift and how he’d come to have a bullet lodged in his leg. He’d been watching Brandy and Parker take wolf after wolf into the clinic for their physical examinations. Determined not to go through one himself—after all, how could he look Parker in the eye as a human if the man had put a thermometer where Reardon definitely didnotwant a thermometer—Reardon figured he’d escape from the confines of the sanctuary for a few hours so he could prepare for tonight.
When he’d see Brandy again.
As a human.
He needed something else to wear for he knew humans didn’t make a habit of wearing the same things consecutively. As a warrior, he’d worn armor most of the time. Plain and simple. Dented, scratched, and blood-stained armor. In Brandy’s time, variety was essential. He also wanted to bring something to drink as he’d done last night. She’d liked the wine, and he wanted to please her again. Maybe get some flowers too. Something to delight a fairy lass.
Reardon had hopped the perimeter fence, heading for his stash of money and clothing. As he was about to shift to human form, a snap of twigs stopped him. He sniffed the air and a familiar smell entered his nostrils but he couldn’t place it.
At first.
When Hank emerged from the trees, Reardon had gone immediately into defense mode.
