She stared at the sick. Her eyes were open but not seeing. She still wore the outfit from the day he’d met her at the Temple. He was a terrible host, never offering her fresh clothes or a bath. She hadn’t demanded any either. Her hair had once been tightly pinned up, but now strands hung loose and a brown smudge marred her cheek.
She was beautiful.
Someone touched his hand, startling him.
Peder winked. “She’d be quite a catch.”
Running his fingers through his tangled hair, Sorin shook his head and kept from laughing. Now the omega grew balls.
Peder removed the cup from his hands. “Let me finish the testing. She hasn’t eaten anything all day. You should feed her.”
Sorin raised an eyebrow. “Her being human doesn’t bother you?” It should.
“If she makes you happy? No.” Peder shrugged. “A happy alpha is a good alpha. Sometimes you need to take care of yourself in order to take care of us.”
The good of the pack always came first whenever Sorin made a decision. They had suffered so long under his father’s selfish reign. He wouldn’t make those same mistakes. Doing so would only weaken them further.
Indulgence in females, excess in drinking, and physically dominating each pack member would mimic his father’s behavior.
Sorin wanted something more. He wasn’t sure what though. A strong female by his side—someone the pack respected, and who loved them as much as he did. Did she exist? What, by the Dark Goddess, was happy?
When he kissed Susan—that made him happy.
She lifted her face toward him as if hearing his thoughts, a secret smile on her delicious lips.
The memory of her hungry, searching mouth still fresh in his thoughts, he rose and cleared his throat. He crossed the room and took her hand. “We should eat.” Not waiting for an answer, he led her away.
“What about the testing?”
“Have faith in Lailanie and Peder. We won’t be gone long. I wish to be there for the first dose as well.”
She followed him to the kitchen. The place had been empty for days, but not now. People filled it like before the illness. The scent of fresh bread came from the oven, a roast was being prepared and a pack of pups grasping fresh carrots almost ran him over as Sorin stood transfixed in the doorway. He glanced at Susan. “Wait here.”
His people moved out of his way when he entered.
“Alpha? Would you like a meal?” Marin, a female whose mate lay on the sick bed, offered him a chunk of buttered bread.
“Can you prepare a small meal for two to go?” He didn’t want to share Susan’s company. That was selfish. He glanced back at her.
She still wore the secret smile.
His stomach felt empty, and it had nothing to do with food. He wanted Susan to desire him. Sorin. A male, not the alpha of the Apisi. If he had been a hunter, would she have kissed him?
“Alpha?” Marin handed him a basket.
He returned to Susan, leading her past the pups who now played stalk and chase. “The kitchen is crowded. We’ll find someplace quieter to eat.”
“Like a picnic.” She slipped her hand back into his.
The gesture swelled his chest. As a lost female, she had no one to protect her. He rubbed his thumb over the soft skin of her fingers. She had someone to watch over her now.
They didn’t have much time before administering the medicine so he didn’t take her far. At the back of the canyon, a narrow goat path climbed the cliff face.
She dug her nails into his palm. “Up there? Are you nuts? I hate heights.”
Gently, he pried her talons from his flesh. “I know, but I’m here. I won’t let you fall.” He kissed her fingertips.
Her gaze grew heavy as she watched. The smoldering warmth caught his breath and could have melted a glacier.
“Here.” He cleared his throat from a voice gone rough. “You go first.” Placing his hand on her hips, he guided her to the path. The soft fabric of her pants would tear easily with his claws, but taking her against the canyon wall would be bad. Very bad, yet the fantasy would probably plague him all day and night. “It’s not a far climb.” He attempted to resist the urge to caress the curve of her hips by mentally reciting the list of birds living within the valley.
Midway, her steps became hesitant. She placed her feet carefully one in front of the other. He could hear her labored breathing; however she never stopped, only pressed a sweaty hand on his. Her trust was a precious gift.
He had to convince her to stay and give up a chance to live among the Payami, where she’d have a fine den with steady supplies and rich comforts, so she could live among his struggling pack. Another selfish act.
When she crested the top, she gasped. The view of the forest canopy was the reason he sought this spot. Sunlight sparkled off the green leaves as the breeze stirred them.
Settling under the small apple tree that grew in this glade, he set the basket next to him and waited for her to join him in the shade.
She surveyed the area. “So much wilderness…”
He quirked an eyebrow and examined his homeland. What was she expecting?
“There’s no forest where I live—just city and buildings with parks and gardens. Nothing there to hunt and eat me.” She rubbed her arms as if chilled.
“Your world, your Earth, sounds so very different.”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “It is. This place frightens me.”
“There’s no reason for fear. That’s what packs are for.” He unloaded the basket, unable to look at her. “I’ll protect you.”
The grass rustled next to him as she knelt. “At home I took care of myself. I didn’t need a—pack. Or anyone, for that matter. I think my needing help scares me the most.”
“No mate?” The question popped out. He could have bitten himself for being an obvious idiot.
“No time for one.”
He handed her a piece of cheese and bread, then stuffed his meal in his mouth before anything else stupid came out of it.
Marin had also packed some winter apples soaked in honey—his favorite.
“The recipe for the penicillin is simple. Your pack will produce it without my help. You can use it for trade as well.”
Swallowing his mouth full of food with a dry throat proved difficult. He coughed and took a sip from the water skin. The cool liquid chased the bread down.
She set her cheese on her lap. “Do you mind if I try to live here?”
His heartbeat tripped over itself. “N-no.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to break any more pack laws.” She grinned. “I’d like to make sure the penicillin works. If not, maybe I can think of something else. I know sulfa can cure infections too. I’m just as sure how to make medicine from it.”
“Oh.” His pulse slowed and almost stopped. She wasn’t staying for him. “That would be…interesting.”
“Are you all right?” She placed her hand on his forehead. “You look pale.”
“I haven’t eaten since yesterday.” He took a huge bite and chewed without tasting. Still, he had some time to convince her he was worth staying for.
Chapter Nineteen
The cool night breeze blew through the entrance to the sick room. Susan took first watch, too exhausted to sleep, and looked after the patients.
No one had reacted adversely to the penicillin. Either shifters didn’t have allergies like humans or she’d done the test wrong.
She chewed on what was left of her thumbnail while sitting on the ground, her back against the wall and a frayed blanket over her lap. Fevers still raged, and one pup had trouble breathing earlier this evening.