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“I should go with them.” I nod after them as more of the group of helpers drop off, leaving a bare minimal body count to turn her bed into a door. Mainly Colton, the doctor, and a couple of femmes who are helping with the cabinet and her machines.

“Yeah, you should. We’re all going to go back out on patrol of the borders to watch for your tail, we have to keep this place safe. Tell Colton to link me when he wants me back to take care of you, and to find you some decent clothes. I’m sure for right now, Sierra is his priority.” She clasps my hand tightly, squeezes it, and leans in kissing me on the forehead, before nodding towards the door that Colton and his skeleton crew went through.

“Meadow…. I’m so glad to be back.” I answer honestly, in afterthought, as she goes to move away, warmed by the tearful smile she gives me, and that little rub of my shoulder that it’s all going to be okay. Despite everything, even finding out that I could survive out there alone, I really have missed her and being around people. Being in a place that’s warm, and safe, and I don’t have to hunt for my meals anymore, it reminds me what a pack can be like. I can do it alone; I just prefer this…. not out there. Being here reinforces it. I don’t want to go back out and disappear anymore. Everything’s different and I don’t want to leave again.

“We are all happy to see you back. I made a mistake in letting you leave… Colton is still trying to forgive me. Don’t do it again.” She half laughs, but there’s a serious edge to her tone and a look that hints at a real warning.

“I’m not planning on it. All of this is bigger than us now. Priorities have changed.” I point out and she exhales with another nod.

“Good, because he’ll strap your ass to him and put guard duty on you twenty-four seven if he even gets a hint you might take off again. That boy is not playing no more, Chica!” That head wobble and finger point that always makes me smile at her, but I ‘hmmm’ then gesture I should go. I don’t care right now what Colton thinks, or wants. I need to see what’s going on and then sit. I only dozed in the truck for a short time and I’m physically exhausted and could do with a little moment to get used to this buzzing house. After weeks of nature and solitude, this human chaos is a bit much to get my head around. This whole thing is mentally overwhelming, and sleep is all I want, even though I’m not going to get it for a while.

I turn and head after Colton, trace their steps down a corridor, turn right through the door they went, which takes me along a short hall, through two double doors into a proper set up infirmary. It’s already like a mini hospital wing, which is weird given our kinds ability to heal, so I guess this is from when the witch side of Colton’s family who stayed here. It’s white, large, yet crowded with cabinets full of potion bottles on every wall. Some of it looks dated, but mostly there are modern additions, obviously brought with Colton’s own medics who are hurriedly wading in and helping move Sierra to a central bed that’s more substantial than the one she’s on.

I mean wolf packs do have medical staff and doctors. We do sometimes need them, especially in the younger ages when we are not turned yet, and we catch diseases or get injured. We’re vulnerable in youth, much like mortals are. It’s irresponsible for a pack to not have the means to protect all in our pack.

They switch over her machines to full size ones, change out her tubes, and hang up her saline bag on a trolley to the side, as some of the wolves already in here file out, gazing longingly her way and nodding at Colton as each and every one leaves. I know the link between pack members is generally the preferred mode of communication, but it sucks that to me it’s a silent wall. Watch in envy as so much translates between them, but I hear nothing.

I miss pack linking, and the sense of unity it gave you as a whole, it reminds me I’m never really going to be part of this pack. I mean Colton could initiate me in general, now he’s alpha and has that power, and I could maybe link that way, but once his mate gets a whiff I’m here, I don’t doubt world war three will erupt. She’ll never let him put me in the pack to have more of a bond with him.

I have no idea where she is, but she has to be around here somewhere, I mean, she is his Luna now. Mates never stray far apart and as Luna, her job is to care for the vulnerable in this massive palace. She probably got left behind here when he came for me, because he knew she would just aggravate the situation and make things worse between us. Not that it needs much help.

I stand back watching as she’s settled, and the transition is complete. The doctor moving in to talk with a woman in a white coat I recognize from the Santo medical center in the valley. She has two nurses flanking her as they busily squirrel around, put trolleys away, and sort out the haywire mess of machines they’ve taken from Sierra. Tidying up and making her ready for her new stay in here.

Colton pulls over a high stool to the head of her bed and perches down beside her, oblivious to me over here, leaning in and saying something softly as he strokes her hair back, fully locked on her face as everyone else seems engrossed on the care plan they’re discussing. I can hear the doc listing of medications and withdrawal key points, a step by step of what they need to do over the next few hours, but all my attention is on that solitary, strong, wide figure, with his back to me, and the longing pulling me to go comfort him.

Despite everything going on, we both have so much mess in our heads and a shared pain from finding out things that turned everything upside down. Now isn’t the time to hold that against him while all this is going on. Neither of us was prepared or even mature enough to deal with the tsunami of shit we’ve endured these past weeks, and I’m weary with it all catching up. I don’t want to carry the feelings of hurt and hate on top of that too. Not right now.

We have to figure this out, wait on Sierra to see if she has an answer, and focus on the fact Deacon and his crew will follow us. Soon as they wake up and realize what’s happened, I’m sure Juan will be notified, and there will be a mad scramble to try and get here before she can tell everyone the truth.

I can be mad at Colton, hurt by him, but right now he’s my alpha too, and I need to look to him for leadership, and keeping us all safe. If all I do is argue and carry a grudge, I’ll make it all harder for myself. The pack, this house, this place, its where I’m meant to be through this, and I need to put this shit aside and stop thinking about myself for a little while. About how what he did broke my heart, when right now, the priority is everyone else, and Sierra.

“This is not the little sub pack and hide out I imagined it would be.” The doc infiltrates my thoughts, appearing beside me with that soothing English dialect that’s becoming like a warm hug, and I have to smile at that.

“Me either. I didn’t know anything that happened since I left. It’s crazy.” I shrug, eyeing up the room with a sigh.

“Yes, Colton gave me a condensed version as we wheeled Sierra in. In a way though, I’m rather glad that we ended up in a place that ensures I have time to wake her safely. I don’t need to rush and risk her body going into shock. This was definitely your fates guiding the way and providing us with ample shelter for a very difficult task.” The doc looks as tired as I feel, and we’re both sagging over here, probably equally as eager for a bed as the other to lay down for a little while, but both of us have to be here.

“How long do you think that will take?” I ask genuinely, eager to see Colton finally get to reunite with her after all these years. Eyes falling on that beautiful man as he tends to his mom lovingly.

“We’ve come up with a plan to slow down and stop the sedation meds over forty-eight hours, to let her brain begin to come out on its own accord. We’ll monitor her, keep her stabilized, and adjust as she progresses. She might have a few days of vegetative state where it seems like we’ve lost her…. that’s normal. Eight years is a long time to live in a dream world and the mind is a complex piece of hardware that sometimes requires a reset period. We’ll just take this as it comes, and hope she’ll be one of the rare cases of long-term coma patients to come out and be able to interact within mere days.” He nods, a look of relative confidence on that lowered brow.

“She’s a wolf… I say your bets are stacked on the positive side.” I perk him up with a cheeky smile, and it gets a little one in return.

“Quite!”

“I don’t know where we go from here.” I point out, nodding at Colton across the room, not really meaning just me and him, trying to hide the longing that crosses my face and the doctor nudges me with his shoulder.

“I’m a believer that a good cup of tea and a long chat usually resolves many of life’s issues. Problems that seem overwhelming are sometimes just smoke and mirrors and getting it all out is sometimes the only way forward.” He raises those bushy grey brows with a knowing expression, and I nudge him back.

“Like confessing all to a strange girl who fell into your medical facility?” I smirk.

“Exactly. Sometimes you have to throw away your entire life’s work, put your trust in a higher power, no matter how many signs are killing your hopes, and know they won’t steer you wrong if you just stop fighting it.” His eyes stray to Colton too and it has the annoying effect of dragging my vision back to him. That strong, upright figure, looking a little too inviting while framed by the light from the lamp over Sierra’s bed. Always so unruffled even in the face of a storm. He’s solid, cool, and takes it all in his stride.

“Good advice, doc. Not so easy to follow, but yeah… I guess.” I exhale heavily, feeling hopeless when he’s over there, looking like everything I need to cure me of my eternal agony.

“We’ll figure this out, together, young lady. After all, …. you are our savior.” He throws his arm around me awkwardly, gives me a squeeze, and then drops it as quickly as though he crossed some sort of touching boundaries that threw him well outside his comfort zone. I get the overwhelming surge of flustered, eccentric cringing, at his own public display of affection, and let out an involuntary giggle.