Soren and Jamie almost didn’t let me go this morning.
If they didn’t have things that needed their urgent, undivided attention.
Soren had a meeting to get to, and Jamie had a massive floral delivery for a pack wedding.
The wedding was by 12pm.
I doubt they would have let me come to the hospital alone.
As it was, they’d left my apartment looking like they were being physically torn away, with a list of instructions longer than my arm and promises to check in every hour.
After they finally left, the quiet felt strange.
I took a slow, deep breathand got set for my day.
First, I checked on the pups confirmed they were okay.
Their parents kept thanking me, their voices thick with emotion.
The kids themselves, were already bouncing back, fueled by the grand narrative they’d constructed.
To them, it hadn’t been a disaster; it had been an epic adventure.
Malcolm and Jonathan, precisely, were convinced they were heroes who had saved the whole world.
The story probably involved more dragon-fighting and less choking on smoke, but if that’s what helped them sleep, I was all for it.
After visiting the kids , I went to a phone shop.
It was a necessary stop before the hospital.
My phone was a sad, waterlogged brick.
Soren and Jamie had insisted I didn’t need a new one, that the shop could “work miracles” and get it back to normal.
Honestly, with how much water had leaked out of it in the repair shop bag, I had my doubts.
The technician, a beta with kind eyes, took the dripping device with a practiced look.
“Rice is a myth,” he said solemnly.
“But we have better tricks. I can try. It might take a few hours, though.”
Oh, perfect.
“Thank you so much,” I smiled, leaving the shop with a ticket.
I needed that phone.
I needed to call my boss.
I was sure he knew what had happened but Silas, the manager at The Gilded Platter, was the kind of man who believed protocol was holy.
He would get grumpy, then punitive, if I didn’t personally inform him of my absence.
I didn’t want to lose my job.
Money was freedom.
My job gave me money, and money meant my apartment, my food and every necessity.
I’d had plans to clock in today, a feeble attempt at normalcy, but Soren and Jamie’s synchronized, stone-faced “No” this morning had been final.
It wasn’t up for argument.
I knew Silas was going to be angry I hadn’t called.
My plan was to drop by work this evening after the hospital, to show my face and apologize in person.
If my check-up took too long, I wouldn’t, but I had to try.
I got to the hospital later than I’d intended.
Most of the victims from the fire yesterday had done their follow-up checks already, arriving at dawn to get it over with.
Because I’d stopped at the repair shop and left my house late, I was, apparently, the last person to come for the check-up.
The hospital corridors were quiet.
I was heading toward the clinic wing when the door to one of the private examination rooms opened ahead of me, and someone stepped out.
It was Kastiel.
He was dressed in his usual attire, a perfectly tailored black suit under a long, elegant wool coat that reached his calves.
He looked immaculate, like he’d just stepped out of a boardroom rather than a doctor’s office.
The only hint of yesterday’s chaos was a small, clean bandage on his temple, barely visible against his dark hair.
He was checking something on a sleek, thin tablet in his hand.
He looked up as I stumbled to a halt, and those striking red eyes focused on me.
A flicker of surprise, then recognition, passed through them.
“Glad to not be the only one who is late,” I said by way of greeting, my voice less raspy today but still not my own.
A slow smile touched his lips.
“Oh, I’m not late,” he said, his voice that familiar, low rumble.
He tucked the tablet inside his coat.
“Just finished my own check-up.” He said it without arrogance, just stating a fact.
“I’m the last one ain’t I?” I asked, shuffling my own paperwork.
“Yep. Most of the others arrived very early,” he replied, his gaze scanning my face.
“I had pack business to clear first.”
Oh, fuck.
So I was the absolute last person .
Wonderful.
“I’m surprised Soren and Jamie let you come this late, and also let you come to the hospital alone,” he observed, tilting his head slightly.
He fell into step beside me as I continued toward the clinic.
“Oh, don’t get me started,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes with feeling.
“It took everything I had to get them to leave this morning. Such worrywarts.”
“They care about you a lot,” he said, his expression softening.
“Anyone could tell that from yesterday.”
“OH, FUCK.” The words burst out of me, and I immediately covered my face with my hands, mortification burning my cheeks.
I had just remembered, in vivid, humiliating detail, that he had been standing right there during our tearful, snot-filled “pity party”.
He’d seen the whole, messy display.
His laughter filled the quiet hallway, a rich, warm sound that seemed to resonate in the sterile space.
“It’s good to see you have friends like that,” he said when his laughter subsided, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Well, it just kind of… happened,” I said, dropping my hands and trying to regain some dignity.
“I met Soren at the hospital after I first arrived here, and then he introduced me to Jamie, and then… well, you’ve seen the result. This mess.”
“Perfect,” he said, and he sounded like he meant it.
He didn’t leave.
He walked with me to the clinic reception, waited while I checked in, and then, to my growing surprise, accompanied me through the series of quick examinations.
He’d wait outside each doctor’s office.
The first time I came out and saw him there, I stopped short.
I’d assumed he’d go back to his Alpha duties.
But he was waiting for me.
The check ups didn’t take long.
The bulk of the work had been done in the frantic triage of the night before.
Today was just about making sure nothing subtle had been missed.
As I sat through them, I was struck again by the ease of it all.
The care was thorough, gentle, and given without looking down on you.
They kept saying their facilities weren’t “the best,” but they had no idea how better they were than anything I’d ever known.
“Yes,” I replied, walking up to him.
“Nothing wrong. Well, nothing important, at least.”
“That’s good to hear,” he said, and he looked genuinely relieved.
I smiled.
We walked out of the hospital together, the afternoon sun casting long shadows.
“Do you have a ride?” he asked, his voice slightly raised over the breeze.
“Nope. I’ll take the bus,” I replied cheerfully.
“The bus?” He asked, his eyebrows lifting just a fraction.
“Yes, the bus!
It’s big and convenient,” I said excitedly “Can you imagine something as large as that being so fast?
It’s so cool.”
A faint, amused smile played on his lips.
“Can’t remember the last time I took a bus.”
“You should try it again sometime,” I said impulsively.
“I’ll pay for you.”
“Pay for me?” He asked, the smile widening.
He looked at me as if the idea of someone buying his bus fare was the most absurd thing he’d heard all day.
“Yes,” I said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“It’s not that expensive. For something that big, it’s actually really cheap.”
“Big?” he echoed, now clearly trying not to laugh.
“Holland, they have buses of different sizes. There’s a smaller one, too, you know. Like a shuttle.”
“A smaller one?” I gasped in theatrical shock.
“I would love to see it!”
He looked at me, his red eyes dancing with pure, unguarded amusement.
It transformed his whole face, making him look younger, approachable.
Feeling bold, I nudged him with my elbow.
“So, do you want the ride?” I asked, jerking my thumb toward the distant bus stop.
He shook his head, the laughter finally breaking through.
“What? No, how about I give you a ride instead?”
I blinked, then my brain, still stuck on the bus topic, took a wild leap.
I eyed his elegant, imposing figure.
“You own a bus?” I asked, completely deadpan.
“What?” He asked confused.
My face flushed.
“I’m so sorry, I was trying to be funny,” I said.
I should take lessons from Soren and Jamie on how to be witty, I thought, but the look on his face
For a second, he just stared at me.
Then he burst into a full, rich fit of laughter that made his shoulders shake and a few people heading into the hospital turn and stare.
He laughed so hard he had to take a steadying breath, one hand coming up to cover his eyes briefly.
He gestured toward the parking lot with his head, still smiling.
“Come on. My car is this way. And I promise, it’s not a bus.”