Unbound

Chapter 18

"It's not much, but it's comfortable." Gabriel placed my suitcase on the floor beside the sofa. His guesthouse was nestled back amongst the tall pines on the northeast corner of his property, within view of his house but with enough land in between to feel separate. It was sparsely decorated, as was his own home, but in this small space it felt clean and cozy instead of harsh. There was a fireplace in the living room that he moved towards while I took in the space.

Across from the fireplace, a coffee table stood before a leather sofa that I could hardly wait to sink into. A small dining table and two chairs were tucked into the corner near an open kitchen, equipped with modern appliances and a smooth marble countertop. Here, the counter stood nearly at chest-level: the space had been built for Castle wolves. The bathroom was simple and larger than I expected, and I was excited to find a bathtub that was pure white, rather than the stained yellow of the apartment shower pan.

I noticed when Gabriel let me in that the bedroom was lofted above the living room, tucked into the sloping ridge of the roofline with a queen bed and lit softly by two large skylights. In fact, the whole space was lit by natural light, with the far wall beside the couch made up entirely of glass windows that looked out into the forest beyond, similar to Gabriel's office. It was beautiful.

"It's more than I could have asked for," I admitted finally. I carefully lowered myself onto the couch and let out a deep sigh. "Thank you."

Gabriel stepped back from the fire that was now dancing brightly across the logs he'd stacked and filling the room with a pleasant heat. "It's nothing. Rest now."

I nodded, eyelids already growing heavy.

On his way out, he hesitated in the doorway, then added: "And Kiera? I'm sorry."

He said it so softly that I thought at first I'd imagined it. I looked up in surprise, but the door had already closed behind him. I sat still for a long moment, staring at the empty space where he'd stood. He's sorry. The two words were still replaying in my head as I let myself fall back onto the cushions and drift into the deep sleep that my body had been craving for hours.

When I pushed myself up into a seated position the next morning, I was grateful that the pain in my stomach had nearly gone. The wounds beneath the bandages looked almost weeks old now. They twinged a bit when I stood and stretched, but the slight pull felt good. Bright sunlight poured through the large windows and swept through the guesthouse, tinted green as it filtered through the trees. I enjoyed its warmth on my face for a moment before moving to the bathroom.

I avoided looking at myself in the mirror—I didn't need to know how I'd looked to Gabriel when he left me there the night before. There was still some dried blood that had hardened on my thigh beneath my underwear. I was pleased to find it there; it meant that Gabriel hadn't seen me fully stripped down. The water in the shower was hot and the pressure was strong as it pounded hard against my shoulders and neck.

The pain had at least been good for one thing: it distracted me from my racing thoughts and the knot of anxiety that seemed now to reside permanently in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't decide which was worse.

Ephraim came close to noon to walk me up to the house and didn't speak much more than a few words until he had led me down the hallway that ended at Gabriel's office. When I saw his closed door, that knot clenched tightly and didn't let up until Ephraim ushered me into a different room on the left.

He gestured towards the space as lights came on automatically, sensing the motion of the door swinging open. "The medical room."

Unsurprisingly sterile, the medical room resembled a scaled-up version of one of the clinic exam rooms: a bigger space; nicer equipment; and a vast supply of medicinal ingredients, both fresh and dried, organized and stored neatly in cabinets. It doubled as a surgical suite, I assumed, based on the OR-style lighting and the exam table that looked like it could drop back to lay an unconscious patient flat. I took my time studying the space, surprised by how modern it seemed, at odds with the ancient traditions involved in wolf medicine. I noted quickly, however, the lack of any human tools or electronic monitoring machines.

"Come sit," Ephraim offered. He was standing beside an doorway off of the medical room. He had a small office set up there, with a cluttered desk and several overfull filing cabinets. Clearly his meticulous nature didn't extend beyond the suite. I moved a page off the chair in front of the desk and sat across from him.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out. "I would have stayed working at the clinic, I never complained about it. Gabriel just assumed—"

Ephraim waved my apology away. "If it's my mate you're worried about, don't be." He chuckled. "Though I'm sure she'll be disappointed that the storeroom is unfinished, she'll be as glad to have you out of her hair as you are."

The tension I'd carried in slid from my shoulders as Ephraim gave me a small glimpse of his sense of humor. Here was someone I could get along with, or at least work well alongside.

"This was the last thing I expected to see in Gabriel's—" I cringed. Alpha. "In Alpha Gabriel's home."

"The Council insisted on having a separate space. They feel that any medical problems they have should be kept private from the pack." He swept a stack of papers roughly into several folders as he spoke. I tried to keep from reading any of those closest to me; I didn't want to breach confidentiality until I was guaranteed the job.

"Why is that?" My mind went to Dmitri and Constance, who for years had bravely discussed their own fertility issues and struggles to produce an heir. I'd long respected their openness.

"They don't want to appear weak." He said simply. "They worry that it will be too much cause for concern."

"That's not giving the pack members much credit," I posited.

Ephraim studied me for a moment. "I suppose not."

"I understand that I've basically been forced on you here, there's really no need to find me something to do. I don't want to create more work for you."

"Actually, I've been bothering Gabriel about finding me a partner for months now." The word partner sent a wave of hope coursing through me, something I hadn't felt since arriving. I hadn't wanted to get my expectations up this morning, but they instantly shot sky-high.

"You're that busy?"

"Not terribly, no. But years of being the only one on call have started wearing on me. Of course," he warned, "I'd start you as an assistant first."

"Of course." It was better than nothing, and exponentially better than sorting jars.

"How long did you work at the Sawtooth clinic?" Ephraim asked.

"Officially, about six years." I counted in my head. "But I apprenticed there with my mother for probably five years before that."

Ephraim nodded. "You all do good work there; I've heard of others traveling in for treatment."

"We did." I was proud of my role there—I always had been. Especially those times we'd worked with wolves from other packs, I'd never felt closer to that side of my bloodline. It was my way of giving back, of feeling like I was more than just the odd charity case.

"How much do you know about our way of healing?"

There it is. My heart sank. "Honestly, not as much as I should. I picked up some, but really my role was augmenting their healing with human medicine. It was sort of a..." I searched for the right word. "A hybrid approach, I guess."

Ephraim hummed. "Would you be willing to learn?"

I nodded vigorously. "I'm a quick study," I promised.

His expression softened. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, Kiera. It's good to see that you're open to it. I'll teach you what I can but know that I won't compromise our methods. We have a delicate balance to maintain with the pack, and our ways are integral to that."

"I understand," I said. I was grateful for the opportunity, and if finding my place here meant putting my skills on the backburner, I was willing to accept that. At least for the time being.