WILD

fifteen

Orion was tired.

Yes, he had demanded that Lorena get to bed after he gave her ice cream last night, but like she does best, she wore him down and he ended up staying awake with her all night long.

The joke is on her, though, because while he might have work, she has a whole day of activities planned out for her. His smile at the thought was almost sinister. He got his payback.

He enjoyed his time with her, though. It was clear that they both were going to need some time to sort out their feelings and find out where their relationship needed to be at before Lorena went into her heat. He kept a mental note aside to have that conversation with her tonight. If she wanted her space from him through her first heat cycle here, then he would give her that, but he also needed to stress how important it was for him to have his heirs as soon as possible.

And he had to admit it. He wanted her.

The way she was pressed up against him last night had his wheels turning. He had started to notice a lot of the things about her that he hadn't before; Like how soft her skin was to the touch, how good she smelled, how fluffy and silky her dark auburn hair was, and how beautiful her long lashes were as they fanned out, covering those captivating coffee-colored eyes.

His wolf definitely had something to do with how long he stayed pressed against her last night. It was getting harder and harder to suppress it, but Lorena was so beautiful and he couldn't wait to partake in that breathtaking masterpiece that was that body of hers.

He would deal with all of that later.

For now, he had his work cut out for him. He headed to his room and took a quick shower and dressed for the day before heading out of his home. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and sighed happily. So far, the morning was going as smoothly as he would like it to.

He walked down his steps and looked out and around over the small town. He couldn't get enough of how cute the whole place was. There was almost always snow, and it looked like a winter wonderland.

There were little shops and big town homes where everyone lived in almost perfect harmony. There was almost a mile radius of open space in each direction, making it easier for him to protect his pack. If anyone was coming for them, he would see them before they could reach them.

As he walked to his father's house, his thoughts were running rapidly. He was either thinking about Lorena, his father, or the thousand other different things that he had to do today. He had a patrol round scheduled for later tonight, and he had to remind Max to send Lorena to his office at exactly 6pm on the dot so he could speak to her.

He felt that it was important to talk to Lorena as much as possible to see where she was at mentally. He knew she missed her family and it was taking a toll on her, so he wanted to make sure she wasn't on the verge of running away or acting out again. And maybe he just enjoyed spending time with her...

The second he met the front door of his father's place, chaos ensued. There were people running around everywhere, and it sent him into a panic as well. He caught one of his father's nurses as he passed by and pulled them aside.

The nurse looked at him with wide blue eyes. "Your Highness!"

Orion gestured to the commotion behind them. "I didn't mean to startle you. My apologies. Now, what's going on? Is my father okay?"

The nurse shook his head. "Not at the moment, no. We were running tests and he just passed out again. His heartbeat became almost undetectable, but its beating stronger again. We still have to get him to come around, though. They're working on it now."

Orion quickly tried to sidestep him, but the nurse grabbed him. Orion gave the nurse a killer glare and the nurse swallowed nervously before explaining himself. "You can't go in until he's clear. No matter what you hear, it's very important that you stay out of the room."

Orion frowned deeply in worry and sighed. "I understand."

The nurse turned on his heels and headed right back into the room he had just banned the prince from for the time being.

Orion found a chair in the hallway and sat down, beginning to nervously twiddle his thumbs. He had lots of work to finish up, but not before seeing that his father was okay. It seemed nobody knew what was wrong with him, and time was running out. The doctors and nurses he hired could only do so much.

About thirty minutes later, all was calm again. The nurse came back to him with a sigh of relief. "He's okay, for now. He requested a meeting with you."

Orion nodded and hastily made his way to his father's room. Upon entering, he saw his father sitting up in the bed, almost as if nothing had happened. He sighed in relief. "Dad."

His father looked up at him, confused. "Who are you?"

Orion cocked his head to the side. "It's me. Your son?" He went to sit beside the king and hold his hand. Orion knew his father was dying, but he couldn't take it if his own father didn't remember him.

The man grew a shit-eating grin on his face. "I know, I'm just messing with ya! Lighten up!"

Orion frowned in disapproval. "So even on your deathbed, you're still an asshole. No surprise there." He rolled his eyes playfully.

His father chuckled. "Hey, you made me this way. You gave me hell when I was raising ya, and I had to give you back that grief somehow." The king shrugged as his son shook his head in disbelief.

"How are you feeling, Dad?"

He sighed. "Well, I'm not in any pain, surprisingly. Apparently my body is healing enough to keep me from hurting, but not to keep me from dying. The doctors say I don't have much time left. Maybe a week, at most."

Orion sighed, nodding. As much as it hurt to watch his father die, he had come to terms with it. But he had to also admit that he was panicking inside, now that his days were actually numbered.

The king saw the panic cross over his son's features and he sighed, bringing his hand up to rub Orion's cheek. "Baby boy, I told you about that worrying."

The prince would usually grimace at being called that, but right now, it was comforting. He shut his eyes and without thinking, leaned into his father's hand a little bit.

"I know. It's just hard."

The kind nodded slowly, carefully watching his son. It was hard for him to watch his son witness him dying. He figured it would've been better for him to die suddenly rather than have it drawn out. "It's okay. We're okay."