Fated Connection (Book 1)

Chapter 28

"Am I missing something?" I asked, looking between the two men, wondering what I had missed while I had been unconscious. 

"Do you have no respect for people's private conversations?" Nova asked, clearly irritated as he glared at Hatter and ignored my question. "There's this thing called boundaries, you know."

Hatter laughed, completely unbothered by Nova's annoyed tone. "Do you expect things to be private when you yell it loud enough for the entire house to hear?" 

The tips of Nova's ears turned pink with embarrassment as he growled through gritted teeth, "I wasn't that loud."

"Yes, you were!" a voice I recognized as Dominic's called from somewhere outside of the bedroom.

"No one asked for your input, Old Man!" Nova yelled back with even more irritation despite his cheeks turning a light shade of red as well. "Keep it in the peanut gallery!"

"Alright, that is enough!" Ashira reprimanded them all, her small frame blocked by Hatter's much larger one. "What have I told you boys about such behavior? If you want to act like children, yelling and bickering at each other, take it outside. Are we clear?"

Nova pressed his lips together as he nodded his head, signaling that he understood. I assumed that Dominic had also agreed as she had taken a step to the side to get a clearer view of Hatter's face after a moment. He had yet to respond to her, his eyes trained on Nova instead while he struggled to keep from laughing at their expense. Ashira watched him with her crossed arms and brows raised, waiting expectantly. 

Smack.

"Hey, what the hell, woman?" Hatter bellowed while jumping away from Ashira and rubbing the back of his head. "Why did you go and smack me for? I didn't do anything!"

Ashira gave him a pointed look. "You know exactly what you were doing, Snoopy, and we've talked about this."

Nova burst into laughter at the name Ashira had casually spoken to Hatter, one I'm not sure was referring to his eavesdropping or his being a wolf shifter. However, while I sat quietly in bed, watching everything play out in front of me, I didn't miss the way that Hatter's face fell slightly at her words. A pained expression flash across his feature before it quickly disappeared. With a curt nod at Ashira and one last unreadable glance at Nova, Hatter left the room without another word.

Nova's laughter had died away, leaving behind a mask of confusion on his face as he watched Hatter leave. Ashira entered the room after his swift departure, a soft smile on her face as if everything that had just occurred was perfectly normal and she was not bothered in the slightest by it.

"How are you feeling, dear?" she asked as she stood at the foot of the bed.

"Like I tried to wear a tree?" I replied but it came out as more of a question. 

Ashira laughed lightly, "Well, it's good to know your sense of humor remains intact. I'll give you two a few more minutes and then I need to change your dressings."

"Thank you for helping me," I called to her just before she reached the door.

Turning back she replied, "Don't worry about it, sweet girl. I delivered you into this world and I'll be damned if I sit back and let it take you out."

After Ashira had closed the door behind her, I looked at Nova to see that my surprise was mirrored on his face. I didn't know her, or how I had ended up here, but she was obviously someone that knew me and my parents, at least to some degree. I had a feeling that if August or Dominic hadn't trusted this woman, none of us would have ended up here to begin with. That thought pegged my curiosity about her even more.