every option that
excludes me really sucks.”
Astrid mocked a deep sigh of relief. “Why
can’t you tell me more, then? Do I need to hunt? Tear somebody’s
throat and spill his guts?”
“You need to go to work and I need to talk to
Tristan and Liv, James and my mother. Hopefully, I’ll be able to
tell you more soon. Aren’t you going to be late?”
Astrid sighed and reluctantly left her seat.
“You’ll give me a ride, will you?”
“Try to stop me, Miss Spock. And I’ll pick
you up in the morning. Seven?”
“Eight.”
“Astrid, is Tristan working tonight?”
She shook her head. “It’s Friday evening, and
he’s the Hospital’s CEO. He and Liv might not even be here. Maybe
they took a weekend off. They’ve been on twenty-four/seven watch
since I dragged them here.”
“They’d have told us.”
Jack pulled out his phone and called the
Blakes, informing them he would come as soon as he took Astrid to
the hospital.
Astrid took a quick shower and hurried to
dress. Jack didn’t detect a simple, silent snap she’d made with her
fingers before she entered her room, but smiled when he saw the
clear, blue silhouette opening the dresser and wardrobe and putting
clothes on.
Chapter Fifteen
Jack
LIVIA OPENED the door a moment before I
pressed the bell. “Hi Jack,” she said and kissed my cheek. “How’s
Astrid?”
“Why don’t you ask how I am?” I said entering
the Blakes’ spacious living room. Tristan appeared from the kitchen
with a tray with three espressos on it. “Double, half teaspoon of
sugar,” he said and passed me a cup.
“I’ve told her about the bond,” I said and
sat down.
Livia covered her mouth to suppress a
giggle.
The corners of Tristan’s lips curved upward.
“Is she still in the country, or can we soon expect her phone call
from Nepal?”
“She feels fit to do her night shift, so
she’s fine. She kicked and screamed and scratched for a while, but
I’m actually impressed with how she took it.”
“Ha, didn’t I tell you you’d like her! How
did you take it, Jack?” Liv said, grinning.
“I’ve decided to take your husband’s advice
and forget about the bond and everything. I like her a lot, Liv.
And that’s all I’m going to say on this topic.”
Liv smiled. “I’ll let it be, Jack. For
now.”
I took a sip of strong, aromatic coffee and
smiled, thinking about my girl. “I think I know why she suffers
through the change, but you need to tell me everything you know.
How does it look? How long does it last?”
“Liv, you’ve seen more than I have,” Tristan
said. “Astrid doesn’t allow me to be with her in the same room when
she shifts. I usually stay outside until she’s done, both
ways.”
“At the beginning she’s quiet, then becomes
quite talkative,” Livia said. “Once she changes, all verbal
communication stops, of course. I can’t get into her wolf mind.
She’s in pain a few days before, and it intensifies as she
approaches the change. Her eyes change color—”
“From blue to amber,” I finished.
Livia’s eyebrows arched. “How do you
know?”
“I’m guessing, never mind. What else can you
tell me?”
“She has a high fever, body aches, chills,
shivering and shallow breathing. It’s similar to flu symptoms. It
stops when she takes wolf form, but then she’s exhausted. She
recovers relatively quickly once she shifts back into her human
form.”
“Have you seen the actual change?”
“I have, Tristan hasn’t. It’s fast, Jack.
Much faster than you do it.”
“I’m wondering if that causes the pain,”
Tristan said.
“Jack, she does it in the blink of an eye,”
Livia said. “One moment she’s Astrid, then something undefined, and
the next moment, she’s a wolf. A huge wolf. She’s breathtakingly
beautiful. You’ll see.”
I would see, I thought, in a few days. And I
would be with her, and do what Tristan and Liv couldn’t, no matter
how much they cared for her: I would change,
excludes me really sucks.”
Astrid mocked a deep sigh of relief. “Why
can’t you tell me more, then? Do I need to hunt? Tear somebody’s
throat and spill his guts?”
“You need to go to work and I need to talk to
Tristan and Liv, James and my mother. Hopefully, I’ll be able to
tell you more soon. Aren’t you going to be late?”
Astrid sighed and reluctantly left her seat.
“You’ll give me a ride, will you?”
“Try to stop me, Miss Spock. And I’ll pick
you up in the morning. Seven?”
“Eight.”
“Astrid, is Tristan working tonight?”
She shook her head. “It’s Friday evening, and
he’s the Hospital’s CEO. He and Liv might not even be here. Maybe
they took a weekend off. They’ve been on twenty-four/seven watch
since I dragged them here.”
“They’d have told us.”
Jack pulled out his phone and called the
Blakes, informing them he would come as soon as he took Astrid to
the hospital.
Astrid took a quick shower and hurried to
dress. Jack didn’t detect a simple, silent snap she’d made with her
fingers before she entered her room, but smiled when he saw the
clear, blue silhouette opening the dresser and wardrobe and putting
clothes on.
Chapter Fifteen
Jack
LIVIA OPENED the door a moment before I
pressed the bell. “Hi Jack,” she said and kissed my cheek. “How’s
Astrid?”
“Why don’t you ask how I am?” I said entering
the Blakes’ spacious living room. Tristan appeared from the kitchen
with a tray with three espressos on it. “Double, half teaspoon of
sugar,” he said and passed me a cup.
“I’ve told her about the bond,” I said and
sat down.
Livia covered her mouth to suppress a
giggle.
The corners of Tristan’s lips curved upward.
“Is she still in the country, or can we soon expect her phone call
from Nepal?”
“She feels fit to do her night shift, so
she’s fine. She kicked and screamed and scratched for a while, but
I’m actually impressed with how she took it.”
“Ha, didn’t I tell you you’d like her! How
did you take it, Jack?” Liv said, grinning.
“I’ve decided to take your husband’s advice
and forget about the bond and everything. I like her a lot, Liv.
And that’s all I’m going to say on this topic.”
Liv smiled. “I’ll let it be, Jack. For
now.”
I took a sip of strong, aromatic coffee and
smiled, thinking about my girl. “I think I know why she suffers
through the change, but you need to tell me everything you know.
How does it look? How long does it last?”
“Liv, you’ve seen more than I have,” Tristan
said. “Astrid doesn’t allow me to be with her in the same room when
she shifts. I usually stay outside until she’s done, both
ways.”
“At the beginning she’s quiet, then becomes
quite talkative,” Livia said. “Once she changes, all verbal
communication stops, of course. I can’t get into her wolf mind.
She’s in pain a few days before, and it intensifies as she
approaches the change. Her eyes change color—”
“From blue to amber,” I finished.
Livia’s eyebrows arched. “How do you
know?”
“I’m guessing, never mind. What else can you
tell me?”
“She has a high fever, body aches, chills,
shivering and shallow breathing. It’s similar to flu symptoms. It
stops when she takes wolf form, but then she’s exhausted. She
recovers relatively quickly once she shifts back into her human
form.”
“Have you seen the actual change?”
“I have, Tristan hasn’t. It’s fast, Jack.
Much faster than you do it.”
“I’m wondering if that causes the pain,”
Tristan said.
“Jack, she does it in the blink of an eye,”
Livia said. “One moment she’s Astrid, then something undefined, and
the next moment, she’s a wolf. A huge wolf. She’s breathtakingly
beautiful. You’ll see.”
I would see, I thought, in a few days. And I
would be with her, and do what Tristan and Liv couldn’t, no matter
how much they cared for her: I would change,
Similar Books
