Page 125 of Fool Moon First Aid

Ethan joins us, crouching down beside me, his lips pulled taut. “What should we do?” he asks, looking to Brody for guidance.

I can’t help but laugh, despite the situation. “Aren’t you supposed to be the experts?” I try to wave at them. “A doctor and paramedics.”

“Shift,” Tyler instructs firmly. “On three, Brody, you remove the blade, and Ava, you shift.”

I brace myself, the anticipation of pain tightening my muscles. Move past it. “All right, on three. One…two…three!”

As the blade is removed, triggering my transformation, agony engulfs me. Despite the pain, I push through, allowing my wolf form to emerge. My skin burns and aches as I begin to heal. My legs can’t hold me up, and I collapse to the ground, whimpering as my skin knits back together.

As soon as I can catch my breath, I shift once more.

Ethan’s nostrils flare. He is still in the exact same crouch, but now his shoulders sag with relief. “Don’t ever, and I mean ever, do that again.”

“I don’t plan to,” I reply weakly. Naps and bingeing shows are on my schedule for the next week at least.

Alpha Hughes steps up to us. Thankfully, he’s wearing pants, because there are some things a girl just doesn’t need to see. “Ava, you will make a formidable luna one day.”

“Thank you, Alpha,” I reply, hoping he can see just how much I needed to hear those words. “All right, one of you help me up.”

“I’ve got you.” Brody lifts me up, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. I can just make out the slight tremble of his touch. “I need to know you are okay.”

“I’m okay.” I place a palm on his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath my fingertips.

“I think you need a spanking.” Tyler steals a kiss. “Running off like that… You were supposed to hide.”

“Oh, you should have known better than that.” I rest my head against Brody, his warmth chasing away the nightmare surrounding us.

“Handcuffs,” Ethan mutters. “I’m buying handcuffs.”

“Sounds kinky,” I tease.

Ethan just snorts. The three of them surround me, and I don’t feel overwhelmed anymore. I feel protected and loved.

Ava

I thought knowing who killed my mom would make me happy. It doesn’t. Sadness rushes through me, knowing my father was the one who killed her, and worse, he broke her spirit in the process.

Inside, my wolf rumbles her fury.

Destroying someone’s spirit is the gravest crime they could commit, and realizing my father was leading that charge? I feel like I’ll spend a lifetime making up for his crimes. It doesn’t matter that he committed them, and it doesn’t matter that I stopped using his last name long ago. I just want to make things right. I need to make things right.

“It isn’t your fault, you know.” Brody’s rumbling voice whispers over my senses. Clenching my coffee cup, I move my gaze from the backdoor to my sleepy mate. He’s wearing those sweats that always make me drool as he saunters over to me and presses a kiss to my forehead.

“I know,” I whisper, looking at the clearing outside. It’s been a week since I found out the truth about my mother’s death—a week spent just touching and cuddling with my guys, where all we did was exist together.

Even though I know it wasn’t my fault, that doesn’t mean the guilt doesn’t weigh heavily on me. My wolf agrees with Brody, trying to comfort me with her soothing presence.

It’s hard to shake off the feeling that I could have done something, anything, to prevent what happened. Maybe if I had been stronger or braver, I could have stopped my father from hurting anyone else far sooner than I did.

Brody steps up behind me, pressing a soft kiss to my exposed shoulder. I’ve been living in their clothing for the week. Today, I’m wearing one of Ethan’s formal button-downs with only a few buttons fastened, so it continually slips off one shoulder. “You can’t change the past,” he says softly.

I lean into him, feeling grateful for his comforting words and warm embrace. He’s been nothing but supportive since I found out the truth about my family history.

“I know,” I say again, this time with more conviction in my voice.

We stand in silence for a while longer before Brody speaks again. “What do you want to do now?”

I turn in his arms to face him, giving him a small smile. “I want to make things right.” I just don’t know how. I’m just a veterinarian.

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