Page 55 of The Barren Luna

“Two days at the most, I just need a moment to think it over.”

“No problem whatsoever. You let me know when you decide, and then I’ll inform Vera of your decision. There is no pressure, okay? This needs to be your choice.”

“Thank you, Dylan, I really appreciate you looking out for me.”

“As much as I’d like to take credit for this, it was your mate who came to me and asked me to find a healer who could help someone after a traumatic experience, and I remembered Vera. I was actually pretty upset with myself for not thinking of it earlier.”

“Is he always like that?”

“Who? David? Like what?” Dylan was understandably confused.

“Yeah, is he always that thoughtful and considerate of others?”

“Hmm,” Dylan thought it over for a moment. “He’s always been a kind and considerate friend, but the lengths to which he goes to give you what you need, I can honestly say I’d never seen him do anything like it before.”

“What if I can never get over my hang-ups?”

“Let’s take this one step at a time, alright? None of us know the future and it would be futile and premature to discuss something that hasn’t happened yet and may never even happen. Let’s try and think like this,” Dylan took out a notepad and a pen and started writing. “We’re now at the end of January, right? David will be leaving tomorrow for two to three months. It’s administrative work, so let’s give a realistic estimate of him staying away for at least three months, so we have all of February, March, and April at our disposal.”

“Okay?” I couldn’t see where he was going with this. I stared at the months listed on the paper.

“Regina, these three months will pass whether you use them meaningfully or not. They just will. So why not take the time while your mate is away to focus on you? On your healing, your physical training, your job, and integrating into your new pack? What do you say?”

“I think that's really smart, actually. I’ve been intentional and organized about things before, but they’ve always been external projects or work deadlines. This is the first time I’d be applying my considerable skills to myself,” I said jokingly, but on the inside, I truly felt excited at the prospect.

“So how about this,” he still kept scribbling, as if I’d be able to decipher his handwriting afterward, “if you decide to meet Vera, she’ll be in charge of your healing, your physical training can be planned and carried out by me and Charlie, in the kitchen you’ll have the chef supervising you, and Lizzie and Alicia can introduce you to pack life and help you meet other wolves.”

“You’re really good at this,” I said, somewhat surprised by how energized he seemed by the planning and delegating.

“Well, yeah, in another life, I was groomed for a different job,” he revealed reluctantly. “And that training is sometimes hard to forget.”

“Yeah, I see that, now that my wolf is back,” I responded and we were both quiet for a moment before I decided to take the leap. “You know what, tell your colleague I’ll meet with her.”

“Excellent,” he grinned, back to the Dylan I knew. “I’ll let her know right away.”

???

“How was your appointment with Dylan?” David asked over lunch.

We were eating some wonderful lamb stew out on the terrace. Now that I had my wolf back and was no longer cold, I wanted to eat all my meals there.

“It was great,” I said enthusiastically and filled him in on the loose plan that he had come up with.

“That sounds very good, and it covers all the important areas,” David said.

“Is anyone going to tell me what an Alpha wolf is doing playing doctor at the Royal hospital?”

“You noticed that, huh?” David smiled. “It's Dylan's story to tell, maybe he'll open up to you during your time together in the coming months.”

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “I won't mind if he doesn't. Everyone has their burden to carry and some prefer to do it alone.”

“I know. Though maybe we should discuss a lighter topic now? Like, do you want to transition to the restaurant during thisperiod or do you want to spend all of it working in the castle kitchen?”

“I think I’ll be fine in the castle kitchen for now. I don’t want to do too much too soon, you know? And I think I want to give myself time to learn how to prep and cook food on such a large scale with minimal pressure,” I thought it over before remembering, “Oh, speaking of food! The Omegas told me the pack has a greenhouse?”

“Yes?”

“What are you doing after lunch?” I asked excitedly.

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