Page 42 of Tamed Wolf

“If it's that important to you, I could give her a small hit of adrenaline. It ought to clear her mind for a few minutes or so, but she’ll likely crash afterwards.”

It seems like an obvious question, but I need to ask it anyway. “Would that harm her?”

“Look, I'm going to be straight with you. She's strung out. I'm telling you what her body needs, and I respect that you want to respect her; we're talking about her health, and you're worried about whether or not she'll hate you after you help her. I get it, I do, but wolves... we operate differently. I suspect you'll know if she wants it or not, I trust you guys to know the difference between a woman who's into it and a woman who's not.

“Obviously I'm not telling you to start forcing yourself on her, I would never. I'm saying get her somewhere comfortable and quiet, spend some time with her, help her relax, start with gentle touches on her arm or her hand or her head, see how she reacts. You'll know pretty quick what she wants. Your smells will permeate whatever state she's in, and it's going to help her know who's with her.

“Or, you know, just let her keep suffering. That's a good option too I guess, if you want to wait until she can look at you wide-eyed and say she wants you. You're not going to get the consent you're really looking for; it's going to be a lot more nuanced than that right now.”

“Thanks doc,” Beckett says, sounding resigned.

“Call me if there are any changes, you know I'll stop by. I assume you'll be taking her to your place?”

“Considering her other option is the shelter, yeah. She's coming with us.”

“We should go get our things from the shelter,” I suggest. “That way she’ll have something familiar with her.”

The doc looks at me and nods. “That's a good idea. Anything familiar to her will help immensely. If you try all this, and she shows no outward change of healing or coming back to herself, let me know and we'll run some more tests and check her levels. If her heats have been delayed too long or if she's taken suppressors in the past, it could greatly affect how she handles this. Just keep an eye on her for me like I know you will. You're good guys, I trust you.”

Then it's just us and our dad who I definitely forgot was in the room, and Lark, who's still unconscious.

I look down at the cute baby in my arms, knowing it will be a challenge to keep him entertained and occupied while the house is full of who knows what kind of pheromones and noises.

Dad walks up to us, face sober as he appraises the woman laying out before us. “She's special?”

Beckett takes point, shaking his head. “I don't know what it is, Dad. It's just weird. We met her under interesting circumstances, but there was instant recognition. Have you ever heard of somebody getting another chance at a mate?”

“Actually, yeah. Under the right circumstances a mate bond can be triggered. It's called a trauma response mating, and it presents differently than a natural one, but you'll definitely feel that pull. If you and your potential mate are both feeling the connection up front, it can slide into place. It's rare, because the condition has to be just right, everybody has to be receptive, but...” and he meets all of our eyes, “it's no less real. I'm not going to be dumb and ask you guys if you're sure, because I don't give a flying fuck if she's a bit older than you. Not if she treats you right and makes you happy. Goddess knows you need all the happiness you can get after what that other awful woman put you through.

“We've had to watch you guys suffer so much, and you've been so strong and been such good dads to little Rowan here. I really want this to be a good thing for you, to really give this the attention it needs, and take care of her and explore this. Not for the pack, but for you. If there's even achanceshe's feeling this like you are, then you're the only ones that can help her right now anyway.

“Which is why,” he says, coming over to my son and plucking him out of my hands, “me and mom are gonna hang out with this guy while you help Lark. I know you guys have a hard time accepting help, but please don't fight me on this. You know we love this kid to pieces; he’ll want for nothing. We know what we're doing. And you know if we have questions, we'll call you. If she's had it as rough as I suspect she has, she deserves a happy ending, too. I'm gonna put a call out to the pack and we'll get some supplies delivered to you guys.”

“I want to go get her stuff,” I volunteer. “I don't want anybody else touching her things.”

“That's fine,” my dad says, trying to fight a smile.

“Whether this takes two days or six or longer even, we've got this. You just do what you need to do. This could be the start of something incredible for you.”

He walks out of the room pressing little kisses all over Rowan’s cheeks before then moving to his neck, and while it's weird to think of being away from my kid for several days, the idea of having a break makes my knees want to buckle.

“If either of you have any objections to this, you need to voice them now,” Beckett announces, dead serious.

Blake gets closer to Lark, rests his forehead against hers, and inhales slowly. He traces her face with a finger more gently than I've ever seen him touch anybody, then takes his place right next to her head. He stares down Beckett, daring him to tell him to move away.

“Understood,” Beckett says and then he meets my eyes. “I think I know what you want, but I still need to hear it. Are you good with this, brother?”

“What if it doesn't work out like we want it to? What if we build up all this hope and we take the time and the bond gets stronger, and she doesn't want us?”

“No risk, no reward,” Blake says.

“If we only did things we knew for sure would work out, we'd never do anything,” Beckett responds. “You in or out, Brooks?”

With my arms itching to pull her into them, I state, “In.”

???

With all of that decided, I head to the shelter which will take me a good while to drive to and from, wishing I could completely clear out her stuff. My mom popped in to tell us she'd call ahead and let them know one of us was coming, and that we had permission to access Lark’s room and her things. Not having to explain my presence there will be helpful, but I'm not excited about being in that place again. Haven't been there much but seeing it with fresh eyes knowing it’s where Lark has spent most of her life, I know it's going to enrage me.

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