Page 152 of Heart of the High King
“Your Sorcery D’Vaire experiments have proved it?”
“You’re the president, so it’sourSorcery D’Vaire, but yeah. Thus far, the Cwylld stones are having no effect on any shifter’s beast. We’ve managed to get the blood of some other animals, like your friend Dr. Suricata’s meerkat and my buddy Dr. Tranelephas’s elephant, and none of them are reacting.”
“How long do you estimate he’ll be sleeping or whatever?”
“I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for three, but I really have no clue. We have no idea how long you took to adjust, considering the shape you were in, so it’s all guesswork.”
“Okay, I suppose I should put together an agenda in case he’s not able to make the D’Vaire family meeting on Monday,” Rafe muttered, not delighted at the prospect of trying to tackle Aleksander’s duties but not willing to let him down by ignoring them.
“Let’s let him get some rest,” Drystan suggested while the guests in Aleksander and Rafe’s room headed for the door.
“You and I need to go find Mortis,” Rafe told Nox, but his feet took him to Aleksander’s side. Pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, he brushed a hand over his shiny locks. “Don’t sleep too long, yeah? I kinda need you. Your wolf’s crazy big and you can’t hear me yet, so we’ll talk later, okay?”
∞∞∞
It was an unusually quiet Saturday for Rafe and everyone else at Aleksander’s mansion. The normal Sorcery D’Vaire meeting had been canceled in light of one of its presidents lying immobile in his bedroom, leaving everyone to do whatever they wanted with their time. The extended family was giving them space, so it was just D’Vaires hanging around the house.
As for Rafe, he was wondering where the wolves were. When Nox was let out of the house, he’d taken off, presumably to find the hiding Mortis. Neither animal had left the bubble, so Rafe allowed them to do their thing without intervention. Even when there was prior knowledge that your mate was about to arrive, Rafe understood it still had to be scary when he got there. Mortis would relax, and he and Nox would work stuff out.
Setting his concern aside, Rafe did have a list of things he wanted to accomplish while Aleksander was resting. It was embarrassing to ask for help with his other half around, so he headed to Larissa’s two-story workshop with the hope that she could assist him.
“Hey, Rafe,” she said when she spotted him hovering near the door.
“Do you have a minute? I’d like to ask you a favor.”
“Get in here,” Larissa coaxed and patted the table where she was sitting with her laptop. “Have a seat and tell me what’s up.”
“I have to admit, I feel like a doofus asking you this, but I don’t know how to shop for clothes,” Rafe told her after he got in the chair next to her.
“No worries, neither does your mate. Do you want me to get some measurements so we can figure out your size so you can shop solo, or did you want my help selecting things?”
“Um…could I ask you to help? I’ve never picked out stuff before, and I can’t see green or red.”
“I didn’t know you were colorblind,” Larissa commented. “I can see how that would make things tricky. I can offer you full-service ordering like I do for Aleksander. That man has the worst taste. If I let him go online, he’d look like a hot mess.”
“Do you mind? I don’t feel comfortable asking you to do that for me.”
“You kidding? I love that shit. I could pick out stuff all day long. Just tell me what you’re thinking. Jeans and T-shirts? You’ve got sneakers on, so I’m assuming you want to stay casual.”
“I loved my combat boots, but they got weirdly stretched by the braces I had to wear. Sander’s got shoes in his dragonskin. Could I get boots like that?”
“We’ll get you boots, shoes, and belts. No problem. They last really long too. When you get your dragon back, we can order them for you in his skin, and they even do cool patterns for mates, so you can have both on there. I’ve got some kickass ones of mine and Madeline’s.”
“Okay. I liked the cotton pants I used to have. I guess like khakis or whatever but in black. Does that make sense? I just want to make sure they’re long enough.”
“Oh, definitely. We want them to almost touch the floor in your boots. I love that look, and you can rock anything. So, you want just different types of T-shirts or some button-downs too?”
“I guess I wouldn’t mind some variety. You sure you’re okay doing this?”
“Absolutely. I’m going to start off rather conservatively, though. I know you’ve still got weight to gain.”
“Yeah, though it’s pretty easy to eat a ton here.”
“We have the best food, don’t we?” Larissa asked, getting up and pulling out a tape measure. Gesturing at him to stand, Rafe did and she jotted measurements as she made him assume different positions. “Okay, so can I ask you a question now?”
Fear choked Rafe as he wondered if this was the moment when someone finally took him to task for abandoning Aleksander, so he just nodded.
“What if we took your old room and converted it into a wolf space for Nox and Mortis, where they can hang and be alone if they want? They’re mates, and they might want some quality time together. We could set up the bathroom so they essentially can walk in and use a paw to get a shower going. A big old wolf bed for two. What do you think?”
