Chapter 4 Chapter .4.

"I don't believe in magic," the young boy said.

The old man smiled.

"You will, when you see her."

~A T T I C U S

***

"So, Doctor Schulman is bringing this healer here?" Grace asked.

She was propped up on several cushions, looking at Alpha Jay.

John was downstairs making lunch for his mate. Grace had not been able to keep much food down, but they kept trying. Grace, however, looked like she was about to blow away.

"Yes. He left this morning." Alpha Jay answered.

Grace leaned back onto the cushions that were helping her sit up. John had whispered to Jay that she had had a hard night, and was still recovering.

"How old is she?" Grace asked with curious eyes.

Alpha Jay paused in his thinking. He had never asked Dr. Schulman the details of her age or how she looked. Not even what pack she was from. He was only concerned about helping Grace.

"She is...older." Alpha Jay said. He tried to sound confident. In truth, he didn't know her age or looks but he did well to hide it.

"Where is she from?" Grace pressed on.

Alpha Jay gave a silent curse towards females. Why did she want to know this? Wasn't it enough that she was coming to help her?

"She wanders around Grace, helping whatever pack she is in."

Grace tipped her head to the side, "Isn't that odd though?" she asked.

Alpha Jay agreed now that he thought about it. They were wolves, meaning they needed to be in a pack. It was something that their wolf needed. A wolf couldn't go a long time without being a part of a pack. In most cases, it caused them to go insane. Even rouge wolves tended to form small packs. It was just genetic.

Thankfully though John entered with a bowl of broth and Grace's medicine on a tray.

"Grace, leave Jay alone. Can't you see he doesn't like your nagging?"

Jay gave a sigh and cast a grateful glance towards John.

Suddenly Grace gasped. Both males rushed forward, John setting the tray down on the table beside the bed and taking his mate's hands in his.

"Grace?!" He asked frantically.

Alpha Jay stood behind, his power spreading out and dominating.

"I know what she is Jay!" Grace said, "She's a lone wolf!"

Grace laughed at the joke she had made, however quickly balked when she made eye contact with her mate. "Don't joke like that again," John said in a whisper, his hands slightly trembling.

"I'm sorry," Grace said, reaching to touch her mate's face.

Alpha Jay cleared his throat, causing to two to realize they were not alone.

"I need to go back to the office. John, do you have everything?" he asked.

John nodded and gave his Alpha a small thin-lipped smile. "Thank you, Alpha."

Alpha Jay nodded before ducking out.

Mates.

He could never be in a room too long with couples that were mated. It wasn't that he was jealous of their happiness. Well... maybe a little.

He was just a wolf that didn't show his feelings too well on the outside. He never understood how others could display themselves so freely. He admired those people who could speak their minds.

He was a patient Alpha and in no rush to get his mate. He knew that the Moon Goddess would bless him with her on her own time when it was right.

His thoughts traveled back to Grace and John. Grace looked worse than she ever had. Her eyes and cheeks were slightly sunken in, with dark shadows under.

He wondered if she had kept down the food John had brought.

Grace, John, and he had been friends since they were children. It was obvious since then that John and Jay would be an Alpha and Beta pair. It was also obvious that John and Grace should be mates. After their shift when they were seventeen there was a celebration all around that what they had hoped turned out to be true.

Jay pulled himself out of his thoughts from the past when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out he saw it was Doctor Schulman.

"Alpha Jay here," he answered.

"Alpha, it's Doctor Schulman, I'm just calling to tell you I've made it to Umbra pack."

Alpha Jay sighed with relief. "Good," he said. Grace's earlier questions though had peaked his curiosity, "have you met her?" he asked.

Alpha Jay could hear Doctor Schulman sigh in the phone, "yes Alpha she..." the doctor laughed, "she is something else, but it's clear to see she is moon blessed. She carries all the signs for it."

That was all Alpha Jay cared about.

"Alright. Call tomorrow when you are close to here," he said.

"I will," The doctor said.

The two hung up without any formalities. It was just a simple call.

Alpha Jay walked slowly back to his office. Getting there he wrote in his notes to announce in the meeting to the pack tonight that a healer was coming and explain why.