Chapter 418: Sleepy Head
"Welcome back, sleepy head," Greta greeted, leaning against the door frame of the bedroom to see Maggie and her brother embracing. "How is August?"
Graeme’s forehead feathered with tension at the reminder of his absent mate. Was it horrible to imagine just staying in that healing world with her forever? There was nothing to worry about there—all worries and responsibilities were paused for the duration of their stay.
It was not long enough with her this last time. It felt as if the minute he was able to appreciate her presence she was gone. His throat bobbed remembering how she had just been in his arms—warm and wet from the hot spring. Goddess, she needed to return to him as soon as possible.
"August is... August is fine," he replied, glancing at the empty space next to him in bed—his voice still raspy from sleep. "How long have I been out?"
"Two days," Greta pushed off of the doorframe to enter the room with a cup of hot tea in her hands. She handed it to her brother.
"Two days? How is that possible? It felt as though I was barely there," he wanted to rush out of bed to check on the status of everything in the pack, but now he was holding a steaming tea cup.
"It may have been the severity of your wounds that made it so long, but you seem very well now. And everything is okay. Don’t worry," Greta reassured him with her hands in the air, anticipating his desire to jump out of bed.
"What happened to the intruder? Cassian?" he asked with the edge of a growl in his voice.
"He is dead," Sam came in then and stood next to Greta.
"How? Was it Neoma?" Graeme asked, recalling how she had arrived just in time and snapped her fingers—somehow bringing Cassian down with that small act.
"He was unconscious from Neoma," Greta told him. "Whatever she did dropped him like a sack of potatoes, thank the Goddess."
"I snapped his neck afterward," Sam explained, making a snapping sound with his tongue.
Graeme nodded his approval while holding the tea out in front of him like it was fragile. He didn’t like to be handed things—his sister knew this.
"What did we do with the body?" he asked, turning to put the cup on the bedside table.
"Buried it," Sam answered.
"Have someone dig it back up and burn it," he said, throwing the covers back to get out of bed where he would feel more capable of addressing all that needed his attention. How had he been out for two days?
"Is that really necessary?" Greta scoffed, watching her brother walk to the closet to retrieve fresh clothes.
"Absolutely," he grunted. "We don’t want to take any chances. He was close to finishing an entire room of us with very little difficulty." The thought made the hairs on his arms prickle. He had been very close to leaving August mateless. That was not something he was willing to do.
"And what of Lucas?" Graeme asked, pulling a shirt over his head. The male was badly injured during the fight, and he knew Lucas was still healing from his run in with the vampire the night prior. He had to command him to stay down during the Cassian fight so he didn’t get himself killed.
"He is healing fine," Greta assured him. "He’s been staying in the pack house."
"He has always stayed in the pack house," Sam mumbled next to her.
"Fine, in the medical wing of the pack house," Greta gave her mate a crooked smile at the small detail he picked at.
"And Neoma?" Graeme asked, turning to look at the rest of them again now that he was changed.
"Neoma is well," Greta confirmed. "We made sure she was aware of how grateful we all are for coming in when she did."
"Thank you for that," he told her. "I know you and Sam are not her biggest fans, but I am offering her an official place in the pack. What she did for me just confirms that she belongs here with us. I hope you both can welcome the idea."
Greta glanced at her mate. "We have already talked about it. I have no objections," she said quietly, and Sam gave her a small reassuring smile.
"And you? How are you?" Graeme asked, walking to where his sister was standing and placing his hands on her shoulders. "You were hurt, too, weren’t you?"
"I am fine, Graeme," she replied. "Maggie looked after me. The pups are fine, too."
"Thank the Goddess," he breathed, kissing her on the forehead before he gave Sam a grateful pat on the back.
"Where have the alyko been staying?" he asked, turning to Maggie who was standing in the middle of the room watching them all with her kind eyes.
"Sylvia and Charlotte had some of the guards make quick work of the beginning stages of that area you and August sketched out for the pack house. It’s looking good, and there will be room there for all of them and then some. But right now, they are staying with their families and there have not been any incidents. The pack was shaken by news of the intruder, and everyone has really banded together," Greta told him.
"Maggie, I hope you have been staying here," he said. He couldn’t bear to think of her staying alone anywhere. If anything ever happened to her again, especially in this pack, he could never live with himself.
"Yes, upstairs. Greta and Sam were kind enough to allow me to stay across the hall from them in your old room."
"Good," he sighed. For now, everyone he cared for was safe—even his mate. August seemed capable of whatever it is she was needing to do.
"Oh," he ran a hand through his beard. "How is Violet after what happened? Does she seem to be affected by the loss of the male who marked her?"
Greta and Sam glanced guiltily at one another. "We haven’t checked on her."
