15

Dante's mother had a wide smile on her face for Gaia as she and her mate approached the bed after the doctor left the room. His father's face was mild, but his brows were slightly raised.

"Good morning, Gaia, Dante...oh, Gaia, it's good to see you awake, sweetheart," Arianna scooped Gaia's hand in her own and wrapped an arm around the girl's neck in a gentle embrace. "Your mother will be so relieved to know you're okay."

"Good morning, thank you," Gaia answered. She wasn't quite certain what to say. And when Arianna stepped back and Florian took her hand in greeting, she felt heat in her cheeks and simply said, "Good morning."

Florian said, "Are either of you hungry? I heard you've eaten, but we brought breakfast."

"We ate a little over two hours ago," Dante said. He rose to clear the plates off Gaia's little table. "I could eat a little more. Did you bring coffee?"

"Yes, yours is the full one," Arianna pointed toward the coffee table where she'd left the food, then turned to Gaia, "I didn't know you'd be awake, or if you even like coffee, so I didn't bring one for you. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. I do like coffee, but so many days without, it would probably be a bit much for me right now, anyway."

"Well, I'll bring you one tomorrow, then."

"She takes milk in hers," Dante said, carrying his coffee and two plates to Gaia's table. He winked at Gaia with a smirk when he noticed her looking askance at him.

Florian said, "We overheard you speaking with the doctor as we came in. Your wolf came through, is that right Gaia?"

Gaia turned her attention back to the Alpha and Luna. "Yes, my wolf is with me, now."

Turning to Dante, Florian said, "Good, then Dante can get some work done. Come on over here, son, we've got business to work on."

"Florian, let's have a bite to eat together, you haven't properly met Gaia," Arianna said handing him a plate as she carried hers to sit in a chair by the bed.

"Ari, stop spoiling the boy. He didn't do anything at all yesterday-"

"Florian Black! You were standing right beside me when the doctor explained to us Dante should take this day to rest and bond with Gaia. Our son spent yesterday in a spiritual trance assisting his mate with her wolf's early emergence, which is known to be mentally and emotionally exhausting for both of them, and he did that without any breaks. Ensuring the health and safety of this pack's future Luna is paramount to the future of this pack, and I have to insist we respect the doctor's orders in this."

Florian frowned at his mate for several moments, then huffed when she placed her fists on her hips and raised a brow.

"Fine. Dante, bond with your mate today. Tomorrow, you will join me to work on pack matters." He sat in the chair beside his mate and took a large bite of a pastry.

Gaia watched the exchange wide-eyed, never considering the alpha family dynamic might be like any other family in the pack, with a share of spats and disagreements.

Dante sipped his coffee and watched Gaia watching his parent's argue. When his father sat, Dante nudged the plate toward her.

Gaia glanced at the plate that had just moved a centimeter, then peered up at Dante. He lifted his brows and tilted his chin, which she took as a suggestion to break off a bite of pastry and pop it in her mouth.

Arianna shot a final glare at her mate, then asked, "What's your wolf like, Gaia?"

Gaia smiled, "She's beautiful-"

Dante cut in, "Her wolf is a handmaiden."

Gaia was about to reproach him for interrupting her, but Florian asked, "Do you know which manifestation?"

Gaia glanced at Florian, and noticed he and Arianna were looking at her expectantly. Shooting a warning look at Dante, she answered, "My wolf's name is Gray-star."

Florian blinked at her, then abruptly rose from his seat, setting his plate down and strode over to the couch to open his laptop. He began tapping furiously at his keyboard, occasionally huffing. Soon he was reading, his hand covering the lower part of his face, his brows knitting as he read.

Arianna, Dante and Gaia watched him, exchanging glances with each other. After a few moments Arianna rose to join her mate. She read over his shoulder.

Dante said, "Is there anything we should know?" He frowned as he watched his parents mind-link each other.

"I have to contact the council," Florian grabbed his phone and walked out of the room.

Dante and Gaia watched him leave, then turned to Arianna. Dante asked, "What was that about?"

Arianna cleared her throat, "Do either of you know who Gray-star is? What her position is, what she represents?"

Dante and Gaia exchanged a glance. Dante said, "I was going to have Randal look it up."

"In the stories I've read she's a healer, but she doesn't show up very often," Gaia offered.

Arianna nodded, "Gray-star is one of the elementals. She represents spirit." Arianna rose to pick up her and Florian's discarded plates.

Dante drew in a breath and sat up straight. Gaia glanced at him.

"We'll wait for Florian to return, then we'll talk about it."

Gaia was about to protest, wanting to know more about her wolf, but a knock on the door before it opened stalled her. Three female nurses entered, one saying, "We hear you're feeling ready to get out of bed."

Gaia nodded.

"Well, let's see what we can do about that."

Gaia was a little surprised to see Dante put up a fuss about leaving her side while she was getting unhooked from the machines and changing into her clothes, it warmed her to know he wanted to be near her. And then he kissed her cheek, and she watched him cross the room as a nurse pulled the room divider closed.

Feeling a pinch in her arm, she looked down and saw they'd begun while she'd been distracted. The patches, needles and tubes were already detached, and they offered a sponge bath, which she accepted. One even brushed her hair, gently loosening the tangles, then braided her hair into a loose, three-strand plait.

Then a nurse brought in a suitcase she didn't recognize. It was lifted to her bed and she opened it, finding clothing she didn't recognize under one of her dad's shirts and a few pages of folded paper that appeared to be a letter. The first page she opened was a note from Lucas', which she was thankful for since he tended toward precision and rarely strayed off topic.

She learned the clothes she didn't recognize were hers, picked for her by her friends. She decided to wait to read the other notes so the nurses could get on with their day, and pulled out one of her father's tee shirts to wear over lounging shorts.

One of the nurses recognized a folded square as a silk kimono robe and suggested she wear that as well. Gaia shrugged, but pulled it on, immediately feeling decadent with the luxurious cloth draping her body.

_

Arianna suggested to Dante that he could perhaps leave the room for a short while, stretch his legs a little.

Cordut disagreed profusely. He was adamant they needed to stay in the room with their mate.

Dante suggested they pull the divider curtain for Gaia's privacy, but he would not leave his mate's room. He kissed Gaia's cheek and gently squeezed her hand, then left her side to sit across from his mother, meeting her gaze as they sat.

She was watching him, her brows raised. "Your wolf is very protective of your mate."

"Yeah." He bobbed his head in agreement. "I had Gaia bring Gray-star forward to give our wolves a chance to meet each other, but I sensed some strong signals our wolves have met before, and I'm wondering if that may explain the incredibly strong bond we seem to have, despite barely knowing each other."

"She is very young."

"She's still a pup, barely seventeen. I'm not entirely comfortable with it."

Arianna paused for a moment, blinking as she gathered her thoughts.

"That's right. Her pack of origin shares schools with the humans, and she tested into an advanced program. We had to honor that, and the closest match was a year-group ahead."

A nurse stepped around the curtain, and said, "Pardon the intrusion, the patient would like to have her own clothes, and I don't know what things are hers."

"Oh, yes," Arianna rose and retrieved the bag she'd packed for Gaia, rolling it to the nurse. "Here, let her choose."

Dante watched his mother hover near the curtain. He could hear confusion in Gaia's voice, though he couldn't hear her words. There was a hushed pause as the zipper ripped and the luggage opened, then a crinkling of paper.

When his mother glanced his way, Dante mouthed, "What did you do?"

Arianna padded quietly over to the couch, and leaned close, murmuring, "I had her friends each write her a note, and there's also a letter from her mother, and I put them all on top of her clothes."

She suddenly reached out to touch his arm, "And Dante, I was told explicitly to keep any men's shirts I found among her things. Apparently they were her father's, and she wears them sometimes to sleep in."

Dante was surprised at a sudden disappearance of a tension he'd been previously unaware of.

"Where is her father?"

"The pack was attacked by rogues. He died protecting them, Michelle barely escaped with Gaia."

Dante mulled over the bit of information. He hadn't read very much of Gaia's or Michelle's past in their file.

The trauma of sudden loss of loved ones was increasingly uncommon among the werewolves, but violent attacks did happen, and deaths did occur. His own territory was well protected, sharing borders and peace treaties with neighboring and nearby packs. It was the territories that bordered the unclaimed lands and smaller human settlements that suffered attacks the most often.

A nurse pulled the screen open, drawing Dante's attention. Gaia's small form was swallowed in a robe, under which he could see she'd chosen one of her father's tees. She was perched on the bed, preparing to step down, her hands slipping into a nurse's grasp.

Dante stood and crossed the room to Gaia's side, saying he would help her. Gaia studied him a moment, then slipped her hands in his. He slid his hands to her elbows to supported her as she slid off the bed, holding her until he was certain she could support her own weight. Then he placed her hand in the crook of his elbow and walked beside her as she crossed the room to the couch.

"I've hardly moved twenty feet, yet I feel so weak," Gaia said as she sank onto the couch.

Dante sat beside her, holding her small hand in both of his. He tamped down an urge to pull her into his lap and clutch her to his chest, he was pretty certain she wasn't ready for such a show of affection.

Arianna had switched her seat, beaming at Gaia, "Aww, sweetheart, you had a lot happen over a short period of time. You're doing great."

Gaia nodded. "Thank you."