“You like them.”
“I love them,” Ollie corrected. “Especially this room. It’s so relaxing. I can see us here after a day at the clinic, can’t you?”
Nodding, Mac agreed. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something special in here…whenever I’m here, I feel good.”
“Me too!” Ollie exclaimed. “It’s the perfect place to unwind. When I worked at Frontline Doctors and we sometimes lost a patient, I’d go for a run after hours to get rid of the stress it caused. And then there were other days that were so hectic, Icould have used something like this to settle my bear so I could get to sleep.”
“I had days like that when I was taking care of Aunt Hope,” Mac recalled. “She’s my mother’s sister and, after I lost my mother, I couldn’t bear the thought I might lose her, too.” Mac glanced around the room and then said, “I’ll ask Tristan if it’s all right to keep these rooms just the way they are for as long as we’re here, okay?”
Getting up, Ollie moved over to his mate and straddled Mac’s lap, leaning forward until their foreheads were touching. “I’d like that.”
Mac slid his hands up under Ollie’s shirt and smiled when his mate’s body shivered in response. He would never get used to how responsive his mate was, but before he could continue, a knock on the door interrupted him.
“Ignore it,” Ollie whispered as his cock grew hard. After exploring each other's bodies for the last three days, his mate knew where every one of his mate’s hot spots were, as evidenced by Ollie’s bulge.
Before Mac could agree, a couple of knocks followed by a pounding of a fist on their door could be heard. Groaning in frustration, he called out, “Who’s there?”
“Me,” Smokey growled.
“I’m here too,” Theo called through the door. “Tristan asked if you were available to see a couple of pups who have a fever. He’s afraid it could be something that could spread to the rest of the pups.”
Getting up, Ollie said, “Duty calls.”
“Right,” Mac said. “But keep that thought for later.” Standing up, he grasped Ollie’s hand and led him through the rooms to the bedroom door, pausing to give his mate one more kiss. Then, he opened the door and asked, “Did Tristan tell you where the sick pups are?”
“They’re at the clinic,” Smokey said, thrusting a map into Mac’s hand. “After you leave the house, turn right and head straight ahead. The clinic will be on your left. According to Tristan, you can’t miss it since it’s the only building that’s in halfway decent shape.”
Nodding, Mac said, “I just need to find my medical bag.”
“Here it is,” Theo said. “Remy brought it with all the other luggage.”
Taking it, Mac said, “Thanks.” Then, looking at Ollie, he asked, “Ready to get to work?”
“Absolutely,” Ollie said. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
Nodding in agreement, Mac led his mate down the stairs and out the front door of the Alpha house. The thought that he would still spend the day with his mate and do what he loved was better than anything he could ever have imagined.
As they headed for the clinic, Mac seized his mate’s hand and murmured, “It’s gonna be a good day. I feel it in my bones.”
“Me, too,” Ollie smiled, knowing that this was only the first of many more to come.
Epilogue
Mac was almost finished entering the information on the chart for the last pup when the clinic door opened. Looking up and seeing Tristan, he said, “Just give me a minute…I’m almost finished.”
“No problem,” Tristan murmured, looking around the clinic, impressed with the changes that had been made in just one day.
“Is there something I can help you with, Alpha?” Ollie asked as he closed and locked the drug cabinet.
“Just checking on the pups,” Tristan said.
Handing the completed chart to Ollie, Mac said, “Perfect timing. All three pups will be fine, and their fevers should be gone in a day or two.”
“What was the matter with them?” asked Tristan.
“The cubs are severely malnourished, which makes it easy for human diseases to infect them. In this case, it was a respiratory problem, so I gave them a shot of long-lasting antibiotics that should handle it. However, during my examination, I discovered that none of them had received any of theirwolf vaccinations.”
Raising an eyebrow, Tristan asked, “Wolf vaccinations? I don’t understand. I thought shifters were immune from all diseases.”