Chapter 176 — Hypnosis

Ella

“I don’t want to wake up,” I complained, still snuggled under the covers of my dream bed with Sinclair.

“I know, but the sooner we do and get back to work, the sooner we can be reunited,” Sinclair replied, sounding just as reluctant as I felt.

“Meet me again tonight?” I asked, wondering how I would ever untangle myself from his limbs.

True to his promise, my mate had freed me from my guilt and helped me forgive myself, though not in the way I expected. I gave him plenty of pleasure, but unleashing his Alpha power was like experiencing his wolf on steroids. He was wild and feral, practically rabid with lust, and my wolf responded with unrestrained abandon. I imagine it’s what being in heat will feel like after the baby comes. The entire night passed in a blurry haze. My body ached from my mate’s dominant treatment, but my heart was light and my conscience clear.

“Wild horses couldn’t stop me,” Sinclair promised, still bathing me in the glow of his astounding magic.

“We’ll of course not,” I joked. “Your wolf is the size of a bloody horse already, and he’s got built-in knives on his fingers and toes.”

Sinclair laughed, petting my hip. “Fine, an army of vampires couldn’t stop me,” he amended.

I paused. “Wait, are vampires real, too?”

“No,” Sinclair smiled, without judgment. He paused, seeming to listen for something. “I think I’m waking up. Be good today, little mate. No skipped meals or forgotten naps.”

“I’ll be good as long as you stay safe,” I agreed, feeling ridiculous for being so emotional over such a short time apart. A wave of near-tears threatened.

Sinclair rumbled wordlessly, sensing my vulnerability. He didn’t chastise me; instead, he waited for me to look up at him again. “And please talk to Gabriel about investigating your past. The longer we put it off, the more you’ll dread it, sweetheart.”

I nodded in reluctant confirmation. “I’ll make some time.”

Sinclair kissed me, pouring all his love through our bond, and then he was gone.

I woke up a short time later, the wonderful, airy emotions from my dream turning bittersweet with my mate’s absence. I scarfed down my breakfast and threw myself into making arrangements for the summit before visiting the orphans and departing for the refugee arrivals camp. Upon arrival, I was surprised to find my sister already present, anxiously watching as Vanaran doctors treated injured shifters. She was so engrossed in the events in the medical tent that she didn’t notice me approach. When I gently placed a hand on her arm, she leaped a foot in the air, yelping in surprise.

“Ella, you scared me,” she breathed, pressing a hand to her chest.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, giving her a squeeze. I followed her gaze to a surgeon setting a broken bone, placing the injured arm into a strange machine that automatically projected a light image of the woman’s skeleton—like a portable, radiation-free X-ray. As we watched, the machine carefully manipulated the limb until the bones were aligned. The shifter only emitted a low hiss, suggesting a relatively painless process. “Admiring the Vanaran technology?” I inquired, feeling amazed myself.

“It’s so far ahead of anything we have back home, even in the shifter community,” she replied, shaking her head. “These packs have so much they could be teaching the rest of the world—so much good they could be doing. Instead, they keep it to themselves.”

“I can’t blame them for hiding,” I replied. “You know how humans are with people they don’t know or understand. If they found out about wolves, we’d have a witch trial reboot on our hands.”

“But wolves aren’t some marginalized group,” Cora countered. “They are the ones holding the power. Yes, humans would be afraid, and all the bigots in the world would probably demonize them, but they’d be punching up. Shifters are the Goliath to their David, not the other way around.”

“Humans outnumber wolves four to one,” I reminded her. “Yes, we might have strength and technology on our side, but I think it’s a mistake to forget how much damage humans can do when they set their minds to it.”

Cora looked at me with an unreadable expression, and I was surprised to find a gulf between us. Our relationship hadn’t changed when I became a shifter, but in this discussion, we were suddenly separated by our identities. “On our side?” she repeated, her brow furrowing. “You mean your side. Have you forgotten, sister, that I’m one of the hateful humans you’re talking about?”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” I sighed, replaying my words and realizing how cold they must have sounded.

“You were a human for thirty years, Ella, and you’ve been a wolf for less than a month. I thought your allegiance was stronger than that,” Cora remarked. “You’re so concerned for all these displaced shifters, for your pack… have you even thought about how this war is affecting the humans on the continent? They’re suffering the same violence and instability, but unlike us, they don’t have any idea why it’s happening or where it’s coming from. It must just seem as though the world’s gone mad.” Her chocolate eyes shone in the fluorescent lights.

“And they don’t have anywhere to run; there is no magical continent to offer them refuge.”

My heart sank as I realized she was right. I’d been concerned for everyone left behind, but until this moment I hadn’t given any specific thought to the humans. The shame I’d so recently banished returned with full force. Where were all the humans I once knew? The children I nannied? Were they even alive?

“I’m sorry,” I choked out. “You’re right. I’ve gotten so caught up in my own life these last couple of weeks… in trying to figure out where I came from, that I forgot the people who took me in when the shifters abandoned me.”

“Well, if anyone has an excuse to be a bit self-absorbed right now, it’s you,” Cora appeased begrudgingly. “And I’m probably just taking out my frustration on you, which isn’t fair.”

“No, you were right,” I insisted. “I have to think about the humans, too. Sinclair might already be monitoring the situation or planning something, but if he isn’t, I’ll make sure we start.” I decided, thinking aloud. Almost as an afterthought, I added, “Frustration with what?”

It was possible she was referring to Roger’s advances, but it was also possible I’d been an even more negligent sister than I realized.

“Ella, my whole world got blown up, too,” Cora scoffed, sounding annoyed. “My job, my home, everything I knew is gone. And now I’m here like some sort of third wheel to you and the refugees—an interloper with no rightful place or role. I can’t even practice medicine here because they’re living in the freaking space age.”

My eyes fell shut, a heap of guilt joining my shame. “Cora, I should have realized. I’m really sorry, and I know I keep saying that, but it’s the truth. I feel terrible.” I took her hand, half afraid she’d reject it.

“We’ll find you a role. Maybe it can be helping with the efforts to support humans back home, or maybe you can help here,” I suggested, gesturing to the medical tent.

“You were just saying how much we have to learn from the Vanarans. Well, this is a chance. Just because you don’t know this technology yet doesn’t mean you can’t be trained. You have all the medical knowledge; this is just new methodology, right?”

“Well, yes and no, because they probably understand things about disease and physiology that we haven’t figured out yet, but… I would love to learn,” Cora shared wistfully. “The science nerd in me is geeking out already, and I don’t even know the tip of the iceberg. Do you really think I could find an apprenticeship or something here?”

“If they try to say no, I’ll just sic Dominic on them,” I promised, proud and pleased to see my sister so excited. “We’ll make it happen.”

She hugged me tightly, then slipped a little closer to the procedure in the medical tent. I retreated, feeling a new weight on my overburdened shoulders. “Something on your mind?” Gabriel inquired, entering for his daily visit to the camp.

“You know when you think you have a handle on your to-do list, and then eight thousand new things pop up that you should have already accounted for but didn’t because you were too stressed or too preoccupied with your other tasks?” I asked, exhaling with exhaustion.

“Yes,” he chuckled. “Anything I can help with?”

I set my hands on my hips, working up my courage. “Well, I’d probably prefer your help on some of the things I was just talking about with my sister, but I know I should really be asking about DNA and hypnotists.”

He nodded in understanding, looping an arm around my shoulder. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t we go back to the palace and get my royal physician to run some tests for you. I’ll call in the hypnotherapist, and in the meantime, we can talk about the things you’d rather focus on.”

I hung my head, really not wanting to do this. “Deal.”