When Caleb had left, Galen had made three promises. The first was to fulfill his duty as a representative of Summer. The second was to watch over Ashleigh. The third was a request Caleb had made almost literally as he drove away.

“There is one more thing that I need you to do while you are here,” Caleb said as he climbed into the car.

“Name it,” Galen said.

“You need to find out everything you can about the wolfsbane. When it was used, how much, how many casualties, how they were treated. Everything.”

“I get why you want all that, but this is Winter. So they aren’t exactly going to be opening up the doors and rolling out the red carpet for me,” Galen replied.

“Perhaps not,” Caleb said as he closed the door. “But Ashleigh did mention that her friend is a doctor and the one who treated her.”

“Her friend?” Galen asked.

Caleb started the engine, and Galen stepped back.

“Your dance partner,” Caleb replied with a wink before the car pushed away down the road.

Because of this promise, Galen now found himself standing outside the hospital, anxiously staring at the entrance.

‘I don’t even know what kind of doctor she is. Am I just going to wander around the hospital, popping my head in every room saying ‘yoohoo Bell?’ over and over?’

He shook his head at the thought._.

‘There has to be a way to find her that won’t make me look like a stalker or an idiot.’

As he continued to worry about approaching the situation, he missed the approach of someone on his left.

“What are you staring at?” Saul asked, looking at the hospital entrance for anything out of the ordinary.

“Dude!” Galen shouted, almost jumping out of his skin. “I could have killed you, ya know!”

Saul shook his head.

“No,” Saul stated firmly before giving his explanation. “I approached from the left because on the right, you had an advantage. Also, I spoke from behind, so if you did try to strike at me, you were more likely to hit high., I am shorter than you, so it wouldn’t be difficult to avoid the swing.

Also, your senses are far more aware of danger than you would expect. You weren’t going to strike at me because you already knew I wasn’t a threat before you knew who it was that approached.”

Galen stared at Saul.

“So, what you are saying is that you took a calculated risk because you wanted to see me jump?” he asked.

“Yes.” Saul smiled.

“Winter’s got jokes, ladies and gentlemen!” Galen shouted with a laugh.

Saul joined him with a chuckle before returning to his original question.

“So, what are you staring at?”

“Oh, uh, well…. I thought that it might be a good idea to take a look at the setup of your medical facilities,” Galen replied. Trying to think of the most plausible excuse. “I realize that I am here to learn about combat tactics, but a well-prepared medical team is a basic part of combat tactics in my book.”

“Agreed,” Saul nodded, adding, “let’s go.”

“Go? Go where?” Galen asked quickly, following Saul.

“It would be difficult to properly judge the medical facilities by looking at the brick and mortar of the building. Instead, you need to actually step inside the hospital and see the staff.”

“Yes, and that was my plan exactly,” Galen said, trying to find how to escape the situation. “But wait, what were you doing here?”

“Lunch.” Saul held up a lunchbox while continuing to walk.

“You bring your lunch to eat at the hospital?” Galen asked, showing his confusion.

“My mate, my wife. She is a nurse. I come to have lunch with her whenever I can,” Saul answered.

He wasn’t slowing down; they had entered the building already and were passing people left and right without a word. Galen wasn’t sure where Saul planned to take him, but he needed to get back on track.

“Maintaining the bond with your mate is an essential matter. So please don’t let me stop you,” Galen smiled.

“We are here,” Saul said, suddenly stopping.

Galen almost ran directly into his back.

“Where is here?” he asked.

“Where you wanted to be,” Saul answered before continuing to walk.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Galen called.

Saul lifted the lunchbox in the air and called back, “Lunch!”

Galen chuckled.

Saul was an interesting person. During his time in Summer, he had gone out of his way to talk to Galen about how they could adjust and improve their defenses while making sure no one was around to hear it. After arriving in Winter, Saul had gone straight to Alpha Wyatt. He rerouted all the representatives just to get a perimeter defense appraisal from Galen.

Now out of nowhere, he showed up to help Galen when he felt lost.

‘Saul, are you some kind of quest NPC?’ Galen mused to himself, thinking of the video games he had played when he was younger.

‘But seriously, where did you take me?’ he wondered, looking around at what appeared to be an empty nurse’s station.

“Well, hello, Handsome,” a welcome voice called out.

He closed his eyes, allowing Bell’s warm voice to roll over him, sending a shockwave of anticipation from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. Of course, she wasn’t his bond mate, but all living beings had primal urges. And an attraction felt by a wolf, even just a passing crush, was felt deeply.

Galen turned around; he looked down at her with a tender smile. She was dressed in dark blue scrubs, a long-sleeved pink shirt underneath. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and a playful grin adorned her face.

“Nice to see you, Bell,” he grinned.

Placing a hand on her hip and turning it out toward him, she drew her chin down toward her chest. Then, after adjusting her body into the famous modeling pose, she pouted her lips.

“Nice to be seen,” she replied, topping it off with a playful wink.

He chuckled.

“So, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?” Bell smiled, relaxing her body and hugging the chart in her hand to her chest.

“Well,” he began, “part of my job in Summer involves appraising different aspects of our medical staff and facilities—”

“So, you’re here to check me out,” she stated.

Galen smiled, letting out a laugh.

“I am here to check on all the staff and facilities,” he clarified.

“You are here,” Bell said teasingly, “to check me out.”

Stepping closer and closer until they were only inches apart. She looked up at him with a self-satisfied grin.

“Just admit it, you missed me.”

Galen couldn’t take his eyes off hers. Though his experience was lacking, his instincts told him there was no mistaking the intention in her words. He felt the low rumble deep within him, the soft growl that denoted his rising attraction to her.

He stepped forward, forcing her back before he turned them. His quick movement drove her against the desk, her hands each falling to the desk to brace her. The chart she held fell to the ground. Before Bell had a chance to react to it, he moved again.

Placing his hands on the desk at either side of her body, he leaned down to her, his face mere inches from her own. Their eyes locked once more.

“Are you sure it isn’t you that missed me?” he asked suggestively.

Bell was surprised at his boldness. She swallowed down the rising fire from the pit of her stomach. Then, never one to be outdone, she mustered up all of her will and determination.

Pressing down on her hands, she lifted herself off the ground, pulling herself up to sit on the desk. She smiled brightly at Galen and reached her arms out around his neck.

“Well, Handsome, seems like maybe we missed each other,” she whispered suggestively, leaning close again, their mouths so close she could feel the warmth of his breath. “Why don’t we do something about it?”