Romance

  Celena&#39;s POV
  Ren arrived with her medical kit, quietly settling into a corner and offering us a gentle smile.
  The room soon filled with the chatter of women. They discussed the unusually warm weather lately, the pretty new dresses at the town&#39;s clothing store, and what new words Lily&#39;s daughter Aurora had learned at her grandmother&#39;s house. Ren even shared a new herbal tea recipe she&#39;d been trying. They didn&#39;t deliberately gather around me, but I felt enveloped by this relaxed, warm atmosphere, and it was very comfortable. I rarely chimed in, just listened, occasionally nodding awkwardly when Lily asked me, “Would blue or red look better on Celena for this dress?”
  The twin brothers peeked furtively through the doorway several times, clearly curious about what their witch was up to. Each time, Rose laughed them away with “Girls&#39; time—no men allowed.” Wa

  Ethan&#39;s POV
  For an Alpha who&#39;s both a husband and a father, being a wounded person was&nbsp;really a suffocating experience. My shoulder injury was mostly healed now, though it still twingeed&nbsp;when I moved&nbsp;too abruptly. That doctor, Miranda—her medical skills were&nbsp;top-notch, but she&nbsp;was&nbsp;so nagging, insisting I &quot;move around appropriately to promote wound recovery.&quot; Fine, I&#39;ll move around.
  I&#39;d noticed Jacob looking down lately too. Ever since he got out of bed, he&#39;d either be zoning out or wandering aimlessly, like he&#39;d lost his soul. A brother in trouble? I had to cheer him up. I hooked my arm around his shoulder, careful to avoid the injured side. “Hey, buddy, wanna take a stroll? I’ll rust your bones&nbsp;if you lie there for a long time.”
  Jacob didn&#39;t react much, just gave a quiet nod. Fine, at least he responded.
  

  
  Lily&#39;s POV
  As I watched Maya and Rose chatter away like two squabbling sparrows, recounting the events (interspersed with copious complaints about each other&#39;s behavior), my first thought was: Holy crap, I seriously need a jumbo-sized ice cream sundae right now, topped with a mountain of chocolate sprinkles.
  Suppressing wolf nature? Summoning forest witches? This sounded like the script for some low-budget fantasy flick, not something happening in my own backyard.
  I massaged my temples, glancing between Maya&#39;s stern expression and Rose&#39;s still-righteous demeanor, then recalled Celena&#39;s lifeless eyes... Alright.
  “So,” I summarized, “what you&#39;re saying is there&#39;s some ancient (and probably fake) witchy fairy tale ritual that might (but probably won&#39;t) summon something that could (in theory) fix Celena&#39;s problem, and one of you opposes it whi

Celena&#39;s POV
  Ren arrived with her medical kit, quietly settling into a corner and offering us a gentle smile.
  The room soon filled with the chatter of women. They discussed the unusually warm weather lately, the pretty new dresses at the town&#39;s clothing store, and what new words Lily&#39;s daughter Aurora had learned at her grandmother&#39;s house. Ren even shared a new herbal tea recipe she&#39;d been trying. They didn&#39;t deliberately gather around me, but I felt enveloped by this relaxed, warm atmosphere, and it was very comfortable. I rarely chimed in, just listened, occasionally nodding awkwardly when Lily asked me, “Would blue or red look better on Celena for this dress?”
  The twin brothers peeked furtively through the doorway several times, clearly curious about what their witch was up to. Each time, Rose laughed them away with “Girls&#39; time—no men allowed.” Watching them slink off, glancing back longingly, even I couldn&#39;t help but curve my lips slightly

Chapter 195