The Healer

Chapter 14

Tori POV

I awake slowly to find myself lying in the most comfortable bed I’ve ever been in…. again. The intense sweet smell of sandalwood and mahogany envelopes me as I inhale the wonderful scent. I must be in Victor’s room. As much as I would love to stay here all day, I don’t think it appropriate for me to linger too long. I open my eyes and glance around the room. I see the picture frame I was holding earlier was placed back on the shelf. Hopefully I didn’t break it when I dropped it. I feel a weight on my arm, and I look down to find Victor holding my hand and his head lying on the mattress. I smile to myself as I look upon this handsome man with such concern for me. I remember him now. He was my friend long ago when I used to live here with my mother. He was my ‘Whisper’. He took care of me, looked out for me, and tried to keep me out of trouble. I was quite the rambunctious child. Always getting into everything, especially trouble with the pack members. But being the Alphas kid, nobody ever disciplined me, they would just grunt their disapproval and go on about their day.

Oh my God, the Alpha! My heart skipped a beat. The Alpha, my father! We found each other. Strangely enough, I’m not afraid. I’ve been wanting to find him as well. I am very happy that we have finally met. I hope he feels the same way as I do. We need to get to know each other again, but I’m willing to put in the effort if he is. Unless he doesn’t want to get to know me. Did he move on and find somebody else? Does he have any other children? Am I just an unknown burden to him? Guess I’ll find out when we sit and talk.

I look down at Victor and smile to myself. I study his handsome features a bit before I reach down and run my fingers through his hair. It’s so soft and silky, I could do this all day. I hear him take a deep breath in and open his eyes and sits up. He grabs my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.

“Hey, how’s your body feeling?” He asked with a cheeky grin. I give his hand a gentle squeeze and an awkward smile.

“My body is doing okay, a little embarrassed, but I’m good.” I sit up and lean against the headboard. “Please tell me there are no more surprises. I don’t think I could handle any more.” Victor chuckles at me before sitting up.

“No, I think these were enough for now.”

“What time is it?’ I suddenly bolt upright in bed and stare at Victor. He glances down at his watch.

“It’s just past four” I pull the blankets off me and swing my feet off the bed.

“I have to call Dr. McDonald.” Victor grabs my hand and pulls me back down to sit on the bed.

“Tori, wait. The Alpha wants to talk to you first before you call him.” I lift my gaze to him, and my brow dips in confusion.

“Why? I’m not changing my mind, Victor.” I try to stand again, and I am pulled back down again.

“Please, just talk to the Alpha first and then you can call. Send him a text and see if you can call him later this evening.” He pleads with me. I sigh heavily and then nod. I take my phone from my pocket and send a quick text to Dr. MacDonald informing him that I will call him later this evening with my answer and put it back in my pocket. Rubbing my temples, I groan a bit before attempting to stand. I notice Victor stands up in front of me and grab my hands.

“Come on, I’ll help you balance.” I stand on my feet and wobble a bit. I end up getting a slight dizzy feeling and I lean into Victor to balance myself. He puts his arms around me to prevent me from falling and I catch him taking in my scent as he holds on to me. I can feel my cheeks turning red and I lower my eyes to the floor.

“Hey, you, okay?’ He c***s his head to the side so he can look into my eyes.

“Just a bit light-headed but I’m fine” I shake my head and stand up straight. I slowly slide my eyes up to meet his. We spend a few moments just admiring each other. His eyes are so beautiful. The most striking ocean blue I’ve ever seen. I can’t look away, they captivate me, the feeling is so strong it almost scares me. I can feel a slight pull towards him. I don’t know what this feeling is, my mom explained what the mate pull is, but this is different than what she described. Maybe because I don’t have a wolf, at least not in the traditional sense. I’m enjoying it anyway. I just want to wrap myself around him and never let go. It seems that he may sense the same thing as he hasn’t pulled away yet.

“Victor…. “ I whisper as I can feel his grip becoming tighter on me. Our faces only inches apart. I can feel his warm breath fan across my cheek.

“Tori…” He replies in that deep sensual voice that turns my insides to mush and causes a warm bolt of electricity to travel to certain parts of my body. My breathing hitches as I try to calm my rapid heartbeat. Oh my, he smells so good! He raises his hand up to my chin and looks directly into my eyes. Nothing holding back, we stare for a moment getting lost in each other. It’s like he can see into my soul and know just how I feel. Please don’t let go!

Just then, the bedroom door opens with a bang and a loud scream echoes through the room.

“What is going on in here?” Tammy’s voice travels through the room as we jump back from each other with me landing back on the bed. My heart racing so fast I need to close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.

“Why are you here?” Victor turns towards her with his hands on his hips. Tammy stands in the doorway with Eric behind her grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“I came to see if my friend was awake. What are you doing here? Beta?” Tammy gives a cheeky smile and glances between Tori and the Beta.

“I was helping her to get out of bed.” Victor turns around and grabs my hands again. Raising up I smile at Victor.

“Thank you.” Of course, my cheeks are flaming red right now. Our moment ruined, sadly, when Tammy burst into the room. Eric standing behind her with an apologetic look on his face, obviously understanding what was happening. He grabbed Tammy’s hand and started pulling her out the door.

“Come on babe, let’s go wait in the living room. She’ll be fine, Beta will take care of her.” Tammy looked back at Eric with a disgruntled face and then over to me. I just nodded at her. She sighed heavily before following Eric out of the room.

“Sorry about that, she gets overprotective sometimes.” I straighten my clothes and try to brush my hair down with my fingers. Victor shakes his head slightly and stands back.

“No worries. I’m glad she is looking out for you.” He answers quietly.

“Yeah, she’s good like that. Sometimes a little too much, but I love her just the same.” I can feel a bit of tension filling the room.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” I said lowering my head to look at my feet. “I’ll just go freshen up and then we can go.” I spun on my heal and darted to the bathroom. Closing and locking the door behind me, I leaned against it and took a deep breath. Damn you, Tammy! I will have to remember to yell at her later. I get the feeling that Victor didn’t quite care for the interruption, but seems as though he’s glad it happened, which confuses me. I stand before the mirror and study my reflection. Wow, I look terrible! I splash some cool water on my face and pat it dry. Using my fingers, I comb through my hair to make it look a bit more presentable. Satisfied with my look, I open the door and step out. I see Victor standing by the bookshelves looking at the photo I had earlier. I cautiously step up next to him and glance at the photo of the two of us as pups.

“That was a great day. Your fourth birthday. “ I looked up at Victor’s profile. His eyes were searching over the picture with a sad look on his face. “One of my favorite memories. Then a week later, you were gone.” I could hear the sadness in his voice. That was a long time ago, a memory that was forgotten to everyone except him. I look back at the photo and stare.

“Do you remember that day?” He turns to me after placing the frame back on the shelf. I follow the frame and smile.

“I remember some of it. I remember eating my cake. Playing pin the tail on the wolf and playing tag with you. I also remember there wasn’t too many people at my party and the argument my parents had. I remember the necklace…. “ I thought back to that day. Being four I didn’t remember too much, but I thought of my parents yelling at each other that morning. Victor had come over to get me to go outside and play while mom and dad were locked in dad’s office yelling at each other. I can’t remember why, but it was about a friend of my father’s.

“I never got to give you your birthday present.” He sighed and gave a pitiful smile as he looked away.

“I’m sorry Victor” I felt bad, even if it wasn’t my fault, I didn’t want to see him so upset. “I’m here now.”

“Yeah. But for how long? What if you find you don’t want to live this kind of life? What if you find your mate and it isn’t … “ He abruptly cut his words before he finished. What was he going to say?

“I am a part of this world whether I like it or not. I came back on my own will, not somebody else’s. I am willing to give it a chance.” That seemed to make him happy because he picked his head up with a sincere smile and gleaming eyes.

“I’m glad to hear that, Tori.” He brought his hand up and brushed my hair to the side. Softly moving his thumb across my cheek. I leaned into his hand slightly and sighed. His touch was so warm and soft. It just felt right. I didn’t want it to end, but he dropped his hand and straightened his back.

“The Alpha is waiting for you in his office. Are you ready to see him?” A little disappointed, I nodded my head.

“Yeah, I guess so.” He stepped back and followed me from his room. Closing his door behind him, we walked down the hallway to the office. We passed the living room where a few teenagers were watching a movie.

“Hey Beta Victor! Who’s your friend?” One of the boys stood up and asked.

“Jeremy, this is Tori.” Jeremy put his hand out. “A friend of the Alpha’s” Jeremy’s smile faltered for a split second before returning.

“Nice to meet you Tori” He shook my hand firmly and smiled. He seemed friendly enough. Short brown hair, light brown eyes and very tall. He was wearing only basketball shorts. “Will you be coming to the bonfire tonight? It’ll be great! We haven’t had one in a while, Alpha allowed us to have one. You should come!” I looked up at Victor who just stared at Jeremy with a stone face.

“I will certainly try to, sounds like fun.” I offered before he let go of my hand.

“Great! Everyone will be there. See you later then!” Jeremy bound back across the room and jumped on the couch to finish his movie. There were two more teens on the couch. One boy who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. He had black hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. He nodded his head and went back to the movie. The other teen, a female about eighteen. She had strawberry blonde hair and sun-kissed complexion. She was very pretty, dressed in a black pair of shorts and a white tank top. She eyes me up and down before snorting her disgust at me. I looked over to Victor and he just shook his head at me.

“Don’t mind her, she’s just one big attitude, but harmless.” I nodded and glanced back at her. She gave me an evil eye before turning back to the tv.

I followed Victor to the Alpha’s office where he knocked twice.

“Come” Victor opened the door wide enough for me to enter before he followed me in and closed it behind him. I looked around the room and saw a huge wooden desk right in the center in front of the large floor to ceiling windows overlooking the training grounds, like the ones in the living room. He was seated behind it in his large leather chair. He was reading some papers in front of him. Oddly he seemed a little flustered but tried not to let it show. He was hiding something; his aura was nervous and suspicious. When he looked up from his desk, his dark brown eyes surveyed me curiously. I just stood before him with my hands clasped in front of me with my eyes down cast.

“Tori” I looked up at him. Even though his face seemed to hold no emotions, his eyes were dancing with happiness and giddiness. He was happy, but tried to remain stone faced just like an Alpha would do.

“Alpha” I answered bowing my head and keeping it down until he ordered otherwise. I heard him raise from his chair and walk around the desk to stand in front of me.

“Look at me” He stated gently. I raised my head and stared at the man before me. He was quite tall. Probably six feet five inches. Black hair, vibrant violet eyes, and olive skin. Now I know where I got my eye color from. He was a handsome man and I bet popular with the ladies. His strong and muscular physique loomed over my puny stature; he was a little intimidating, but I wasn’t uncomfortable in the least. He stepped back and leaned against his desk.

“How are you feeling?” He raised his eyebrows waiting for a response.

“I’m okay, thank you. I believe I’m over the initial shock of things. It all seems so sudden, but I’m glad…. “ I stopped suddenly, not sure if I should go on.

“Glad for what?” He questioned lightly.

“I’m… I’m….. glad we got t-to meet.” I could feel my face flush again and looked away. I was getting nervous, even a bit scared that he didn’t want the same things. He put my mind at ease with his next response.

“Me too, Tori.” He sighed before closing his eyes for a moment and then opened them. “Well, I guess you may have some questions for me?” He nodded questioningly and took a seat in front of the desk. Pointing to the other chair next to his, I sat down and clasped my hands together.

“Ok, wow, where do I start?” I took a deep breath and let it out. There was so much I wanted to know, but for now, we’ll keep it simple.

“Alpha..” He held up his hand.

“You can call me Rick. Alpha is too formal, especially from my own daughter. Just until you are comfortable around me to call me dad.” I could see the hope in his eyes that that would someday soon happen.

“Alright, Rick… Do you have any other children?” He thought for a moment before sadly smiling.

“No. I never took a chosen mate after your mother, so I have no other pups but yourself.” He shook his head.

“Did you want more?” Immediately, he nodded his head.

“Absolutely! We had planned on having many more. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out.” He looked away in shame, knowing exactly why that hadn’t worked out. I noticed he was having trouble talking about this subject, so I tried to steer the conversation in a different direction.

“I’m sorry, that must be a touchy subject. I know there were some issues between you and mom. We don’t have to talk about that. I just want to get to know you.”

“Don’t be. I made some mistakes and I have to own up to them and accept it. I would change it in a heartbeat if I could, but it’s a little late for that.” He shuffled in his seat for a moment before turning back to me. “Tell me something about you.”

I was so nervous, and I don’t know why. I have been waiting for this for a long time. Apparently so was he. Now that we’re together, we both kind of stalled a bit not knowing where to go from here. I glanced up at Victor who gave me an encouraging smile. I smiled back and looked at my father again.

“Well, I’m a nurse. I am single. My best friend apparently is your Gamma female. We met in nursing school and stayed close ever since. I love her like a sister. I’ve also grown close to your Gamma Eric. More like a brother to me. He keeps an eye out for me.” The more I talk, the more relaxed I become. Rick was happy to hear that Eric was keeping me safe. Since that is the main role of a Gamma. Basically, they are the Luna’s personal bodyguard. Or in this case, the Alpha’s child. I heard a small growl come from Victor when I mentioned being close to Eric. I got a hint of jealousy until I said he was more like a brother and then he calmed down.

For the next half an hour, he listened intently about my childhood. I told him about moving around a lot until we met Dr. MacDonald. How he gave mom a job at the clinic where she met my stepfather. How mom got sick and was diagnosed with breast cancer and finally passed away a couple years ago. He seemed really broken about that bit of news. So much so that he grabbed my hand and squeezed.

“Tori, I am really sorry to hear about your mother. I want you to know that I loved her with everything I had. I wish I could go back and change history and make better choices. She was an incredible and amazing person. She taught me so much about myself and best of all… she gave me you. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. Unfortunately, I went down a dark path. The rogue attacks were getting worse and it was weighing on me heavily. I turned to the bottle and that became my best friend.” He lowered his shaking head before taking a breath. “One night, I let it get the best of me and your mother found me with…. Another woman. I had so much to drink that night that I didn’t even comprehend what I was doing. Not that that is an excuse or justifies anything. My poor choice cost me my mate and my pup. I can only ask for your forgiveness and hope that we can move forward in a different light. Rebuild our relationship however you want to. I will always be here for you.” He looked me in the eye so that I knew he was totally honest with what he said. I was dumbfounded! I had no idea what to say to that. He wanted to start fresh and go from here. I can sense his sincerity. There were no hidden agendas or malintent. I thought back to my childhood and how I would dream of finding my father and telling him I love him, and I missed him. How much I wished he was in my life, and I was in his. This was a dream come true. He sat there staring at me, patiently waiting for some kind of response.

Without another thought, I launched myself across the chair and wrapped my arms around him. Instantly, he caught me and held me tight to him. I had tears coming down my cheeks and wetting his T-shirt. He stroked my hair gently and cooed.

“It’s okay sweetheart, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” He lightly shushed me to calm me down, but I couldn’t hold back anymore. I was balling my eyes out like a baby. As I sat across his lap with my arms wrapped around his neck, I took in his scent. A scent I hadn’t remembered until now. That comforting smell of birch tree and earth after a rainstorm. I hadn’t smelled that in a long time, and I missed it. I tilted my head and looked back at Victor, who was standing there grinning at us. He was happy that we were together again. I pulled back and wiped my eyes before catching my breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry like a baby. I’m just so happy that we found each other.” I said between sobs. He rubbed my back gently as he waited for me to calm down.

“No need to be sorry. I’m just glad we did find each other and are making a new start.” I nodded excitedly. I finally calmed down some and moved back to my chair.

“I think we have something important to talk about.” I froze for a moment before slowly guiding my eyes over to Rick. He sat there with an expectant look while Victor was grinning widely, waiting for my answer.

“Umm.. what.. what would that be?” He raised his eyebrows at me before sighing.

“I believe we need to talk about you going to another territory” he sat back with his arms crossed. My eyes wide, he didn’t look too happy with this topic. Well, comfy happy dad gone, Alpha Rick in all alpha mode back. Oh great!