Rayne shook her head as she looked through the small refrigerator. There wasn’t much inside. In fact, the contents were pretty damn dismal. She recalled that he’d gone shopping earlier and she looked around and found a couple of grocery bags. They were sitting on the Formica counter-top.

She emptied both bags and shook her head at the number of sodium-nitrate filled cans of preserved chicken, tuna, and meat-like food that he’d bought. No way. Then she remembered her own overnight bag.

She unzipped it and found her own grocery bag with the fresh steak she’d bought earlier and some organic vegetables. That’s more like it!

She was going to make him a meal that would go a long way to healing both the Wolf and the man. She moved about the small kitchen with quick and efficient movements. Rayne hadn’t cooked for anyone else for a long time.

She was no master chef, but she was a passable cook. It wasn’t all that difficult to make a decent steak and veggies. A little olive oil, salt and pepper and she was in business. Canola was all he had, but she supposed that was fine too.

She’d taught herself to cook in self-defense at medical school. Cafeteria food and take-out were hell on her stomach. Considering Werewolves had large appetites and their supernatural senses often led them to organic, non-GMO food choices, learning to cook made sense.

Cael should take a few courses, she mused. At the very least, he needed to seriously rethink his diet. No wonder he was wasting away. Canned food and isolation were the absolute worst things for a Wolf.

Didn’t he know any better? And what about his brother? Surely the doctor had counseled his own brother on the danger of such a lifestyle? She shook her head. Ten minutes later she was carrying a tray into his bedroom.

He’d been resting. She could tell by the slow, steady breaths, that he was still tired. However, the second the tantalizing aroma of cooked meat reached Cael’s nostrils, his eyes flew open. They were that same piercing emerald green that she remembered. Beautiful.

She felt a ridiculous sense of pride at the way he almost drooled at the delicious smell of the food she’d prepared for him. His stomach growled loudly. Cael sat up straighter in his bed, but he leaned his lower back against the wall for support.

“Well, it looks like you do have an appetite after all,” she said, feeling quite pleased.

“No, um I can’t eat that.”

“Why not?”

“Rayne, that’s your steak,” he said.

“Look, I’m the doctor, and you’re the patient. You need protein or that wound will fester and rot.”

“No, I can’t take food from you,” he looked as if he’d try to sprint out of the bed if she forced it on him, so she tried another tactic.

“Cael, you are seriously malnourished. If you don’t get well, anything could happen to you and to me out here. You know me, I’m a city girl, and the snow is coming down harder now. There’s no cell service, and my car is totaled. I need you to get better,” she knew by the end of her speech that she’d said the right things.

His male pride would have him starve before taking what he thought of as her food, but that same pride would want him to be in perfect health to protect her. A little sexist, but she’d overlook it for now. Werewolf men tended to want to protect their women. Not that she was his woman!

She blushed and ignored his curious expression. She sat down on the edge of the mattress and began slicing through the perfectly cooked thirty-ounce rib eye. It certainly did smell good!

“I can’t believe your brother let you get in this state.”

“Oh, well, he has been on my case.”

“Well, not enough. Now, open your mouth. I’m going to feed you this entire plate. Then I’m going to watch you drink down this whole glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. When’s the last time you ate something that didn’t come out of a can anyway?”

“Um, actually, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? The Cael I knew might have been a little reckless, but he sure as hell wasn’t stupid,” her anger startled the two of them, but she couldn’t help it.

Seeing him in such a state was almost too much. She was a doctor, she had a job and a duty to see to the health and care of the people around her. More than that, she specialized in catering to the supernatural world.

Educating supes in their health care was a regular thing for her, but Cael was no boy after his first Change. He knew damn well that good nutrition was vital to his well-being. Didn’t he care about himself at all?

Rayne was always a calm and level-headed person, but right then she felt positively murderous. His reaction to the food was the only thing that diminished her rage. He seemed to savor every single morsel.

Rayne was used to taking care of people. It was a big part of her job, and she enjoyed it. Feeding Cael shouldn’t be any different, but it was.

If she were being truthful, she’d acknowledge the deep-seated need to take care of him. It was so strong, it scared her. She could almost see her Wolf’s pleasure as she ministered to him. Mine.

Rayne’s hand trembled as she lifted the fork to his full lips. She watched him take the meat with wide, curious eyes. She couldn’t speak. She was afraid she’d reveal her true feelings. Don’t be a fool, he left you once. She gave him a curt nod and put on her best professional face as she continued to feed him bite for bite.

“Your Wolf must be starving! What have you been living on anyway? Rats?”

“It hasn’t gotten that bad yet. Rabbits and squirrels were good for a while, but it’s too cold for many of them to be outside now.”

“Are you serious? That’s not nearly enough protein, and you know it!”

“I’ve done my best,” he mumbled as he gratefully accepted another bite of the premium beef.

“No, you haven’t. You just left. You never fought back, damn it, and now, look at you! You could have died!”

Her reaction was over the top. She knew it, but she couldn’t help it. She bit her lower lip to keep from saying anything else. She’d lived without him for a year.

The fact that her feelings were still this strong surprised and shocked her. She’d worked so hard to put him behind her. The feel of his hand on her arm brought her eyes up to meet his.

“Rayne, I’m, I’m sorry,” the pain she saw in his emerald green eyes made her stomach twist with regret.

“No, that was unprofessional, I apologize, Cael, I mean it.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. Thank you for your help, I, I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

“I’d do this for anyone,” she said and looked down at the plate to keep him from sensing the lie in her words.

She remained quiet the rest of the meal. Cael didn’t speak either. He just sat there, looking gorgeous despite his injuries. He ate what she fed him without comment or complaint.

She tried not to stare at him, but it was difficult. His chest was bare except for the smattering of dark hair that thinned out as it reached his navel. His behavior was oddly docile, like a small child. Being near him was playing havoc on her brain. Cael was never much on obedience. The idea that she could make him sit and stay was pretty damn tempting and so unlike him.

He’d been cocky to the point of being brash when she’d first met him. Rayne was used to men with big personalities. Werewolves were up there with some of the most chauvinistic creatures on earth. Females were sometimes valued, sometimes ignored, and sometimes put down among the various supernatural species.

Though, if she were being fair, ever since she came to Maccon City and met Pack Alpha, Rafe Maccon, she had to admit that the Macconwood Pack was different. Female Wolves were respected and treated equally by the Alpha himself. However, that said, even modern Werewolf males sometimes acted like puffed up caricatures of oozing machismo when they were around females.

Cael had been no different. He’d been incredibly confident and oh-so-sure of himself when they’d first met. He ignored Rayne the first few times they met. She just assumed she wasn’t his type.

She had no delusions about herself. She was short for a Werewolf and not as strong and fast as the others. Her body type was more like a normal than not. She was not exactly curvy, but she had rounded hips and a generous bust. Nothing exceptional, mind you.

Of course, he was the best-looking man she’d ever seen. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous. Cael had eyes the color of emeralds. They practically glowed against his naturally olive-toned skin and wavy black hair.

She practically drooled the first time he spoke to her. By some miracle, she’d made him laugh, and after that, he literally swept her off her feet with his direct approach. He had a larger than life personality. He was funny and kind, romantic and sweet, and then poof, just when she accepted he was genuinely interested in her, he was gone. Out of her life without even a goodbye.

She’d always been surprised that he’d shown any interest in her. It hurt her when he left. She’d felt anger for him that he’d been treated in such a way by the hospital where he’d worked. But the betrayal she felt at his desertion soon trumped that and she’d stopped asking questions.

And now she went and made things awkward. She had to remember she was nothing to him. Rayne had no right to yell or express her concern. It was unprofessional and unwarranted.

“Drink this,” she thrust the tall glass of orange juice at him, and he accepted it.

“Why are you so angry?”

“Are you kidding? Do you not remember where we were thirteen months ago?”

“Come on, Rayne, I’m sure you’ve gotten over a couple of lousy dates by now!”

“That’s all it ever was to you, right? A couple of lousy dates? Well, excuse me for making it something it wasn’t. I’ll be out of your hair as soon as possible.”

“What the hell are you doing here anyway? I don’t remember bringing you here before?” He lashed out with such venom, she stumbled. She’d never heard him angry like that.

“Your brother told me to come stay out in his cabin for the weekend. I’ve been working for some time now without a vacation.” She shrugged uncomfortably.

“My brother? Why would he tell you to come out here if I was here?”

“I have no idea! But when I see him I sure as hell am going to ask him!”